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The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come
How now shall we die? Death will come to us all, but most of us live our lives as if death does not exist. People are living longer than ever, and medicine has made dying more complicated, more drawn out and more removed from the experience of most people. Death is partitioned off to hospital rooms, separated from our daily lives. Most of us find ourselves at a loss when death approaches. We don't know how to die well. Rob Moll recovers the deeply Christian practice of dying well. For centuries Christians have prepared for the "good death" with particular rituals and spiritual disciplines that have directed the actions of both the living and the dying. In this well-researched and pastorally sensitive book, Moll provides insight into death and dying issues with in-person reporting and interviews with hospice workers, doctors, nurses, bioethicists, family members and spiritual caregivers. He weighs in on bioethical and medical issues and gives guidance for those who care for the dying as well as for those who grieve. This book is a gentle companion for all who face death, whether one's own or that of a loved one. Christians can have confidence that because death is not the end, preparing to die helps us truly live.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
April 14, 2021
When I think of a good death, there is a phrase and a person who comes to mind. The phrase comes from Scripture, one repeated five times throughout the Old Testament: “old and full of years.” The person is my grandmother. Her death could be a model for the death marked out in The Art of Dying. She made her final arrangements. She spoke to all her family. Our last conversation began “I’m going to die soon and I wanted to talk to you about my funeral.” She died the day after her Social Security check for the month deposited. On the end table, she’d written. “I won’t be needing that last check” followed by an itemized list of where to give the money away. It was a good death.
In The Art of Dying, Rob Moll laments that this is a death that has largely been lost. We cling to life with everything, extend it at all costs, with the end result that death is often seen as a lost fight than a baptism into a new life. Moll walks readers through the history of death and bereavement, noting how our theology of death has changed over time. We have become more distant and more removed from it. The church has become less involved. We have no concept of “Christian dying” and, therefore, our view of death is skewed.
Moll tells readers that they need to not be afraid of discussing death, that they should make their wishes surrounding end of life care be not just in a legal document but a known, stated, and shared belief with one’s family. He moves us back to a concept of death that is communal and shared, rather than sterile and individualistic. He points to churches as the lost anchors of this point of care—both leading up to and in the aftermath of death.
The Art of Dying is about learning to die well, to hold this life loosely in favor of the life to come, and how to aid and comfort the grieving. Moll gives us a transformational view of death that takes something ugly and brutal and, without denying that obvious reality, shows us the beauty and gentleness that can come from it as well.
Tragically, Moll’s writing proved necessary for his own family and community. In 2019, ten years after the book’s first release, Rob Moll was killed when he fell off a cliff while hiking. He was forty-one. Not the death he wrote about—full of years and in old age after a long decline—but a death sudden and tragic. And yet, his preparations and his principles stand true. His wife, Clarissa, writes in the afterword “I will be grateful always for the preparation that Rob insisted on…Rob prepared well for his death. And out of his amazing love for me, Rob prepared me well too.”
The Art of Dying needs to be on the shelf of any pastor, funeral director, hospice worker, or caretaker. It has the power to transform the way in which we approach death, whether others’ or our own. We live in the light of death. We live in a culture of resurrection. O death, where is thy victory; grave where is thy sting?
In The Art of Dying, Rob Moll laments that this is a death that has largely been lost. We cling to life with everything, extend it at all costs, with the end result that death is often seen as a lost fight than a baptism into a new life. Moll walks readers through the history of death and bereavement, noting how our theology of death has changed over time. We have become more distant and more removed from it. The church has become less involved. We have no concept of “Christian dying” and, therefore, our view of death is skewed.
Moll tells readers that they need to not be afraid of discussing death, that they should make their wishes surrounding end of life care be not just in a legal document but a known, stated, and shared belief with one’s family. He moves us back to a concept of death that is communal and shared, rather than sterile and individualistic. He points to churches as the lost anchors of this point of care—both leading up to and in the aftermath of death.
The Art of Dying is about learning to die well, to hold this life loosely in favor of the life to come, and how to aid and comfort the grieving. Moll gives us a transformational view of death that takes something ugly and brutal and, without denying that obvious reality, shows us the beauty and gentleness that can come from it as well.
Tragically, Moll’s writing proved necessary for his own family and community. In 2019, ten years after the book’s first release, Rob Moll was killed when he fell off a cliff while hiking. He was forty-one. Not the death he wrote about—full of years and in old age after a long decline—but a death sudden and tragic. And yet, his preparations and his principles stand true. His wife, Clarissa, writes in the afterword “I will be grateful always for the preparation that Rob insisted on…Rob prepared well for his death. And out of his amazing love for me, Rob prepared me well too.”
The Art of Dying needs to be on the shelf of any pastor, funeral director, hospice worker, or caretaker. It has the power to transform the way in which we approach death, whether others’ or our own. We live in the light of death. We live in a culture of resurrection. O death, where is thy victory; grave where is thy sting?
September 2, 2010
I picked up Rob Moll's first book at a time when a family member was dying ... too young. The book became a valuable way for me to think through my own responses to his death, and gently prompted me to begin thinking about how I will live well in order to die well.
