Episode 178 “Beautiful and Terrible Things”, Christian Brady

Stone Chapel Podcasts

hosted by David Capes

Episode 178 “Beautiful and Terrible Things” with Christian Brady

Tragedy has a way of bringing people together. People who might not meet otherwise hear about and then seek out connection with people who have a shared experience.

Listeners to this podcast will recall that in 2019 the adult son of David Capes, our host, and his wife, Cathy, died at the age of 36 from a vicious and rare cancer. They have been open about their grief.

Well, years earlier Christian Brady and his wife, Elizabeth, had a tragic experience of their own when their son, Mack, age 9, died of sepsis. Parents should never have to say good-bye like this to their children.

It is unnatural, and yet it happens far too often. Christian Brady joins David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to talk about his book, Beautiful and Terrible Things: A Christian Struggle with Suffering, Grief, and Hope (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020).

Who Is Christian Brady?

Christian Brady is Professor of Ancient Hebrew and Jewish Literature and the Dean of the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky.

He is also a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, KY. He is married to Elizabeth. Together they have two children, though one they no longer see.

“Beautiful and Terrible Things”

Brady has written an important book, reflecting deeply on grief, faith and Scripture. Whoever reads this book will feel guided gently through the losses that come from life’s tragedies.

As “lament” is a common theme in Scripture, so it is in this book. He gives us the language we need to do the important work of grief.

What Scholars say about “Beautiful and Terrible Things”

Here is what Walter Brueggemann said of this book:

“Brady’s witness is to the costly process of grief and the prospect of faith that will not alleviate but will carry us through that cost.

This book will serve well those who face such anguished loss. Beyond that, the book is enriched with study questions for those who know that, sooner or later, we will all lose our loved one and will be summoned to such grief.”