Killing with Kindness
Why is the church against euthanasia in instances where people are in terrible pain?
Answered by David P. Gushee | posted 12/01/2004 12:00AM
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We are called to heal the sick where we can, comfort the dying always, and entrust the dead to God. But we are never called, and we are never free, to hasten the dying across the threshold into eternity.
David P. Gushee is the Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Verses reference in the article are available on this Biblegateway page.
The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity argues that "requests for euthanasia signify a failure to recognize that life is a gift from God"
Euthanasia.com has a storehouse of statements, facts, and articles (medical | legal | personal).
International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide lays out many specifics of the debate.
ReligiousTolerance.com presents both sides of the Euthanasia issue.
Other Christianity Today articles about euthanasia include:
Bishops Protest Against Moves to Legalize Euthanasia in Belgium | Social pressures may cause the weak to feel like a burden, desire to end their life. (July 16, 2001)
Dutch Churches in Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Euthanasia Law | More than 50 religious and social organizations send petition to The Hague, hoping to defeat final vote. (March 21, 2001)
Death by Default | Few seem to have noticed the euthanasia movement's latest gains. (Feb. 15, 2001)
Not a Mercy but a Sin | The modern push for euthanasia is a push against a two-millenniums-old Christian tradition (Oct. 31, 2003)
'Right to Die' Debate Returns to States | A unanimous Supreme Court, upholding bans on doctor-assisted suicide in the states of New York and Washington, has sent the "right to die" battle back to the state level. (Aug. 11, 1997)
More is available from our Life Ethics page.
Articles from our sister publication, Books & Culture, on euthanasia include:
Killing Them Kindly | Lessons from the euthanasia movement. (January/February 2004)
The Roots of Hitler's Evil (March/April 2001)
Professor of Death | Peter Singer and the scandal of "bioethics." (Spring 2001)
Brave New China | The return of eugenics. (September/October 1999)
The Subjunctive That Killed Hugh Finn | Our language about what a patient "would" want turns sympathy into empathy, pity into murder. (March/April 1999)
Earlier Good Question columns include:
What harm is there in achieving a higher state of consciousness through meditation?
Will we be vegetarians in the new heaven and earth as Adam and Eve were before the Fall?
Why doesn't God cure everyone who prays fervently for healing?
Does God need our help, love, and praise?
Are some people lost "just a little bit" in the same way that others are saved "only as through fire"?
Is Jesus Incarnate Forever?
What does Genesis mean by man being made in the image of God?
What's the difference between Christ's kingdom and paradise?
Is every believer guaranteed at least one spiritual gift?
What role does baptism play in faith and salvation?
How is it that not all prayers for the salvation of others are answered?
If God is in us, shouldn't it be easier to love one another?
What do we gain from a bodily resurrection?
What is the difference between the brain and the soul?
How can I reconcile my belief in the inerrancy of Scripture with comments in Bible translations that state that a particular verse is not 'in better manuscripts'?
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