This is not necessarily a book for those who are mourning, or those who are themselves dying. It is a book for those of us who are able-bodied and of sound mind - and who, because of that, would like to avoid thinking about our own death. But he challenges us to think about how we value the elderly and the dying, how we can engage them more fully in our lives. This is a book about living in the tension that is Christian death - truly the result of sin, in need of mourning, but also a harbinger of the life yet to come, and therefore a reason to rejoice. Moll pushes readers to think about how to love those who grieve, and how to undertake conversations about end of life issues with courage and sensitivity.
Journalistic in its tone and style, Moll moves easily through a range of topics related to death and dying. He is careful and thoughtful, but never shies away from difficult topics; he is starkly honest about his own struggles with death and dying.
The Art of Dying is engaging, direct, and easy to understand, but it can be a challenging read, simply because the subject matter is challenging to think about on a sustained basis. I recommend it as a way of expanding our thinking about living (and therefore dying) well, and as a way of opening up those all important conversations with family and friends, about how we hope to live out the end of our lives.
This is not necessarily a book for those who are mourning, or those who are themselves dying. It is a book for those of us who are able-bodied and of sound mind - and who, because of that, would like to avoid thinking about our own death. But he challenges us to think about how we value the elderly and the dying, how we can engage them more fully in our lives. This is a book about living in the tension that is Christian death - truly the result of sin, in need of mourning, but also a harbinger of the life yet to come, and therefore a reason to rejoice. Moll pushes readers to think about how to love those who grieve, and how to undertake conversations about end of life issues with courage and sensitivity.
Journalistic in its tone and style, Moll moves easily through a range of topics related to death and dying. He is careful and thoughtful, but never shies away from difficult topics; he is starkly honest about his own struggles with death and dying.
The Art of Dying is engaging, direct, and easy to understand, but it can be a challenging read, simply because the subject matter is challenging to think about on a sustained basis. I recommend it as a way of expanding our thinking about living (and therefore dying) well, and as a way of opening up those all important conversations with family and friends, about how we hope to live out the end of our lives.
June 30, 2021
One final gift we can give to our children is our own good death. Granted, we have little real control over the timing or the cause of our demise, but in The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come, Rob Moll explores death from the perspective of the caregiver, the bereaved, and the dying, unaware that his own death in a hiking accident would be sudden and unexpected.
In an updated Afterword, his wife Clarissa Moll describes her bereavement and healing as a mending process, reassuring readers that grief is “a pain that cannot be fixed, only borne.” The book erases any question as to the importance of honest conversations about death and end-of-life wishes that happen long before the need.
In his extensive research, Moll discovered that before there was ever such a thing as palliative care or Western notions of “the good life,” there was the historic Christian tradition of the good death in which dying well required preparation and forethought. By contrast, our modern day practice of avoiding the topic, of delegating care of the sick and elderly to professionals, and of pushing our cemeteries to the fringes of the suburbs have left us tongue-tied with the dying and queasy with the dying process.
Preparing for death can become a normal spiritual discipline alongside fasting, prayer, and meditation, for the truth is that just as all believers will one day experience death, it is nearly as certain that we will all experience grief and mourning. Freely forgiving and offering prompt apologies prepare us for both. Ultimately, embracing the reality of our own death is solid evidence that we have believed what the gospel teaches about God at work in and through our own work, for true discipleship comes with a series of deaths that ultimately lead to life.
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
In an updated Afterword, his wife Clarissa Moll describes her bereavement and healing as a mending process, reassuring readers that grief is “a pain that cannot be fixed, only borne.” The book erases any question as to the importance of honest conversations about death and end-of-life wishes that happen long before the need.
In his extensive research, Moll discovered that before there was ever such a thing as palliative care or Western notions of “the good life,” there was the historic Christian tradition of the good death in which dying well required preparation and forethought. By contrast, our modern day practice of avoiding the topic, of delegating care of the sick and elderly to professionals, and of pushing our cemeteries to the fringes of the suburbs have left us tongue-tied with the dying and queasy with the dying process.
Preparing for death can become a normal spiritual discipline alongside fasting, prayer, and meditation, for the truth is that just as all believers will one day experience death, it is nearly as certain that we will all experience grief and mourning. Freely forgiving and offering prompt apologies prepare us for both. Ultimately, embracing the reality of our own death is solid evidence that we have believed what the gospel teaches about God at work in and through our own work, for true discipleship comes with a series of deaths that ultimately lead to life.
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
May 18, 2012
Rob Moll has written a book that is a must have for pastors. I write that for several reason. On, death and dying are really not well taught in seminary. Two, pastors have to be able to deal well with the issues of aging and dying; after all unless Jesus returns, we will all face death, whether in our family, our congregation or in our selves. Three, the culture uses all sorts to 'cosmetic' actions and words to mask the reality of death - something the church did not do until the 20th century.
Moll seeks to inculcate a "Culture of Resurrection." "A culture of resurrection takes the lessons of dying well and the hope of new life in Christ and applies them throughout the life of a Christian and in the body of the church." Dying well is the key; dying full of grace. "If we cannot learn to die well (to live our final days reconciled with those we leave behind and anticipating our future life with God), we cannot learn to live well."
As J. I. Packer states in his cover note this book restores the 'good death' as the ideal for the Christian.
Moll seeks to inculcate a "Culture of Resurrection." "A culture of resurrection takes the lessons of dying well and the hope of new life in Christ and applies them throughout the life of a Christian and in the body of the church." Dying well is the key; dying full of grace. "If we cannot learn to die well (to live our final days reconciled with those we leave behind and anticipating our future life with God), we cannot learn to live well."
