Christians' Response to the Issue of Euthanasia

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Christians' Response to the Issue of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is currently a highly debated topic for many Christians and

in this section of my coursework I will be looking at how Christians

may respond to the question of it.

However before I explore or begin to explain how a Christian may

respond, I need to explore how Christians make their moral decisions.

Christians use a number of sources to make decisions or discuss moral

issues such as euthanasia. The first of these is the Bible. Although

the Bible does not actually mention euthanasia it does teach

Christians about the sanctity of life and the values of humanity so a

Christian may draw on these teachings as suggested in section A, when

discussing euthanasia. A Christian would therefore use these teachings

to try and work out how God would want them to live life. Some

Christians may also use Church teachings when responding to the

question of euthanasia. This is especially true for Roman Catholics

who may also look to the Pope and Bishops. Many Christians may also

look to Jesus and the example he set to Christians through his life

and teachings in the gospels, because the teaching of Jesus lies at

the heart of Christian ethics. Also Christians may use their

conscience to make decisions, this is the Christian idea of free will

and is the belief by some Christians that because God created humans

apart from animals and able to make choices about our lives we have

the right to use them and some Christians would use the idea of free

will to support euthanasia. Finally some Christians may also make

decisions on issues such as euthanasia from being influenced by

society around them.
...

... middle of paper ...

...ain and

spiritual pain - looking at the patient as a whole person." Dame

Cicely Saunders, founder of the hospice movement.

From this Some Christians would say that the hospice is the most

loving place for somebody with a terminal illness to be because it

takes care of the whole person and prepares the patient and family for

the death whereas in euthanasia they might say, no respect is given to

the patient and no compassion is given but they are instead made to

seem disposable. Therefore a Christian who opposed euthanasia could

respond to the to the question of euthanasia by suggesting the

hospice.

In conclusive, it can be seen that there are many different views in

Christianity about euthanasia and many ways in which a Christian can

respond to euthanasia even though euthanasia is not mentioned in the

Bible.

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