Suffering with emphasis of fallenness of the world
George is a successful attorney in his mid-fifties. He is success and respected person in the society. Suffering is part of life and any human being can be found in that situation. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a dangerous disease that causes motor neuron deterioration and muscle atrophy. George is diagnosed with ALS, which is like a terminal illness. As a Christian, George would understand that in times of suffering, he should seek help from God because God said that in times of need we call upon His name and He will answer. Christians pray for God’s strength in times of suffering. As a Christian, George is needs to pray God to give him strength to be able to withstand his suffering. He would also remain hopeful and have faith in God that he will overcome his suffering. Christians believes that God is the creator of the world, He has powers over everything that He created, (SJ, 2017). Therefore our suffering as Christians can be only taken away by God. After the fall of man, God required that human beings to repent their sins, live together holding each other and loving each other. As a Christian, George would expect care and support from his family members, and the people he worked with such as the basketball team. George would also think that his time to pay for his sins has come because in the bible, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they paid for their consequences by being thrown on the world. George would interpret all these as a trial of his faith. The story of Job in the bible motivates Christians that all Christians will face challenges so that their faith to be tested. So it is good for every Christian to remain strong especially in times of suffering to overcome the challenges and gain even more faith in the Lord. The story of falleness of the world talks about the suffering of man and the level of faith in the lord to overcome the suffering. Christians should be prepared always for the suffering and should also continue praying to God to give them strength to overcome the challenges.
Suffering with emphasis of hope and resurrection
In hope and resurrection, God sent Jesus Christ His only begotten son to come in the world and die for the sins of man. God’s nature of sympathy is seen when God sees that man cannot bear the wrath of the cross. After the death of Jesus Christ, he resurrected on the third day and arisen to heaven. Christians reflect on hope and resurrection that Jesus Christ died for our sins therefore wherever we pray to God for forgiveness, He will forgive us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day gives hope to Christians that they have life after death. In this case, as a Christian, George would have hope that when he dies, only his body would be buried but his soul would remain alive. He would think that due to his condition and deteriorating health status, we would die but he would have faith and hope that he would live life after death with Jesus Christ in heaven. One’s life before death dictates the destination of their souls, the faithful will resurrect after the second coming of Jesus while others will go to the eternal hell, (Hall et al, 2018). Since George is a true Christian believing in God, he would have hope for resurrection when God will come to judge the living and the dead. Christians are required to obey the 10 commandments of God until we die. Living in accordance with the commandments of God is like a key to eternal life and it is also a preparation for eternal life with God after death. In the book of Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve were punished by God for eating the forbidden fruits. Christians learn from this that living a righteous live strengthen our relationship with God, that He helps us make the right decisions about our lives. The rightiousness of George would lead him in making end of life decisions.
Value of life in Christian worldview
In most occasions, when people suffer from terminal illnesses such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, they see themselves as valueless and of no importance to the society. It is depressing with the fact that George knows he would eventually not talk, move, eat, speak and even breath. In other terms, his contribution to the society will decrease and he will be described as valueless. In Christianity, all human beings were created by God for a purpose in life. The bible says that we are all created in the image and likeliness of God, meaning all of us represents God and we are valuable before His eyes. God has plans for all of us so we should not feel discouraged in times of suffering. In Christianity, our lives are valuable even if we encounter problems such as illness, (Weikart, 2016). God loves us just the way we are. Every person has a soul and feels pain in times of suffering. It is understandable to feel valueless but Christians seek God’s favor during such times. The favor of God Upon our lives in what proves that God values us and He is ready to protect us always. God is our father and He has reasons why we meet all the challenges in life. George have to know that he was a valuable person before the diagnosis and he is still valuable after the diagnosis because the community still needs him, also his family members still needs him.
Christian worldview on value of life in relationship with euthanasia
Christianity has its view on death and how it is supposed to happen. The life of a person is precious and should be respected just the way God made us with His likeliness and image. In the ten commandments of God, the fifth commandment states that thou shall not kill. This is a clear reflection that no man is allowed to kill. Suffering should not be a reason to opt for euthanasia because it was a will of God for man to suffer. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and their generations to come were cursed by God that is why suffering is part of life and God knows what He will do about our suffering, (Green et al, 2020). Christians rank the principles of bioethics starting with the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence, then respect for autonomy is ranked in the third position. In George’s case, a Christian would not support euthanasia because it is against Christian laws that requires on to live until they face a natural death. The principle of beneficence and non-maleficence are supported in Christianity because they show care and protection of life. They do not relate with euthanasia because euthanasia shows that the continuous care to George has been stopped and he should die to avoid causing much problems and bothering other people.
Moral options Justified in Christian worldview
Christians believe that nothing can become impossible when we get directions from God. As a Christian, George would take his medication as he continues to pray for God’s healing power over his suffering. The healing from God is pure and sure as compared to the healing by use of medication. Some of the Christian denominations do not advice the use of medicine for cure and healing. God advices human beings to make right choices that are not against their wish. There is nowhere in the bible written that medication from the hospital is evil. I believe that treatment through medication is one of the ways of healing verified by God. George having been diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition which would cause muscle atrophy and deteroriation of his nerve cells. This would make him not able to accomplish the activities he used to do. In Christian worldview, George would seek for wisdom from God to guide him in making the right decisions during the difficult times. Euthanasia is not accepted in Christianity and it is considered as a self-murder. It is the violation of the 5th commandment of God. God wants us to live until we die a natural death, (Tilburt, Pacyna & Rusthoven, 2020). It is hard for George to even make right decisions because he is suffering and no Christian would wish to go through George’s situation. Before settling to any decision, we always take time to reflect on the consequences that would come along with our decisions. When George decides to opt for euthanasia, it will leave his family in a worse situation. His faith in God should guide him and make him endure life in difficult time.
End-of-life decisions
The story of George is painful. He is in a difficult moment and no one would wish to be in his situation. His condition is terrifying and scary, the only wish one would have is to die supported with the fact that it has no cure. In my worldview, I would choose to continue with the medication and highly focus my prayers and intentions to God. I believe that nothing is impossible before God and he can do his miracles to save me just as He worked miracles to save the Israelites from king Pharaoh. We are told that we may never know what our future life entails but we have hopes that God has good plans for us. If George’s family would stand with him, show love and care during the hard time, then there is no need to rush his death. My choice of taking the medication over euthanasia would highly be influenced by the support given by my family. The people around you influence you decisions, if you get motivated and shown that you are loved, it would be easier for you to choose life over death, (Pomfret, Mufti & Seale, 2018). More so, I fear death, I just cant choose euthanasia, I would opt to die naturally just as the wish of God. I believe life is precious and no one is allowed to take it away.
References