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A Theological Christian Perspectiveon Physician Assisted Death

by Rev. James R. Gimbel, Ph.D.; President, Concordia Lutheran Seminary,

Edmonton, AB, Canada

[The following paper was presented to The Concordia Institute for Christian Studies and Society, which served as both host and sponsor of the event.]

Christianity has at times isolated itself and functioned in a vacuum rather than interacting in the world… keeping our theology to ourselves as if it were a well-hidden secret. However, Jesus Christ has clearly called believers to be active in the world even though we do not always share the same values as the world… to speak boldly and confidently about issues that require a Christian response.

As the core context of this issue, on February 6, 2015, the Canadian Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling (Carter vs. Canada) that reverses prohibitions against physician assisted suicide. The impact of this landmark decision will come into play on February 6, 2016. In essence, the previous laws preventing individuals from committing suicide with physician assistance have been struck down and rendered unconstitutional. Among other complications, this Federal ruling significantly impacts a system of health care that is administrated provincially. This case has a short and long term impact on each of us.

The court arguments weighed the historic basis on the sanctity of human life (which have been shaped by Judeo-Christian belief) against personal autonomy, which the court also determined to be a basic human right. The decision landed in support of individual autonomy concerning a person’s right to have a say in how and when he or she dies.

Essentially, the Court has decreed that the Criminal Code’s prohibitions on assisted suicide will no longer apply “to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” It also stated that physicians cannot be compelled to hasten a person’s death.

The conditions of this case raise concerns for Christians. For one thing, “clear consent” is a very broad and thus, a vague condition. To what degree does a short term condition impact clear thinking for any individual experiencing suffering? For another, the range of

exceptions in the very probable likelihood of someone making that decision for the sufferer complicates this situation – whereby it may be rightly classified as euthanasia rather than suicide.

Furthermore, the criteria of eligibility for taking such action include a broad range of situations and conditions that impact many people by stating it is for those with “grievous and irremediable condition and unrelieved suffering.” This is far broader than terminal illness. In this definition, it conceivably could include depression, various forms of dependency, and emotional circumstances that have long been mitigated but by definition, are not able to be cured.

Thus, there are numerous issues of specific concern to us as Christians. First, the issue at stake is NOT primarily about concerns we may have for granting palliative care to those who are dying. Palliative care is already legal and administered… and when administered properly, does not shorten human life. The issue is broader.

The Sanctity of Life (especially Human Life)

The Christian understanding of the sanctity of life is rooted in the belief that God is the author of all life. In Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, we read the Biblical account of how the whole universe, including all living things and creatures, was called into being by God’s almighty Word of power, “let there be.” In the creation process, God “mass produced” all things… with one exception: humanity. Human life was distinct from the rest of all creation from the personal creation and first breath of God into those first humans.

Adam, was individually formed by God’s personal care, from the dust of the ground. Furthermore, humanity alone received the very breath of God, and while all creation reflects God, only humanity was made specifically in the image of God. In receiving the breath of God, man become a “living being” (a nephesh, a soul, as opposed to other things that simply “had life” hay’im). Adam was treated differently, given authority and responsibility over the rest of creation, including the other living creatures (Genesis 1). With both the creation and the authority, God identified human life as distinct.

Human life in God’s image was to be prolonged by eating of the Tree of Life. There was no death in the perfect Garden; death came as a

result of sin. God had warned in Genesis that “on the day that you shall eat [the forbidden fruit], you shall surely die.” Mortality began when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit; at the end of Genesis 3, God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and placed an angel to guard against a return to eat of the Tree of Life (and, presumably, preventing them from living forever in their sinful condition in a Fallen world). This restriction of life and a pointed conclusion of life is actually a part of God’s mercy and grace on mankind: who would want to live forever in a fragile, sinful, broken, deteriorating body within a sinful world – IF there was something better in store? We fully understand that death is a release from suffering; however, God is the author and controller of life who not only gives its origin but determines its final breath.

Original Sin and Death

Since Adam and Eve, all people are born with original sin (see Psalm 51). Original sin manifests itself in a core selfishness and self-orientation… if unchecked, man chafes against all authority and becomes a law unto himself. Thus theologically, full human autonomy (in light of the ruling of the Supreme Court) is actually unchecked selfishness, original sin at its unbridled worst.

Further, Scripture teaches how God declared that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23); all humans since Adam are born sinful (Romans 3:23), and therefore all will die. Human mortality rate is 100%; the question is not if, but when we die. This might be a grim assessment, except that God offers mercy and grace.

