The Beliefs of Christians Today about Euthanasia

The Beliefs of Christians Today about Euthanasia

Euthanasia is a widely discussed and strongly opinionated topic.

People hold there own views on it, but the Christian society have

specific reasons for their beliefs.

The liberal Church of England (those who practice situation ethics)

believes that anything that is the loving thing to do is correct

morally and religiously. They might say that voluntary euthanasia is

correct. It may end a patients life humanely, shorten the grief of

loved ones, and it may be the loving thing to grant that patients last

wish, even though that may be to die via euthanasia. As long as every

aspect of the use of euthanasia can be justified as the loving thing

to do, it is acceptable.

Those Christians that might oppose euthanasia might say that if every

aspect of it has to be the loving thing to do then it is possibly

floored. This is because the bible suggests when applied (Matthew

25:46) that if someone dies via euthanasia, they are dying before

there time, and so enter the suffering of hell before god has planned

it. This suggests that the argument some followers of euthanasia use,

that it ends there suffering if wrong as it does not.

Pope Paul VI in his summary on the Roman Catholic teaching of

Euthanasia said: (taken from GCSE RE book)

"Without the consent of the person, euthanasia is murder. His consent

would make it suicide. Morally this is a crime which cannot become

legal by any means"

The Pope is a very high power in the Christian link between man and

God and so, this statement is a valued one. Analyzing it, everything

can be backed up through reference to the bible. "Thou shall not kill"

(Exodus 20:13), murder is killing someone and so there is no

justification for involuntary euthanasia (euthanasia being used

without the persons permission). If the person gives permission, as I

said previously, it is ending your life before god has intended. Acts

17:2 suggests that God has fixed our life span, and so if we are to