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The Slavery of Death
According to Hebrews, the Son of God appeared to "break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." What does it mean to be enslaved, all our lives, to the fear of death? And why is this fear described as "the power of the devil"? And most importantly, how are we—as individuals and as faith communities—to be set free from this slavery to death?
In another creative interdisciplinary fusion, Richard Beck blends Eastern Orthodox perspectives, biblical text, existential psychology, and contemporary theology to describe our slavery to the fear of death, a slavery rooted in the basic anxieties of self-preservation and the neurotic anxieties at the root of our self-esteem. Driven by anxiety—enslaved to the fear of death—we are revealed to be morally and spiritually vulnerable as "the sting of death is sin." Beck argues that in the face of this predicament, resurrection is experienced as liberation from the slavery of death in the martyrological, eccentric, cruciform, and communal capacity to overcome fear in living fully and sacrificially for others.
"Richard Beck's new book seamlessly integrates deep theological reflection with sound psychological insight while never compromising either discipline. Liberating ideas about fear, sin, and death from the mire of abstraction, The Slavery of Death invites believers to discover and embrace true freedom together at the far side of the cross, a freedom reflected in and essential to the very nature of God. This book is a gift to the church."
—Jamie Arpin-Ricci, author, "The Cost of Community"
"With Eastern Orthodox tradition and the work of modern theologians like McGill, Stringfellow, and Kelsey in one hand, and social science texts in the other, Richard Beck analyzes our culture of death in this compelling book. What can liberate us from this demonic power that is feared and fetishized, institutionalized and internalized, and reconfigure our self-enclosed identities? The kenotic love of the risen Christ! With the colloquial skills of a gifted teacher, Beck has written a prophetic, practical—and urgent—manifesto."
—Kim Fabricius, minister, the United Reformed Church (UK)
"It's an age-old Faustian tale. We conspire with demonic principalities and powers to cheat death and save ourselves. Such idols, Richard Beck warns, inexorably enslave and damn us. He follows this indictment, however, with a prophetic analysis that is nothing short of an emancipation proclamation. Christ's resurrection not only burst the gates of hell and destroyed death's sting, but also freed us from the enslaving addiction of self-empowerment—resurrecting us for self-expenditure and sacrificial love."
—Richard Goode, co-editor, "And the Criminals With Him"
"Beck is like the 'rabbi trained for the kingdom of heaven' that Jesus talked about: a master pulling out things old and new, weaving together ancient theology and contemporary psychology in a way altogether provocative and compelling, rightfully re-orienting us with regard to some of our most basic convictions. Good, good, good work."
—Lee C. Camp, author, "Mere Discipleship"
In another creative interdisciplinary fusion, Richard Beck blends Eastern Orthodox perspectives, biblical text, existential psychology, and contemporary theology to describe our slavery to the fear of death, a slavery rooted in the basic anxieties of self-preservation and the neurotic anxieties at the root of our self-esteem. Driven by anxiety—enslaved to the fear of death—we are revealed to be morally and spiritually vulnerable as "the sting of death is sin." Beck argues that in the face of this predicament, resurrection is experienced as liberation from the slavery of death in the martyrological, eccentric, cruciform, and communal capacity to overcome fear in living fully and sacrificially for others.
"Richard Beck's new book seamlessly integrates deep theological reflection with sound psychological insight while never compromising either discipline. Liberating ideas about fear, sin, and death from the mire of abstraction, The Slavery of Death invites believers to discover and embrace true freedom together at the far side of the cross, a freedom reflected in and essential to the very nature of God. This book is a gift to the church."
—Jamie Arpin-Ricci, author, "The Cost of Community"
"With Eastern Orthodox tradition and the work of modern theologians like McGill, Stringfellow, and Kelsey in one hand, and social science texts in the other, Richard Beck analyzes our culture of death in this compelling book. What can liberate us from this demonic power that is feared and fetishized, institutionalized and internalized, and reconfigure our self-enclosed identities? The kenotic love of the risen Christ! With the colloquial skills of a gifted teacher, Beck has written a prophetic, practical—and urgent—manifesto."
—Kim Fabricius, minister, the United Reformed Church (UK)
"It's an age-old Faustian tale. We conspire with demonic principalities and powers to cheat death and save ourselves. Such idols, Richard Beck warns, inexorably enslave and damn us. He follows this indictment, however, with a prophetic analysis that is nothing short of an emancipation proclamation. Christ's resurrection not only burst the gates of hell and destroyed death's sting, but also freed us from the enslaving addiction of self-empowerment—resurrecting us for self-expenditure and sacrificial love."
—Richard Goode, co-editor, "And the Criminals With Him"
"Beck is like the 'rabbi trained for the kingdom of heaven' that Jesus talked about: a master pulling out things old and new, weaving together ancient theology and contemporary psychology in a way altogether provocative and compelling, rightfully re-orienting us with regard to some of our most basic convictions. Good, good, good work."
—Lee C. Camp, author, "Mere Discipleship"
146 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2013
46 people are currently reading
574 people want to read
About the author
Richard Beck
8 books117 followersDr. Richard Beck is a Professor of Psychology at Abilene Christian University, and he is the author of the popular blog Experimental Theology: The Thoughts, Articles and Essays of Richard Beck and the books The Slavery of Death, Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality and The Authenticity of Faith: The Varieties and Illusions of Religious Experience. As an experimental psychologist and a practicing Christian, he attempts in his writing "to integrate theology with the experimental social sciences."
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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July 28, 2015
The Slavery of Death is a short and easy read intersecting the psychological study of death drive, death anxiety (Ernest Bloch) and survival instincts with a theological understanding of sin, salvation, and our slavery to the fear of death. Which is to say, although short and easy, the concepts covered in this text are quite complex, and beg to be taken further. Beck combines the Orthodox understanding of ancestral sin (as opposed to the Protestant “original sin”) and Christus Victor atonement theory with existential psychologist Ernest Becker (particularly his work in The Denial of Death), and two theologians who locate fear of death rather than sin as central in their theology: William Stringfellow and Author McGill.
In this work, Beck emphasizes that sin is less disease and more symptom. Which is to say, death is the cause of sin — not the other way around, contrary to the common Protestant understanding. In this light, salvation is less about forgiveness of sins or escaping divine wrath, and more about liberation and emancipation from our slavery to the fear of death. Pulling from the Orthodox tradition, Beck explains that Genesis 3 is “more about theodicy (a story about where death came from) than soteriology (a story about where sin came from) (5).” The central premise is that death anxiety causes us to behave in selfish ways; that we work toward our own self-preservation at all costs with little regard for the other, and in dire situations, when our survival feels threatened, violence ensues.