As J. I. Packer states in his cover note this book restores the 'good death' as the ideal for the Christian.
March 7, 2023
A thoughtful, thought-provoking discussion of death. Well worth the read.
July 21, 2024
We live in an age and culture that strives to avoid death rather than embrace it. But there is no avoiding death. Despite its subject matter, this short, readable book is far from morbid. It is quite full of hope as the author shares the importance of lifelong spiritual preparation for death, based on spiritual truths as well as Christian traditions from earlier generations and other cultures. Definitely recommend.
"Dying is an art only because through it God is at work. Only in God's hand can something ugly and terrible be transformed into a thing of beauty and purpose."
"Dying is an art only because through it God is at work. Only in God's hand can something ugly and terrible be transformed into a thing of beauty and purpose."
January 18, 2021
This book seeks to address the general ignorance and fear that surrounds death & dying in modern Christianity. In our focus on a heavenly home, modern congregations have lost many of the habits and practices that prepared previous generations to care for the dying. While medical advancements have helped to extend life, they have left our conversations on death focused on medical and technological concerns rather than spiritual. The author attempts to correct this by encouraging caretakers and other believers to face death as clearly as we have hope in the resurection.
I wish this book could be required reading for so many Christians. It admits to the fact that few pastors are trained in how to minister to those facing death, and addresses how our youth-focused churches can do more to live in community with the aged and infirm. Passages are dedicated to helpful questions that a family can ask each other long before confronted with a health crisis, and it paints a convincing picture of how our faith was lived far more intertwined with death before hospitals and nursing homes became the primary departure places in the 20th century.
There are a few times when the book drifts concerningly close to the saccharine sentimentality of "near-death literature," where authors write about the visions of the nearly departed as spiritual truth. But each time he pulls back, sometimes awkwardly, before going so far as to validate those claims of questionable merit. He uses these scenes to not just stir sentiment, but rather to encourage family members and caregivers to be willing to sit with the dying, to give an ear to whatever their stories are, and to take their final days and moments as spiritual encouragement for our blessed hope, even if we aren't given detailed portraits of what it will look like.
This book is best read as preparation for such a time, rather than while in it. Unfortunately, not many people are willing to give its subject much thought until abruptly confronted with it. But those who do read it and take it to heart may find themselves in a much better position to minister to those at the end of their life, as well as better prepared for their own end & glory to come.
I wish this book could be required reading for so many Christians. It admits to the fact that few pastors are trained in how to minister to those facing death, and addresses how our youth-focused churches can do more to live in community with the aged and infirm. Passages are dedicated to helpful questions that a family can ask each other long before confronted with a health crisis, and it paints a convincing picture of how our faith was lived far more intertwined with death before hospitals and nursing homes became the primary departure places in the 20th century.
There are a few times when the book drifts concerningly close to the saccharine sentimentality of "near-death literature," where authors write about the visions of the nearly departed as spiritual truth. But each time he pulls back, sometimes awkwardly, before going so far as to validate those claims of questionable merit. He uses these scenes to not just stir sentiment, but rather to encourage family members and caregivers to be willing to sit with the dying, to give an ear to whatever their stories are, and to take their final days and moments as spiritual encouragement for our blessed hope, even if we aren't given detailed portraits of what it will look like.
This book is best read as preparation for such a time, rather than while in it. Unfortunately, not many people are willing to give its subject much thought until abruptly confronted with it. But those who do read it and take it to heart may find themselves in a much better position to minister to those at the end of their life, as well as better prepared for their own end & glory to come.
October 9, 2014
Death may not be an exciting topic but it is certainly an important, if often overlooked subject. Which is why Rob Moll's recent book The Art of Dying is a welcome publication. The book has been written to address the question of the good way to die. Moll believes our culture does not know how to approach death because we have become so removed from experiencing it. This is a problem because we can't live well unless we are intimate with death and know how to die well. The Christian approach, Moll argues, is that death is both evil and mercy wrapped in one. Therefore there are significant benefits from knowing how to die well.
At the surface we should all be capable of dying well because people take longer to die than before which should offer plenty of preparation. The reality is exactly the opposite. For many Christians the allure of modern medicine has meant greater focus on self preservation and surviving at all costs than preparing well for death. Dying as a spiritual discipline has long been forgotten.
This is in stark contrast to christians in past centuries who practised the art of dying (ars moriendi). They had come to recognise that death not only marks entry into God's presence, it is also tremendous opportunity to witness to those around us and heal the wounds of the community. Through dying well the old saints prepared the spirit for the next life whilst impacting the present.
So what then is dying well? According to Moll a good death is a Christian death. That is to say a death or funeral that seeks to reenact or re-express the gospel. This means for the mourning community revering the body, celebrating the life, re-knitting the community and offering hope to the world. Dying well begins prior to death. This requires developing a culture of resurrection. A culture where the elderly and the dying continue their presence in the church. For the aged finding ways for them to serve is important. For the dying, it is about the rest of the congregation seeing life lived and ended with hope and faithfulness.
