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Book Plunge: For Thou Art With Me

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  • Book Plunge: For Thou Art With Me

    How do you handle death?

    Link

    -----

    What do I think of Bruce Baker’s book published by Grace Acres? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

    Death is never an easy topic to talk about. For many of us, it can seem far away. If you’re someone with a terminal illness, you have a better awareness than many that you are living on borrowed time.

    That’s the situation of Pastor Bruce Baker. He has ALS and he knows that he only has so long to live. Yet being a pastor, one has to wonder how he approaches a sensitive topic like this. What are you thinking? Do you want to die and be with Christ? At the same time, is it possible to feel cheated, as if you’ve lived your life for God all these years and then he strikes you with a death sentence through a horrible disease?

    Baker’s book is largely a pastoral book. It’s written for those who have a terminal illness and those who love them. It’s not written from an apologetics perspective, though I understand he could write one like that as he told me in correspondence he used to teach such a class. If you’re wanting a justification for God in the face of suffering, you need to look somewhere else. If you’re wanting to know how to walk with God in the suffering, you’ve come to the right place.

    At the same time, some issues relating to an apologetic approach are discussed, such as what about assisted suicide. Baker has sympathies with the position insofar as he can understand why someone with a terminal illness would choose that route, but in the end, he makes the case against it. Overall, I find it a persuasive case against any kind of suicide ultimately.

    Naturally, being a pastor talking about death, he has a section on the gospel as a whole and what it means. If you aren’t right with God, Baker wants to make sure that you are. He also wants you to see what it means to your Christian faith when you think about not just dying but how you will die.

    He has a section on what the Bible says happens when you die. If there was one area of disagreement I had, it would have been here, and yet it’s a minor point. Baker sees the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a historical account since a name is given to the poor man. I think it’s more Jesus saying the rich man is unnamed because he’s not worth talking about and the poor man is worth talking about and he is given a name indicating that the Lord helps him. The story isn’t meant to tell us about what the afterdeath is like, but rather it’s meant to tell us about how God doesn’t view the rich with favor or the poor with shame.

    The book is also short, which I’m sure is helpful for those who do have a short time. You could go and read chapter by chapter if you want or just jump to a chapter you think is relevant. There are also sections at the end of the chapters with questions for you to think about.

    Ultimately, this is a good book to have if you’re thinking about that time and reading as someone outside of that perspective, I am sure if I had a terminal illness this would be something I’d think about a lot more. I sincerely hope that it does help those in need. We need some more writing in this kind of area for those undergoing suffering.

    In Christ,
    Nick Peters

  • #2
    Dr Baker is a personal friend of mine, and I also personally know his lead hospice nurse. She showed the book to her boss, who is sending it "up the chain", suggesting it be 'required reading' for their organization.

    Thanks, Nick!
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
      Dr Baker is a personal friend of mine, and I also personally know his lead hospice nurse. She showed the book to her boss, who is sending it "up the chain", suggesting it be 'required reading' for their organization.

      Thanks, Nick!
      Got my copy in the mail a couple days ago, but haven't had time to get to it yet (life's been pretty busy lately).
      Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

      Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
      sigpic
      I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
        Dr Baker is a personal friend of mine, and I also personally know his lead hospice nurse. She showed the book to her boss, who is sending it "up the chain", suggesting it be 'required reading' for their organization.

        Thanks, Nick!
        Did you see I'm interviewing him Saturday?
        Last edited by Cow Poke; 06-22-2019, 09:05 AM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
          Did you see I'm interviewing him Saturday?
          I did -- how do I see/hear that? Podcast? He said he's looking forward to it.
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #6
            I will record it and get it up when I can.

            He also said he heard you were a friend of mine and I told him that required a hefty bribe on your part.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
              I will record it and get it up when I can.

              He also said he heard you were a friend of mine and I told him that required a hefty bribe on your part.
              Was it two truckloads of bacon?
              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                Was it two truckloads of bacon?
                Given Nick's weight restrictions, it was probably MLP-FIM gear.
                Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
                sigpic
                I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                  Was it two truckloads of bacon?
                  If I taste bacon, Allie doesn't kiss me the rest of the day.

                  Priorities.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
                    If I taste bacon, Allie doesn't kiss me the rest of the day.

                    Priorities.
                    Eat it at 11:55 PM, then.
                    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
                      If I taste bacon, Allie doesn't kiss me the rest of the day.

                      Priorities.
                      Sooo, you're saying that y'all haven't kissed in a long time? As you said. Priorities.

                      I'm always still in trouble again

                      "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                      "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                      "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                        Sooo, you're saying that y'all haven't kissed in a long time? As you said. Priorities.
                        Allie's kisses rank way up on top.

                        Comment

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