Sharing the darkness of suffering and death

 This month in the theology reading group, we discussed Sharing the Darkness: The Spirituality of Caring by Sheila Cassidy. It is a beautiful book that is both challenging and comforting. The author draws on her own experience with honesty, vulnerability, and humour.

Cassidy is a British medical doctor who, in the 1970s, was tortured by the Pinochet military dictatorship in Chile because she gave medical aid to an opponent of the government. Later in the UK, she helped establish a small hospice to care for the dying. At times she considered becoming a Catholic nun but found her vocation as a doctor caring for the dying and as an advocate for the marginalised. The book recounts her struggle to live out Jesus' radical Gospel in these challenging contexts.

Recurring themes concern the character and actions required of an authentic carer: humility, love, presence, empathy, vulnerability. Personal theology and worldview need to embrace mystery and paradox and powerlessness. A community of carers is needed for both mutual support and complementary skills and gifts. The community can only survive (and potentially prosper) with open communication, love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Cassidy affirms the importance of individuality: both patients and carers are unique persons with unique personalities, histories, and needs. Furthermore, carers need to engage in self-care, including rest and spiritual disciplines. Like Cassidy, I wish I had appreciated this earlier in life.

Here are two quotes from the book I found most striking.

"Are heart our hearts are fulfilling, our minds are for blowing, and our idols for shattering into a thousand pieces." (page 228)

"At a religious level perhaps the most important gift is a sort of paschal overview - the ability to hold in the same focus the harsh reality of suffering and the mind boggling truth of resurrection of life after death. One must develop the ability to stand with feet firmly planted on an earth inhabited by wounds and vomit bowls but with the gaze focused beyond the mess of the here now to a future of hope beyond imaginings. More than anything one must know deep in one guts that death is the beginning, not the end." (page 8)

As an aside, I mention the movie Wit, which is relevant and which some of us watched in preparation for our discussion.

Growing old with grace

I am 65 years old. I have struggled with my mental health much of my adult life. My wife, Robin, is 70 and has Parkinson’s disease. We are both retired from formal paid work. Some of our close friends are older or have greater health challenges than us. The reflections that follow are prompted by a desire to grow old with grace and to stimulate discussions on the topic with family and friends.

The communal dimension

Affluent individuals in the West think in individualistic terms. Perhaps, when it comes to ageing, they may think in a little more in terms of being part of a couple, and perhaps a nuclear family. However, ageing increases our dependence on others: a spouse, children, relatives, friends, neighbours, organisations, and governments. Even if, as individuals, we come to terms with the issues discussed below, that does not mean that our loved ones will. This complicates things further.

Accepting reality

We are all going to die. Unless we have a sudden and unexpected death, we are all going to get older. Gradually, our minds and bodies will decay. Ailments will increase. Physical, mental, and emotional energy will decline along with agility. It is tempting to live in denial that this will ever happen, or to deny that it is happening right now. The truth can be too scary, complicated, disappointing, or uncertain to accept. Even if we accept it, our loved ones may not. Even if we acknowledge the reality at an intellectual level, will we deal with it emotionally and at a practical level?

Declining energy

As we age, we have less physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy. We get tired more easily and our recovery time is longer. Today, I cannot function without a daily nap after lunch. I must carefully manage my limited energy. I cannot imagine doing many of the things I did a decade ago, let alone when I was young. 

Despite our declining energy, in retirement, we may have more time and freedom than ever before. We may have a new perspective on what really matters and want to use our freedom to avoid being sucked into the cares and anxieties of this world. What a blessing! The challenge is to make the most of our freedom with the energy we do have.

Some people retire from full-time employment and experience “a new lease on life.” Freed from a demanding work schedule and burdensome responsibilities, they have energy and enthusiasm for all sorts of activities.

On the positive side, what am I enjoying about this stage of life? How do I notice my energy changing? How am I adapting? Will I deal with practical and emotional issues while I still have the energy?

Practical dimensions

There is a whole range of financial, medical, legal, bureaucratic, transport, and housing dimensions to ageing. On the one hand, these complexities can come from individual affluence and living in a country with generous (by global standards) government support. On the other hand, navigating these complexities requires considerable time, energy, planning, technological savvy, and patience. It can be overwhelming. Furthermore, simply waiting until problems escalate to unsustainable levels risks creating unnecessary crises, placing burdens on others, and missing out on potential solutions. This is where accepting reality is important. At some point, we will have to stop driving, riding a bicycle, using ladders, writing books, travelling overseas, using stairs, and possibly living in our current house. Can we accept this? When do we think some of these things might happen? Do we have a plan for how we will adapt? When and how will we discuss this with family members?

