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Episode 104: Jeff Chu – Grief As A Biblical Practice

By October 21, 2019February 28th, 2023No Comments

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Jeff Chu about the complexities of grief and how the Bible teaches us to mourn as they explore the following questions:

  • In what aspects of our lives do we need to practice grief?
  • Why is it hard for people to grieve?
  • How does the church inhibit people in their grief?
  • What does the Bible tell us about processing grief?
  • How does the New Testament handle grief? 
  • What role does community play in grief?
  • How does American culture influence the way we grieve?
  • How does grieving connect to the Gospel?
  • What has Jeff Chu’s background as a journalist taught him about what people need to grieve properly?
  • Why is an Old Testament perspective important when we talk about grief?
  • How do “celebrations of life” hinder the way we process grief?
  • How do we experience loss and grief in our everyday lives?
  • How does the political state of our country reflect our inability to grieve well?
  • How can we have grace for those dealing with unacknowledged loss?
  • Why are mourning and rejoicing often in tension?

Tweetables

Pithy, shareable, less-than-280-character statements from Jeff Chu you can share. 

  • “We don’t have to be perfect, we don’t have to understand God’s grace, and we don’t have to be able to make sense of the limited amount of God’s story that each of us gets to see to be loved by God and called by God and accepted by God.” @jeffchu
  • “The Christian story is not about immortality, it’s about resurrection.” @jeffchu
  • “Remembering that our God promises to redeem everything is important.” @jeffchu
  • “God already knows how we feel… so what lie are we trying to tell?” @jeffchu
  • “We do have these little griefs that punctuate our lives, partly because we love things and we love people.” @jeffchu
  • “Jesus calls us to a particular kind of grace and a particular level of empathy that is beyond us and that’s where God’s grace comes in.” @jeffchu
  • “My need to grieve is an invitation… God has made us to depend on God and to depend on others.” @jeffchu

Mentioned in This Episode

Pete Enns, Ph.D.

Pete Enns, Ph.D.

Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works. Tweets at @peteenns.