At the heart of dying well is a strong belief that though death is ugly, in the hands of God it is an art that he uses to sharpen us for himself. Many of us make every effort to avoid death or contemplate our own mortality. In the process we miss out on the benefits of living in light of death. Contemplating death rearranges our priorities and allows us to live lives that places God at the centre. We can avoid running away from death by building strong family relations, introducing he young to the old, and building strong support schemes. Those are the things that makes for dying well.
The book certainly makes compelling and thought provoking reading. Moll's observations of society's paradoxical attitudes to death are fascinating. He rightly notes that whilst western society is fighting hard to expand the so-called right doctors and hospitals are astounding in their ability and passionate desire to rescue cancer sufferers, accident victims or heart-attack patients.
Christians too are guilty of the same self contradiction. We believe in the victory over the grave, but then totally avoids talking about it. We fear death and are afraid to talk about it because death is an evil, the horrible rending of a person from her body, from loved ones, from the ability to be fully in God’s image. And yet, as Moll rightly observes, “Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life’s miseries. It is the entrance to life with God. Life’s passing can be a beautiful gift of God”.
Unfortunately, these lucid observations about the nature of death never really get a biblical treatment of death. Neither is it explained how death can be a defeated enemy and yet still remains a tool in God's hand. Readers are left to fill in the blacks depending on the level of their biblical knowledge. Other gaps emerge elsewhere. Prominently, Moll seems to give a silent nod to cremation but without never really explaining how such a practice, with no biblical record, is best defended. Just how do we reconcile the Christian view of the body with cremation? Especially in view of the strong emphasis Moll gives to the sacredness of the body, replete with classic quotes such as “it is to save the body that Jesus came”.
Perhaps the main weaknesses of Moll's Art of Dying lie in what the book doesn't say. Moll largely presents death as an outcome of ageing. This is helpful for many people but it turns the book to be largely about ageing rather than death per se. The reason perhaps is related to a related weakness. This is an American book written without any global reference.
The examples and all the applications do not seem to recognise a world in the Global Sourh or East where the large majority of Christians live. Indeed for many Christians in the Global South much of what is contained there probably already takes. Funerals certainly are not parties. They are serious business and opportunities for healing and restoring communities.
But even within the western audience there's confusion on who is meant to read it. The byline suggests it is for those contemplating their mortality. The detail suggests this is for church leaders. There are exhortations for dying to be regarded as a spiritual discipline by the average Christian, but its by no means reads as a book meant to deepen spirituality practically.
None of that means that the book should be thrown in the bin. It is worth a read particularly for Christian leaders of western congregations where ageing is a problem. Its reflections on how the young can learn from the old are certainly worth reading. But perhaps it's key contribution is it is an opening shot for others to write a more global and more encompassing work.
At the surface we should all be capable of dying well because people take longer to die than before which should offer plenty of preparation. The reality is exactly the opposite. For many Christians the allure of modern medicine has meant greater focus on self preservation and surviving at all costs than preparing well for death. Dying as a spiritual discipline has long been forgotten.
This is in stark contrast to christians in past centuries who practised the art of dying (ars moriendi). They had come to recognise that death not only marks entry into God's presence, it is also tremendous opportunity to witness to those around us and heal the wounds of the community. Through dying well the old saints prepared the spirit for the next life whilst impacting the present.
So what then is dying well? According to Moll a good death is a Christian death. That is to say a death or funeral that seeks to reenact or re-express the gospel. This means for the mourning community revering the body, celebrating the life, re-knitting the community and offering hope to the world. Dying well begins prior to death. This requires developing a culture of resurrection. A culture where the elderly and the dying continue their presence in the church. For the aged finding ways for them to serve is important. For the dying, it is about the rest of the congregation seeing life lived and ended with hope and faithfulness.
At the heart of dying well is a strong belief that though death is ugly, in the hands of God it is an art that he uses to sharpen us for himself. Many of us make every effort to avoid death or contemplate our own mortality. In the process we miss out on the benefits of living in light of death. Contemplating death rearranges our priorities and allows us to live lives that places God at the centre. We can avoid running away from death by building strong family relations, introducing he young to the old, and building strong support schemes. Those are the things that makes for dying well.
The book certainly makes compelling and thought provoking reading. Moll's observations of society's paradoxical attitudes to death are fascinating. He rightly notes that whilst western society is fighting hard to expand the so-called right doctors and hospitals are astounding in their ability and passionate desire to rescue cancer sufferers, accident victims or heart-attack patients.
Christians too are guilty of the same self contradiction. We believe in the victory over the grave, but then totally avoids talking about it. We fear death and are afraid to talk about it because death is an evil, the horrible rending of a person from her body, from loved ones, from the ability to be fully in God’s image. And yet, as Moll rightly observes, “Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life’s miseries. It is the entrance to life with God. Life’s passing can be a beautiful gift of God”.
Unfortunately, these lucid observations about the nature of death never really get a biblical treatment of death. Neither is it explained how death can be a defeated enemy and yet still remains a tool in God's hand. Readers are left to fill in the blacks depending on the level of their biblical knowledge. Other gaps emerge elsewhere. Prominently, Moll seems to give a silent nod to cremation but without never really explaining how such a practice, with no biblical record, is best defended. Just how do we reconcile the Christian view of the body with cremation? Especially in view of the strong emphasis Moll gives to the sacredness of the body, replete with classic quotes such as “it is to save the body that Jesus came”.
