Another Practical Guide to the Logic, Philosophy, and Thoughts of Christianity

Section 1 - Article 18

Article 18 - Euthanasia and Fasting – Lessons from David.

Euthanasia is a controversial subject, and more so for Christians. Fairly similar to abortion, there are implications on whether we "allow" people who do not want to live or "might not want to live" to die. There is the question of whether we allow old or terminally ill patients to have the right to die.

If mercy-killing were permitted, how far should one go to allow mercy-killing? How about the businessman who lost everything and brought his entire family into debt? Does he have less reason to die than the terminally ill old man who is also a financial and mental burden to his family? All that aside, the Bible has a lot to say about mercy-killing – even if the target wills it.

2 Samuel:1-15 clearly gives the account of Saul's mercy killing, and David killing Saul's mercy killer. King aside, we are all God's elected (Ephesians 1:4-5), even if we are not be Kings or Queens in this world, we are royalty in that we are the children of the Most High through adoption. What is the adopted child of a King? A Prince! David had a lot to say about the honor or mercy-killing of God's anointed Saul. He did not agree with the actions of the mercy killer, in spite of Saul attempting to kill David multiple times. David was a man after God's heart (1Samuel:13:14) – He feared the Lord, and his fear of the Lord gave him wisdom and knowledge.

In addition, one must remember the commandment of "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Even if requested by the willing party, suicide is just the same as killing of oneself. There are no exceptions unless the Lord commands for the destruction of His enemies (as in the OT battles and wars), for it is His prerogative. If anyone wants further convincing, Dante's Inferno also has an illustration for why suicides are considered a sin, in that it is violence to self, and violence to those that love you.

Drawing also from King David's account, we now come to the second point this article on fasting. When David's heinous deed with Bathsheba resulted in the pronounced death of their first child (2 Samuel 12), David fasted and wept for the life of his child to be spared. Nonetheless, the child still died.

On this point, one must realize that the Lord's word through Nathan was final; David was to be punished even though the Lord hath put away his sin (abounding grace). Though not directly the point, once his child died, David ate and changed. From this declaration, it was clear that David knew one important concept – Fasting was not a means to bribe or threaten God – for the Lord does what He decides.

More often than not, modern day Christians lose the point of fasting, and the point of keeping the Lord's commandments. Throughout the OT, the keeping of commandments were meant to keep punishment away – especially the sacrificial rites. The people were aware that they were sinful and were not worthy of God, and thus kept commandments to try to allay their punishments. However, modern believers nowadays seem to have a concept that they are "acceptable" before the Lord, and that any keeping of commandments is "going the extra mile", to which God was somehow obligated to reward them for. Fasting, abstinence from evil, lent were viewed by one too many as "going the extra mile for God", as opposed to seeking God's forgiveness and pleasure. God has become the object of "I do this for You, therefore You must do this for me". Many of the modern Christians began to have the concept of "bribing God" or "holding the body hostage" through acts of fasting, prayers, going to Church on Sundays – as if God Who does delight in these actions, is obligated to reward these acts. We have taken fasting to be blackmailing God – just as Satan tempted Jesus to jump off the temple pinnacle in the dessert (Luke 4:9-12). "If You don't give me what I want, I shall starve myself to death". In this model, Man has viewed himself to be so precious and so over-worth that he is capable of blackmailing the Almighty.

We often talk and act as if life and death are within our means but not the Lord's. We talk as if we can blackmail the Lord, we talk as if the Lord is obligated to give us what we desire, we act as if God did not deserve the extra mile from us to follow His commandments, and that we are doing Him a favor.

No. No and No. We have lost the piety that is instilled in the fear of the Lord. We have grown to think too much of ourselves consciously or sub-consciously. The Lord alone holds the right to the life and death of Man. The Lord alone anoints and elects. We should love and fear the Lord! For the Lord is the Lord of All. We do not "go the extra mile for Him". We are under achievers in all aspects, and any extra mile we perceive ourselves to go, is in fact still underachieving. We should "go the extra mile" because we are under-performing, because we love Him, because we fear Him, because we need to. We have nothing to bribe the Lord with. If we attempt to bribe Him with our love, it is not love. The Lord has no need for us. We are nothing, absolutely nothing, and definitely we have nothing that is capable of bribing the Lord. We must not turn His love for us back against Him as a bribe, for that is wrong, despicable and ultimately evil. If we do so, we deserve eternal damnation, and definitely do not deserve Him, His love, and His grace.