The Catholic Catechism
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” (¶2280, p.467) Notice the phrase “for … the salvation of our souls.” It is, therefore, a mortal sin at the end of one’s life: thus, seriously jeopardizing one’s salvation.
The Catechism doubles down on euthanasia stating, “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable. Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.” (¶2277, p.466)
I’d like to make it clear, right from the start, that I don’t disagree with the Church’s teaching, in general (I am pro-life) but I also think that to every rule there are exceptions. Indeed, at the end of the section on ‘Suicide,’ the Catechism graciously adds, “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance.” (¶2283, p.467) The rest of this article, though, presents some food for thought.
The New Testament
In ‘The Gospel according to John,’ Jesus is portrayed saying, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, KJV)
For example, Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941) was a Polish Franciscan priest and missionary who volunteered to die in place of a stranger at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He is recognized as a martyr and saint in the Catholic Church. Very altruistic, one might say; but my question is: If one’s life belongs to God alone, what gives one the right to give it up for someone else? However, apparently, Jesus thinks it is commendable. I suppose love, altruistic love rather, conquers all.” Again, I’m not disagreeing, don’t get me wrong—just an observation.
Altruistic Considerations
Lately I came across a situation that made me think. A terminally ill husband opted for assisted suicide in order not to leave his wife destitute by spending the little money they had accumulated in doctors and hospitals. Is that right or wrong? Isn’t that the kind of altruistic love Jesus was talking about? Then why does the Catholic Catechism state, “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.” (¶2283, p.467) Notice the phrase: “Whatever its motives.”
Another example: is a soldier not justified committing suicide, if captured, to preclude the possibility of revealing information about his colleagues in case he or she is tortured?
I used to write, expressing my opinion against euthanasia, to my member of parliament through the Archdiocese of Toronto—I don’t any more. I think that in certain circumstances, it is the right thing to do!
Pain and Chloroform
Now I’d like to address the Catholic Catechism’s statement, “An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder.” Notice particularly the clause “to eliminate suffering.” This is reminiscent of the fact, that when chloroform was discovered—totally eliminating pain during operations—some Protestant Churches originally objected to it (particularly during childbirth), stating that God designed pain for a reason and that we should not tamper with the way the Creator designed things. In the case of childbirth, it was, supposedly, the so called ‘curse of Eve’ (Genesis 3:16) following her inducing Adam to eat of the ‘forbidden fruit.’ Nowadays, these Churches admit they were wrong. Could this be another case where the Catholic Church is wrong?
God designed suffering to effectively coerce us to protect our bodies from physical and pathological damage. But in the case of a terminal illness, what’s the use of pain? God isn’t a sadist who likes to see us suffer. The fact that we suffer during a terminal illness is the nature of the beast, just as we suffer pain after surgery—despite the problem’s having been removed. That’s the way the body is designed: whenever there’s internal damage, the body alerts the individual—severely. God doesn’t go around changing his original design in every situation; it’s up to us humans to best deal with the situation if we happen to know how.
I know there could be abuses by selfish family members who would like to inherit the unfortunate moribund immediately. But that’s a different cattle of fish; we’re talking about the morality of thwarting terminal pain: the way pain is thwarted during surgery. Is it right or not?
The Old Testament
Western morality is mainly based on what the Bible says, but the Old and the New Testament do not always jibe. In ‘The Book of Judges,’ we read that strongman Samson’s lover, Delilah, wears him down to reveal his secret, that his strength comes from his uncut hair and betrays him. While sleeping, the Philistines shave his head, blind him, and imprison him. Neglected, his hair grows back. During a celebration to the god Dagon, he is brought out in its temple to be ridiculed. He prays to his God for strength, pushes down the temple pillars, and dies while killing many Philistines. (Judges 16:4–30). The story ends with, “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.” (Judges 16:30, KJV) Bravo!? This action is usually ‘condoned’ by the Christian Churches as fighting idolatry.
The Quran
Needless to point out, perhaps, this Bible story is equivalent to the terrorist act of September 11, 2001, in the USA, quoting primarily the ‘Sword Verse’ of the Quran as justification: “Once the Sacred Months have passed, kill the polytheists ‘who violated their treaties’ wherever you find them, capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them on every way.” (9:5) The authors of both these so called ‘holy’ books are misguided: well-meaning people, perhaps, trying to find God, who believe they must ‘fight’ for their God using violence rather than conviction. Indeed, the Quran also says, elsewhere, “Do not … kill yourselves,” (4:29) showing, moreover, a total misinterpretation of the text by its believers.
I’m not implying, here, that Christians never committed violent crimes against people of other religions: e.g., the Crusades between 1095 and 1291—that’s almost three centuries of religious violence. The core problem is that both books are regarded by believers as ‘divine’—coming directly from God—while they are, in actual fact, simply books written by ordinary humans. Funny, both religious sects are trying to ‘protect’ the same God—the God of Abraham—as if the Maker of the universe cannot take care of his own interests!
Gospel Teaching
In ‘The Gospel according to Matthew,’ Jesus is portrayed saying, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43–45, KJV)
God loves everyone unconditionally; so hurting any one of his children is far removed from his delight. Notice also Jesus’s hinting at ‘inaccuracies’ in the Old Testament. May I remind the reader that idolatry was rampant in Jesus’s time? Both Rome (the governing body) and Greece (the intellectual hegemony) adored multiple gods; yet Jesus never told his followers to harm them, let alone kill them.
Conclusion
The Bible, therefore, is not really God’s word; it’s Jesus who is God’s Word: he showed us, by example, what God’s character is really like. However, Jesus never wrote anything himself. So, what does one do if one cannot always trust the Bible, and Jesus never wrote a word?
Although the Bible doesn’t always get things right, in my opinion, it has the correct answer to this question. In ‘The Book of Deuteronomy,’ we read, “This commandment which I [God] command thee … is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, ‘Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?’ But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11–14, KJV)
The Spirit of God’s truth (the Holy Spirit) is inside every one of us, in the very core of our being, constantly telling us what is right and what is wrong. Deep down in our core being, practically everyone (including atheists) agrees that we should treat others, whether of different color or creed, as we would like to be treated ourselves. This is probably why Jesus never wrote anything.
References
Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Translated by Concacan Inc. Ottawa, ON: Publications Services, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1994. (ISBN 0889972818)
Quran.com website.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (KJV) Oxford, UK, 1769.
Author’s Books
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(1) Is God a Reality?—A Scientific Investigation:
https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/740913-Is-God-a-Reality,
(2) Is the Bible Infallible?—A Rational, Scientific, and Historical Evaluation:
https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/792987-is-the-bible-infallible, and
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https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/812598-faith-and-reason.
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