The process of dying came immediately with the first sin, even if it was not a complete, immediate death. Adam and Eve’s bodies began to age and decline, to die slowly. The impact of death spread throughout the creation. Animals were slain by God to provide coverings for Adam and Eve in their sinful and mortal state. The first child committed full blown premeditated murder, taking a human life as a direct result of sin that breeds death.

We see how human life was still different from the animal life taken in those early accounts, even after the Fall. Human life did not lose all of its value in God’s eyes: God promised to rescue humanity. As a reminder of the unique sanctity of human life, God spoke to Cain in Genesis 4 about how, “the voice of your brother’s blood” cried out from

the ground.

Thus death did not fully take over to rule all of life. Death is a consequence of sin – again, mediated through many natural causes: disease and pestilence and plague, also conflict and warfare. Death was not the will of God, but was under God’s watch as He provided the ultimate rescue from death in the resurrection. Man was not to hasten or cause death except as God’s agents for delivering protection or justice.

Within the Decalogue God expressly forbids killing by murder. However, also within the Civil Code of God’s covenant people, God declares that life is sacred even if an accident caused maiming or dismemberment. Many of the duties of the priests served a public health concern for things like fever and various ailments and skin conditions (leprosy). The covenantal civil code provides for restitution or restorative justice for loss of limb or member, functionality, and life as well. Yet the mark of Cain, and the “eye for an eye” dictum of Leviticus both set limits against overextending “justice” as punishment.

Biblical Cases of Hastening Death

To be fair, there were premature “ends of life” recorded in the Bible. In addition to Judas, both Saul and his armor bearer took their own lives after being wounded in a bloody battle with the Philistines and in fear of further torture in the Philistine hands. Abimilech also took his own life, after the millstone fractured his skull. Some might count Samson, at the end of his life, died in a suicidal military mission that in death destroyed many Philistines.

These accounts pass almost without commentary in the Biblical text, and certainly without approval or sanction from God. There is no biblical support for a sanctioned societal hastening of death as an accepted cultural norm; the Bible is committed to sanctity of human life.

Death is Discriminatory

As a micro study of life and death, consider the actions of David. He discriminated on life’s value depending upon the living thing. As a shepherd, he protected the lives of his sheep even if it meant killing a bear or a lion. Animal life could be taken. So could some human life.

As a youth, in defense of God’s name, David killed the giant Goliath. As a warrior, David killed in both defensive and offensive stages of warfare (to expand the territory of God’s chosen nation). But those are often classified and considered to be justifiable means.

When David “arranged” for the death of Uriah as part of a plot to cover his adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, he was punished for taking innocent life. Of particular interest is when David prayed for his terminally ill newborn son (with Bathsheba) while the child languished near death… asking God to restore the life of the infant. God did not prolong this young life, but David’s comments indicate a strong faith in God’s right and His power to give and take life, and a hope to see this child again in the next life.

Furthermore, David on two occasions had opportunity to take the life of his aggressive enemy Saul, but chose to preserve and protect Saul’s life because he was the Lord’s anointed, in respect of the life even of a king who had been abandoned by God. David respected life as part of God’s design, and was not afraid to take the life of those who stood opposed to God or God’s kingdom, but in his sane moments preserved lives that were in God’s jurisdiction to take.

David was a warrior with bloodied hands; a combination of innocent blood, sinful killing, and “justifiable bloodshed” led God to forbid David from building the Temple in Jerusalem, even though David functioned as God’s instrument.

David’s life reflects a belief in the biblical promise that human life was unique: unveiled in such a way that pointed forward to the Messiah, who would be so unique that even angels could not save humanity, but salvation would come only by the very Son of God. The life of humans was so sacred that it required the commitment of the very Son of God, the second person of the Divine Trinity, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to live, suffer, die, and be resurrected to provide salvation. Humanity is saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus. There is something very sacred about human life, but even more special is eternal life, the object of God’s targeted love; this value also makes human life sacred. If the object is to help rescue from suffering, the Christian Gospel rescues from eternal suffering in a way that is far beyond the much more transient and relatively miniscule scale of the crusade against suffering addressed by assisted suicide.