Perhaps the main weaknesses of Moll's Art of Dying lie in what the book doesn't say. Moll largely presents death as an outcome of ageing. This is helpful for many people but it turns the book to be largely about ageing rather than death per se. The reason perhaps is related to a related weakness. This is an American book written without any global reference.
The examples and all the applications do not seem to recognise a world in the Global Sourh or East where the large majority of Christians live. Indeed for many Christians in the Global South much of what is contained there probably already takes. Funerals certainly are not parties. They are serious business and opportunities for healing and restoring communities.
But even within the western audience there's confusion on who is meant to read it. The byline suggests it is for those contemplating their mortality. The detail suggests this is for church leaders. There are exhortations for dying to be regarded as a spiritual discipline by the average Christian, but its by no means reads as a book meant to deepen spirituality practically.
None of that means that the book should be thrown in the bin. It is worth a read particularly for Christian leaders of western congregations where ageing is a problem. Its reflections on how the young can learn from the old are certainly worth reading. But perhaps it's key contribution is it is an opening shot for others to write a more global and more encompassing work.
Read
November 17, 2025This is a super important book. I’ll be thinking about the themes for some time to come. It really pushes us to think about a good death and how to include those on the edges of life into our community rather than avoiding them. Moll encourages us to have the hard conversations early on. I will be trying to integrate his suggestions into my church and family and personal life.
June 1, 2024
A wonderful book for considering death in the church and those planning a “good death” for themselves or others. The afterword is not to be skipped.
April 22, 2020
How can a Christian die faithfully? While modern medicine has extended many lives, it has also removed death from our experience. For centuries, death was a normal experience. Loved ones would die at home under the care of family. Today, death happens in hospital rooms, nursing homes, and hospice homes. Rob Moll wants us to recover The Art of Dying.
Moll encourages us to look to scripture and to develop healthy rituals and spiritual disciplines. Moll says that Christians ought to die differently. Moll believes that we have overcorrected in the Christian community, that our emphasis on heaven and hope after death has negated the reality that death is difficult. Moll says, “Christians sometimes impose a kind of ban on mourning, using the hope of heaven as an excuse to avoid being confronted with someone else’s pain.”
Instead, Moll asserts, “if Christians are to know the greatness of Jesus Christ’s victory over death, they must know that death is evil.” Because death is evil, we ought to mourn those who die. In other words, “While we do not mourn as those who have no hope, we do mourn.” To say that another way, “Death is real; there is no need to say that because our loved one is in heaven, death doesn’t exist.”
Moll encourages Christians to walk the path of grief. He says that, “Proper grieving takes time, and taking that time recognizes the importance of the person’s life.” Moll cites psychological studies that indicate, on average, it takes two years to walk through a grief process and find some normalcy. I love the idea that the time in grief acknowledges the meaningfulness of the loved one’s life. Moll continues, “When Christians don’t allow for true lament, they can cut short the grieving process.”
But death is also beautiful and can point beyond the veil of this life. Moll shares stories from chaplains and healthcare workers who have seen glimpses in to the profoundly spiritual reality of death. Death can be a mercy to us in a suffering world. Moll says, “Paul called death the last enemy. Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life’s miseries.”
Moll’s book The Art of Dying is a helpful guide for Christians and those who navigate the process of death and grief with loved ones in their lives. The book is best when it serves as a practical guide, for instance when Moll walks through visiting someone near death or a funeral service, although even here the book offers thinner advice than I was hoping for. Taking the next step into concrete, practical advice, would have been helpful. Stephen’s Ministries and others offer helpful advice along these lines. I didn’t expect Moll to wrestle through some of the more difficult theological questions surrounding death and suffering, and so I wasn’t disappointed that Moll didn’t dive into those areas deeply. To lean into those questions I commend Keller’s book “Walking with God through Pain and Suffering” or Alcorn’s book, “If God is Good.”
For more reviews see www.thebeehive.live.
Moll encourages us to look to scripture and to develop healthy rituals and spiritual disciplines. Moll says that Christians ought to die differently. Moll believes that we have overcorrected in the Christian community, that our emphasis on heaven and hope after death has negated the reality that death is difficult. Moll says, “Christians sometimes impose a kind of ban on mourning, using the hope of heaven as an excuse to avoid being confronted with someone else’s pain.”
Instead, Moll asserts, “if Christians are to know the greatness of Jesus Christ’s victory over death, they must know that death is evil.” Because death is evil, we ought to mourn those who die. In other words, “While we do not mourn as those who have no hope, we do mourn.” To say that another way, “Death is real; there is no need to say that because our loved one is in heaven, death doesn’t exist.”
Moll encourages Christians to walk the path of grief. He says that, “Proper grieving takes time, and taking that time recognizes the importance of the person’s life.” Moll cites psychological studies that indicate, on average, it takes two years to walk through a grief process and find some normalcy. I love the idea that the time in grief acknowledges the meaningfulness of the loved one’s life. Moll continues, “When Christians don’t allow for true lament, they can cut short the grieving process.”
But death is also beautiful and can point beyond the veil of this life. Moll shares stories from chaplains and healthcare workers who have seen glimpses in to the profoundly spiritual reality of death. Death can be a mercy to us in a suffering world. Moll says, “Paul called death the last enemy. Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life’s miseries.”