There are two manifestations of fear within the field of psychoanalysis that Beck works within: basic anxiety and neurotic anxiety. Basic anxiety is is concerned with survival instincts. Essentially, when our physical environment is threatened, our own self-preservation intensifies. And, as previously suggested, when the situation is dire or in times of scarcity, basic anxiety can lead to violence. Neurotic anxiety, on the other hand, is more common in situations of abundance. It is associated with self-concept and our place in the world; about our identity and search for meaning, with all the issues of self-esteem and fear of meaninglessness this sort of anxiety entails. As you can see, both anxieties are concerned with the self over and above the other. We might have guessed, and Beck affirms, that death anxiety in the West is predominately neurotic, especially as we are have adamantly worked to remove the reality of death from our culture. This separation from death as a lived reality has created instead an illusion of immortality. Pulling from McGill, Beck explains that Americans, in particular, constantly participate in acts of death avoidance and a cultural expectation to be “fine.” McGill writes, “According to this duty, a person must try to live in such a way that he or she does not carry the marks of death, does not exhibit any hint of failure of life (34).” As a result, we have lost the communal sense of having and meeting one another’s needs. Instead, we fall prey to Becker’s notion of heroism, which is the desire for our lives to have significance and meaning, but without failure. Bluntly stated, this quest for our lives is “fundamentally an attempt to cope with the terror of death (37).”
Beck resolves that the only way we might be freed from this enslavement is by confronting the biblical notion of “principalities and powers.” I’m familiar with this terminology only insofar as the church of my youth rendered these terms: as that which we call the evil in the unseen realm, where spiritual forces wage war on our behalf. Suffice it to say that I am much more keen on Beck (and others) understanding of principalities and powers as all “institutions or ideologies in our [physical] world (44)”—the things we serve in pursuit of the aforementioned desire for our lives to have significance and meaning. These institutions and ideologies have a sort of spirituality about them, one that, in our allegiance to them, can become internalized in our self. When our identity becomes our allegiance to institutions and ideologies, we are, in effect, victim to the spirituality of death.
Our slavery in this regard, compromises our ability to love. A further confrontation with the principalities and powers in our world is to begin saying ‘yes’ to others, and ‘no’ to ourselves. This reads incredibly simply, perhaps even a bit shallow; nothing we haven’t heard before, right? In this particular section, Beck proves otherwise: “We can see the neurotic death-denial at work here, creating and maintaining the fantasy that we can always say ‘yes’ to ourselves and simultaneously ‘yes’ to everyone else (66).” But what happens when we actually attempt to live this out? We experience anxiety. When our attempt to love becomes too costly, we shift into our natural inclination of self-preservation. We get scared and we begin to rationalize. In our current context, this is a very present reality for me and Steven. These are things we wrestle with daily. More recently, we talk about this struggle in the sense that our money is not our own, and so it cannot stop with us. We are continually filtering what we receive back into our local community here. And, if we’re to be honest, we’ve worried about our own survival more than we’d care to admit. All to say, despite how generous we’d like to think we are, I read this section with conviction.
Now, we can read this with a certain naïvety and feel almost threatened as our defenses rise. The feelings associated with this simple observation attend more closely to what Beck is getting at here. Obviously he doesn’t mean we must give until we reach our own diminishment. But—he does argue that love often means the diminishment of the self in one way or another. This diminishment is a sort of death, although not physical. The example offered here is Jesus’ own act of kenosis.
A few final thoughts:
In case this is beginning to sound bleak, I want to add that Beck also argues on the contrary, that self-preservation isn’t all bad, that our act of wanting to preserve our lives can also be an act of gratitude.
My favorite takeaway comes from the final chapter “The Freedom of God,” which is the notion that God is also enslaved, because the church, and indeed, religion, can function as a principality and power. Here, Beck defines the role of the prophet as one who works to end the slavery of God. An excerpt:
Lastly, after reading this book, I am interested in how the following themes of death anxiety, violence as intrinsic/bubbling from within, coping with the terror of death, the other, self-preservation at all costs, and what leads us to kill, overlap with other things I’ve been reading concerning terror(ism), mass-violence, and our response.
*bold emphasis mine
In this work, Beck emphasizes that sin is less disease and more symptom. Which is to say, death is the cause of sin — not the other way around, contrary to the common Protestant understanding. In this light, salvation is less about forgiveness of sins or escaping divine wrath, and more about liberation and emancipation from our slavery to the fear of death. Pulling from the Orthodox tradition, Beck explains that Genesis 3 is “more about theodicy (a story about where death came from) than soteriology (a story about where sin came from) (5).” The central premise is that death anxiety causes us to behave in selfish ways; that we work toward our own self-preservation at all costs with little regard for the other, and in dire situations, when our survival feels threatened, violence ensues.
There are two manifestations of fear within the field of psychoanalysis that Beck works within: basic anxiety and neurotic anxiety. Basic anxiety is is concerned with survival instincts. Essentially, when our physical environment is threatened, our own self-preservation intensifies. And, as previously suggested, when the situation is dire or in times of scarcity, basic anxiety can lead to violence. Neurotic anxiety, on the other hand, is more common in situations of abundance. It is associated with self-concept and our place in the world; about our identity and search for meaning, with all the issues of self-esteem and fear of meaninglessness this sort of anxiety entails. As you can see, both anxieties are concerned with the self over and above the other. We might have guessed, and Beck affirms, that death anxiety in the West is predominately neurotic, especially as we are have adamantly worked to remove the reality of death from our culture. This separation from death as a lived reality has created instead an illusion of immortality. Pulling from McGill, Beck explains that Americans, in particular, constantly participate in acts of death avoidance and a cultural expectation to be “fine.” McGill writes, “According to this duty, a person must try to live in such a way that he or she does not carry the marks of death, does not exhibit any hint of failure of life (34).” As a result, we have lost the communal sense of having and meeting one another’s needs. Instead, we fall prey to Becker’s notion of heroism, which is the desire for our lives to have significance and meaning, but without failure. Bluntly stated, this quest for our lives is “fundamentally an attempt to cope with the terror of death (37).”
Beck resolves that the only way we might be freed from this enslavement is by confronting the biblical notion of “principalities and powers.” I’m familiar with this terminology only insofar as the church of my youth rendered these terms: as that which we call the evil in the unseen realm, where spiritual forces wage war on our behalf. Suffice it to say that I am much more keen on Beck (and others) understanding of principalities and powers as all “institutions or ideologies in our [physical] world (44)”—the things we serve in pursuit of the aforementioned desire for our lives to have significance and meaning. These institutions and ideologies have a sort of spirituality about them, one that, in our allegiance to them, can become internalized in our self. When our identity becomes our allegiance to institutions and ideologies, we are, in effect, victim to the spirituality of death.