Attitude

Facing reality is not easy. Our bodies are decaying. Opportunities and our influence on others are diminishing. Our legacy may be set. Not only are we changing, but so is the world around us. It is not what it used to be. Social and technological change is rapid, increasing, surprising, not necessarily for the better, and not easy to adapt to. Unlike during the bravado of youth, it is harder to deny our limitations and finitude. We now feel them in our bodies and brains. Loss rather than gain may be the norm. Funerals may outnumber weddings and births. Will we truly grieve our losses, whether it is the death of loved ones, a dream, or diminished mental capacity? Stages of grief may include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, not necessarily in a linear fashion.

Spiritual dimensions

The practical, intellectual, and emotional dimensions of ageing cannot be separated from the spiritual. My spiritual life can enable me to deal with the other challenges. Do I believe this life is all there is? Is it preparation for something better? Do I trust Jesus is walking next to me in this life stage, just as He has promised? As I experience weakness, is His grace sufficient for me? Am I looking back at past failures and disappointments with bitterness and shame? Or am I looking forward to being welcomed by Jesus into an eternal home? Do I have the hope of heaven, where there will be perfect love and justice, and no more death, tears, and pain?

A diversity of circumstances and experience

Everyone is different. Some people have excellent health and circumstances, and even when they are eighty years old, they don’t have to wrestle with some of the challenges I discuss here. Perhaps, they won’t have to for another decade. Some people die young. Some people have chronic health problems or disabilities their whole lives. Different family, social, or financial contexts can significantly affect the nature or extent of the challenges I discussed above. To illustrate the diversity I include a graph (at the end of this post) of the projected age of death for women in Australia who are 65 years old. It shows a large variation in life expectancy.

Some relevant books

Currently, Robin and I are reading three books. Each considers a different dimension of ageing.

"We need to talk about mum and dad" It is by the Australian comedian Jean Kittson and illustrated with cartoons by Patrick Cook. Although written for the children of ageing parents, it is helpful for anyone getting old. It discusses the complex family dynamics associated with ageing and how to navigate the many dimensions of the practical complexities of ageing. 

"Not Old, Not Young, Not Done: Following Jesus in Your 50s And 60s" by Christopher Ash.

"The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully" by Joan Chittister. Although the author is a Benedictine nun, the book is intended for a broad audience. The book challenges our attitudes to ageing, but may be a bit idealistic for some of us.

Living and dying for your country

 I recently read Patriot, an autobiography by Alexei Navalny, as a part of an extended family book club. I thank my sister-in-law and her husband for choosing the book, selecting it and giving us a copy for Christmas.

Navalny was a Russian activist, campaigning against corruption in the Putin regime. He became well known through a blog that led to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. It made extensive investigations that were publicised through beautifully crafted videos that revealed the ridiculous wealth that Putin and his cronies acquired through the looting of state-owned enterprises. Navalny was poisoned in 2020, spent 6 months recovering in Germany, and then courageously returned to Russia, even though he knew he would probably be arrested and die in prison. Unfortunately, this is what happened.

I highly recommend the book, even though it is long and at times distressing and depressing. Navalny is a gifted writer and storyteller. I learnt much about life in the former Soviet Union from someone who grew up in the context of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and the war in Afghanistan, leading ultimately to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Whereas Gorbachev and Yeltsin are often seen as heroes in the West, Navalny does not see them that way. Gorbachev was well-meaning but indecisive. He became unpopular as his first initiative was one banning alcohol, to combat widespread alcoholism. Nevertheless, in hindsight, Navalny developed a great respect for Gorbachev because he was incorruptible. He never gained financially from his position.

On the somewhat lighter side, as a physicist, I was intrigued by

“I firmly believe that all the best things on earth have been created by brave nerds. (I have on the wall of my office a photograph of the 1927 Solvay Conference on Physics. My heroes are those brave nerds who brought about a revolution and enabled the progress of all humankind. I find them so inspiring that I have hung a copy of that photo in the rooms of both my children.)"

An important question is how did Navalny sustain his activism, stay courageous, and endure the suffering of prison?

While in prison, Navalny memorised Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, all 111 verses in Russian, English, French, and Latin! He discusses how this sustained him. It was central to one of the speeches he gave during one of his "criminal trials" in prison.

