To withhold or to withdraw medical treatment, as is being discussed here, does not constitute euthanasia and should not be placed into the same category with it. The practice of painlessly putting to death people suffering from incurable diseases, contradicts Christian morals, believes official spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate Father Vsevolod Chaplin.
Suffering, they said, was part of the operation of karma, and human beings should not only accept it without complaint but act so as to make the best of the situation that karma has given them. This is not absolute. Sikhism believes that life is a gift from God, but it also teaches that we have a duty to use life in a responsible way. We as Spiritualists are bound to follow the law. If we, as individuals, would have the current laws changed or extended beyond their present scope, it is our individual right to work for this through the proper channels.
On the whole, Christians value the individual liberty that allows them to act on the basis of their distinctive moral commitments. Unitarian Universalists support death with dignity. The UCC generally affirms individual freedom and responsibility, including the right to choose in regards to reproductive rights, and has a history of encouraging inclusive discussion about all aspects of death and dying.
Many UCC clergy have been supportive of right-to-die legislation, and the UCC continues to encourage open, inclusive conversations about all aspects of death and dying. The Episcopalian Anglican , Unitarian Universalist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Quaker movements are amongst the most liberal, allowing at least individual decision-making in cases of hastened death. For additional information specific to biblical references to suicide, visit Religious Tolerance.
The Disparity of Hope. Share This Share on facebook Share on twitter Share via email. Roman Catholic The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is strict: the killing of a human being, even by an act of omission to eliminate suffering, violates divine law and offends the dignity of the human person.
For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.
Hindu There are several Hindu points of view on physician aid in dying. Jainism Jains believe that the soul has always been here and cannot be destroyed and that through the process of death, one transitions to a new body. Judaism The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations has been heavily involved in efforts, in both Congress and the courts, to restrict physician assisted death.
In this book, Philip Yancey touched on these questions: Where is God when it hurts? How a good God can allow suffering? How can we cope with pain? How do we respond to people in pain? How could a loving God allow Auschwitz? One third of the world went to bed hungry last night, how can we reconcile that with Christian Love?
Pain is real. From another perspective, pain is the gift nobody wants. The mechanism of pain in the human body operates much like a warning system. When we hurt, what is our body telling us? Pain sensors loudly alert our body to danger. Pain should be viewed as a communication network. At the heart of Christian faith is a commitment to a God who enters into suffering. Frequently, in evangelism, our conversations focus on explaining who Jesus is as divine; and yet, especially in the context of suffering, we need to help people understand who God is by focusing on who Jesus is as human.
When we do that, we see that the crucified Jesus is the revelation of God. It reveals a God who is intimately involved in the world, who is moved and affected by all that we experience, and who willingly becomes vulnerable to suffering. So while we may not have a definitive answer to the why of suffering, we can and must proclaim without hesitation that God is in the midst of it, ready and able to share it with, and carry it for, those who are walking a dark road.
When we seek to share the gospel amid evil and pain, moving outward from an interior experience of the cross to an understanding of shared suffering is imperative. Our world does not fully correspond to God.
It is filled with brokenness, suffering, and death—a reality made severely apparent in the cross. On the other hand, the Resurrection points to the promise of a reality that will correspond to God. Yet the cross shows God present even in the midst of that contradiction. Several years ago, Kayla Mueller was martyred for her faith at the hands of Islamic State militants. In the public statements issued after her death, her family quoted from various letters she had written:.
I find God in the suffering eyes reflected in mine. If this is how you are revealed to me, this is how I will forever seek you. I will always seek God.
0コメント