Two Kinds of Life

In Acts 3:15, Peter says to the crowd of Jews, “you killed the Author of Life… .“ Theologically, Christians assert that God is the source of two kinds of life: physical earthly life and eternal life. If God gives life, it is also up to God to end life, as Job points out in 27:8 where God “takes away” man’s life. But God, who “wants all people to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4) is “pleased… at the death of the saints” (Psalm 116:15), leading to the conclusion that salvation is God’s ultimate goal for this life, enabling a sharing in the life to come.

It is fairly clear from a careful reading of Scripture that God expects respect for all creation, including stewardship of all creatures generally, but that there is a unique sanctity regarding human life. Believers have generally fought hard to preserve and protect human life when it is clear that there is still viability. However, for the believer, this perspective should also avoid two extremes. On one hand, it is possible for someone to “worship this life” – fighting to preserve life at all costs, even when unreasonable, because human life is so highly regarded and sacred. God would clearly apply the First Commandment here… we are to have no other gods, not even life itself!

There is another related perspective that should be avoided: the unreasonable fear of death. Some fear is normal and natural; concern or anxiety over death exists, even for the strongest of Christian believers. The message of the Gospel and the Great Resurrection is part of God’s design to eliminate unnecessary fears, including the fear of death for a believer. The Christian Gospel is the assurance of God’s forgiveness for the sinner, which showers the believer with God’s mercy and grace. Under God’s mercy, there is no hell awaiting the believer as a place of punishment for sin (for Jesus paid that price for believers); this certainty rightly takes away fear. Within God’s grace, there is an Eternal Life awaiting believers in glory, described in Revelation, where there will be no crying or tears or pain.

Christians live in the promise of the Great Resurrection. “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” says St. Paul in Romans 8:1. Jesus calmed the fears and sadness of Mary and Martha over the death of their brother Lazarus by saying, “I am

the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me shall live, even though he die.” Christ has conquered death and the grave and the believer need not be afraid of death. There is sanctity in human life because of God’s offer of salvation to humankind.

Jesus’ Ministry Example

This becomes clearer as we put the events of Jesus’ life into perspective. Jesus did not come primarily to heal physical ills, provide temporal resurrections from the dead, or relieve earthly suffering. At times the compassionate heart of Jesus for those with physical ailments in His day overshadows the purpose of His coming. Jesus did care about helping people’s ailments. But He didn’t let their physical ills stand in the way of His mission. A theological perspective on Physician Assisted Death also begs for a look at our Theology of the Cross as opposed to a theology of glory.

God declares Himself to be the Author and Perfecter of Life. He is also the great physician. Over and over in Scripture, from Moses to Hezekiah to Jesus’ healings, God demonstrates that He has the power to heal and restore, and can do so immediately, without means. However, we also understand that at times God uses means… people or actions or items (like a poultice, mud, or healing oil or a person like St. Luke) or other practices that serve as instruments in the healing. God can still chose to heal directly, or he can do so indirectly.

A Biblical Perspective on Suffering

It may be helpful to consider a Biblical perspective on suffering. Presumably there was no suffering until the Fall in Genesis 3; thereafter, part of the curse was not only death but dying (and hence, suffering). Furthermore, “suffering” became part of work, conflict in relationships, and a painful struggle with the seed of the serpent. All suffering proceeds out of the impact of the Fall.

From the perspective of suffering, there is a difference between death and dying. For many non-believers, death is either an entrance to a spiritual state where there is no suffering (animism), a progressive improved state of life in the movement of karma, or considered the cessation of life altogether. If life is going well, death is an untimely “robbing” a person of good and pleasure. If life is going poorly or especially if there are any forms of suffering… death ends suffering at this state and is a humanitarian thing.

Biblical Christian belief has two options at death: eternal suffering in hell or eternal peace and bliss in the presence of God. For many Biblical Christians, there is not a great fear of death because of the hope and promise of the Great Resurrection and a perfect blissful life with God in glory. In Christian death, suffering ends as well, even though life does not. However, Christians often have a discomfort or even fear of the suffering and pain of dying. For believers, knowing the final outcome strengthens in the face of suffering.

Thus, throughout the Bible, believers expressed a desire for deliverance from evil (which broadly includes suffering). Job struggled with his sufferings, but against the advice of his friends and wife, did not curse God and die, but faced and lived through the suffering. The prophets warned about a time of grave suffering as part of God’s justice, but also proclaimed a relief (especially in the return from exile – at times linked with the rule of the Messiah). Suffering is not welcomed; in Revelation 6:9-11 the martyrs are under the altar crying “how long?” as they await the Great Resurrection. Yet suffering is part of life that can be addressed but is not appropriately to be taken by human action.

