Euthanasia

Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the intentional termination of a person's life for the stated purpose of relieving suffering, particularly in cases involving elderly or terminally ill patients. The practice raises fundamental questions about laws governing end-of-life decisions.1

What Does King Saul's Death Tell Us?

In 2 Samuel 1:1-16, an Amalekite man reported killing King Saul. The situation included four key circumstances:

  1. A patient with no apparent chance of recovery
  2. Someone experiencing extreme physical pain
  3. An explicit request for death from the patient
  4. A command from a governing authority2

David's response to this act demonstrates its moral gravity. According to the biblical text:

Then David said to the young man who told him, "How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go, execute him." And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, "Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the Lord's anointed.'"3

Through his actions, David established that euthanasia constituted murder, regardless of the patient's request or the circumstances involved.4

Further Reading

Kilner, John, Arlene Miller, and Edmund Pellegrino, eds. Dignity and Dying: A Christian Appraisal. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Tada, Joni Eareckson. When Is It Right to Die? Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

References

  1. Wayne A. Grudem, Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 178-179.

  2. Grudem, Politics - According to the Bible, 180.

  3. 2 Samuel 1:14-16 (ESV)