Moll’s book The Art of Dying is a helpful guide for Christians and those who navigate the process of death and grief with loved ones in their lives. The book is best when it serves as a practical guide, for instance when Moll walks through visiting someone near death or a funeral service, although even here the book offers thinner advice than I was hoping for. Taking the next step into concrete, practical advice, would have been helpful. Stephen’s Ministries and others offer helpful advice along these lines. I didn’t expect Moll to wrestle through some of the more difficult theological questions surrounding death and suffering, and so I wasn’t disappointed that Moll didn’t dive into those areas deeply. To lean into those questions I commend Keller’s book “Walking with God through Pain and Suffering” or Alcorn’s book, “If God is Good.”
For more reviews see www.thebeehive.live.
July 16, 2021
A very thoughtful book restoring the importance of anticipating and living with "death" as an integral part of our lives--especially as Christians. If our foreparents lived with death as something all around them, our medical advances, safety tested societies and ultra-scheduled lives today has largely relegated the dying to "care homes" and hospitals. At the same time, these medical advances mean that most of us will be dying "slowly"--that is, of old age and not so much of sudden and unexpected deaths, but of longer declines into death.
Moll argues persuasively that we should take advantage of such slower declines into death by "living well" and especially relationally with our family and friends. We should also prepare ourselves--not only by cleaning up our earthly obligations (including our "forgiveness work"), but also by preparing us spiritually into our passage to our soul's next phase. Here, Moll posits for Christians the concept that our culture should be a "culture of resurrection". He notes the familiar statements Jesus made as to the need for seeds to die before they can yield multiple plants, and the promise of Heaven more generally.
His central message is for us to integrate our lives with the knowledge we will both die and live thereafter in Heaven, and so we should live our lives anticipating what we know is God's plan for us to live hereafter.
Other insights include living inter-generationally--too often today we are living lives segmented by generations, and making sure as we age to continue to seek contact with younger generations--hopefully sharing our experience as well as admitting our need for help.
There is an additional poignancy to this book--Moll died nine years after he wrote this book, at the age of 41 in a mountain climbing accident.
I highly recommend this book to all who are seeing death around them, either for relatives or friends or have realized that we are all mortal.
Moll argues persuasively that we should take advantage of such slower declines into death by "living well" and especially relationally with our family and friends. We should also prepare ourselves--not only by cleaning up our earthly obligations (including our "forgiveness work"), but also by preparing us spiritually into our passage to our soul's next phase. Here, Moll posits for Christians the concept that our culture should be a "culture of resurrection". He notes the familiar statements Jesus made as to the need for seeds to die before they can yield multiple plants, and the promise of Heaven more generally.
His central message is for us to integrate our lives with the knowledge we will both die and live thereafter in Heaven, and so we should live our lives anticipating what we know is God's plan for us to live hereafter.
Other insights include living inter-generationally--too often today we are living lives segmented by generations, and making sure as we age to continue to seek contact with younger generations--hopefully sharing our experience as well as admitting our need for help.
There is an additional poignancy to this book--Moll died nine years after he wrote this book, at the age of 41 in a mountain climbing accident.
I highly recommend this book to all who are seeing death around them, either for relatives or friends or have realized that we are all mortal.
November 2, 2021
As someone historically terrified of the process of dying, and of all the unknowns that entails, Moll's stories and persuasive argument for embracing slower declines (particularly in old age) lifted a certain weight of fear and convicted me in many ways. Moll expresses that, of all people, Christians are often the ones to choose aggressive treatments, seeking survival at almost all costs, rather than embracing decline as a time to prepare spiritually for death. In that sense, we look more like the world than those overcome by the peace provided by our Father. Rather than reconciling where reconciliation is necessary, rather than spending precious time with our loved ones, rather than approaching the dying process as a "spiritual discipline", we avoid death at whatever costs possible, even if that means undergoing lonely, highly invasive treatments with little promise of the outcome we hope for. Too many people now die isolated from their communities, when historically Christian communities would surround their dying in profound ways. What a sad loss in today's modern society...
I was also convicted of the fact that there's SUCH a heavy emphasis on ministering to youth, and not nearly as much attention put towards preparing souls for the transition to death and new life. Christian churches in the United States are just as guilty as the culture of elevating youth and avoiding aging. In too many churches we see robust afterschool programs, lively worship, and happily accept the elderly and dying as those on the outside looking in rather than fellow Saints that, historically, were surrounded and embraced and considered an integral part of the community through and after death.
This book gave me a lot to think about, and I'll definitely be going back to this one for reflection.
I was also convicted of the fact that there's SUCH a heavy emphasis on ministering to youth, and not nearly as much attention put towards preparing souls for the transition to death and new life. Christian churches in the United States are just as guilty as the culture of elevating youth and avoiding aging. In too many churches we see robust afterschool programs, lively worship, and happily accept the elderly and dying as those on the outside looking in rather than fellow Saints that, historically, were surrounded and embraced and considered an integral part of the community through and after death.
This book gave me a lot to think about, and I'll definitely be going back to this one for reflection.
June 20, 2012
Chances are you haven't read to many books about dying. Moll's important and accessible book is a good place to begin:
"Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life's miseries. It is the entrance to life with God. Life's passing can be a beautiful gift of God. This riddle of death's evil and its blessing is not difficult to solve. We enact it every Good Friday as well call the evil of Christ's death to be followed on Easter Sunday with the joy of his resurrection. We do not rejoice in Christ's death or Judas' betrayal. Yet there is no evil so great that God cannot bring joy and goodness from it. That is why death deserves our attention in life. Because we instinctively want to avoid it, to turn our face away, it is good to look death in the eye and constantly remind ourselves that our hope is in God, who defeated death."