Physical and Temporal Suffering vs. Eternal Suffering

God is not opposed to the relieving of suffering: the Scriptures are full of reference to God as the one who delivers from suffering. However, earthly suffering is always considered secondary to eternal suffering; the goal of rescue from eternal suffering is the greater message of the Scriptures. Relieving earthly suffering doesn’t occur in a way that eclipses the Gospel, where deliverance from eternal damnation is delivered through faith in Jesus Christ by God’s grace. Thus, Christian work in social ministry is about relieving suffering in order to provide an opportunity to share the greater deliverance from greater suffering (in hell) through faith in Christ. For many believers, death is the end of suffering, and a relief from the pains. In Psalm 116:15 we see that relief expressed as “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

During one’s lifetime, there are struggles to find a balance, and at times death may seem to be a rescue from suffering. To a degree, death is a doorway to the Life that is really life. But it is not for humans to determine the time or manner of this step; both the path

and the outcome are in God’s hands.

Theology of Glory and the Theology of the Cross

Theologically, we differentiate between the Theology of the Cross and a theology of glory. God’s love does not primarily provide relief from earthly human suffering, nor is it rooted in the belief that God’s main goal in love is to make us happy here on earth. If we misunderstand God’s purpose and think it is for Him to make us happy in this life, our theology has shifted from the real purpose of living in relationship with Him, which will only be perfect in the next life. It also clouds what Jesus and the whole of the Bible teach about human suffering.

A biblical Theology of the Cross is based on Jesus telling us that he did not come to relieve earthly suffering, but to sanctify us through it… for the believer is to “take up our cross (daily) and follow” Him (Matthew 11:29)… learning and growing from suffering. Jesus came, not to relieve us of all temporal sufferings, but to bring eternal salvation through faith in HIS suffering and death for the sins of the world.

Suffering is part of life in a sinful world. But God does not leave us alone in suffering. God gives us strength and courage to face suffering with Christian hope, peace, and joy. The primary lesson of Job is that when we ask how God could allow or cause suffering, we are asking the wrong question: suffering is part of life; the major premise of a believer is seeing how God strengthens a relationship with Him in the midst of suffering. CS Lewis, writing on the Problem of Pain, phrases it this way: “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” In suffering, God reminds us of our real condition and the reality of our need for His rescue through faith in Christ. Take that away, and the message of salvation is obscured. St. Paul teaches us about suffering in Romans 5:3-5: “3 we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” These are words of faith. Our sufferings are made bearable by the sure and certain hope we share in Christ and His eternal salvation.

While it may seem that a loving God might be primarily useful as an antidote for human suffering, the truth is counter-intuitive. God’s primary purpose is not to relieve all physical suffering in the world; this is secondary to God’s desire that all people be saved eternally for a resurrected life with Him.

Jesus’ Life of Suffering

Many of Jesus’ miracles relieved suffering. He fed the multitudes, brought sight to the blind, and cleansed the lepers. He cured a woman with a severe case of longstanding hemorrhaging, and raised the daughter of Jairus, the son of the woman of Nain, and Lazarus. Yet these were not the purpose for which He came. Though he came for the sick and weak and sinful, he clearly states that “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), which is generally interpreted as a reference to Eternal Life and Salvation.

Jesus’ own life was not easy or devoid from suffering. He was despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53). He faced Satan, and ongoing opposition from the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the ruling council of Jerusalem. And He knew the ultimate sacrifice that lay ahead of Him. But He didn’t take His own life to avoid or relieve suffering; He willingly allowed His life to be taken by God in payment for human sin.

He predicted to His disciples time and again that if they were to follow him, they would need to be prepared to “drink the cup” which he would drink (Mark 10:38-39), a reference to His own suffering and death (and theirs). Each disciple of Jesus is to “take up the cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24-26). Being a disciple would not be easy for Jesus or His followers.

And although Jesus was prepared for His purposeful death, in the Garden before His betrayal Jesus Himself prayed, “if possible, take this cup from me” in regard to His suffering and death on the cross. The suffering was not embraced; the outcome was. In Hebrews 12:2 we read that “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

A Biblical Understanding of Suffering and Death

In the spirit of Christ, St. Paul took up his cross and suffered for the

sake of Christ and the faith. He was willing to embrace sufferings as a “participation” in the suffering of Christ (Philippians 3:10), a sentiment that St. Peter also echoed in 1 Peter 4:13.