Our slavery in this regard, compromises our ability to love. A further confrontation with the principalities and powers in our world is to begin saying ‘yes’ to others, and ‘no’ to ourselves. This reads incredibly simply, perhaps even a bit shallow; nothing we haven’t heard before, right? In this particular section, Beck proves otherwise: “We can see the neurotic death-denial at work here, creating and maintaining the fantasy that we can always say ‘yes’ to ourselves and simultaneously ‘yes’ to everyone else (66).” But what happens when we actually attempt to live this out? We experience anxiety. When our attempt to love becomes too costly, we shift into our natural inclination of self-preservation. We get scared and we begin to rationalize. In our current context, this is a very present reality for me and Steven. These are things we wrestle with daily. More recently, we talk about this struggle in the sense that our money is not our own, and so it cannot stop with us. We are continually filtering what we receive back into our local community here. And, if we’re to be honest, we’ve worried about our own survival more than we’d care to admit. All to say, despite how generous we’d like to think we are, I read this section with conviction.
Now, we can read this with a certain naïvety and feel almost threatened as our defenses rise. The feelings associated with this simple observation attend more closely to what Beck is getting at here. Obviously he doesn’t mean we must give until we reach our own diminishment. But—he does argue that love often means the diminishment of the self in one way or another. This diminishment is a sort of death, although not physical. The example offered here is Jesus’ own act of kenosis.
A few final thoughts:
In case this is beginning to sound bleak, I want to add that Beck also argues on the contrary, that self-preservation isn’t all bad, that our act of wanting to preserve our lives can also be an act of gratitude.
My favorite takeaway comes from the final chapter “The Freedom of God,” which is the notion that God is also enslaved, because the church, and indeed, religion, can function as a principality and power. Here, Beck defines the role of the prophet as one who works to end the slavery of God. An excerpt:
“The prophet proclaims that God cannot be identified with the status quo—however shiny, powerful, immortal, or divine the status quo may appear. The principalities and powers will always seek to capture and enslave God in an attempt to use the name of God to underwrite current power arrangements. To go against the status quo, declare the powers, is to go against God. Religion in this instance becomes another fear-based cudgel, wielded to protect the interests of the principalities and powers and those who currently benefit from business as usual, thus aiding in their success and survival. Consequently, before proclamation to human captives can be made—freedom to those being oppressed by current power arrangements—the prophet must dare to proclaim that God is not the spokesperson for the status quo, but rather stands outside the system—free—to speak a word of judgement. . . . This capacity for prophetic imagination, that God is free to be against us, is the great weapon against idolatry. Whenever and wherever the people of God lose this capacity, God becomes enslaved. When the prophetic imagination is eclipsed—when God can no longer be imagined as being against us and for those we oppress, exclude, stigmatize, marginalize, ignore, or aggress against—God is no longer free but a slave. . . . And what might be the sign of this eclipse of the prophetic voice? What are the symptoms of this failure of prophetic imagination? Simply put, the alignment of, equating of, and identification of our voice and interests with God’s own. This occurs when we speak for God with no remainder, when we see ourselves as God’s favored ones engaged in holy crusades, and when the current power arrangements are legitimized as being ordained or endorsed by God (120-121).”
Lastly, after reading this book, I am interested in how the following themes of death anxiety, violence as intrinsic/bubbling from within, coping with the terror of death, the other, self-preservation at all costs, and what leads us to kill, overlap with other things I’ve been reading concerning terror(ism), mass-violence, and our response.
*bold emphasis mine
March 26, 2016
This is a fantastic little book! It's a great example of a very focused, very clear treatise on one theological topic: the slavery of death.
Here's what I liked: Beck focuses narrowly on one way of conceiving salvation, the so-called "Christus Victor" model, and shows the Biblical, theological, and psychological foundations for understanding it. He engages with some thinkers I really like a lot (especially Arthur McGill's Death and Life - an amazing little book, and William Stringfellow - ever book by him is great), and he paints a very interesting picture of how Jesus saves us from death, and how this impacts our behavior (or sin). In the end, Beck comes up with what I think is a very classical position (although he doesn't say it like this): Christian spirituality is partially about developing apatheia (in the mode of Evagrius Pontikus would say) so that one can actually love.
Having said that, I gave this four stars instead of five because I thought the book should've been a little longer. Specifically, I thought the book could've dealt with how this Christus Victor model interacts with the more "sacrificial" model of other Biblical texts and theological thought. But that's not a criticism of the actual book.
Here's what I liked: Beck focuses narrowly on one way of conceiving salvation, the so-called "Christus Victor" model, and shows the Biblical, theological, and psychological foundations for understanding it. He engages with some thinkers I really like a lot (especially Arthur McGill's Death and Life - an amazing little book, and William Stringfellow - ever book by him is great), and he paints a very interesting picture of how Jesus saves us from death, and how this impacts our behavior (or sin). In the end, Beck comes up with what I think is a very classical position (although he doesn't say it like this): Christian spirituality is partially about developing apatheia (in the mode of Evagrius Pontikus would say) so that one can actually love.
Having said that, I gave this four stars instead of five because I thought the book should've been a little longer. Specifically, I thought the book could've dealt with how this Christus Victor model interacts with the more "sacrificial" model of other Biblical texts and theological thought. But that's not a criticism of the actual book.
February 8, 2023
freedom from fear of death
What we have here is what you would expect from Richard Beck. Drawing on his psychology training and theological roots he addresses the problem of our fear of death, which is the root of sin. He addresses it through the lens of the Christus Victor atonement theory.
What we have here is what you would expect from Richard Beck. Drawing on his psychology training and theological roots he addresses the problem of our fear of death, which is the root of sin. He addresses it through the lens of the Christus Victor atonement theory.
October 2, 2024
A Stunning Analysis of our time
This book is a must for pastors or anyone who engages with Christians. Not a brand new book, but more appropriate for our times that it even was when it was written. So many ideas presented here helped me make sense of our reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, for fans of Beck, you’ll see ideas at the core of how he thinks about faith and the world.
This book is a must for pastors or anyone who engages with Christians. Not a brand new book, but more appropriate for our times that it even was when it was written. So many ideas presented here helped me make sense of our reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, for fans of Beck, you’ll see ideas at the core of how he thinks about faith and the world.
November 12, 2024
This small but important (and biblical) realignment helps everything about "new life in Christ" click into place. I highly recommend this short book. (It reminds me a lot of my own Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies...even though it is quite different).
