VALUE LIFE

A Christian examination of the many meanings of life.

“What is life? Where is life?” asks Weldemichael at the beginning of this book. “What are our expectations in life? How do we want to live? Are we living, or are we just alive on this earth?” He finally concentrates on what he considers the mystery of life itself: Where is life located, exactly? “Is it in our brains? Is it in our lungs? Is it in our hearts? Is it in our kidneys?” Ultimately, he simply concludes that it’s not an easy question with a definite answer. Scientifically minded readers may find this all a bit confusing, as the dividing line between life and death has been a matter of empirical certainty for much of human history, after all. Such readers may also have problems with other offhand comments in the book, such as the assertion that “scientists nowadays say that life is designed.” (In fact, the vast majority of scientists nowadays say that life evolved.) Religious readers may also have problems with some parts of the book, as when the author refers to “the amusing story of Job” or when he claims that God was “sad” when Adam and Eve disobeyed him in the Garden of Eden. However, Weldemichael is more centrally concerned with metaphorical and spiritual understandings of life, and these inform his more passionate urgings: “Please live to your full potential until the time God has set for you to leave this world,” he writes. “Don’t make excuses for being poor and dissatisfied.” Too many people, he asserts, measure the value of their lives by the amount of money they have, and the strongest parts of the book offer firm warnings against such materialism.

An occasionally thought-provoking inquiry into great questions.