“It’s not always easy for to do what this book [the Bible] says, but I try. And that’s why it’s easier for me than for many other people who do politics in Russia. Recently someone wrote to me. ‘Navalny,’ he says, why is everyone telling you to “stay strong,” “don’t give up,” “stick out,” and “grit your teeth”? What is it you’re having to put up with? Didn’t you say awhile back in an interview that you believe in God, and it says in the Bible, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be fulfilled.” Well, that’s great. You’ve got it made!’ And I thought, How about that! How well this person understands me. I’m not sure I’ve got it made exactly, but I’ve always accepted that particular precept as pretty much an instruction on how to act. 

That’s why I feel, while of course I’m not particularly enjoying my present situation, I feel no regret about having returned here and what I’m doing. Because everything I did was right. On the contrary, I feel, well, a certain satisfaction… 

I don’t [feel lonely], and let me explain why. Because those words — ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’ — seem exotic and a bit weird, but they actually express the most important political idea in Russia at this moment.” (pages 326-327) 

The book ends with his testimony of how his simple trust in Jesus sustained him. It did not require

"fervent prayer by the prison barracks window three times a day (a very common phenomenon in prisons). 

I have always thought, and said openly, that being a believer makes it easier to live your life and, to an an even greater extent, engage in opposition politics. Faith makes life simpler.

… ask yourself whether you are a Christian in your heart of hearts. It is not essential for you to believe some old guys in the desert once lived to be eight hundred years old or that the sea was literally parted in front of someone. But are you a disciple of the religion whose founder sacrificed himself for others, paying the price for their sins? Do you believe in the immortality of the soul and the rest of that cool stuff? If you can honestly answer yes, what is there left for you to worry about? … Don’t worry about the morrow, because the morrow is perfectly capable of taking care of itself. 

My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and leave it to good old Jesus and the rest of his family to deal with everything else. They won’t let me down and will sort out all of my headaches. As they say in prison here: they will take my punches for me.” (page 479)

A helpful book review that explores the above themes more is by Andrew DeCort 

How the cross shapes the Christian life

For the next three monthly meetings of the theology reading group we will be discussing Participating in Christ: Explorations in Paul's Theology and Spirituality by Michael J. Gorman

In the first chapter, Gorman introduces the book by making the case for 13 propositions. Here I list the ones that I found particularly interesting and helpful.

        The Cross

3. The cross is not only the definitive revelation of Christ and of God (i.e., it is both Christophany and theophany) but also the definitive revelation of what humans and the church are to be.

         Cruciformity

4. The cross is not only the source but also the shape of our salvation, and cross-shaped living (cruciformity) means that all Christian virtues and practices are cruciform: faith/faithfulness, love, power, hope, justice, and so forth.

6. Cruciformity/Theoformity is a matter not of imitation but of transformative participation: being in the Messiah/Spirit and having the Messiah/Spirit within (mutual indwelling).   

 Dying and rising with Christ  

10. Paradoxically, cruciform (cross-shaped) existence is also resurrectional (resurrection-suffused) cruciform ministry because the death of the messiah means life for all who share in that death.   

Mission  

11. The church is called not merely to believe the gospel but also to become the gospel and thereby to advance the gospel, the church is a living exegesis of the gospel.  

12.  Becoming the gospel means embodying the missional practices of love, peacemaking, reconciliation, restorative justice, forgiveness, non-violence, and so on that correspond to what God has done in the Messiah. 

13.  To be in the Messiah is to be in community, to be in mission, and to be in trouble (persecuted) - simultaneously.

Reflections on the coronavirus crisis. I

I am a wealthy Westerner who has a comfortable and orderly life. But now I am experiencing minor inconveniences, such as limited travel, canceled events (will Liverpool still get to win the Premier League?), working from home, and a drop in the current value of my financial assets.

Like most people, I have been surprised, anxious, confused, and stressed by what is happening to the world. Here are a few preliminary thoughts on the things I am learning. Many are interrelated.

Perhaps I should not be surprised at this unexpected event.

 Let's take a historical perspective. Consider the twentieth century in the Western world. We made amazing scientific, medical, and technological advances.
However, there were also two World Wars, the Spanish flu epidemic (which killed more people than World War I), multiple stock market crashes, the great depression, natural disasters, terrorism, AIDS epidemic, the cold war, ..
Now, consider the first two millennia. It is even worse: an endless story of wars, earthquakes, famines, epidemics, ...
And then there is life in the Majority World today: chaos, instability, scarcity, disease, corruption, civil wars, epidemics, poverty, starvation, violence, ...
My predictable stable life of the affluent Westerner is not normal. It is a historic and geographic anomaly.