February 2, 2015
I plan to review more fully later. Suffice it to say for now that I read the blogged edition of this work a few years ago before Richard removed it from the blog, having decided to publish it.
This has been one of the two or three most seminal works that have guided my thinking, even my view of the world and of living. I have recommended this book for years – in anticipation of its release – as well as Beck's source works, such as Arthur C. McGill's superb theological brief, "Death and Life: An American Theology", and Ernest Becker's Pulitzer-Prize-Winning, "The Denial of Death", which has served as a sort of founding document for a new, post-Freudian school of psychology.
This has been one of the two or three most seminal works that have guided my thinking, even my view of the world and of living. I have recommended this book for years – in anticipation of its release – as well as Beck's source works, such as Arthur C. McGill's superb theological brief, "Death and Life: An American Theology", and Ernest Becker's Pulitzer-Prize-Winning, "The Denial of Death", which has served as a sort of founding document for a new, post-Freudian school of psychology.
August 18, 2018
Wow, wow, and double wow. Beck is the kind of author who can do high theology, make it practical, anticipate questions, challenge you (without guilting you!), and do it all with a humble spirit. For the strangeness of the project (mixing Eastern Orthodox theology with modern psychology [of all things]), the book has an astounding amount of explanatory power for showing why the world works the way it does, and how God gives us the grace to overcome it. Highly recommended.
January 25, 2016
An absolutely fantastic book that has a large life "theory of everything" that really changed the way I look at my life and the world.
July 20, 2017
One of many books I need to re-read to get it clearer in my mind. Beck, on the surface, seems to be straightforward in his writing, and helpfully, even sums up each previous chapter as he starts a new one. Still there are a number of things here to wrestle with. I've seen him writing on Christus Victor before - being more aligned to the Orthodox Church than the Protestant one, Beck naturally leans towards this approach as to why Christ died. Still, it takes a bit of getting into your head when you've spent decades having the more common (to Western Christians) idea that Christ died to take the punishment for our sins.
Once again, as he did in 'Reviving Old Scratch' he shows how modern Christians tend to underestimate the power of evil in the world, whether it goes under the name of the Devil, or Satan, or in this book, 'principalities and powers.' His thesis in this book is that even more than being slaves to sin, we are slaves to death, and that produces sin. (The Apostle Paul expresses both ideas, in different ways.) This slavery leads us to all the 'self' approaches to life: self-protection, self-esteem, self-promotion and much more.
But Christ came and emptied himself - and that's what a Christian does: empties himself of his own desires and allows God to work His desires in us. This isn't some kind of adapted Eastern religions theology; it's part and parcel of the Gospel. We struggle to take it on board completely, because we want to preserve what we think is our real self. Unfortunately our 'real' self mostly just gets in the way; it's only when we give that away, and allow Christ to work in us that we find our real self.
I'm not explaining this very well, so here's something that Beck says at one point: Jesus was not motivated by the fears, worries, and neuroses that motivate us. Jesus feared nothing. He was competitive with no one, aggressive toward no one. And why? Because Jesus’ identity was formed in a way that liberated him from the slavery to the fear of death. Consequently, in the words of Chrysostom...Jesus was free from the tyranny of the devil. Because Jesus didn’t own himself, he could not be dispossessed of himself. The fear and neuroses that push and pull our identities had no effect upon Jesus, and thus he was free to love spontaneously and generously. We see from Jesus’ example how the eccentric identity makes love possible. (He's using the word 'eccentric' here in relation to a person who is motivated by something outside himself. He writes: Your personal identity is defined by God alone and not by any creature. It is eccentrically grounded and defined.
I'm grateful for the Kindle highlighter process because it means such quotes can easily be found, but also because things you wanted to remember are accessible.
There's a good deal more in the book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to think more deeply about how he or she functions as a Christian.
Once again, as he did in 'Reviving Old Scratch' he shows how modern Christians tend to underestimate the power of evil in the world, whether it goes under the name of the Devil, or Satan, or in this book, 'principalities and powers.' His thesis in this book is that even more than being slaves to sin, we are slaves to death, and that produces sin. (The Apostle Paul expresses both ideas, in different ways.) This slavery leads us to all the 'self' approaches to life: self-protection, self-esteem, self-promotion and much more.
But Christ came and emptied himself - and that's what a Christian does: empties himself of his own desires and allows God to work His desires in us. This isn't some kind of adapted Eastern religions theology; it's part and parcel of the Gospel. We struggle to take it on board completely, because we want to preserve what we think is our real self. Unfortunately our 'real' self mostly just gets in the way; it's only when we give that away, and allow Christ to work in us that we find our real self.
I'm not explaining this very well, so here's something that Beck says at one point: Jesus was not motivated by the fears, worries, and neuroses that motivate us. Jesus feared nothing. He was competitive with no one, aggressive toward no one. And why? Because Jesus’ identity was formed in a way that liberated him from the slavery to the fear of death. Consequently, in the words of Chrysostom...Jesus was free from the tyranny of the devil. Because Jesus didn’t own himself, he could not be dispossessed of himself. The fear and neuroses that push and pull our identities had no effect upon Jesus, and thus he was free to love spontaneously and generously. We see from Jesus’ example how the eccentric identity makes love possible. (He's using the word 'eccentric' here in relation to a person who is motivated by something outside himself. He writes: Your personal identity is defined by God alone and not by any creature. It is eccentrically grounded and defined.
I'm grateful for the Kindle highlighter process because it means such quotes can easily be found, but also because things you wanted to remember are accessible.
There's a good deal more in the book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to think more deeply about how he or she functions as a Christian.
July 5, 2020
A powerful exploration of the challenges of life in a corrupted creation and the power of the slavery of death, along with the great victory obtained by Jesus in the resurrection.
The author begins from Hebrews 2:14-15 in which the Hebrews author declares Jesus liberated people from slavery to the fear of death. He takes to task much of Western Christendom for its insistence on "original" sin or something like it, thus emphasizing sin -> death as in the Garden as paradigmatic for humanity, and instead demonstrates preference for the Eastern Orthodox model of "ancestral" sin, understanding that Adam's sin brought forth death, and thus emphasizing death -> sin since the Garden as paradigmatic for humanity: thus, we are tempted to sin because of our fear and anxiety in the face of death.
He explores the many connections between psychology and the faith when it comes to this model, and sets forth two main means by which the fear of death leads to sin. The primary, direct means involves anxiety about maintaining survival, leading to a Hobbesian "state of nature" of suspicion, jealousy/envy, and aggression toward others. Yet even in "developed societies" which have transcended a lot of basic survival anxiety, the fear of death gets expressed in a neurotic form of death avoidance: the quest for meaning, significance, or legacy in the face of death and oblivion. In this way we are tempted to invest great power and meaning in our efforts for institutions or self so as to "make a name" for ourselves, receive commendation from the powers/institutions, etc., even though those same powers and institutions are as subject to death as we are.
