Facing Death as Christians

Death is one of the few realities every human being must face—and one of the realities our culture is least comfortable talking about. In this episode of Common Life, Revs. Cort and Abby Gatliff talk about what it means to approach death as Christians. They explore why human beings live with the knowledge of our own mortality, how our culture tends to deny, defy, or befriend death, and why Christianity offers a different way. The conversation moves from philosophers Martin Heidegger and Ernest Becker to Scripture’s description of death as our “last enemy,” and ultimately to the Christian hope of resurrection. Cort and Abby also discuss some of the practical ways the church can help us learn to die well: talking honestly about death, preparing wills and funeral plans, and gathering around Word and Sacrament.