Euthanasia is a topic which has brought many debates in Christian, legal, and ethical field. Euthanasia is all about the painless killing of a patient by medical staff and is a decision that most terminally ill patients opt for to end their suffering. In George case, It is evident that his Life has reached a situation where survival is less certain. From the case, George has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). From the medical point of view, it implies that sooner or letter, his condition is going to tie him on a wheelchair and he will not be able to do the basics of a human being. George contemplates this suffering and finds that it is too much. He opts for Euthanasia to end his suffering.
The Fallen World
However, what George seems to ignore is that he is living in a fallen world, according to the Christian worldview. From the Christian viewpoint, all people live in a fallen world where suffering is inevitable. Before the fallen world, the world was peaceful devoid of deaths and sorrow, which was the initial plan that God had before the trio that is Adam, Eve, and Satan destroyed everything ( Maris, 2018). After his creation, the Bible documents that God saw his creation and everything as good. However, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and thus, this was the point where the world falls apart, and sin was allowed in the world with sorrow, suffering, and death.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In this sense, Gorge need to understand that he is part of this world where there is sorrow, death, and suffering. He needs to understand that the pain he is experiencing and also witness in all corners of the world links either directly or indirectly to the origin of the sin in the world. He needs to understand that part of the suffering he experiencing is one of the tragedies that the world as a whole suffers from due to the sin committed by his forefathers and mothers at the beginning of the world. Further, he needs to understand that sometimes such sins occur due to the punishment that God promised Adams descendants. With such an interpretation, George can begin to see his suffering differently. He can understand the root cause of his pain and alienate himself from that suffering so that he can see hope in suffering. Maybe, he may change his decision from a Christian worldview.
The Hope of Resurrection
Suffering from a Christian perspective is part of the world. The Book of Peter claims, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than perishable gold, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). It implies that suffering comes as a test for Christian to understand how strong their faith hooks them on God. Further, Christians also understand the cause of suffering. First, Christian understands that the purpose of suffering is the origin of sin that was committed by Adam and Eve. Also, Christian understands From the Book of Galatians that pain is due to human foolishness. People reap what they saw (Gal, 6:7-9). Besides, Christians also understand that suffering is one of the ways God use to punish sins. In the book of Hebrew, the Scripture document that "For those whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son He receives" (Heb. 12:16). However, Gorge, as a Christian, needs to understand that there is Hope in the Resurrection.
George, as a Christian, needs to understand that before his death and resurrection, Jesus suffered. However, Jesus overcame death and resurrected. Jesus’ resurrection is an authoritative source of hope not only to George but also to all Christian believers. Because of Jesus Christ’s power over the grave is a living hope, which Christ offers the Christian is constant, active, and it lasts forever. It is a hope that is less attached to human life, but persons only find it when they believe in the power of Jesus. It is an implication that even if George suffers emotionally and physically to a point where he cannot perform the basics of human life, He should have hope that one day, he too will be overcome suffering just as Christ did. It is this Hope that should drive his decisions at this critical point of his Life ( Parker, 2016).
The value of Life in Christian World View
From the book of Genesis, the Bible states that life is sacred. George needs to understand what life means as a Christian before deciding for Euthanasia. From the Biblical perceptive, life is not an accident as Biology, and other theories postulate. Life originated from God as a gift to humans; thus, its value of life is critical. As the Bible states, it is only God who created a life that has power and ability to end it in any way. From the Christian view, life is a sacred essence , and no man has the arbitrary right to take it from another or to destroy it within himself. Moses Wrote in the Book of Genesis that “Who sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made the man” (Gen. 9:6). It implies that a deliberate attempt to take away life is a sin. Furthermore, the Bible indicates that God created people and gave them life purposefully to glorify Him and not to use it the way they can and at any time they wish. It means that the Decision George has taken to end his life holds no water when it comes to the Biblical worldview. George seems to ignore the fact that the value of life is critical, and he has no authority to make any decision over his life. God only makes such an arrangement. If George views life in this manner, he can understand its value and thus, is likely to change his mind about Euthanasia (Deak & Saroglou, 2017).
Christian Values and Considerations about Euthanasia
There are a lot of consideration and values which Christian takes into account with regards to the matter of Euthanasia. First, Christians consider the value of Life. In this case, Christians treat life as a gift from God and thus should not be taken away by a human being. Further, Christians view life as sacred, and only God has the power to give and take. Other than that, Christians consider killing as a sin as it one of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses. Further, Christians also consider suffering as part of life. In this case, they would rather suffer because Jesus Christ, who is their Lord, also suffered. It implies that if there is suffering, Christian should not find an escape route such as euthanasia, but should be courageous enough to face such pain and look for a way to win the war ( Francis, McKenna & Sahin, 2019). In this essence, Christian is against euthanasia, and George needs to gather enough information on this fact before opting for euthanasia as a route to escape suffering.
Suffering is justified
It is bad news for George because he has to face the consequences of Adam and Eve' disobedience from the Christian perceptive. George is part of the fallen world, and from a Christian worldview; he has no choice but to face suffering. To make matters worse for him, he has to be joyfully suffering from his condition, hoping that he too will overcome the pain just like his Lord Jesus Christ overcame death. The only hope George has is a resurrection.
Opinion
As for me, I do not think I have the strength to face such nature of suffering. The result is already out, and the research is already revealing that the chances of surviving this matter are nearly zero. The diagnosis result is also indicating that it is no longer an implication, but a reality that the disease is within my body system to make the situation worse. It would not be easy to take such a condition. I will take it in this manner. First, it is not me alone who will be suffering in this case, but also my family. I will be another to them. It would be better if I were the only person suffering. In this case, I will assume that I should suffer in Christ. However, I will need people to wheelchair me, feed me, and also keep me company. That is too much to ask for from normal human being. In the end, I will not survive but, die after medical cost, psychological suffering, and mental toucher to my family. In this case, I would be happy to swallow dozens of poisonous drugs so that I would leave my family in peace.
Conclusion
From the Christian worldview, Gorge is facing a tough reality that he has to suffer from this condition without finding a path of escape such as euthanasia. The Christian world Forbid Euthanasia and treat it as a way of taking a sacred life which is wrong. George must base his hope in the resurrection because it is the only way out.
References
Deak, C., & Saroglou, V., (2017). Terminating a Child's Life? Religious, moral, cognitive, and emotional factors are underlying the non-acceptance of child euthanasia. Psychologica Belgica , 57 (1), 59.
Francis, L. J., McKenna, U., & Sahin, A. (2019). Religion, Human Rights and Matters of Life and Death: Exploring Attitude Toward Abortion and Euthanasia Among Adolescents in England and Wales. In Euthanasia, Abortion, Death Penalty, and Religion-The Right to Life and its Limitations (pp. 139-159). Springer, Cham.
Maris, C., (2018). I Have No Regrets: Dutch Euthanasia. In Tolerance: Experiments with Freedom in the Netherlands (pp. 181-222). Springer, Cham.
Parker, J. C., (2016). Implications of Christian Truth-Claims for Bioethics. Christian Bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality , 22 (3), 265-275.