St. Paul, commenting on the dilemma of suffering and death, has this tremendous insight in Philippians 1:21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

This dilemma of living to suffer with Christ is part of the Christian endurance, fueled by a certainty of the reward of glory in death to be with Jesus. Christianity expects there to be suffering in and with Christ.

Christians and Relief of Suffering and Palliative Care

One might ask if Christian’s primary work is to relieve suffering for others? Although this is very important, it is not the primary role. This role is done without giving the idea that a less painful life on earth is the end-goal of Christianity… there is always a witness to the hope within where there will be a crown of life in glory. Thus, humanitarian care has been a hallmark of Christian caring throughout history, including palliative care that dates back to the early Christian Church.

Respectful palliative care that does not hasten death is one way that Christians can provide and receive relief from suffering without taking human life into their own hands to determine the outcome. Thus, Christians can be supportive of and involved in appropriate palliative care. Palliative care is a compassionate response that relieves the extremes of suffering.

The Impact of Culture on Christianity

We note that life is always changing, and in some ways, old ways find new ways to cycle back through. Historically, we remember that the first Christians were rooted in a culture that did not reflect a Biblical worldview. Topics like abortion and end-of-life matters, the breakdown of the traditional family, and licentious sexual expression were not foreign to Paul or Timothy or John. The Early Church practices of the first four or five centuries focused on what it meant to be a believer in

a culture and society that was not only non-Christian, but often anti-Christian especially while Christianity was a religio illicita (until the Edict of Milan in 313).

This is a challenging topic in part because our post-Constantinian worldview forces us to face issues where biblical Christianity and our prevailing cultural worldview are at odds, made more difficult after having been quasi-partners for such a long time. In the midst of a changing world, we stand upon the changeless Christ and the message of the timeless Word of God. This may be one of the most important and significant areas of impact: the call for modern Christians to rediscover what it means to bear witness and live out our faith in a dramatically hostile environment. To return to the Christian early roots, if you will.

The Challenge of the Canadian Change in the Face of Christianity

This Federal legal change means it is no longer illegal for physicians to administer “care” that shortens life for not only terminal diseases, but broadly includes many forms of chronic conditions (including depression and anxiety and other psychological ailments), with appropriate consent. Christians must approach all difficult questions and issues with intellectual integrity, so that we can truly dialogue and not function from an over-generalized and caricatured view. We need to be informed, aware, and involved.

These comments will not necessarily represent the whole of Christian thought on this topic. Christianity is divided on social issues. This response is a traditional, basic historic Biblical perspective shaped by God’s Word and traditional Christian belief and practice and shared in part by many Christians, though the terms and concepts come through a distinctly confessional Lutheran lens.

God at Work in Medical Vocation

Often in our modern culture, God uses the means of the medical community to serve His ends: physicians, nurses, labs and technicians and surgeries and pharmacology and every sort of procedure to bring healing to human lives under God’s supervision. The practice of medicine on human lives is indeed under God’s supervision but also an inexact science. Not every surgery or medicine works; miracles still happen.

A Christian medical worker should strive to preserve and protect life according to the Hippocratic Oath, but also with the understanding that the practice of medicine is serving a vocation as an instrument of God’s hands. Without the extremes of worshipping life or fearing death, a Christian who understands God’s role as Author and Perfecter of life strives to serve God by serving humans assigned to their care. The practice of good medical care is a right and good and proper and noble profession where there is a clear instrumentality of God in vocation.

Yet because all human life ends, the Christian who serves God also provides respect and dignity to every human who is hovering in this life in preparation for departure to the Life to come. The arena of Palliative Care is an humanitarian approach that allows the most comfortable end to life’s journey… without inordinately preserving or prolonging human life that has come to a natural end. Heroic means may be considered in cases where medical information and practice suggests a reasonable chance of restoration to a fairly healthy outcome, but not in all cases should life be heroically preserved. Neither should it be actively hastened.

However, we know that decisions in these cases are NOT easy. At what point is someone beyond hope of recovery; even the oft-cited argument of a quality of life is an unreliable point in light of our Theology of the Cross. Good reasonable judgment, under God’s principles, should prevail. But it is, indeed, an inexact science. It should be a collective, faithful, prayer-filled decision within the Christian community. This means remembering key concepts of respect for life without worship of life, and allowing discomfort over death without inordinate fear of death or eagerness for death should be avoided.

