Genesis 22 9-10:
9 When they reached the place God had told
him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound
his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his
hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham!
Abraham!’
I
support euthanasia; I want it made very clear. I support not only the current
assisted dying bill but I would support any bill that gives people the ability
to end their lives and I do not believe this to be incompatible with my
Christian faith.
I can hear the howls of objections about the sanctity of
life which is expounded in scripture. God after all has; counted the very hairs
on our heads, he has formed our hearts, adopted us as his children and even
taken to the cross to suffer and die for our redemption. How can any self-respecting
Christian not rejoice in the sanctity life?
Well this view is a false one. The crucifixion did not end
mortal death; it ends the separation between God and man. Christ did not end
mortal death he simply ended it being forever. God’s main focus is leading his
people then all people back to him. It is not to ensure that everyone eked out
there existence for as long as humanly possible regardless of suffering or
pain.
But murder is a sin,
yes it is and life and I mean full human life full of both pain and sorrow and
trial and tabulation but also joy, relief, victory and celebration is a gift
from God. It is after redemption probably the best gift from God but we have corrupted
it. God set a limit of human life and through medicine and in my mind overly
intensive “care” we have enabled people to live to an age where the body is
crumbling around them.
They are no longer theological prisoners of the flesh but Actual
prisoners. At the moment such peoples are either forced to receive this “care”
until there body collapse or they themselves or those around them starve them
to death. I am sorry to use such blunt words but those who oppose my view
accuse us of supporting murder, whilst they themselves support the withdraw of
support (aka starvation) pretending this is some natural and God ordained
method of killing someone.
Yes shooting someone so full of morphine so they die is
killing them but so is denying someone food or water whilst you shoot them up
with slightly lower levels of the same drug. We allow this and as far as I know
there are few safeguards or informed consent of the sick person. What is so
very odd is we do this and consider it; one natural and two to be a kindness.
Both are untrue, assisted dying and doctors are already implicit in its
administration. We have in short cross the Rubicon and build a motorway bridged.
I have chosen the passage from Genesis because at least Abraham
was going to kill his son quickly because that was and is the merciful thing to
do. I have not got time hear for a full argument merely to contrast what is
with the ideal and then contrast what is with what I would have. Yes I would
have people choosing to be killed and I am sure this is far from the ideal of
God but I am sure that starving people to death without their consent is also
far from His ideal and to me it is simple a question of mercy and I believe
deeply that assisted suicide is more merciful then making and ideal of an empty
pain filled life.