We are not in control as much as we think we are and wish we were.

Normally we have the luxury of making plans and setting goals: social events, travel, holidays, work, retirement, a medical check-up, shopping, ...

We are more interconnected than we may realise.

In the modern Western world, we pride ourselves on individual identity and individual freedom. I am the master of my destiny. I am defined by my achievements. If I succeed that is because I worked hard and used my extraordinary abilities. I deserve to enjoy the fruits of my success, and not others. I should be able to do what I want. I can choose my friends, my family, my work, my hobbies... It is all about me!
The coronavirus pandemic brings home just how interconnected the globalised economy has become; from international air travel (rapidly spreading the virus) to industrial supply chains.
There are merits to individual freedom, meritocracies, and individual initiative. However, the coronavirus is a rude interruption that things are not quite that simple. We do depend on others, for better and for worse, far more than we may like to admit. Our health depends on the health of others. Our economic well being does too. I am not the master of my destiny.

One response: selfishness
Many of us have responses to the crisis such as the following. Will I get sick? Well, even if I do I am young and healthy so it will be just like the flu. Will I lose my job? Will I still graduate from college this year? How much money have I lost on the stock market? Can I get a refund on my travel bookings? Is the government going to save my company? What about my social life?
In Australia we have people hoarding toilet paper, even fighting other customers. We have people with minor colds abusing hospital staff who will not test them for the virus because of limited resources. Political and business leaders are doing cold calculations of how certain actions they take may hurt or benefit them personally. Adversity can bring out the worst in us. It reveals a dark side to our nature.

Another response: fear
This is scary. On many levels. The future is uncertain. Will things get worse? How much worse? This can lead to panic and over-reacting. This reflects itself in hoarding toilet paper, panic selling of shares, believing rumours, ...

Another response: denial 
It isn't really that bad. We can handle it. We have the best medical system in the world. It is no worse than regular flu. Things will soon blow over. Let's wait and see what happens and not take drastic measures.

Another response: love, concern, and sacrificial service
Adversity can also bring out the best in us. Thinking beyond ourselves. Caring for others. Doctors and nurses who work to exhaustion. Some get sick. Some die. All in order to save the lives of others.

The desires of our hearts are revealed
We often hide from others (and ourselves) our inner self; what we really value, want, and think. Calamities can reveal our priorities and values. What are we most upset or worried about? Is it health, the economy, individual freedoms, our stock portfolio, ..?

Who will suffer the most?
Wealthy Western countries are ill-equipped with the medical resources to deal with this epidemic. Majority World countries will particularly struggle due to their extremely limited medical resources. As usual, the poor, the marginalised, the sick, the weak, and the elderly, will suffer the most, both in the short term and the long term.

There are invisible realities.
It is pretty amazing. We cannot see the virus. We don't know if we have it or someone else does or if it is on a doorknob. [I know that you can see it with an electron microscope and that there are medical tests for it]. However, in everyday life the virus is invisible. But it is a reality; one that has serious implications for everything, not just our health, but even for our close relationships, for the global economy, and for politics.
In spite of all that scientists do know about viruses (which is pretty amazing!) we currently know little about key properties of this virus and the associated epidemic: exactly how it spreads, which individuals are more likely to carry it, incubation periods, who is most at risk, .... We do not have a vaccine.

All this ignorance should humble us and make us open to the possibility that there are many things we do not understand in our lives now. Further, we should be open to other realities that we may be oblivious to, poorly understand, or have important implications for our lives. The Bible claims that there are spiritual realities; we cannot see them directly. Nevertheless, the spiritual realm does exist and has important implications for every part of our lives.

A time for re-evaluation
Our worlds are being turned upside down. What will we learn from this experience, both individually and collectively? Will we change? Or will we go back to ``normal''?

In some future posts, I hope to look at how Jesus engages with some of these issues.

The myth of the perfect life

Until this week I had never heard of Kate Spade. Tragically, this past week she died by suicide, which has attracted much grief and analysis. I thought a commentary in the Guardian was interesting and sad:

So many women have been sharing stories online about their first Kate Spade handbag, like music fans reminiscing about the first time they heard a song by a recently deceased singer – and that is how it should be. She was a part of our lives and part of the cultural landscape for a generation. She made us feel that the perfect life was eminently achievable. How devastating to learn it felt exactly the opposite to her.

In what countries do most deaths by terrorism occur?

