I Tell You a Mystery: Life, Death, and Eternity [Paperback]

Christoph Johann Arnold (Author), Johann Christoph Arnold (Author), Madeleine L'Engle (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

This best-selling volume addresses fears every human faces - vulnerability, illness, aging, and dying. Yet at its core this book is more about living than dying. Arnold says living for a cause greater than ourselves enables us to face eternity with the strength that comes from faith. Drawing on stories of people he has known and counseled as pastor, relative, or friend, Arnold shows how suffering can be given meaning, and despair overcome. He offers the assurance that even today, in our culture of isolation and death, there is hope. As you read, you'll meet individuals who lived life to the fullest by serving others.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This lovely, inspiring collection of meditations by the senior elder of the Bruderhof is as much an introduction to the extraordinary witness of that singularly ordinary community as it is a reflection on the fullness of life in the face of death. Combined with a foreword by Madeleine L'Engle and a note to readers written by Mumia Abu-Jamal from death row, this is a powerful collection indeed. Most of the book is devoted to stories of ordinary people--both inside and outside the Bruderhof community--who have faced their own deaths or the deaths of others with courage and dignity. Because Arnold's writing is simple and elegant, it allows the lives of ordinary people to speak with a clarity that is too often denied. That in itself is a commendation of the simplicity of the Bruderhof, a simplicity that is likely to leave readers not only comforted but also curious. A brief section on the Bruderhof and sources for additional information add to the book's value as a library resource. Steve Schroeder

Review

Drawing on stories of people he has known and counseled as pastor, relative, or friend. Christoph Arnold shows how suffering can be given meaning, and despair overcome. He offers the assurance that even today, in our culture of isolation and death, there is such a thing as hope. I Tell You A Mystery will prove itself to be rewarding reading for the believer trying to come to grips with the largest questions we can ever address, the meaning of life, the mystery of death, and the promise of eternity. I Tell You A Mystery is recommended reading for all Christians, but especially for those with responsibilities touching upon the terminally ill and families touched by fatal tragedy. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Plough Publishing House; First Edition edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874860830
• ISBN-13: 978-0874860832
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My mother died of Cancer. This book helped me through, March 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: I Tell You a Mystery: Life, Death, and Eternity (Paperback)

I Tell you a Mystery; Life, Death, Eternity" with a foreword
by Madeleine L'Engle is the best book that I found on the
market dealing with Death, Dying and Bereavement. My family
experienced a lot of death and we were hurting. We did not
know how to deal with it. It seems like death and bereavement is something no one wants to talk about it. And
even when one looses a beloved one like a parent or brother
and sister one is expected in our Society to act normal
within a few days. This all changed when we got a copy of
"I Tell you a Mystery." The stories contained in this book
everyone and anyone young and old can have real empathy with. I highly recommend this book to all ages. Even little children just love to read the stories which this
book contains.
Paul and Betty Winter

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do YOU have the faith to face death at any time?, February 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: I Tell You a Mystery: Life, Death, and Eternity (Paperback)

This book made me face the question squarely. I was touched by the many examples of ordinary people facing death with faith in God, and a hope in the eternal.

Those whose stories appear in this book had the same fears and worries that you and I do about death, but faith and joy was given to them

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, memorable, and interesting., March 29, 2004

By 

Neville G. Kiser "NGK" (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Tell You a Mystery: Life, Death, and Eternity (Paperback)

Easily a book you could read in a day or less, "I TELL YOU A MYSTERY" offers real human stories and insights into life and death. It sounds like a downer of a book, but it actually filled me with much more hope than I thought it would. I will remember a few of these stories forever, no doubt, and I'm sure they will help me in my own journey, when I begin to lose those closest to me.