Christians feel that they have a responsibility to help and care for the sick, needy and the elderly. They get this belief from the example that Jesus shows and also from the Church leaders who help these people by visiting them and donating money to Charities by organising fund raising events ect. In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats it tells us to recognise those in need and by doing this we are recognising Jesus.
“I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink;”
At the end of the world the good and bad will be separated. The good are those who are kind to the needy and by helping the needy we are helping Jesus himself. Jesus also helped the woman with the haemorrhage and the syrophoenican woman’s daughter in the times of need and pain.
The end of life is not directly spoken about but by Paul the Apostle he gives the idea that God lives within each of us.
“ Your Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit”
Life is a sacred gift from God and many Christians see both euthanasia and suicide as wrong. Roman Catholics have a stronger view on euthanasia. They believe that anything even beliefs which intentionally causes death is “a grave violation of the law of God.” The moment of death is very important and so we must leave it to God. There is a special sacrament for the sick to give them strength and healing to the whole person, including full recovery if that is Gods will. Also it reminds Catholics of the suffering of Jesus and invites the sick person to share in his suffering.
Jesus himself died with a very painful death that he did not fight against and also he freely was nailed to the cross and he was crucified the crowd mocked him but yet he did not react to them. He let a cry out to God for support and help.
“Eloi, Eloi lama sabacthani?”
Many Christians believe that God raised Jesus to new life. The Christians have a belief that all those who are faithful will share in the resurrection of Jesus and therefore this is was very important in the life of the church as it means that death is not something to be afraid or scared of because it is rather like a new start or a fresh beginning. From this Christians should learn that death is not the end and it isn’t something to worry about as Jesus himself wasn’t afraid to die or did not prolong his death. Christians therefore should die in the hope of a new beginning in a happy way.
“The lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up”
God has brought us to life in birth and it is only him that has the right to take away this sacred life in which he has given us. Life is a gift given by God and it is up to him when he wants to take it away from us and so we should respect this and appreciate our given life to make God happy and use our talents which we are given to do the right things in life and make God happy and show him that we are thankful for his gift. It is in death that we are reminded that the person has gone to a better place in the funeral service and burial where we bereave for the dead.
Roman Catholics have strong beliefs on life and death, which they receive from their Catechism and teachings from the pope along with the example of Jesus and what they learn from the bible. Different Christians have their own beliefs on euthanasia but Roman Catholics believe that euthanasia is wrong because life is sacred and that God can only make decisions over death. Roman Catholics get their beliefs manly from different popes who have said that euthanasia has contributed to a “profound change in the way life and relationships between people are considered.” All Roman Catholics consider euthanasia a “grave violation of the law of God” and their beliefs are brought about by those of different popes with their own views, which are very strongly opposed to Euthanasia.
The Catholic Church is strongly against Abortion and Euthanasia no matter what the circumstances are and this comes from the belief that all life is sacred because it comes from God as a gift and it is only he who has the right to decide the beginning of our lives and when the end shall come. All Christians believe in the sanctity of life because the bible says we were created in the image of God and given the gift of life, many Christians believe that we do not have the right to prevent the beginning of new life (abortion) or to interfere with when life ends (Euthanasia). All the Catholic Churches beliefs come from the bible and also from Jesus by his teaching and example he shows us his life without sin and this is for us to follow and lead our good Christian life.
Others don’t agree with the Catholic Church teachings like when Abortion is spoken upon they don’t believe that life begins at the moment of conception and they therefore feel that abortion may be acceptable and that it is not wrong at all to have an abortion and they may believe that it is up to the mother as it is her body and she has the right to decide what happens and what decisions are made are up to her.
The Church of England has its own view on abortion that makes it right if the mother’s life is under threat. “Although the foetus has to be specially respected and protected, nonetheless, the life of the foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of its mother.”
Euthanasia is another controversial issue and some Christians would support the voluntary euthanasia society called EXIT that supports euthanasia and would like the laws to be changed so that euthanasia would be made legal. They believe that the terminally ill person should be free to die if they are severely in pain.
Darren Martin
