The Peace and Truce of God

During a scholarly discussion of the existence of God, the famous psychologist Dr. Erich Fromm told his colleagues that instead of debating the question “Is God dead?” they should be debating the question, “Is man dead?” The psychologist explained: Man has been transformed into a thing … a producer … a consumer … an idolater of other things …

He sits for hours in front of bad television programs without even knowing that he’s bored.

He learns that millions of children around the world are literally starving to death without even relating that reality to the teachings of religion.

He joins the rat race of commerce, where personal worth is measured in terms of market values, and he remains unaware of the anxiety he is enduring.

All this represents death as Christians understand it. It is not true that physical death is the last enemy. The last enemy to be conquered is hell — which is spiritual death. The name is not important; the essence…