Praying for the who?

 

I've written piece on whether or not Christians ought to pray for the dead. You can read it here.

I'm in a book group that recently read a Russian novel about a 15th-century Orthodox mystic and it's...well, a little strange. Not my favorite, to say the least. One theme of the book was time, and in our discussions, the concept of time came up, and then, whether or not Christians can or should pray for the dead. 

While that was going on, in preparation for preaching a message in John 17, JC Ryle mentioned praying for the dead. And, I've heard it suggested that it's a proper and even spiritual way to read the Bible in a few sermons recently. 

This piece is the fruit of my thinking on the subject.