I was very interested in his discussion of how modern medicine can subject people to aggressive treatment at the end of their lives, treatment that that doesn't necessarily improve their living or their dying. This is a discussion we really need to have but Moll's treatment is one-sided in emphasizing the problem of overtreatment. He mentions and then dismisses the concern that people with disabilities are discriminated against by being denied routine life-sustaining treatment. Moll's contention that most doctors err on the the side of overtreatment does nothing to address the very real problem that treatments are sometimes being granted or refused based on utilitarian or ableist grounds. His book sorely needs to listen to why the worry of so many people with disabilities is that they'll be given a Do Not Resuscitate order against their will, not that they'll be kept alive against their will.
"Death is indeed evil. Yet death is also a mercy; it is the final affliction of life's miseries. It is the entrance to life with God. Life's passing can be a beautiful gift of God. This riddle of death's evil and its blessing is not difficult to solve. We enact it every Good Friday as well call the evil of Christ's death to be followed on Easter Sunday with the joy of his resurrection. We do not rejoice in Christ's death or Judas' betrayal. Yet there is no evil so great that God cannot bring joy and goodness from it. That is why death deserves our attention in life. Because we instinctively want to avoid it, to turn our face away, it is good to look death in the eye and constantly remind ourselves that our hope is in God, who defeated death."
I was very interested in his discussion of how modern medicine can subject people to aggressive treatment at the end of their lives, treatment that that doesn't necessarily improve their living or their dying. This is a discussion we really need to have but Moll's treatment is one-sided in emphasizing the problem of overtreatment. He mentions and then dismisses the concern that people with disabilities are discriminated against by being denied routine life-sustaining treatment. Moll's contention that most doctors err on the the side of overtreatment does nothing to address the very real problem that treatments are sometimes being granted or refused based on utilitarian or ableist grounds. His book sorely needs to listen to why the worry of so many people with disabilities is that they'll be given a Do Not Resuscitate order against their will, not that they'll be kept alive against their will.
December 17, 2013
In this book the author chronicles society's, particularly the Christian community's, relationship with death and the dying. He makes the point that we have largely contracted out dealing with the dying to hospitals an funerals homes. We don't want to acknowledge death, deal with it, or help others through it and as a result we do not die well or grieve in a healthy way.
The book is full of inspiring stories and great thoughts--particularly when it comes to holding special services to honor the deceased and help the grieving fin community. His exposition on Jewish practices/rituals is particularly interesting.
The drawback comes in that the author seems undecided as to whether he believes people go straight or heaven--or simply "sleep" until Jesus comes. In one section he gives a blank check of credibility to near death experience in books such as 90 Minutes in Heaven, and Heaven is for Real--and then proceeds to touch on the fact that our hope is in resurrection not being an ethereal spirit floating around. He could have also spent a little more time outlining some more practical principles in how to behave in a hospital/home/church setting--he tends to repeat a lot in the latter half of the book.
Nonetheless, worth a read.
The book is full of inspiring stories and great thoughts--particularly when it comes to holding special services to honor the deceased and help the grieving fin community. His exposition on Jewish practices/rituals is particularly interesting.
The drawback comes in that the author seems undecided as to whether he believes people go straight or heaven--or simply "sleep" until Jesus comes. In one section he gives a blank check of credibility to near death experience in books such as 90 Minutes in Heaven, and Heaven is for Real--and then proceeds to touch on the fact that our hope is in resurrection not being an ethereal spirit floating around. He could have also spent a little more time outlining some more practical principles in how to behave in a hospital/home/church setting--he tends to repeat a lot in the latter half of the book.
Nonetheless, worth a read.
March 12, 2014
I feel that this book expounds and refocuses us on chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians. Verses 16-18 "do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
This book encourages us not to get stuck. To get past denial, anger, bargaining, sadness and regret, all the way to the acceptance of Ecclesiasties 3:1-2 "1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot" is God's plan.
Nowhere in the book is hastening death or denying life persuaded. This book is for those who have reached a stage somewhere between bargaining, sadness & regret, and the acceptance steps of grief. If you are mired down in denial and anger, this book will be hard to understand. Yea, impossible.
This book encourages us not to get stuck. To get past denial, anger, bargaining, sadness and regret, all the way to the acceptance of Ecclesiasties 3:1-2 "1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot" is God's plan.
Nowhere in the book is hastening death or denying life persuaded. This book is for those who have reached a stage somewhere between bargaining, sadness & regret, and the acceptance steps of grief. If you are mired down in denial and anger, this book will be hard to understand. Yea, impossible.
August 4, 2011
I'm saying this is a 5 because I feel like it is a book that everyone needs to read...or at least one similar to it. It's a bit drawn out at points but still it is something we all need to recognize. Having worked in geriatrics, I feel all these things much more acutely and have thought these very thoughts. I love the people I work with who are considered elderly. They are so interesting and funny and grumpy and forgetful and lovely and curmungeonly that I can't help but love them. People are people no matter what their age--and they need to be treated as people. (Although this is not the scope of this book, it fits the same with kids...they are people too).
