Argumentative Essay

God Complex

            I once read the following sentence: ¨You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it¨.  Looking back in history, this was, without a doubt, very true. People used to treasure life and lived it to the fullest. Needless to say, this fact is not even remotely close to the truth nowadays. In days past, life was seen as sacred and cherished; however, this has changed in the last century. The idea of taking one´s life is ludicrous and highly frowned upon. Despite it all, more and more people are resourcing to the least disgraced method of taking their life. ¨Mercy Killing¨, as it has been termed by many, is simply a smoke screen for what, in reality, is assisted suicide – the voluntary taking of one´s life.

            ¨ No testing has come to you that other people do not have. But God will not fail you. He will not allow the testing to be too hard for you. No. When the testing comes, God will make out for your, so that you can go through the testing. ¨ (1 Corinthians 10:13) As can be undoubtedly read, God, the giver of life, will never give individual person more than their share of what they can handle. (Job 33:4) says, ¨ It is the Lord God who has given us life. ¨ God in all is mercy and perfection decided to bless us with life and it is up to us to treasure the life that we have been given. In another passage of the Bible, it says, ¨…and it is the Lord who has numbered our days¨, (Job 14:5). This could have not been more precise; it is God who is the only one that can take life. Our days have been numbered, but they have not been numbered by us humans; they have been numbered my God.

            So far, I have based my argument from a religious point of view; but now, I wish do draw attention to what history has taught us about the matter at hand. ¨The Nazis and their medical hangmen had murdered many thousands of mental patients, epileptics, feeble-minded, physically handicapped, “asocial” persons. Of course these crimes had no resemblance to the euthanasia some people want legalized. There was no consent, no indication—in most cases—of unbearable suffering. However, the mass murder was justified as “euthanasia,” (Gumpert, 1950) After reading this, I must admit, that I was completely repulsed by the idea of euthanasia. Nevertheless, those that are in pro of euthanasia might argue that the Nazis never asked any of the people they ¨mercifully¨ killed for their permission. But, let us not dwell on what the Nazis did in the past, there is no use in trying to change the past. The fact, is that when a small compromised is made, many injustices are eventually allowed. Take abortion for example, the sanctity of the beginning of life is already open to destruction through abortion; why then would we wish to do the same to the end of life?

            ¨ I don´t want to become a burden to my family. ¨  (Medina, 2016) These were the exact words of a colon cancer patient who is glad that euthanasia is now legal for her to take as an option if she desires. Thousands of people have been mercifully killed because they could not bear the thought of being a burden to their family or to leave them practically bankrupt. The decision of many was not made because of the unbearable suffering they were facing; their decision was based on economic concerns. Fr. Saunders a dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish stated, ¨ It is a sinister thought that economic considerations might influence the decision as to life or death. ¨(Saunders, 1994) Money needs not to be a determining factor as whether to end life or not, the thought of it is without a doubt disturbing.

Finally, of all excuses people have provided for ending their life voluntarily, not one of them seems viable to me. I strongly believe and defend the fact that God is the only one that has given humans life and is the only one that can take it when and where He pleases. Life is not just about the difficulties and hardships we face – as we well know, there is no lack of them – it is far from that. As cliché as might sound, life is about those little moments that make us happy about being alive. It is about those moments that brought a smile to our faces or merely made us feel good.  Life is the most precious gift we have been given and it is our duty to live it to the fullest and enjoy it.  Life is a blessing.

Bibliography

Corinthians, 1. (10:13). Retrieved July 25, 2016 The Bible

Gumpert, M. (1950, January 28). The Nation. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/article/euthanasia-pro-and-con/

Job. (14:5). Retrieved July 25, 2016 The Bible

Job. (33:4). Retrieved July 25, 2016 The Bible

Medina, J. (2016, June 9). Who May Die? California Patients and Doctors Wrestle With Assisted Suicide. The New York´s Time, p. A3. Retrieved July 27, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/us/assisted-suicide-california-patients-and-doctors.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FEuthanasia&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=colle

Saunders, F. W. (1994, December 15). What Is the Church's Teaching on Euthanasia? (Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc.) Retrieved August 1, 2016, from Catholic Culture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=307