Earlier this month, in his “Five Questions” series, Rick Apperson interviewed Rick James, author of A Million Ways to Die (David C. Cook, 2010). Sometimes in this series, the responses are short, but James provided much material worthy of consideration.
You would do best to read the full answers to each question, but for those who prefer, here’s a bit of the set-up from the first, and fuller answers to the second and third…
1. In a nutshell, can you explain what your new book, “A Million Ways To Die” is about?
The goal of this book is not to inflate the biblical concept of death but to shrink it, make it bite size: to show its relevance to our daily lives and spiritual growth. The Bible focuses on the concept, the practice, and the process – the small “d” of death – far more than on the capitol D of death.
The small “d” of death relates to every Christian. While we may never die in our attempts to witness, our reputation certainly can. As everyone has an ego, the death of pride is a martyrdom to be shared by all, just as everyone can experience the death of a dream, a job, a hope, a relationship. our ego, our reputation, etc. Everyone gets a chance to die.
What I hope to show in the book is that the principle of death is operant in just about everything of spiritual value, and that it’s something we can and should experience every single day in some way, shape or form, even within our unique cultural context…
…The supernatural dynamic of the Christian life (Christ in us) is accessed, experienced and unleashed through our daily deaths. The Christian life is the resurrected life.
2. You mention in your book about “daily deaths”. Can you explain that?
When we hear of self-sacrifice, giving our life away, carrying he cross, dying to self, etc. etc., we tend to think of horrific suffering or persecuted third-world believers. But we miss the fact that in its theology of death, the Scripture’s primary focus is on the far-from-fatal daily deaths of the Christian life: the little deaths, the domesticated house-cat variety. Humbling ourselves for example is a little death. The apostle Paul refers to his trials as a series of little deaths. Repentance is a form of death. Any time we say ‘no’ to our flesh or love sacrificially we are dying to self. Letting someone else have the last word, refusing to do image management or defend our reputation – this is the subject of Scripture, and the fabric of daily life.
Let me give a couple practical examples: I would say abstaining from gossip is a little death. When someone tells you all the glorious dirt and details of someone in, among, or outside of your social click, there is the experience or sensation of life – an infusion of energy. When we recognize that our umbilical cord is tied to the gossip, providing a steady flow of life to our Flesh, well then, we have a choice to make. To choose not to gossip is cutting the umbilical cord. A small but significant death.
Here’s another example: “I looked at porn on my computer last night.” I mean, I didn’t really; I’m just giving an example. In the humility of confessing our sin to one another, there is a death. To make such an admission is tantamount to putting our ego in front of a firing squad.
3. What is so great about dying?
Absolutely nothing…except it’s the only way to experience resurrection life and living.
Jesus’ summation of discipleship is that it’s a path of death not a path to death. The path itself is one of death, but where the path leads is to life, and it’s life that we want, not death.
Death has exactly zero intrinsic value. It’s just that death is the only road that travels to these destinations: resurrection, transformation, and transfiguration. By definition resurrection can only be experienced by something that’s dead, and this is what inflates the value of death.
If the Christian life is a string of little deaths – and it is – it is more importantly a string of little resurrections.
Someday, we will physically die and be resurrected. But it’s important to observe that each day is filled with dress rehearsals: little overtures or echoes of death and resurrection that will ultimately crescendo in our actual death and resurrection.
…Continue reading questions 4 and 5 here.