Photo credit: Marina Guimaraes | CC2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Introduction

These resources explore ethical and moral problems related to the experience of aging and death.

Messages and Resources On Aging and Death

The Problem of the Body for the Liberal Theory of Personhood: Your Body is Not Just Your Own

Text of a sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20. The resurrection of Jesus dignifies and challenges any denigration of the human body, and also focuses our attention on the significance of human faithfulness and relatedness to the Spirit of God. For the faithfulness of the human Jesus of Nazareth, and his dependence on the Spirit, accomplished God’s purpose and vision for the human — an accomplishment that Jesus shares with us. See more on Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians.

Other Christian Resources on Aging and Death

Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement. NCBI website, Jul 23, 2005.

Andy Crouch, Jahi McMath, Ariel Sharon, and the Valley of Death: Heroic Medical Procedures Can Leave Us in a Limbo Between Life and Accepting What's Beyond. Time, Jan 20, 2014.

Other Resources on Aging and Death

Julie Fine, Judge Orders Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Off Life Support. NBC Chicago, Jan 25, 2014.

Stephanie O'Neill, Knowing How Doctors Die Can Change End-Of-Life Discussions. NPR, Jul 6, 2015.

Ann Kreilkamp, How We Used to Die; How We Die Now. Exopermaculture blog, Jan 19, 2016. An Emergency Room doctor's reflection on technology and drugs.

Damon Linker, Why Opposition to Assisted Suicide is Inextricably Tied to Religion. The Week, Jan 20, 2016.

Father John Whiteford, Stump the Priest: The Death Penalty. Father John blog, Feb 20, 2016.

Rachel Aviv, What Does It Mean to Die? The New Yorker, Feb 5, 2018.

Joe V, The Patient I Failed. All Nurses, Jun 16, 2018.

Sarah Zhang, The Mother Who Never Stopped Believing Her Son Was Still There. The Atlantic, May 16, 2025. “For decades, Eve Baer remained convinced that her son, unresponsive after a severe brain injury, was still conscious. Science eventually proved her right.”

Louise Perry, The Perverse Economics of Assisted Suicide. New York Times, Jul 22, 2025.