Life—a gift from God
by guest columnist Dr Mathew Piercy, Australia
22 April 2005
‘I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I
make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not give a woman an abortive
remedy.’ The Hippocratic Oath1
These words, penned approximately four centuries before Christ, still hold immense
relevance today. Hippocrates, often considered to be the father of medicine, was
a student of Ancient Greek philosophy and reasoning. Hippocrates’ ‘Oath’
encapsulated the position of many of the Greek philosophers in condemning suicide,
notably Pythagoras, and became the standard of ethics
for doctors to follow.
Medical students in many Western countries are still required to take the above
‘Hippocratic oath’. The anti-abortion
clause, however, at least in my country of Australia, has been conveniently (and
tragically) removed, a reflection of the secularization of our evolutionized culture.
Modern medicine has all but abandoned the principle of the sanctity of human life
that Hippocrates enunciated, and which is also found in the Genesis account of man
being made in God’s image. For example, today abortion is considered by many
to be a ‘pregnancy choice’ rather than the destruction of another human
being. Medical treatments are withdrawn from patients on the basis that they lack
‘quality of life’, rather than considering whether the treatment will
help the person get better or preserve their life until the natural end.
The belief that we have evolved from simpler creatures is often used to justify
the rejection of God as Creator and hence the rejection of His authority through
His Law. Without God, life becomes purposeless. Disability, suffering and the terminal
stages of life are viewed as meaningless. This is a contributing cause to the ‘culture
of death’ that is affecting the Western world in areas such as medicine and
healthcare, where people’s lives are dependent on others.
The increasing acceptance of euthanasia is part
of this shift in mentality towards the ‘culture of death.’ The world
has watched the courts of the United States recently rule that a disabled person,
Terri Schiavo, should die by starvation and dehydration. How could an innocent person
be allowed to die in this way? The truth is that people have lost their sense of
what it means to be human. Life, instead of being a precious gift, becomes evaluated
according to its ‘quality.’ A person whilst young, active and productive
has a high ‘quality of life’, yet once this person becomes old, disabled
or dependent, the quality is reduced, and his or her life may no longer be considered
to be worth living or protecting. Without the possibility of recovery, disability
or dependence on others become grounds for the termination of that person’s
life. This was tragically borne out recently in the case of Terri Schiavo.
Echoes of this sentiment are also found in Clint Eastwood’s popular movie,
Million Dollar Baby. The main character, a female boxer, starts out bold
and successful, but ends up suffering a high level spinal cord injury leaving her
permanently disabled, dependent on a ventilator (breathing machine) and unable to
move her limbs. For her, the loss of her previous abilities is too much and she
seeks death, and her ventilator is switched off in what is depicted by Hollywood
as a profound act of compassion. (It is interesting to note that the Third Reich
used similar films to promote acceptance of euthanasia prior to the extermination
of the disabled and the mentally handicapped in Nazi Germany.2) Far from
being compassionate, the medical carers have simply taken the easy way out. Rather
than supporting her through her illness and allowing her to adjust to life’s
circumstances, they assist in killing her. Such an act rejects the essential aspect
that her life is not her own to take. Made in God’s image, she has no right
to destroy her own life, or permit others to do so, whatever her situation.
The story of Job in the Bible recounts how he refused to ‘curse God and die’
despite this counsel being given to him many times. This was because Job feared
God and understood that only He has the authority to give and to take life. Even
if all joy is taken out of life, as was the case with Job, that still would not
justify the taking of life. Even in the depths of suffering, God’s image remains,
and life remains an intrinsic good, worthy of protection and support.
The Christian church, and indeed society in general, should never accept the lie
that euthanasia represents ‘a good death.’ Euthanasia, in its real sense,
represents a profound rejection of the gift of life, and hence of the Giver Himself.
Instead, there should be a recognition that man, being made in the image of God,
has intrinsic value and dignity from conception to natural death. The decline of
respect for life in Western culture is one more symptom of the tragic foundational
shift away from a biblical worldview to one based on evolutionary humanism.
Further reading
References and notes
- As translated by Ludwig Edelstein.
- Michael Burleigh, Death and Deliverance, Cambridge University Press, p.
210.
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