Mike Wittmer

Tag: Death

  • dying for the Word of the Lord

    I have refrained from using this blog to plug my new book, The Last Enemy, but I mention it now because it’s an important counterpoint to another new book on death. It’s simply called Death, and it’s written by Shelly Kagan, a Yale philosopher, and published by Yale University Press. Kagan excerpts his book in…

  • the evolution of death

    When I was writing my dissertation on H. Richard Niebuhr, I was confused by his use of the terms “creation” and “fall.” At times he seemed to distinguish them as separate events, while elsewhere he seemed to run them together. My confusion was clarified when Langdon Gilkey published a book on Richard’s brother, Reinhold Niebuhr.…

  • deadly denial

    Yesterday Tim Challies excerpted one of the stories from The Last Enemy. It’s a moving story told by my friend, Jeff Halsted, who then was pastor of Indian River Baptist Church, about 30 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. The story illustrates the importance of facing death with your eyes wide open, trusting yourself completely…

  • fear and faith

    Another thing I learned while researching The Last Enemy is that it’s not wrong to be afraid of dying. Jesus was. His death contained unfathomable terrors, and he sweat blood as he braced himself for what was to come. Our deaths are infinitely easier, but we may still learn from the cross that fear is…