Death, Courage, and Eschatology

Greystone Conversations

Today we reflect on death, courage, and eschatology. Death and eschatology are often connected, of course, but courage takes its shape in relation to both of them. The questions that may elucidate the relationship could be put this way: How do my occasional experiences of great loss or of major life changes help prepare me for my death? Where is courage in that picture? And is there a relationship between (1) eschatologies that emphasize continuities between the present order and the future, consummated order and (2) the domestication of death (as the minimization of the radical and mysterious change that awaits us in it). Might the domestication of death relate to a lack of courage as well?
After a lengthy hiatus, Greystone Conversations is back! The reasons for that hiatus will soon be made public, our Lord willing, and if they are then we think you’ll be encouraged that the radio silence of our podcast has been a result of necessary labor in other directions, which we pray will yield great fruit for the Lord and his Church. We look forward to announcing those updates soon, but until then we are excited to roll out a few new podcast episodes recorded during this interval. In these conversations, we had the great pleasure of speaking with two truly fascinating and helpful guests who are leading scholars in theology and biblical studies: Drs. Matthew Levering and Charles (Chuck) Hill, and we will also have Pastor Jesse Crutchley on the podcast again to talk about Greystone’s theological vision and mission in relation to the concept of disruptive economies.
In today’s episode, Dr. Mark Garcia, President and Fellow in Scripture and Theology at Greystone Theological Institute, speaks with Dr. Levering about a difficult yet increasingly explored topic: death. Drawing from his own personal experience as well as the long virtues tradition of Christian ethics, Dr. Matthew Levering has put together a collection of essays that use death as a foil for unpacking and exploring the content of the virtues, and sometimes with rather surprising results. The book is called, Dying and the Virtues, and the theme we were most interested in was the theme of courage with which Dr. Levering closes his book. Courage in the face of death, he suggests, is required not only at the time of death, but also in the midst of the many times God providentially leads us through the experiences of significant loss or significant change—providential experiences in which we can say, in fact, that God is preparing us for the greatest transition of all death. Personally I have to say I have found that simple observation deeply moving, profound, and challenging, and it has come to mind many times since I first read Dr. Levering’s relatively brief discussion of it. Listen in as we discuss this idea with Dr. Levering.