In light of this the author points the way forward in Christ as the establishment of a "eccentric identity," one received as a gift from God, not something we own, and which allows for kenosis - the emptying of self on behalf of others, freeing us to truly love. He does not suggest that there is no place at all for any fear of death, understanding that part of valuing life involves reverencing it and maintaining it despite sufferings. As a way forward he encourages doxological thanksgiving and praise, always thankful to God for what He has done and to center oneself in God, to sing, and the "little way" of Therese of Lisieux, to find "small" ways to die to self and live to others in everyday life. He concludes with a good warning against idolatry - when the power/institution in which we invest our meaning is god/religion so as to make it a power that enslaves us to death - and to understand how God is first and foremost liberated and free, unable to be truly placed in any human box. The epilogue is a commendation of the concept of the harrowing of hell, the Christus Victor premise of Jesus liberating souls from death.
A very compelling and powerful book whose main points deserve significant consideration. I find it very hard to argue with his assessments.
The author begins from Hebrews 2:14-15 in which the Hebrews author declares Jesus liberated people from slavery to the fear of death. He takes to task much of Western Christendom for its insistence on "original" sin or something like it, thus emphasizing sin -> death as in the Garden as paradigmatic for humanity, and instead demonstrates preference for the Eastern Orthodox model of "ancestral" sin, understanding that Adam's sin brought forth death, and thus emphasizing death -> sin since the Garden as paradigmatic for humanity: thus, we are tempted to sin because of our fear and anxiety in the face of death.
He explores the many connections between psychology and the faith when it comes to this model, and sets forth two main means by which the fear of death leads to sin. The primary, direct means involves anxiety about maintaining survival, leading to a Hobbesian "state of nature" of suspicion, jealousy/envy, and aggression toward others. Yet even in "developed societies" which have transcended a lot of basic survival anxiety, the fear of death gets expressed in a neurotic form of death avoidance: the quest for meaning, significance, or legacy in the face of death and oblivion. In this way we are tempted to invest great power and meaning in our efforts for institutions or self so as to "make a name" for ourselves, receive commendation from the powers/institutions, etc., even though those same powers and institutions are as subject to death as we are.
In light of this the author points the way forward in Christ as the establishment of a "eccentric identity," one received as a gift from God, not something we own, and which allows for kenosis - the emptying of self on behalf of others, freeing us to truly love. He does not suggest that there is no place at all for any fear of death, understanding that part of valuing life involves reverencing it and maintaining it despite sufferings. As a way forward he encourages doxological thanksgiving and praise, always thankful to God for what He has done and to center oneself in God, to sing, and the "little way" of Therese of Lisieux, to find "small" ways to die to self and live to others in everyday life. He concludes with a good warning against idolatry - when the power/institution in which we invest our meaning is god/religion so as to make it a power that enslaves us to death - and to understand how God is first and foremost liberated and free, unable to be truly placed in any human box. The epilogue is a commendation of the concept of the harrowing of hell, the Christus Victor premise of Jesus liberating souls from death.
A very compelling and powerful book whose main points deserve significant consideration. I find it very hard to argue with his assessments.
March 27, 2023
Richard Beck consistently blows my mind with his theological and psychological insight. This book is gold! Particularly for Protestant-background readers who would benefit from a more robust view of what happens in salvation. Beck writes about liberation from the slavery of the fear of death in such a way that builds up and inspires me to follow Jesus!
October 30, 2015
This was a fascinating book, full of profound insight. Richard Beck, a professor of psychology, combines theology with psychology in a very practical way here. He starts by exploring the Eastern Orthodox view on sin/death (and it should be noted here that this is a much older view) - which is a reversal of the Agustustinian idea of Original Sin: the Eastern Orthodox view is that death causes sin. Or to put it a bit more specifically, the fear of death is what causes sin. So it's a vicious cycle - Adam and Eve introduced death in the Garden of Eden, which causes more sin, which causes more death...and so on and so forth. This is why, according to them, Paul writes in I Cor. 15:56: "The sting of death is sin."
And so in their view, this is why Christ had to conquer death in order to free us. This is also why, according to them, death is the last enemy to be destroyed according to I Cor. 15:26. To follow the logic even further - I John 3:8 says that "[t]he reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work", and when we ask what the devil's work is, it's curious that Heb. 2:14 seems to support this reversal of death causing sin rather than sin causing death, as it says that the devil is "the one who has the power of death", rather than "the one who has the power to cause sin."
This view brings a new strategy to the table, beyond the "gospel of sin management", as Dallas Willard puts it. If our strategy is to manage sin, we will never really get very far - but if the fear of death is the root of the problem, we may find conquering this fear to be more effective.
Beck explores how this fear of death plays out in the affluent Western culture as a neurosis - a slavish duty to seem fine and do well all on our own, in an effort to deny our own mortality. As Beck puts it:
Perhaps most importantly, this neurotic fear of death even plays out in our religious structures - we mask this fear through them:
And so in their view, this is why Christ had to conquer death in order to free us. This is also why, according to them, death is the last enemy to be destroyed according to I Cor. 15:26. To follow the logic even further - I John 3:8 says that "[t]he reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work", and when we ask what the devil's work is, it's curious that Heb. 2:14 seems to support this reversal of death causing sin rather than sin causing death, as it says that the devil is "the one who has the power of death", rather than "the one who has the power to cause sin."
This view brings a new strategy to the table, beyond the "gospel of sin management", as Dallas Willard puts it. If our strategy is to manage sin, we will never really get very far - but if the fear of death is the root of the problem, we may find conquering this fear to be more effective.
Beck explores how this fear of death plays out in the affluent Western culture as a neurosis - a slavish duty to seem fine and do well all on our own, in an effort to deny our own mortality. As Beck puts it:
But we know this to be a sham, a collective delusion driven by the fear of death. I’m really not fine and neither are you. But you are afraid of me and I’m afraid of you. We are neurotic about being vulnerable with each other. We fear exposing our need and failure to each other. And because of this fear - the fear of being needy within a community of neediness - the witness of the church is compromised. A collection of self-sustaining and self-reliant people - people who are all pretending to be fine - is not the Kingdom of God. It’s a church built upon the delusional anthropology we described earlier. Specifically, a church where everyone is “fine” is a group of humans refusing to be human beings and pretending to be gods. Such a “church” is comprised of fearful people working hard to keep up appearances and unable to trust each other to the point of loving self-sacrifice. In such a “church” each member is expected to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining, thus making no demands upon others. Unfortunately, where there is no need and no vulnerability, there can be no love.
