Bringing together historical, biblical, and contemporary sources in Christian ethics, Vogt provides a long-overdue theological analysis of the ars moriendi or "art of dying" literature of four centuries ago. He then builds on that tradition by turning to the question of how the advice those authors gave to their readers must be reshaped in order to be adequate to the contemporary context. Through a careful analysis of Luke's passion narrative, Vogt uses Jesus as the primary model for being patient in the face of death and for dying well.