Depth and meaning is a fundamental aspect that drives Christian faith and aids adherents to develop a personal fulfilment to lead a ‘satisfying life’. Characteristics of Christianity provide this knowledge for both the individual and the Christian community by providing guidance regarding ethical issues, through the scared texts and writings, the devotion and celebration of principal beliefs and the practises of ritual and ceremony. Significant people exemplify and live out the core ethical teachings and the principal beliefs based upon the life of Jesus. This can be explored through Christianity’s approach to bioethical issues, the practise of Baptism and the significant person of Pope John XXIII.
The life and teachings of John XXIII
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Euthanasia, the painless taking of life for a human who is suffering from an incurable or painful sickness, is an issue that raises multiply levels of controversy amongst different denominations ( Incrediblereporter. 2007) . The two faiths of Christianity and Orthodox take the same view, as they both believe Euthanasia is against their principal beliefs and sacred texts and writings. These churches believe this killing is against the word and will of God as it weakens society’s respect for life ( BBC. 2014) . They believe that every human being is the creation of God, and that this imposes certain limits ( Clarke. 2013). These views can be exemplified in the scared texts and writings. “Thou shall not kill “, written in the ten commandments, has been the strongest source of evidence for believers. Other evidence has also been found in the bible as many extracts prove assisted death is against Christian morals and the omnisciency of God. As written in Ecclesiastes 8:8, “No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death.” (Unknown. 2012
In conclusion, it is evident that Christianity’s various beliefs regarding the relationships that exist between humanity and the supernatural dimension significantly impact the everyday lives of Christian adherents and allows them to maintain right relationship with God and others. It is through the teachings from St Paul, the commitment made in baptism and way in which an individual acts in regards to issues such as those concerning environmental ethics, that an individual is able to live out their faith in a way that they believe honours God.
As a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, I feel it important to express in this essay the stand of the church on the question of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Our church has strong biblical and traditional reasons for adamantly opposing these new end-of-life approaches.
Societies frequently reject the use of euthanasia because of the way in which it violates ethics. This is a major concern in the field of religion; along with other religions and religious leaders, Willem Velema of the Orthodox Protestant Church was “fiercely opposed” to the idea of euthanizing (Boer). From a religious standpoint, this procedure is wrong because patients and their families can act as God by determining time of death. Religion teaches that God keeps His children on the earth for a reason. After all, God puts certain obstacles in one’s life in order to make them stronger; resorting to death is a sign of weakness. Euthanasia is also opposed by many because of the way people take advantage of it. In Belgium, where Euthanization is legal, the number of medically induced deaths “has been going up” tremendously (Boer). In fact, “it has increased by an average of 15% a year” since 2006 (Boer). As numbers increase, citizens become desensitized to the idea, therefore, viewing it as a viable option in the face of pain.
The most argued issue with assisted suicide is grounded in morals and religion. The sanctity of life is the philosophy that human life is sacred and should be protected from any form of v...
As Christians, we believe that life is the most basic gift of a loving God--a gift over which we have stewardship but not absolute dominion. Our tradition, declaring a moral obligation to care for our own life and health and to seek such care from others, recognizes that we are not morally obligated to use all available medical procedures in every set of circumstances. But that tradition clearly and strongly affirms that as a responsible steward of life one must never directly intend to cause one's own death, or the death of an innocent victim, by action or omission. Euthanasia and willful suicide are offenses against life itself which poison civilization.
Euthanasia dates back to the first century B.C. with the ancient Romans and Greeks. Euthanasia received its meaning from the Greek word euthanatos meaning good or well death. The idea of euthanasia came before Christianity and the value of individual human rights. In first century B.C. the Greeks and Romans had a “widespread support for voluntary death as opposed to prolonged agony, and physicians complied by often giving their patients the poisons they requested” (Dowbiggin). It was not until thirteenth century B.C. when Christianity was in full swing. The upbringing of Christianity placed euthanasia under the spot light. Many strict followers of Christianity and Judaism believed that human life is a responsibility of God; not to be put in the hands of a doctor. It was not until mid-seventeenth century when reformation of the church began. Reformation brought upo...
The topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide is very controversial. People who support euthanasia say that it is someone 's right to end their own life in the case of a terminal illness. Those in favor of this right consider the quality of life of the people suffering and say it is their life and, therefore, it is their decision. The people against euthanasia argue that the laws are in place to protect people from corrupt doctors. Some of the people who disagree with assisted suicide come from a religious background and say that it is against God’s plan to end one 's life. In between these two extreme beliefs there are some people who support assisted suicide to a certain degree and some people who agree on certain terms and not on others.
Dying with dignity, mercy death, right to die, and assisted suicide are just a few of the common terms, which describe a person’s death by euthanasia. Euthanasia has and always will be a very sensitive and controversial topic. There are two common questions surrounding this dilemma. The first is when is it considered mercy? Is it when a person is facing a terminal illness? The second is when is considered murder? Is it when a person looking for an easy way out of suffering and pain? This paper will examine the ethical dilemma of euthanasia according to the Christian worldview and compare it to other options of resolving the dilemma.
Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
disease, or a person who is dying". the church says any law permitting euthanasia is a unjust
Euthanasia in the United States Every year two million people die in North America. Chronic illness, such as cancer or heart disease, accounts for two of every three deaths. It is estimated that approximately seventy percent of these people die after a decision is made to forgo life-sustaining treatment (Choice in Dying). In America and all around the world, the ongoing debate is whether patients should have the opportunity to implement this critical alternative of euthanasia. Although controversial, it is imperative that United States citizens are not denied this right to a humane death. Groups in opposition to euthanasia say that patients who yearn to make this decision are neither in a healthy psychological state of mind nor have the God-willing right to do so. These groups feel if euthanasia were to become a publicly accepted option to the terminally ill that physicians, family, and even patients may abuse it. They also strongly support modern end-of-life treatment, known as palliative care, as a more logical and moral option. Perhaps the strongest belief that euthanasia is wrong comes from those who follow the words of the Bible and believe that every aspect of life belongs to God. The Old Testament records an incident involving King Saul of Israel, who became seriously wounded on the battlefield. Fearing the advancing enemy, Saul took his own sword and tried to fall against it. He cried to a soldier, “Come and put me out of my misery for I am in terrible pain but life lingers on.” The soldier acted in accordance with the wishes of the king and killed him. The soldier then brought some of Saul’s armor to David and said, “I killed him, for I knew he couldn’t live.” David ordered the soldier put to death (Eareckson, 111). Those who believe in the Bible clearly see here that, whether a monarch or a common person, mercy killing is perceived as iniquitous in the Lord’s eyes. To see a more recent example of the Catholic Church’s disagreement of euthanasia we only have to look back a few years. In 1994, for instance, the Dutch television station IKON’s filming of the death of a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease in a documentary, “Death on Request,” brought a denunciation from the Vatican (Branegan, 30). Equally important to those supporting the anti-euthanasia cause is the thought of any physician, family member or patient who would abuse this right if given the chance.
The most common argument for Euthanasia, is the idea of quality of life. This term was first created in the 1970’s as a term used to describe, the general welfare of a individual. This was gradually adopted as a term to describe a persons overall existence. This ideology, has practically become the argument used to morally justify the killings of hundreds upon thousands of unborn babies, who have genetic defects such as down syndrome and the international starving of brain damaged adults and terminally ill patients. To Christian, this argument has no meaning as we were all created in the image of God and it is believed that each human has a purpose to serve. They see each human as having its own intrinsic worth and to destroy any life, whether a young born child or an elderly person is the murder of a potential. The Christians also mock the quality of life argument as they believe that it is a biased opinion and we have no grounds or framework to judge by. The book of Job, argues against the quality of life argument. In this book, Job claims that suffering is part of being human along with happiness, sadness and anger. This points that if you are suffering, you should live through it and it will make you a stronger person. Paul says in Corinthians 2, For when I am weak then I am strong. He says this when he is trying to describe how he appreciates his “problem/thorn in his flesh” because although he wanted God to take it away he realises that it helps to make him a stronger person and a good Christian, because it reminds him to be humble. It is based upon this that he refuses to take his own life. The Christian sees a good life in respects to a persons response, to a particular situations, whereas the humanists will see only in terms of suffering and pain experienced.
Euthanasia had become a big debate in our society and the world. Many people ask, what is Euthanasia? “Euthanasia is a deliberate intervention or omission with the express intention of hastening or ending and individual’s life, to relieve intractable pain or suffering” (Sanders & Chaloner, 2007, p. 41). Thus the meaning of euthanasia is having the right to die if you are terminally ill, suffering and/or suffering a great amount of pain. Many people do not agree with the use of euthanasia, but if humans can put down animals why cannot we use euthanasia on humans? Back in ancient Greek and Roman times, the word euthanasia meant “good death”. Also it was allowed because many people did not live to long ages. When the times began to change so did people’s views on euthanasia, due to the new religion of Judeo-Christian Belief. Because life and death were giving to us by God, euthanasia goes against his wishes. If they practice in the act of euthanasia because of their beliefs they would be committing a sin and end up going to hell. (Yip,2009,p.1)
There has always been some sort of Christianity in history. Always new ways of doing things with each generation that comes of age. The changes that are made have not been with the conception of destroying the established ways but with establishing a continuity to preserve what is now and what is new. This is known as the preservation of type or the first note of fidelity of the existing developments of Christianity also known as the Principles of Christianity. There are three particular principles that I find to be intriguingly fascinating.
Within the Bible it reveals the essentials and key concepts of the Christian faith. There are a few essential principles that most Christians believe, which are as follows; the deity of Christ, belief in the resurrection and the power it gives us over death and sin and, salvation by God’s grace and not by works but salvation is through Jesus. It would s necessarily that we understand these key principles and believe in them if we are truly to be followers of Jesus Christ. In today 's society it is import that the Christian faith values its historical past and be flexible enough to reach the generation today. In this paper I will briefly discuss the essentials of Christian faith