Perhaps most importantly, this neurotic fear of death even plays out in our religious structures - we mask this fear through them:
Fearing death - neurotically manifested as a fear of “failure” or being needy in American culture - we slavishly pursue “success” as it is defined by the surrounding culture. Even more troubling, we become hostile toward out-group members who call our hero system into question.
The great problem in all this - a problem we need to face before concluding - is how God and religion undergird and support the cultural hero system. Cultural hero systems and religion are deeply interconnected - in fact, they are generally synonymous - with our “God” or “gods” providing the warrant for our way of life. Recall that in order for hero systems to confer immunity in the face of death, they must be experienced as immortal and eternal. And there is no better way to create that sense of immortality than to baptize and sacralize the hero system, to fuse our way of life with the way of God.
What this means is that “God” and religious institutions can become as enslaved to the fear of death as everything else in the culture. The church can become as much a principality and power as any other cultural institution. And if this is so, service to “God” and “the church” can produce satanic outcomes as much as, if not more so, any other form of service to the power of death in our world.
In biblical terms, this is idolatry - when “God” and religion become another form of our slavery to the fear of death, another fallen principality and power demanding slavish service and loyalty. Idolatry is when our allegiances to the faith-based principalities and powers, and the cultural institutions they are wedded to (e.g., the nation-state), keep us enslaved to death, bound to the fear-driven cycle of sin as we become paranoid and hostile toward out-group members. It’s not news that much of the hostility and violence in the world has been rooted in religious conflict.
Idolatry, then, is the slavery of God where “God” and “the church” become another manifestation of our slavery to death, another form of “the devil’s work” in our lives.
June 8, 2014
At some point during Richard Beck’s The Slavery of Death, I found my reading transformed into worship. Beck, a regular blogger at Experimental Theology, is a skilled thinker who has mastered the art of integrating theology and psychology. This gift is nowhere more manifest than in this book, self-described as an attempt to “bring modern psychological science into conversation with Orthodox theology to illuminate what the writer of Hebrews describes as ‘slavery to the fear of death.’” (xiii) Beck’s thesis is that the fear of death, observed and analyzed by modern psychology, has demonically enslaved humanity and ensures that we will live selfish and violent lives. Salvation is thus found when death is defeated through Christ’s resurrection and his people, no longer afraid, are free to love sacrificially.
Beck’s work, a relatively short read, is divided into three parts. Part 1 (“The Last Enemy”) lays out the theological foundation for his thesis and explores the Orthodox understanding of sin and atonement. He highlights the Orthodox tradition of emphasizing death as the ultimate enemy of mankind. It is our mortality, inherited at birth, which produces in us the desire to grasp onto our lives and leads us into sin. Part 2 (“Held in Slavery by Their Fear of Death”) is Beck’s description of this slavery to the fear of death and its role in producing the devil’s works from a psychological perspective. He artfully expounds on the distinction between basic and neurotic anxiety as he illustrates the power which death holds over humanity. Beck draws frequently from the work Arthur McGill and Ernest Becker as he explores this specific interaction between psychology and the Scriptures. Part 3 (“There is No Fear in Love”) is Beck’s conclusion that it is love which leads to an emancipation fromthe fear of death. Further, Beck helpfully flushes out examples of how that liberation might be accomplished. He states, “To be set free from the slavery to the fear of death is to be liberated from self-interest in the act of genuine love. Thus the sign of Christ’s victory in our lives over sin, death, and the devil is the experience and expression of love. This is resurrection and life.” (24)
This book is both illuminating and provocative. It is a very brief read, which makes it all the more accessible. I highly recommend it, particularly to anyone interested in:
the relevance of Eastern Orthodox theology (including the Christus Victor theory of atonement)
the relevance of psychology to Christian theology
a thoughtful exploration of the meaning of Hebrews 2:14-15
a pastorally practical and theologically rich guide to living a life of resurrection
I received this book from Wiph & Stock (Cascade Books) in exchange for a fair review.
Beck’s work, a relatively short read, is divided into three parts. Part 1 (“The Last Enemy”) lays out the theological foundation for his thesis and explores the Orthodox understanding of sin and atonement. He highlights the Orthodox tradition of emphasizing death as the ultimate enemy of mankind. It is our mortality, inherited at birth, which produces in us the desire to grasp onto our lives and leads us into sin. Part 2 (“Held in Slavery by Their Fear of Death”) is Beck’s description of this slavery to the fear of death and its role in producing the devil’s works from a psychological perspective. He artfully expounds on the distinction between basic and neurotic anxiety as he illustrates the power which death holds over humanity. Beck draws frequently from the work Arthur McGill and Ernest Becker as he explores this specific interaction between psychology and the Scriptures. Part 3 (“There is No Fear in Love”) is Beck’s conclusion that it is love which leads to an emancipation fromthe fear of death. Further, Beck helpfully flushes out examples of how that liberation might be accomplished. He states, “To be set free from the slavery to the fear of death is to be liberated from self-interest in the act of genuine love. Thus the sign of Christ’s victory in our lives over sin, death, and the devil is the experience and expression of love. This is resurrection and life.” (24)
This book is both illuminating and provocative. It is a very brief read, which makes it all the more accessible. I highly recommend it, particularly to anyone interested in:
the relevance of Eastern Orthodox theology (including the Christus Victor theory of atonement)
the relevance of psychology to Christian theology
a thoughtful exploration of the meaning of Hebrews 2:14-15
a pastorally practical and theologically rich guide to living a life of resurrection
I received this book from Wiph & Stock (Cascade Books) in exchange for a fair review.
January 25, 2016
One of those popular theology books that attempts to overturn received wisdom and offer a newer, fresher, and presumably better take on the Gospel. I found this one less convincing than most. While fear of death can certainly have a major influence on both individuals and communities, driving decisions and reshaping lives and institutions, Beck attempts to prove far too much. He has found a good hammer, and nails are everywhere. I found his attempt to redefine possession as being under the controlling psychological influence of institutions and movements created by the fear of death particularly far-fetched, and more than a little materialist in outlook.
The idea that sin is a result of death and not the other way around is likewise hard to swallow. Beck portrays this as a merely Protestant teaching, but it's straight up Biblical. "The wages of sin is death," not vice versa. Eve does not ignore God's command and eat the fruit out of anxiety resulting from the fear of a death which will only be an issue if she eats the fruit. And this a central pillar, if not the entire point, of the book.
There are surely sectors of the church that need to reacquaint themselves with the Bible's teaching on death and the resurrection, but this is not the first place I would send them. Those who most need it are more likely to gain an equal and opposite error here, if not a worse one, than any truly valuable insight.
