Is euthanasia allowed by God?

[dannibear]

I just wanted some other followers of God to put their two cents worth
here. Euthanasia, if some might not know, is "killing someone because that persons life is considered unbearable through pain, incurable disease etc." Usually, it is done with the consent of the sufferer. It is illegal in most countries, because it is considered murder.

What is your position on this topic? If you are going to post your side,
I would love that scripture be posted also.

 

[dannibear]

Just bumping the page so I can find out some answers.

 

[David777]

Hello Dannibear.

What a difficult question to ask, i am not able to say decisively. So i cannot choose, interesting topic though.

 

[judge not]

Snuffing out a life near the end of its span or due to some debilitating disease or even before birth(abortion) violates the sixth commandment.
There is nothing in scripture that sanctions such practices

 

[AbbysAunt]

Psalm139:13-16
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made;
Marvelous are your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret,
and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
God is the giver of life...It is He that formed each of us in our mother's womb and There is no human that is alive that it wasn't given to Him or Her By God to live. He has fashioned all the days for us before we were even upon this earth while we were being formed in secret. So, then is He the one who will decide when life ends and when He is going to call us home.

 

[dannibear]

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
I have also sided with No, but many people I talked
to about this has asked me, 'But what if they are in
immense pain and don't want to live anymore?'
What is a way to respond to this question?

 

[WantToKnowHim]

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,


It is a no for me.

If God lent you a life, it is our duty to use it for HIM ..and to return it to HIM when the RIGHT time comes..

 

[happyharold4]

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,


It is a no for me.

If God lent you a life, it is our duty to use it for HIM ..and to return it to HIM when the RIGHT time comes..

^^^^^^^^^^^^^That's a good answer---Actually stopped me from saying what I was going to say----But there is nothing unhealthy about praying with them for the Lord to end their agony and take them to Himself.

Happy

 

[dannibear]

I agree, the answer was excellent.

I will keep that in mind when someone comes
to me with this question again.

 

[s.i.e.]

I don't understand what the question is really asking.

On the one hand, we have to answer that YES, it is allowed by God. We can't say that it is not allowed by God, because it is a fact of life. It happens. In Oregon, it is even legislated. So, yes, absoluately, God has allowed for it to happen, or be able to happen.

The only way we could say that God would NOT allow for it, is if we actually pull the plug on someone's life, and no matter what we do, they end up living.

If, on the other hand, you are asking whether a Christian / Follower-of-Christ would be Biblically justified in engaging in euthanasia, that is a more complicated question.

It's part of the reason why I think it's smart to have "Health Directives" as a part of a Living Will. That way, there is far less ambiguity to that decision. As of now anyways, I don't believe I would wish that I would remain alive, if being on life-support were the only way for me to stay alive.

God didn't make any of the "life support" parenfernalia on the 8th day, right? This conversation could get really circular if we start talking about the fact that part of the way people are staying alive longer, may be due to "man's interference" to what a truly organic life (think Adam/Eve/Noah, etc.) would have otherwise trajected towards.

Christian scientists have their own answer to this -- which I think we would all agree, gets you to the wrong answer (use NO medicine!!!). But, I think a balanced approach, somewhere in the middle, is the right answer. (i.e., somewhere inbetween the Christian scientist answer, and the euthanasia crowd)

It's all about balance.


Sure, I like a neat-and-tidy world as much as the next guy. But I've found life is not like that. We live in this 'shade of gray', at least with regard to discussions like this. I think.

And I think God's ok with that, and gets that. Perhaps that's why the Bible doesn't say things like "thou shalt not develop technologies that would extend human lifespan", nor, "thou shalt not pull the plug. Ever."

Perhaps -- and this is a very scary notion -- He actually TRUSTS US. Perhaps...


for the record, I answered YES (but I may have answered it in a different way than I hear you asking it)

 

[dannibear]

Sure, I like a neat-and-tidy world as much as the next guy. But I've found life is not like that. We live in this 'shade of gray', at least with regard to discussions like this. I think.

I hear ya there!

And I think God's ok with that, and gets that. Perhaps that's why the Bible doesn't say things like "thou shalt not develop technologies that would extend human lifespan", nor, "thou shalt not pull the plug. Ever."

That made me laugh for five minutes straight! Oh boy!
And yes, imagine how long Adam and Eve would have lived if they had
our technology. :shock: (Unlike my grandpa, they probably wouldn't
get frustrated with technology, they would have plenty of time to learn it.) LOL.

 

[CookieRaider]

I voted no. Mom told me that God has everyone's days written in his book. Psalm 139:16
I saw a bumper sticker on a car at the local pool that said
'they aborted the babies, and now they are coming for the elderly too.'
I think its definitely a form of assisted suicide.

 

[Peterorange]

God didn't make any of the "life support" parenfernalia on the 8th day, right? This conversation could get really circular if we start talking about the fact that part of the way people are staying alive longer, may be due to "man's interference" to what a truly organic life (think Adam/Eve/Noah, etc.) would have otherwise trajected towards.

God did not make cars either, that doesn't mean we are allowed to run people over . Seriously, this argument doesn't hold water. God is God and He and his law are unchanging. If it 'depended' on everything than man made then we would be in a right mess!

However I would agree to an extent - but not on your definitions. There is a difference between allowing a natural death - turning off life support - and actively administering drugs to terminate a life as is done in Switzerland. The latter is euthanasia and is clearly against God's commands. The former isn't.

This is a good quote from Evangelicals for Life website:

"REMOVAL OF LIFE SUPPORT
If life support is removed from a patient because the hoped-for improvement has not occurred, it is not euthanasia, even if we expect the patient will die. The patient is not killed by switching the machine off. The underlying disease kills the patient. That’s why they were on life support in the first place. "

There is a very important difference here. Hope this makes sense.

 

[ForumAddict]

I've never seen anywhere that it gives us the right to make life or death decisions as such.

 

[s.i.e.]

God did not make cars either, that doesn't mean we are allowed to run people over . Seriously, this argument doesn't hold water. God is God and He and his law are unchanging. If it 'depended' on everything than man made then we would be in a right mess!

However I would agree to an extent - but not on your definitions. There is a difference between allowing a natural death - turning off life support - and actively administering drugs to terminate a life as is done in Switzerland. The latter is euthanasia and is clearly against God's commands. The former isn't.

This is a good quote from Evangelicals for Life website:

"REMOVAL OF LIFE SUPPORT
If life support is removed from a patient because the hoped-for improvement has not occurred, it is not euthanasia, even if we expect the patient will die. The patient is not killed by switching the machine off. The underlying disease kills the patient. That’s why they were on life support in the first place. "

There is a very important difference here. Hope this makes sense.

fair point, Peterorange. It's easier to talk about "pulling the plug" than it is to talk about administering death by injection.

I'm ok with the former. I'm not personally ok with the latter.


That said...the question wasn't "is euthanasia a sin"...but rather "is euthanasia allowed by God"...right?

So, I have to say that YES, euthanasia is allowed by God, because He allowed --- no, actually, designed --- choice and free-will. So, I don't see how anyone can say He doesn't allow for it. That said, right now 2 people (including me) voted "Yes" and 8 people voted "No". Perhaps all that means is that we have 8 hardline Calvinists who have voted, and 2 folks who allow for at least some degree of Arminianism in their doctrine?

Anywho...I digress. The more definitive question here is: is euthanasia a sin? Is suicide a sin?

That is a much more electrifying question. But alas, it's a Friday, and I'm in a good mood...so, I'll walk away from that one for now.