Since 9/11 in New York, 99 out of 100 deaths by terrorism occurred in the Majority World.
Less than 1 in 100 occur in the Western world.
More than 150,000 people have died.

A radical orthodox perspective on the life sciences

There is a challenging essay.
Love Your Enemies: Life Sciences in the Ecclesial-Based University by M. Therese Lysaught
Here are few extracts.

Genetics [and] .... the life sciences, ... are embedded within a context of violence. Political and military metaphors shape contemporary discourse about biomedicine and biotechnology. For many, and certainly for the media, clinical medicine through the auspices of biotechnology is engaged in a war against disease, disability, suffering, and death? Drawing on the history of the field of genetics and the Human Genome Project, as well as on the rhetoric surrounding medicine and biotechnology more generally, I will first seek to show how the current practice of the life sciences cannot help but to entangle us with war and the violence of the liberal democratic state. 

Moreover, the violence allied with science signals its underlying cause: a religious commitment to science as salvific: For Christians and institutions who are committed to nonviolence as a central component of discipleship and who locate salvation not in the hands of the scientific community but in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, these twin facets of contemporary science cannot but give pause. How then do we situate the life sciences in the ecclesially based university such that the disciplining that is part of their practice is consistent with our call to witness the Good News through lives of peaceableness? The beginning of the answer to this question lies, I will argue, in Christian attitudes toward death,...

The cartoon above is discussed at the beginning of the article. It was from a news article in Nature in 1989, featuring James Watson, then director of the Human Genome Project, wrapping himself in the American flag [where the stripes are now genetic strips], in order to persuade the US government it was in their national interest to fund the project.

Can atheists be certain?

In the theology reading group next month we are looking at How (not) to be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor, by James K.A. Smith. More on that later.

In the introduction Smith engages with the novelist Julian Barnes book, Nothing to be frightened of, that expresses his anxieties about dying and death. It looks like a fascinating book that has received wide praise from readers with a diversity of perspectives.

Here I just give one quote that Smith used:

If I called myself and atheist at twenty, and an agnostic at fifty and sixty, it isn't because I have acquired more knowledge in the meantime: just more awareness of ignorance. How can we be sure that we know enough to know? As twenty-first-century neo-Darwinian materialists, convinced that the meaning and mechanism of life have only been fully clear since the year 1959, we hold ourselves categorically wiser than those credulous knee-benders who, a speck of time away, believed in divine purpose, an ordered world, resurrection and a Last Judgment. But although we are more informed, we are no more evolved, and certainly no more intelligent than them. What convinces us that out knowledge is so final?

Growing old with an attitude

I enjoyed watching the movie Still Mine. A stubborn elderly couple struggle and face declining health, concerns of adult children, dementia, death, and government bureaucracy together.

Compassion and acceptance

In Bangalore last week Robin and I visited Accept, a ministry to people with HIV/AIDS. This includes a hospice and a children's home. Their website has several challenging articles about practicing compassion and mercy, including one by John Piper and by the founder Raju K Matthew.

The top 5 regrets of the dying

The Guardian has an interesting article The top 5 regrets of the dying. Perhaps they are not surprising, but they are good reminders about some important things. I was also struck of the strong desire for forgiveness, again illustrating people have an innate sense of right and wrong.
I thank my wife for bringing the article to my attention.

Do I believe in the soul?

In a scientific age, the question of the existence and definition of "a soul" seems to be one that perplexes and confuses Christians. Earlier I posted a review I wrote of a disappointing book on the subject.

It seems to me that from a Biblical perspective the key concept is that of a whole person. When the Bible talks about "heart, mind and soul" it is not defining the separate parts of a person but rather trying to capture the concept of a whole person. Note that the "heart" it is discussing is not the bodily organ but the desires, intentions, and aspirations of a person. Souls cannot be detached from bodies; it is bodies that will be resurrected and exist eternally.

“We have been fooled, not for the first time, by a view of death, and life beyond, in which the really important thing is the ‘soul’ — something which, to many people’s surprise, hardly features at all in the New Testament.
“We have allowed our view of the saving of souls to loom so large that we have failed to realise that the Bible is much more concerned about bodies."

N.T. Wright, For all the Saints, Remembering the Christian Departed, 2003
[a large extract can be read here].

In the tradition of bad journalism, prior to publication of this book, The Times ran a misleading headline, Durham's new Bishop abolishes Heaven and the soul.