A Christian Medical Professional’s Response

A Christian response permits a more passive treatment of life’s transition through palliative care, allowing the natural processes to unfold (with pain eased by medicines). It does not promote the use of active means that hasten death or cause life’s conclusion, especially when there may be a chance of restoration and healing of life.

From the perspective of an administrator, this is difficult. How does a health care worker – anyone in the system – respond to questions that

fall in the gray areas of medical care? From an administrator’s perspective, this is not simple in the face of skyrocketing health care costs amid shrinking budgets, and hospital shortages because so many beds are used for the dying when other serious medical conditions are neglected or allowed to worsen to a critical stage. An administrator’s dilemma and nightmare is how best to resolve the greater issues of health care when physician assisted death provides a fairly simple and cost-effective administrative solution. An administrator, like others in the medical community, are caught in the horns of a dilemma, seeking to serve both God and His appointed government (Romans 13:1-6). However, a Christian administrator or health care worker must respond in faith, and if necessary, as did Peter and John in Acts 5:29, “we must obey God rather than man.”

When Christians Face Suffering and Death

From the perspective of the Christian believer who has a terminal condition, this may mean living each day as if it were the last. Christ has called each believer to live in this state, always prepared to meet Christ. The presence of a terminal condition is a constant reminder of how stark and real the Judgment is soon to be… patiently awaiting God’s timing in the transition between this life and that which is to come. It also means praying for strength to face the daily struggles and suffering courageously with God’s help and care.

From the perspective of the Christian family and friends who surround a loved one with a terminal condition, it may mean examining attitudes and beliefs about life and death… a reaffirmation that God is the Author of life, and that all time is in God’s hands. It may mean permitting family to push for the best care while there is reasonable hope (as David did with his young child), but then accepting death when it comes, without actively prolonging life beyond what is reasonable or actively hastening death because the family member is becoming an inconvenience. However, it means being sensitive, caring, compassionate, but also bold and courageous, taking the risks of living dangerously averse to the popular direction of a wayward culture.

What the Church Can Do

From the perspective of the Church and Christian Leaders, the need for solid teaching and preaching are always critically important, for life

and death are always in the face of a Christian congregation that provides pastoral care from conception to the grave. In Christ, there is a call for confidence in His victory and the Resurrection, which guides all that a Church deals with. In a sense, the clear thanatology of Christianity [what we believe about death] may be one of its greatest witnessing opportunities to proclaim life under God and the greater LIFE that is truly Life (John 17). Christians should be obedient, compassionate, hopeful, and always living and sharing the light of Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life through faith.

Christians and Churches should seek to be at the forefront of providing compassionate care and understanding for those who are suffering and facing the challenges of dying. Christian chaplains can do much to articulate a message of strength in suffering and hope in the Life beyond this life.

It is critically important that the Church boldly proclaim a biblical foundation for addressing life. It is necessary now as much as in any day that the Church teach, clarify, empower, and support the opportunity to live by principled belief and count the cost. It is important for community members to band together and stand together on this and other critical issues. It is essential that the Church teach and model our thanatology– what we believe about death– so that we can empower people to prepare for how they will face death… for only when we know how to die will we be empowered to live fully. Christians must remember the counter-cultural call of Christ to live as light and salt in the world… to be prepared for opposition and persecution… and to rejoice in the assurance that those who truly live in Christ are also prepared to die in Christ. When we know how to die, and then live as we are called to live, dying to self, the Church is a witness like unto that of the earliest Christians.

In all things, we see that death is part of the outcome of sin in this world… and that only Christ has conquered all… and indeed, even the last enemy, death, has been conquered by the glorious Resurrection of Christ from the dead, for we know from Romans 6 that everyone who has been baptized has died with Christ, been buried with Christ, and is raised already with Christ and in Christ to a newness of life. Like St. Paul, may we be caught where we both long to remain in this world and serve God, but also at the same time have a passionate longing to be in the presence of Christ for eternity, free of pain and sin

and suffering. May God bless the witness of the Church to this truth today and the Age to come.

Now is a unique opportunity for Christians and the Church to be boldly compassionate in the face of suffering and unwavering in our commitment to proclaim the truth about sin and death, the Lord of Life, and the message of hope for the people of God through Christ the Resurrection into our Great Resurrection. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Rev. James R. Gimbel, Ph.D.