When Is It Right to Die?
by Joni Eareckson Tada | Book Summary
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Author: Joni Eareckson Tada
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So, we fear death. We fear dependence, we fear pain, and to some extent we even fear those who are dependent and in pain. They remind us of the uncomfortable truth: we are mortal, and one day we may experience the same. Feeding off of this fear, the drive to legalize and liberalize euthanasia grows stronger. Rhetoric is cleverly employed to make the act of killing oneself or another sound far less horrifying, perhaps even good. The questions raised by end of life or disability issues are deep. We are speaking of people in utter despair, struggling with some of the hardest experiences imaginable. The biggest question of all is What makes life worth living? The answer, it turns out, isn't found in arguments and information, but in people. When society is prepared to love by doing the hard work of caring, life is worth it. Most of all, it is found in a Person, who teaches us most supremely how to love and care for others. |
Joni Eareckson Tada is CEO of Joni and Friends, and a well-known speaker, author and disability advocate. Left quadrapelgic since a diving accident as a teenager, she has worked tirelessly to equip individuals, families and churches to develop ministry to those with disabilities.
In 2005, she was appointed to the Disability Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department. She also served on the National Council on Disability under Presidents Reagan and Bush. The Americans with Disabilities Act first draft was authored by this council.
She is the author of a number of well-loved books including, When God Weeps, A Step Further, Diamonds in the Dust, and A Spectacle of Glory.
When Is It Right to Die?
by Joni Eareckson Tada
[ Book Summary ]
| Author | Joni Eareckson Tada |
| Publisher | Zondervan |
| Date | February 22, 2018 |
| Pages | 208 |
Overview:
Our culture creates the illusion that a life lived with value is suffering-free and happy and that any other life is lived without meaning. Death, especially the process of dying, is taboo.
So, we fear death. We fear dependence, we fear pain, and to some extent we even fear those who are dependent and in pain. They remind us of the uncomfortable truth: we are mortal, and one day we may experience the same.
Feeding off of this fear, the drive to legalize and liberalize euthanasia grows stronger. Rhetoric is cleverly employed to make the act of killing oneself or another sound far less horrifying, perhaps even good.
The questions raised by end of life or disability issues are deep. We are speaking of people in utter despair, struggling with some of the hardest experiences imaginable. The biggest question of all is What makes life worth living? The answer, it turns out, isn't found in arguments and information, but in people. When society is prepared to love by doing the hard work of caring, life is worth it.
Most of all, it is found in a Person, who teaches us most supremely how to love and care for others.
Joni Eareckson Tada is CEO of Joni and Friends, and a well-known speaker, author and disability advocate. Left quadrapelgic since a diving accident as a teenager, she has worked tirelessly to equip individuals, families and churches to develop ministry to those with disabilities.
In 2005, she was appointed to the Disability Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department. She also served on the National Council on Disability under Presidents Reagan and Bush. The Americans with Disabilities Act first draft was authored by this council.
She is the author of a number of well-loved books including, When God Weeps, A Step Further, Diamonds in the Dust, and A Spectacle of Glory.