the existence of supreme beings
Abstract
Religions tend to believe in the existence of supreme beings, and Christianity is no different. The Bible depicts instances where the Lord saved his people, especially during extreme situations. God is portrayed as loving, merciful, a comforter, a healer, among other attributes. The case presents a perfect example of situations where individuals face ethical as well as a moral dilemma. George feels that he will be a burden to his family since he tested positive for ALS. The illness translates that George will lose his ability to walk, talk, eat, and move in the future. The ethical and moral dilemma is linked to the fact that the illness has no current treatment, and thus, the individual considers undergoing voluntary euthanasia Christianity, as well as the medical perspective influence George’s decision. The Christian perspective indicates that life is precious and that individuals ought to pray and believe that God is in control of the situation. On the other hand, the medical perspective considers the pain the patient will undergo and thus the voluntary euthanasia option.
Question 1
Christian’s teachings indicate that it is impossible to escape suffering. In the Bible, God chased Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after disobeying him. Hence, God cursed human beings to toil the earth and suffer for eternity as a form of punishment. God had initially given the first humans power to name his creation as well as care for it. The moment they disobeyed him, God distanced himself and cursed them. Christians link their suffering to this scenario whereby they are all descendants of the first human beings and thus transfer the curse to their generations. Humans have to toil the land to place food on their table, which shows the level of hardship they have to endure. Initially, God provided food for Adam and Eve. In the book of Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve one rule: to eat all fruits except the forbidden one.
George can relate his suffering to the curse God gave to the first human beings since they disobeyed his rule. As earlier stated, human beings are descendants of Adam and Eve since they were the first hum beings on earth. This translates that all human beings have to endure suffering because of Adam and Eve’s sin against the Lord. Naturally, human beings commit sins, whether unknowingly or knowingly. Bearing in mind that George is around 50years old indicates that he has committed sins whether he did them knowingly or unknowingly. Being human indicated that individuals are prone to be punished for their sins as the Bible indicates instances where God punished sinners, such as Adam and Eve (Hoehner, 2020). With that in mind, George ought to link his suffering to the sins he has committed against the Lord.
Question two
Since his birth to when he resurrected, the entire life of Christ has significant meaning to Christians more so his suffering and resurrection. God sent his only son to come and rescue his people; however, despite Jesus being the Lord’s son, he suffered at the hands of men. Jesus faces a lot of opposition despite him having not committed a single sin. Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness to curse God so that the Lord can end his cup of suffering; however, Jesus believed that the Lord was in control. The life of Christ is the backbone of hope for Christians, whereby they associate how the Lord suffered, yet he had not committed any sin and how he died in the hands of men. Jesus Christ died and resurrected on the third day. The three days indicate that the suffering Christians endure will end eventually. Job’s case in the Bible is similar to that of George in that Job lost all his worldly possessions, his daughters, livestock, and workers. However, he remained faithful to God, and the Lord came to his aid. The Bible depicts that he got everything back in double portions. Jesus endured many temptations from the devil in the wilderness; however, he acknowledged that God was supreme and had everything under control.
In that note, George ought to discard the voluntary euthanasia and believe that the Lord is in control. The devil is fond of tempting Christian faith, and thus George ought to strengthen his faith in the Lord and believe that it shall end (Corr, 2018). George should relate his case to that of Job as well as the temptations Jesus underwent in the wilderness. The two people showed faith in the Lord. George ought to believe that God is in control and that Lord he serves is supreme.
Question 3
The case indicates that George has a reputation to uphold as a successful attorney, not to mention that he is willing to remain alive if his condition is perfect. Testing positive for ALS indicates that in the future, he will fully depend on his caretakers to perform several functions since he will not be able to eat, move, nor walk. He acknowledges the pain that he will endure when he discards the voluntary euthanasia. George will be a prisoner in his own body, which pushes him to consider voluntary euthanasia since he will save his family the trouble of looking after him, thus saving him from the pain he would endure, not being able to do anything for himself.
Human beings are made in the Lord’s likeness, not to mention that their bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. This signifies that God is the giver and the taker of life since no single individual comes to this wold in his or her terms. As a Christian, George ought to acknowledge that his body is not his but rather a temple of the Lord (Hoehner, 2020). He should acknowledge that the Lord glorifies himself though his doings and thus let God take control of the situation. God has a purpose for each individual born in the other, and George’s case is no different. This narrows down that George has an obligation as a Christian to wait upon the Lord and discard the voluntary euthanasia.
Question 4
Human beings are sinners by nature, whether they sin knowingly or unknowingly. Considering voluntary euthanasia instead of waiting upon the Lord is a sin on its own. One can argue that George has only thought about it bit is yet to go through the process. The Bible indicates that there is no such thing as a small sin; rather, all sins are valued the same. This entails that those who lie or kill will all burn in the lake of fire. Life is sacred before God, and therefore human beings have a mandate to safeguard it. Consider the fact that God punished Cain because of ending his brother’s life indicates how sacred life if. If George happens to go ahead with the process, he will certainly defy the Christian teaching on life’s gift. God created everything on this earth from the mountains to the smallest living creatures. Human beings do not have control over their lives, but rather God controls everything. Human beings have to come to terms that they live by the grace of God.
The Bible has several cases that individuals can consider impossible; for instance, God made Mary pregnant even though she was a virgin. God made Hannah Samuels’s mother pregnant, even though she was barren. The Lord provided food and water for the Israelites during their time in the wilderness. The three cases are a clear example of situations that the Lord came to save his people. God is a provider and a comforter, and thus George ought to have unwavering faith in him. During the exodus, God created a path for the Israelites in the middle of the Red sea to save his people from Pharaoh’s wrath. This indicates how powerful God is, and thus George ought to strengthen his faith and trust that the Lord is in control of the situation (Sharp, 2017).
Question 5
The moral actions to be undertaken are placing George in the hands of his immediate family or under a nurse who will care for his needs. George’s family ought to consider divine intervention through prayer and believe that God will hear their prayer. In the Bible, after Cain killed his brother Abel the Lord heard Abel’s blood crying out to him. At this note, it is clear that the Lord hears the cry of those who believe and have faith in him. George can attend seminars before his condition worsens to engage with people who may be undergoing a similar or even worse situation than his. George has to consider attending counseling sessions since he is bound to have difficulty adjusting to his new way of life. That way, he will be empowered with skills to ease his suffering as well as pain. Reading the Bible every now is useful to ensure that George can relate his pain to that of Christ and the reward that he will receive in the end, more so eternal life.
Question 6
The Christian perspective teaches Christians to respect life since it was never theirs in the first place. On the other hand, the worldview supports voluntary euthanasia since the individual dies without pain, not to mention burdening the patient’s family. Human beings are born to suffer in this world, and thus individuals should learn to embrace rather than escape the entire thing. The bible talks of everlasting torment for sinners. If I were in George’s case, I would rather suffer on this earth than in the next one. The pain on this earth would only last for a short time rather than burn for eternity. Life is sacred, not to mention precious being a Cristian signifies that I have to acknowledge that I was born a sinner. I would pray to the Lord to heal me so that glory and honor can be his.
References
Corr, C. A., Corr, D. M., & Doka, K. J. (2018). Death & dying, life & living. Cengage learning.
Hoehner, P. (2020). Death, dying, and grieving. In practicing dignity an introduction to christiann values and decision making in health care (1st ed.). Grand Canyon University.ttps://lc.gcumedia.com/phi413v/practicing-dignity-an-introduction-to-christiaon-values-and decision-making-in-health car/v1.1#chapter/4
Sharp, S. (2017). Belief in miracles and attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia. Death studies, 41(4), 211-219.