The Image Disaster: Euthanasia and God’s view of human life
With the legalization of euthanasia once more being debated in parliament, I thought it might be a good time for some vintage Briefing articles on the topic.
In 1995, Neil Chambers examined the issues surrounding the value of a human life, the pervasiveness of sin in our decisions, compassion for those suffering, and the role of personal autonomy.
It's a great run-down of the reasons a Christian ought not be comfortable with euthanasia, and the biblical and ethical arguments haven't changed much in fifteen years.
Read the full article online (2,500 words).“Voluntary euthanasia is a question of basic human rights,” writes Labor MP Paul O'Grady. “It is about the right of individuals to choose for themselves the quality of life they want and when they no longer enjoy that quality of life.”
Is it? Is this really what we are debating?
The more basic issue in the euthanasia debate is that of who rules: God or man. Who has the right to determine who lives and who dies? Who has the right to determine under what conditions human life may be taken? The euthanasia proposals being discussed in Australia and other parts of the world today seek to give to one group of humans—doctors—the right to end human life. They do this without reference to God, or to the circumstances under which God has said human life may be taken. Their moral justification comes from the wishes of the patient. That is, these proposals bestow ultimate moral sovereignty on the human agent. Humans are understood to be morally autonomous, accountable only to themselves and thus free to do as they wish with their own lives.
In this form, euthanasia is a rejection of the Bible's understanding of both God and humanity, usurping God's sovereignty over human life and denying the reality of our ‘creatureliness’. It will be disastrous for the individuals and the society that embraces it.
Rachel, thanks for the promise of putting some of these old resources on euthanasia up. It is very timely in Australia.
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