The idea that sin is a result of death and not the other way around is likewise hard to swallow. Beck portrays this as a merely Protestant teaching, but it's straight up Biblical. "The wages of sin is death," not vice versa. Eve does not ignore God's command and eat the fruit out of anxiety resulting from the fear of a death which will only be an issue if she eats the fruit. And this a central pillar, if not the entire point, of the book.
There are surely sectors of the church that need to reacquaint themselves with the Bible's teaching on death and the resurrection, but this is not the first place I would send them. Those who most need it are more likely to gain an equal and opposite error here, if not a worse one, than any truly valuable insight.
March 15, 2016
This book was recommended by James Jordan while he was lecturing on the book of Exodus recently. Since I'm a James Jordan fanboy, I immediately bought the book. From the first page I knew this would be one of the best reads of the year for me.
The premise of the book is to get Christians to realize that although the wages of sin is death, the relationship of sin and death is complex (Beck calls it a tangle). Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23) and death in turn leads to more sin (1 Cor. 15:56).
So if you want to stop sinning, you can't do that unless you somehow deal with the fundamental issue of your slavery to death. More especially your slavery to the fear of death. So the book is an extended meditation on Hebrews 2:14-15 and how Jesus has accomplished a salvation that does exactly what we need.
To me the most valuable part of the book was the section on community. We tend to answer, "fine!" when somebody asks us how we are. Beck shows how that tendency betrays that we are enslaved to the fear of death. Failure, weakness, and needs are a kind of death, and if I deny I have any, I'm betraying the fact that I am afraid of and avoiding all association with those things, and thus enslaved to the fear of death.
Every Christian needs to read this one, or at least every pastor so he can teach this stuff.
The premise of the book is to get Christians to realize that although the wages of sin is death, the relationship of sin and death is complex (Beck calls it a tangle). Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23) and death in turn leads to more sin (1 Cor. 15:56).
So if you want to stop sinning, you can't do that unless you somehow deal with the fundamental issue of your slavery to death. More especially your slavery to the fear of death. So the book is an extended meditation on Hebrews 2:14-15 and how Jesus has accomplished a salvation that does exactly what we need.
To me the most valuable part of the book was the section on community. We tend to answer, "fine!" when somebody asks us how we are. Beck shows how that tendency betrays that we are enslaved to the fear of death. Failure, weakness, and needs are a kind of death, and if I deny I have any, I'm betraying the fact that I am afraid of and avoiding all association with those things, and thus enslaved to the fear of death.
Every Christian needs to read this one, or at least every pastor so he can teach this stuff.
April 17, 2023
I still have high respect for Richard Beck, because he continues to be what Alastair Roberts called a "non-reactive social justice warrior." I like that he has avoided going liberal, and I still think a lot of the psychology in this book is good, though perhaps I would not look so much to fear-of-death to explain violence; a lot has to do with money and other mundane things like that.
Anyway, the theology that he picked is not theology I would pick, today. It's not evil, and it probably isn't where I would really start with Mr. Beck if I were sitting down with him (I would begin with cultural stuff and maybe even natural law, or better with just getting to know him as a friend and forgetting the ideology). But my mind is in a different place now.
Anyway, the theology that he picked is not theology I would pick, today. It's not evil, and it probably isn't where I would really start with Mr. Beck if I were sitting down with him (I would begin with cultural stuff and maybe even natural law, or better with just getting to know him as a friend and forgetting the ideology). But my mind is in a different place now.
April 20, 2015
A deeply engrossing and enlightening blend of Christus Victor theology and 20th Century theological and psychological inquiries into death. This book is based on a series of blog posts on the authors blog, Experimental Theology, and begins to undo Reformed and evangelical understandings of sin, satan, and death. I heard several hours of an interview with Beck on the podcast Beyond the Box which is really worth listening to and is almost a better presentation of the material than the book. Regardless, this book is insightful and thought provoking and has given me more hope to be engaged in my faith than I have had in a long time. Highly recommended.
April 20, 2021
A stunning read, that commands attention. Not to be taken lightly.
January 17, 2023
I might have given this five stars but my head is still spinning and it’s going to take awhile for me to process all of this. But, wow. This is a new way of looking at many things and yet it’s a very old way that many of us never heard.
He begins by explaining the Orthodox view of what happened in the garden and subsequently, salvation. Then he explores the fear of death from a modern, psychological view. He uses the works of several writers as well as biblical texts. Then he comes back to what is possible if and when we are no longer slaves to the fear of death. We are free to love as God intended us to.
Beck has some excellent insight into baptism, the cross, salvation, even singing and prayer. These aren’t alternative views but he takes these elements that most Christians are so familiar with and shows a deeper level of meaning and understanding of them.
Just before it gets completely overwhelming, Beck brings us back to daily life and real examples of what this all means. He begins to answer questions that I had as I began to read the book.
The concept of the fear of death and slavery to the fear of the death gets murky for me at times. I began taking notes in the second half of the book but really needed to do that from the beginning so I could have a better grasp of the entire concept and his thought process.
Beck addresses questions I’ve asked for years but felt like I was the only one who had those questions. He also explains some things that have left me frustrated and discouraged, but now at least I have an idea of possibly why people behave a certain way.
He begins by explaining the Orthodox view of what happened in the garden and subsequently, salvation. Then he explores the fear of death from a modern, psychological view. He uses the works of several writers as well as biblical texts. Then he comes back to what is possible if and when we are no longer slaves to the fear of death. We are free to love as God intended us to.
Beck has some excellent insight into baptism, the cross, salvation, even singing and prayer. These aren’t alternative views but he takes these elements that most Christians are so familiar with and shows a deeper level of meaning and understanding of them.
Just before it gets completely overwhelming, Beck brings us back to daily life and real examples of what this all means. He begins to answer questions that I had as I began to read the book.
The concept of the fear of death and slavery to the fear of the death gets murky for me at times. I began taking notes in the second half of the book but really needed to do that from the beginning so I could have a better grasp of the entire concept and his thought process.
Beck addresses questions I’ve asked for years but felt like I was the only one who had those questions. He also explains some things that have left me frustrated and discouraged, but now at least I have an idea of possibly why people behave a certain way.
November 8, 2024
Incredible. Everyone should read this book.
Beck draws from Christus Victor themes and a background in psychology to deliver a clear message about our current state as humans; one dominated by the fear of death. When we can lay down our desire to immortalize ourselves, we can freely give to others and love without fear of being emptied or taken advantage of.
