how God does not wish us to die. For Noah to eat the flesh of humans, he would
have to kill them first. This would be against the commandments, and would also
go against God’s wishes to keep us on the earth until he decides otherwise.
Verse 6 says, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for
in the image of God made he man”. This shows how God is telling them not to
murder. God says if they do murder, they will be offending God, as they are
God’s image. Therefore, the man who murders will be severely punished.
Psalm 139 shows how it was God that made us, and intended us to be born. It
Says God has covered us in our mother’s womb, meaning he has put us there.
He was the one who decided that we were going to be born, and he loves us.
This shows that he loves even the sinners, and will love everyone he made.
Acts 17 also states that “…we are his offspring”, showing that God made humans,
and would therefore not like us to perish before he meant us to. He created us,
and does not want to destroy us until necessary.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that
God’s spirit lives in you! So if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy
them. For God’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple”. God is proud of his temple, because he created it, and sees it as holy. Therefore, he is proud of us, because he created us. To destroy us would be going against God’s wishes, as he would not want to destroy anything holy to him.
All these passages from the Bible show why Christians believe in the sanctity of life. God made us, therefore, we are seen as special or holy. He does not want us to leave the Earth until he is ready for us to do so. This shows God wants us to live full lives, and therefore Christians want everyone to live full lives, until God decides to end their life. This means Christians will understand the sanctity of live, and will want to uphold it and God’s wishes.
- HOW DOES CHRISTIAN TEACHING INFLUENCE PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS EUTHANASIA?
Many people believe Euthanasia should be made legal, because they feel everyone should have the right for an easy and gentle death. However, most Christians believe that it is still a type of murder, and as the Bible says this is forbidden, it should not be allowed. Christians are against Euthanasia, because God is against it. God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, and his humanity was of great importance. It must be, if God decided to take on our likeness. Also, Christ died to take away our sins, and put us back in a good relationship with God. This shows the value God places on us. Christians uphold the sanctity of human life. Also as God made man in his own image, God is life, and he breathed life into man. This shows life is precious, and needs to be preserved. However, although there are Christians who believe in banning Euthanasia, there are some who agree with it. They feel everyone has the right to decide what they do with their lives, as God gave humans dominion over other animals. Also, they believe as God wants everyone to have quality of life, if someone does not have this, they should be able to end their life. Although this is true, God also does not want people to die before he knows it is time. It is not right to “play God” and decide whether someone can live or die. Also, God is love. Some Christians believe that because of this, to stop suffering is a loving thing to do, and would bring more glory to God than keeping a suffering person alive. Other Christians may argue with this, saying it is more compassionate to care for the dying, rather than to speed up their death. They also believe there may be a purpose to someone’s suffering, and they can learn something from it. This would mean, to kill someone is not the right thing to do. Another argument is that God has given people free will to do what they want with their lives. However, many do not agree that Euthanasia should be used, as if the suffering person is in a lot of pain, they would not know what they are saying. They may want to end their life, when they would usually not want to. Also, if someone is killed one day, a cure for their illness may be found in the near future. This means, that if the person had stayed alive a while longer, they could have been cured.
The Voluntary Euthanasia Society believes that it should be made legal in this country, although all their attempts to pass it in government have failed. If it was to be passed, euthanasia would be allowed to anyone over eighteen, provided that: “two doctors believed the patient to be suffering from a serious physical illness or impairment reasonably thought in the patient’s case to be incurable, and expected to cause considerable distress.” Euthanasia is also illegal in the Netherlands, but if certain procedures are followed, a doctor who administrates euthanasia will not be prosecuted in the courts. The guidelines for it there are:
There must be persistent, informed and voluntary requests by a patient who is aware of all the alternative treatments.
- There must be relentless suffering.
- There must be an independent medical appraisal by at least one other doctor supporting the decision.
- After death, the doctor must complete an exhaustive questionnaire and inform the coroner, who will visit to view the body and to verify the facts. The Ministry of Justice decides on the basis of this report whether or not to prosecute the doctor.
There are many questions that Christians may ask about euthanasia. They may ask if free will gives someone the right to die. Also they may wonder what the most compassionate response is to someone who wants to die. Another important question is how can you judge someone’s quality of life? These are some of the questions Christians may ask if wondering about euthanasia.
- “LIFE SHOULD BE PRESERVED AT ALL COSTS”. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?
I agree with this statement. As a Christian, I believe that everyone should live until God decides that it is time for them to die. As it was God that made us, I feel that it should be God that destroys us. I do not think it is right for any human being to “play God”, and think they have the right to get rid of any person they wish to. To me this seems like murder, which is against the will of God. When a person is ill, they may not be thinking correctly, and would wish to end their life because they can see no way ahead. Any Christian should see that there is a way ahead, with God helping them. They should also know that when God feels it is time for them to go, he will do something about it. Even if someone is terminally ill, I think they should stay alive. When someone is dying, hospitals do their best to revive that person to keep them alive. This is what should be done at all times. People should have the maximum amount of chances to stay alive. Therefore, if someone is ill, they should be kept alive for as long as possible, so they can enjoy the full extent of their life. Another problem is that if the person whose life has just been ended has a disease that the doctors believe to be incurable, the remedy may be found soon after their death. This is why they should be kept alive, because there is always a small hope of life in the most bleak of cases. I know this, because if you were meant to stay alive, God would keep you alive. If God was keeping you alive, you should know that there is a reason for it, and that he is doing something about your illness. If God knew that there was no reason for you to live anymore, he would end your life. Also, if someone is unwell, they are likely to have some mental problems, so they would not be in the right mind to make a decision between life and death. Euthanasia to me, is murder. Because I am a Christian and believe in the Commandments, I do not believe murder is correct. I also believe life is precious, and should not be taken away. Therefore, Euthanasia is a discrimination against the weak.
Christians also believe in quality of life. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life-life in all its fullness”. From the rest of his teaching it is clear he thought someone’s quality of life was determined not by their possessions, but by their relationship with God; their relationship with others; and the feeling of rightness in themselves. You cannot therefore see quality of life. This is because it is about what you feel like inside. This is why Christians came up with a compassionate alternative to euthanasia-The Hospice Movement. A hospice looks after someone who is terminally ill. They are cared for by a range of trained medical staff. Their pain is relieved through drugs, and any fears about death that they may have are talked through with them and their families.
