2024年12月4日,86歲瓊瑤在淡水過世,她選擇以燒炭的方式結束生命,身旁留有遺書(故後出現其臉書)。
瓊瑤寫道:「上蒼對於生命的過程,設計得不是很好。當人老了,都要經過一段很痛苦的『衰弱、退化、生病、出入醫院、治療、不治』的時間,這段時間,可長可短,對於必將老死的人,是多大的折磨!萬一不幸,還可能成為依賴『插管維生』的『臥床老人』!我曾經目睹那種慘狀。我不要那樣的『死亡』。」
基督徒對於人生退場常碰到的『衰弱、退化、生病、出入醫院、治療、不治』抱持著正面而積極的態度。
『衰弱、退化、生病、出入醫院、治療、不治』是人生逆境,也是救贖的道路。
在逆境中我們仍然過著有盼望有喜樂的生活
Euthanasia is one of human efforts to make a “good or painless death”.
There are two types of euthanasia: active and passive.
Active euthanasia takes human life and passive euthanasia only allows death to avoid suffering.
From a Christian point of view, active euthanasia is morally unjustifiable, but passive euthanasia can be morally justified, as long as it is a natural and irreversible death.
Natural passive euthanasia allows death to occur naturally by resisting extraordinary means of sustaining life, such as heart and lung machines.
—-Natural means for sustaining life include food, water and oxygen. Deliberately withholding these things is unnatural passive euthanasia and is morally unjustifiable from a Christian perspective.
Even in morally justifiable natural passive euthanasia, there are still tough decisions. It should be done only when a person is dying and then it is not his wish. Decisions must be made with the consent of pastors, doctors, lawyers, and family.
God must be sought first in prayer and healing. And when the path of death is medically irreversible and no divine version has emerged, it is morally justified to stop unnatural attempts to prolong the death process.
Although almost 10 years ago euthanasia has been practiced in European countries and even parts of the United States, there are still definite pros and cons. Viewed from the aspect of human rights, this is a moral harassment that needs to be re-evaluated whether euthanasia is true in accordance with human rights values because human rights values essentially reject euthanasia.
Also seen from the religious aspect, euthanasia is never justified. The 6th Law of Torah: “You shall not kill” irrevocably means that euthanasia is rejected.
God never allowed in either the OT or NT to practice euthanasia. So, the faith of Christ is a faith that values human life as a gift and belongs to God. Humans have no right to destroy, unless God himself wills it.