And the book is not only a great cultural diagnosis but very practical in how we live out this freedom. Overcoming this deeply rooted fear frees us from ourselves and the need to be the hero our society expects us to be. We can only be so good, and only get so much better every year before our finitude catches up to us.
I loved the last chapter too that reminds us that if God becomes a “God” who only agrees with us and loves us and isn’t allowed to critique us, we have made “God” our slave. We need to constantly check our quest for self preservation and immortality to realize the benefit in picking up our cross and denying ourselves. The very thing Jesus did.
Beck draws from Christus Victor themes and a background in psychology to deliver a clear message about our current state as humans; one dominated by the fear of death. When we can lay down our desire to immortalize ourselves, we can freely give to others and love without fear of being emptied or taken advantage of.
And the book is not only a great cultural diagnosis but very practical in how we live out this freedom. Overcoming this deeply rooted fear frees us from ourselves and the need to be the hero our society expects us to be. We can only be so good, and only get so much better every year before our finitude catches up to us.
I loved the last chapter too that reminds us that if God becomes a “God” who only agrees with us and loves us and isn’t allowed to critique us, we have made “God” our slave. We need to constantly check our quest for self preservation and immortality to realize the benefit in picking up our cross and denying ourselves. The very thing Jesus did.
April 29, 2022
It took such a long time to read such a slim volume. It took over a month to read 127 pages. Beck is one of the more important contemporary Christian thinkers. I enjoy everything he writes and I know it will add so much to be TBR pile because of the way he uses sources to validate and think through ideas. SO of course I read those sources as well. This book is one I will be thinking about and processing for months to come. How does it look and feel in the action of my life? How can I think about this in new ways? What else does Christus Victor have to offer? What self-care should I have? What am I too imbibed with? Does God care that I am? How does the fear of death (which I am expanding to other areas already) create a less-fulfilling decision? Just read the book and enjoy it. Take it slow.
August 17, 2022
The sting of death is sin, but protestants typically see sin as the problem and death as the consequence. Maybe this is backward. Apart from Adam and Eve there are many passages supporting the alternative view. This is accepted in the Orthodox church. The power of death wielded by the devil is slavery to the fear of death which causes sinful practices and lifestyles. Ancestral sin in the Orthodox church differs from original sin in the western church. Denial of death (Becker) by striving for heroism in supporting "lasting" cultural systems and institutions like businesses, academics and even the institutional church. These are powers and principalities.
This book was challenging and dense. It is outside the realm of the familiar. I think I need to let some time pass and re-read it. Still, excellent and thought provoking.
This book was challenging and dense. It is outside the realm of the familiar. I think I need to let some time pass and re-read it. Still, excellent and thought provoking.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2016
This little book is poor in pages but rich in substance. Part of the reason my book-reviewing pace has been so slow over the past few months is that I read this slowly and deliberately. Beck combines the Eastern Orthodox theology of Christus Victor with the psychology of death neurosis and personal experience (both his own and that of Therese of Lisieux). The result is new and old things brought out from the starting point of the verse from Hebrews that Jesus released us from the slavery of the fear of death. The best book to pair with this volume of the Little Way is NT Wright's huge tome on The Resurrection of the Son of God. Even though on the surface they look very different, both are works through which the Spirit spoke into my life, and I can still hear the resonant echoes.
July 21, 2017
Richard Beck has done it again! I read his work "Unclean" last year and decided that I want to read all that he writes. Beck is an interdisciplinary thinker and writer, combining experimental psychology with theology.
In this work, Beck examines themes of Christus Victor--a model of atonement and salvation--alongside terror management theory. The result is spectacular: Christ has freed us from the slavery of death and from all the ways we sin as a result of our fear of death (greed, fear, and violence).
Fantastic read! This would be a great book for a small group or for a religious book club to discuss.
In this work, Beck examines themes of Christus Victor--a model of atonement and salvation--alongside terror management theory. The result is spectacular: Christ has freed us from the slavery of death and from all the ways we sin as a result of our fear of death (greed, fear, and violence).
Fantastic read! This would be a great book for a small group or for a religious book club to discuss.
February 5, 2020
A very good book. He begins by making a case that death is what was handed down from Adam, rather than a sinful nature, and that man sins because he will die, survival instinct. The next chapter makes a case for a Christus Victor view of the atonement. I suppose it helps that I believed both of these teachings before reading this, but he very helpfully lays out a biblical case that I found helpful, as well as a sort of Biblical story-line of the Christus Victor view. So, the "slavery of death" means that people's fear of death drives them into all kinds of competitive behavior, that turns us against others, resulting in a whole host of other defects, envy, jealousy, etc. A worthwhile read.
January 21, 2021
I love Richard Beck’s work. This book highlights the psychological manifestations of the fear of death and translates them into New Testament through the concept of slavery to principalities and powers. All our grasping, striving, need for validation, etc is a function of death denial and immortality seeking. Only when liberated by Christ can we be free to give of ourselves. This book challenges me to be more giving and less grasping, less concerned about external validation.
March 7, 2017
I highly recommend this book. I have always enjoyed Richard Beck's writing but this book was the most profound. Beck starts with exploring Eastern Orthodox theology of ancestral sin rather than the prevailing Protestant/Evangelical theology of original sin. He then goes toward how the entrance of death in the world actually creates sinful behavior which can be observed in behavioral psychology. The moves Beck makes in this book are subtle but have substantial impact to how we live and how we for an eccentric identity. Read this book. You will look at sin, death and resurrection life differently.
July 27, 2024
Making sense of sin and death
I have always felt it unfair that a person is born with a congenital spiritual disease (sin) and, further, condemned for it. Beck's and the Orthodox Church proposal of the origination of sin from the fear of death makes more sense to me. I recommend this book to widen people's perspective on how to think about our sins as well as dealing with it.
I have always felt it unfair that a person is born with a congenital spiritual disease (sin) and, further, condemned for it. Beck's and the Orthodox Church proposal of the origination of sin from the fear of death makes more sense to me. I recommend this book to widen people's perspective on how to think about our sins as well as dealing with it.
August 19, 2024
I’ll read it again for sure!
This book is full of incredible concepts and requires a whole lot of focus to engage with well.
I do hope someone re-writes it in a more approachable manner… these are very impactful views of God and it seems a shame that they are stuck behind a wall of difficult writing.
This book is full of incredible concepts and requires a whole lot of focus to engage with well.
I do hope someone re-writes it in a more approachable manner… these are very impactful views of God and it seems a shame that they are stuck behind a wall of difficult writing.
August 23, 2018
This book presented a new perspective to me that goes a long way toward resulting in a better understanding of what being a Christian means. An enriching, life-changing read. I want everyone to take the time to read this book.
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