This issue is also explored in great detail in Nancey Murphy's book Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies. Based on hearing a lecture she gave on this subject, I have some sympathy to her views, and especially that she emphasizes the relevance of the concept of emergence, and the limitations of reductionism. However, at times I also find she over-uses technical jargon in a way that is not particularly illuminating or convincing.

Grinding out a "living"

I think the movie Reign over me is worth watching. It deals with the relationship between a "successful" cosmetic dentist and his former college room-mate who has become a recluse following the death of his wife and three daughters in 9/11. The movie highlights dealing with grief, mental health issues, long term friendships, grace in relationships, escaping from the grind, and the folly of upper middle class aspirations.
I liked the use of Bruce Springsteen music but at times the movie is spoiled by gross "locker room" dialogue.

A lighter and stranger movie which highlights the meaningless of the middle class grind is Stranger than Fiction.

Finding wisdom at a funeral

²It is better to go to the house of mourning
   than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
   and the living will lay it to heart.
³Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
   but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.


Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

Growing old gracefully?

When I was in Sydney a week ago I glanced through the TimeOut Sydney magazine in my hotel room. Two things I noticed.

First, Valentines Day has become a really big deal in Australia. I remember when I moved back to Australia in 1994 with my American wife we went out for our first Valentines Day in Australia and we did not have a reservation. But it did not matter, all the restaurants were empty!

Second, there was a cover story on the rock band AC-DC. (Who battle it out with the Wiggles to be Australia's biggest earning entertainers, about $100 million each in 2009). It is interesting to see how the angry young men of my youth have aged. I particularly like the two current photos below. You can guess which of the two photos they are using in the publicity for their current tour!

I guess male rock stars dye their hair when they get old...

My wife on the resurrection

This morning my wife, Robin is giving a short talk on the resurrection of Jesus to a group of women. I found it quite inspiring (o.k. I am biased) and so thought I would post it here:

Some people don’t believe in a literal resurrection because it’s a miracle, they can’t understand. It is out of the ordinary, unusual, supernatural, mysterious, and unexpected.

But that’s just it. We serve a living God that is unusual, supernatural, miraculous. God’s ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts and everything he does does not have to make sense to us.

I want to serve a great big huge powerful God that is different than you or I. I don’t want to serve a little god that I can put in a box and confine to the rules of nature. In the resurrection God conquered death and paid our debt once for all. It’s a turning point in history.

Away from the everyday ordinary that often consumes, dulls and pacifies us. Resurrection power should invade our lives; but not just enhance our middle class dreams of a comfortable life. But rather with the power of the Holy Spirit working through us, tell others about this extraordinary God of ours that does not always make sense.

God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to conquer sin and death so that we might not fear the end of things we know and look forward to our own resurrection.

A peaceful death for a famous scientist

Sir William Perkin (1838-1907) became famous for (accidentally) discovering the first organic dye, mauveine and then producing it in industrial proportions.
[This is of some interest to me because as some of my research involves using quantum physics to understand why such dyes have the colour that they do and how they can be used in LED's and solar cells...]

I was just browsing in the U. Washington bookstore [I am giving a theoretical chemistry seminar there tomorrow] and stumbled across a nice book,
Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World, by Simon Garfield (Faber, 2000).

Perkin was a Christian, active in a Wembley Anglican parish church and a generous supporter of various educational and mission activities. [In the 1860s Perkin started an inter-denominational church for his German workers in an old barn. In 1875 he paid for this to be replaced by a hall in Harrow Road, the New Hall].

Pages 136-137 describes Perkin on his death bed, aged 67:

Near the end, Lady Perkin told her husband that they must be separated for a time. According to The Christian newsletter, his reply was: 'May you have much of the joy of the Lord.' An attendant then told him, `Sir William, you will soon hear the "Well done, good and faithful servant"' Perkin observed: "The children are in Sunday School. Give them my love, and tell them always to trust Jesus.' He then let out the first verse of the hymn `When I Survey the Wondrous Cross', and when he reached the last line, 'And pour contempt on all my pride', he said, 'Proud? Who could be proud?'

A peaceful death

Earlier I wrote how in Les Miserables, the self-righteous policeman Javert was so tormented by receiving mercy from Valjean that he took his own life.
It is interesting to contrast the death of Valjean, who dies with his adopted daughter, Fantine at his side. I just listened to this again. Something is lost without the music but here are the lyrics:

FANTINE
Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief
At last, at last behind you
Lord in Heaven
Look down on him in mercy.

VALJEAN
forgive me all my trespasses
And take me to your glory.

VALJEAN, FANTINE, EPONINE
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.