Euthanasia with a Biblical View

Daily Truths and Research

Article I have Used

Site= www.gotquestions.org...


Question: "What is the Biblical view of euthanasia and/or having a Living Will?”

Answer: This is a very difficult issue. There are two sides that are difficult to balance. On one end, we do not want to take a person’s life into our own hands and end it prematurely - euthanasia. On the other end, at what point do we simply allow a person to die – a living will?

What about euthanasia? The overriding truth that drives me to the conclusion that God is opposed to euthanasia is His sovereignty. We know that physical death is inevitable (Psalm 89:48; Hebrews 9:27). However, God alone is sovereign over when and how a person's death occurs. Job testifies in Job 30:23, "For I know that You (God) will bring me to death and to the house of meeting for all living." In Psalm 68:20, we read, "God is to us a God of deliverances; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death." Ecclesiastes 8:8a declares, "No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death..." God has the final say over death (see also 1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-56; Hebrews 2:9, 14-15; Revelation 21:4). Euthanasia is man's way of trying to usurp that authority from God. Death is a natural occurrence. Sometimes God allows a person to suffer long before death is realized; other times, the person's suffering is cut short. No one likes to suffer, but that does not make it right for us to determine that a person is ready to die. Often God's purposes are made known through a person's suffering. "In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider - God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). Romans 5:3 teaches that tribulations bring about perseverance. God cares about those who are crying out for death to end their suffering. God gives purpose to life even until the end. Only God knows what is best, and His timing even in one's death is perfect.
At the same time, the Bible does not command us to do everything we can to keep a person alive. If a person is being kept alive only by machines, it is not immoral to turn off the machines and allow the person to die. If a person has been in a persistent vegetative state for a prolonged period of time, I do not believe it would be an offense to God to remove whatever tubes / machines that are keeping the person alive. Should God desire to keep a person alive, He is perfectly capable of doing so without the help of feeding tubes and/or respirators.
As a person who has been through this situation, I truly feel for those who must make these life decisions. It is never easy to tell a doctor to suspend the life support of a loved one. We should never seek to prematurely end a life, but at the same time, neither do we have to preserve a life as long as possible. My best advice to anyone facing this decision is to pray to God for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what He would have you do.
On a practical note, I believe a living will is an excellent thing to have. A living will simply states your desires in regards to this issue. A person with a living will can state that they do or do not want to be kept on life-preserving machinery. A person with a living will can say what procedures they do and do not want done to them to preserve their life. A person with a living will can state what conditions they do or do not want to be kept in. Most importantly, a person with a living will can save their loved ones from having to make these painful and difficult decisions.

Euthanasia came from the Greek, and it is basically the killing of humans without mercy. The views are very deep and are basically of two types, humanistic and religious views. There are many ways to induce Euthanasia and is mostly painless, with use of lethal injection, intentional drug overdose or withdrawal from life support. Euthanasia is often mentioned about pets and animals, but the true cases lie with the human Euthanasia. The act of Euthanasia is viewed very differently within many countries and belief systems. For a medical belief euthanasia is not practiced and therefore it is murder and nothing else. The world views euthanasia is all forms as not the will of the person who is killed. Despite is the person was to die an hour, it is murder. There are many deliberations although of Euthanasia of children who have disabilities or problems at birth.
There is many different ways euthanasia is done by. There is Physician assisted dying which a doctor will willingly bring about a death of a human with overdose. There is voluntary and this is by request of the person who would like to be put to death, it is the happy death. Non Voluntary is death by means of no consent of the patient or person. Terminal sedation is sedation into a deep sleep to where the heart beat s slower and slower until death. Then there is the Mercy killing by which a doctor will most likely not be apart of; it is the parent or someone who sees someone suffering and takes there life.

Hebrews 9:27- Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment
Psalm 68:20- Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
Ecclesiastes 8:8-No man has power over the wind to contain it ;
so no one has power over the day of his death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
Romans 5:3-Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces Perseverance


The act of Euthanasia is viewed in many different ways, and the truth is that God is all powerful and He is control of all. The reality is that man has the choice to do anything he wants, so the view of Euthanasia and the act of it could be a sin, for the soul reason that you are taking God plan into your own hands. For the will of man is only viewed at how much he can understand and do. God has supreme sovereignty over all the land and the universe, if He so will desire anything to happen He will let it. The thing is that is so hard to understand, but when Euthanasia has happened, God did allow it.
God knows that life is a precious thing. Humans know is a precious thing, but the will of the human precedes all laws over the earth, but not Gods. The euthanasia of babies in all truth is killing because God does want all humans to live and He can work miracles for anyone. It is mans choice to endure the hardships an be rewarded in the end from it.

What do you truly believe, biblical or not?


[edit on 17-11-2006 by ragster]

Hey, seems like a bit of a philosophical minefield if you ask me.

I believe the best system we have now is democracy. If the will of the people believe some forms of euthanasia are ok then be it. Separation of church and state right?

truth is that God is all powerful and He is control of all

God knows that life is a precious thing.

Sounds like this is your viewpoint or? There are many different religions/philosophies so I'm not sure I can agree with these statements. If God exists and has all the power like is said, then I wonder why God would think anything is precious? Surely nothing would be precious if one could do anything.

The only thing that I can say is that the God has feelings an everything, and yes He probably can build anything out there if all the statements are true, so then it just comes to how when someone is to create something, like a house or a building out of bricks, and we could just through it up like in Simcity 3000 with no problem at all, now just thinking if that was real life, we probably would think its precious, its our sole creation we actually took some of our life to make it, time or time it took some effort.

we probably would think its precious, its our sole creation we actually took some of our life to make it, time or time it took some effort.

I think "we" is the keyword. You or I might feel it's precious. God? If a God existed then it would have to be outside of spacetime (it's creation).

Anyways, the point is if there is no time then there is nothing to recall in the past and nothing to look forward to in the future. It would require no effort as everything just is.