I also like the end of life discussion. I'm glad that Steve and I have discussed what we would/would not pursue in the face of terminal illness and what we want included in our funerals. :) Not morbidly, just thoughtfully.
I also like the end of life discussion. I'm glad that Steve and I have discussed what we would/would not pursue in the face of terminal illness and what we want included in our funerals. :) Not morbidly, just thoughtfully.
February 3, 2021
Initially, I thought this book was going to spend considerable time reflecting on Scripture. I was therefore disappointed that the author was more concerned about how the Christian experience has been lost. It took me a while to get into the book. However, once I was decided to finish the book, I began to value the author's perspective. Past generations prepared for death. They had a more realistic, holistic approach to death that enabled them to face death and find God in it. Unfortunately, death has become like sex in the Victorian era; the great unmentionable. Both Jewish and Christian culture had a more realistic view of death and their responsibilities to those left behind, the widows and orphans. The church is the place where we learn to be Christians and his should include how we approach death. Death is an art because God is in it.
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February 5, 2012Reviewed by Herb:
In our society today, death is the taboo word for most. And the real tragedy is not only do many try to hang on to life at any cost, but we also then forgot how to face death well. Moll’s book is a welcome and gentle companion for all who face death personally or in the life of a loved one. Reading it in the light of Debbie’s father’s approaching death was an important component to helping me process what was going on in my own life. Christians can have confidence that death is not the end but a natural step into the best to come. Read this if you want to think through your approach to death for yourself or another.
In our society today, death is the taboo word for most. And the real tragedy is not only do many try to hang on to life at any cost, but we also then forgot how to face death well. Moll’s book is a welcome and gentle companion for all who face death personally or in the life of a loved one. Reading it in the light of Debbie’s father’s approaching death was an important component to helping me process what was going on in my own life. Christians can have confidence that death is not the end but a natural step into the best to come. Read this if you want to think through your approach to death for yourself or another.
January 24, 2022
We do much more avoiding of death (we shy from using the word) than preparing for it. Moll would contend that we should separate death from life. Our living should be intertwined with dying and vice versa. Even our churches fail us by dividing into young churches and churches full of gray heads.
Drawing on much experience and interviews Moll describes and suggests how to prepare for death, not only our own but our parents' and our spouse's. If you think this subject does not pertain to you, then this book is especially for you.
Drawing on much experience and interviews Moll describes and suggests how to prepare for death, not only our own but our parents' and our spouse's. If you think this subject does not pertain to you, then this book is especially for you.
May 24, 2022
Read for SS group, Winter/Spring 2022.This book gets the reader to the point of thinking, talking about, and preparing for death. I did not like all the chapters but I did like the discussions that I had with my friends. I would recommend this book along with Being Mortal as a place to start. The author of this book died suddenly, after finishing the book. His wife, widowed in her 40s with young children was devastated but she also was prepared because they had talked while he wrote the book. The afterward is by his wife.
May 16, 2015
Technology has given everyone hope. There is hope around the corner for the next best drug or technology that will prolong our life. However, we as the author states has lost "the art of dying." We have made death a taboo subject that cannot be discussed or debated for fear that it might offend instead of lift up. The author bring to the fore many ideas worth talking about with the living and the dying.
December 18, 2014
This book is incredibly valuable, and unique. I greatly appreciate Rob's exhortation for the church to have greater initiative in the lives of elderly and dying members. A valuable expansion or follow-up to the book would be a separate work or additional chapter(s) on sudden death, and how that is different than the more typical "gradual" death.
August 9, 2020
Excellent book. Highly recommended
We live in a culture that doesn’t talk about death; that almost pretends it’s not there. I think that’s one of several reasons why Covid-19 has had such impact. This is a thoughtful and sensitive look at death: one which is highly necessary, because this is a graduation that’s not optional
We live in a culture that doesn’t talk about death; that almost pretends it’s not there. I think that’s one of several reasons why Covid-19 has had such impact. This is a thoughtful and sensitive look at death: one which is highly necessary, because this is a graduation that’s not optional
July 29, 2011
What a phenomonal book! I couldn't put it down. I am contemplating using it for a small group study. It is full of information/concepts we all need. We must all face death one day, and there can and should be good deaths for all of us.
June 24, 2013
Really a 3.5 as Rob Moll provides a sound theological orientation towards death. This is a book that's good to read when you or a loved one is not facing death knowing that at some point you will be. It's also a resource for those with loved one dying -- either young or old.
July 26, 2015
Great book about the importance of mourning, caring for the elderly, and thinking about and planning for our own deaths and the deaths of those we care about. Sounds morbid, but Moll argues (successfully, I think) that this sort of contemplation allows us to live our lives more purposefully.
March 25, 2015
Helpful exploration of cultural challenges of approaching death in today's culture. Opened my eyes to challenges for Christians face today. For those who are dealing with death from a distance and not up close themselves.
October 24, 2016
A very helpful book on death and the dying process. I think this would be a very helpful book for a seminary class or for a small-group discussion at a church.
I also think the discussion questions in the back are very helpful and reflective.
I also think the discussion questions in the back are very helpful and reflective.
January 10, 2019
This book was given to me when my Dad was sick but I ended up reading it after he passed. It was a great conversation partner to help me reflect on what I had experienced. Thankful for his care and wisdom.
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