(ii) Explain what Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about euthanasia.
There are many teaching found in the Bible that can be used in a discussion about euthanasia. Some of them are for euthanasia while others are against euthanasia. The Bible talks a lot about the sanctity of life. The Bible explains that life is pure and holy and when the word sanctity is used to describe life it expresses the idea that life is the most precious thing.
“God created Humans, male and female he created them”, (Genesis 1:26). This teaching explains that life is a gift from God. This is a general belief amongst Christians and so they believe that all life should be respected because it has been created God making life holy. Destroying a life is destroying God’s creation.
The belief that life has a purpose is shown in Psalm 139, “You created every part of me, you put me together in my mother’s womb.” This shows that God has thought about every human being before they were born. This means that He must have had a purpose for life, and so if life is bought to a premature end they might not have fulfilled God’s purpose.
“Thou shall not kill.” (Exodus 20:13). This is one of the Ten Commandments and states that the taking of another person’s life is a sin against God. Therefore the taking of another’s life is always wrong.
Another teaching that is important when talking about euthanasia can be found in 1 Corinthians 3, “Surely you know that you are God’s temple... Anyone who destroys God’s temple will himself be destroyed by God… and that temple you are.” This describes the body as a house belonging to God. The teaching says that if the body is destroyed the destroyer will also be destroyed.
These teachings are all against euthanasia, but there are some teachings that are for euthanasia as they are about love and the love humans should show for each other.
“A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you,” (John 13:34). This is the most difficult teaching to interpret when talking about euthanasia. If you look at euthanasia as an act of love because you are fulfilling someone’s wish while also relieving them of pain then this teaching can be used to support euthanasia. “Love your neighbour as yourself,” (Mark 12:31). Again this teaching involves love so depending on whether you look at euthanasia as a loving action or not depends on whether you think this teaching supports or is against euthanasia.
These teachings show that there are those against and those for euthanasia, depending on whether euthanasia is looked upon as an act of love.
The most confusing contradiction is that of the Ten Commandments and Corinthians. Corinthians tells you to love one another while the Ten Commandments say you should not kill and therefore killing is a sin. A teaching from Peter clears up the confusion and is possibly the most important teaching that can be used in a discussion about euthanasia.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins,” (1 Peter 4:8). This teaching explains that if euthanasia is performed for a loving reason then it can not be a sin. The killing may be a sin but the love shown in the action covers this sin making the action right.
b) Explain how Christians may respond to the question of euthanasia
There are many responses to the question of euthanasia, and the responses of a Christian sometimes depend on how they interpret the Bible. There are many teachings in the Bible which talk about life, especially the ending of a life.
A Christian may look at the Ten Commandments especially the Sixth Commandment: “Thou shall not kill.” This is the word of God and so it must be obeyed, the commandment says that it is wrong to kill and so a Christian looking at this teaching would say euthanasia is wrong.
Another teaching a Christian might appeal to is Psalm 139. This states that God has a purpose for all life. A Christian would think that euthanasia is wrong because Christians believe that the purpose of life is to serve God’s purpose for us. If a life is bought to a premature end, for example through euthanasia the life may not have served God purpose and so the life would have been wasted. Pope Paul VI backs this up: “Human life is sacred. All men must recognise that fact,” (Humanae Vitae, 1968). This states that life should not be bought to a premature end as it is a gift from God, therefore is holy and sacred.
A Christian who supports euthanasia could appeal to a teaching in John: “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you.” This tells you to love another and an example of how to show that love is to relieve someone of their pain if they ask you to. A Christian who turns to this and supports euthanasia will see euthanasia as a loving action and so is right. A Christian could also appeal to this teaching if they were against euthanasia. They would say euthanasia is not showing love if you are going to kill someone; this person would not see euthanasia as a loving action. This is where confusion can begin.
To solve this a Christian could turn to a teaching in Peter: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins,” (Peter 4:8). This explains that if euthanasia is performed for a loving reason it can not be a sin; the love shown covers the sin. This teaching shows that it is only when the action is performed in love God will forgive. This teaching supports euthanasia and links together the Ten Commandments and the teaching in John.
c) “Euthanasia can never be justified.”
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
People may agree with this if they think euthanasia is just murder with an added dimension. Another reason is many people think it is difficult to differentiate between a real case of euthanasia and a murder. This frightens people and so they prefer to disagree with euthanasia instead of having the risk of mistakes being made. A Christian would agree with this view because they believe that life is a gift from God and is therefore holy. The taking of another’s life is a sin (Exodus) and so euthanasia is a sin. Christians also believe that God gave us life and therefore He must choose the time we die.
Some people may disagree with the statement because they think that if a person is in so much pain that they consider asking someone to kill them they must be given this right to die in order to relieve their pain. Christians may disagree with this statement because it is sometimes the loving action to relieve someone of their pain. They also know that as they have done a loving thing God will forgive them (Peter).
Christians may disagree with this because the Ten Commandments state that killing is a sin and because the Ten Commandments were the first word of God bought to earth they must be obeyed. Other may also disagree because sometimes euthanasia is not always done with the patient’s consent and so it is not really euthanasia it is murder.
I disagree with this statement but still think euthanasia is wrong in some cases. I believe that if a person has asked to die they are obviously in pain and are suffering, as this is not a decision taken lightly. In cases where the person has given their consent they should be allowed to die as they are in pain, whether this be physical or mental. If consent has not been given I believe this is wrong as you may be going against a person’s wishes, as they can not express their view. Euthanasia can be justified but I believe it is not black and white, there are the shaded areas in between and this may be why people are reluctant to allow it.