The Fear of Death

A Word in Season: Messages by R.J. Rushdoony on the Faith for All of Life · Apr 4, 2026 · 3m

Andre Gide once wrote of a man who fell into deep despair at the thought of buying new shoes not because of the cost, but because their wear reminded him of his own. In a godless age, even aging leather becomes a memento mori. Many today live that way: terrified of time, fleeing into distraction, denial, pleasure, or noise to avoid the one reality Scripture states plainly “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. 9:27). The unbelieving die a little every day in their fear, turning life itself into a living death. Yet for the Christian, death is not a terror but a doorway, as one dying…