Ethics and Spirituality | Case Study

Running head: ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY
ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY “END OF LIFE
DECISIONS”
Name of the Student:
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Author’s Note:

1ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY
Introduction
According to Parker (2016), euthanasia or medically assisted suicide is an important
method which is being presently used by numerous individuals who are suffering from terminal
illness and have no hope of recovering to die with dignity and respect. Deak and Saroglou (2017)
are of the viewpoint that despite the benefits offered by this method to the patients it had been
seen that this particular method had faced a strong criticism from the culture, religion and other
important attributes or the aspects of the life of the individuals. This can be explained on the
basis of the basis of the fact that the end of life decisions or even the manner in which the
individuals lead their life is being influenced by the religion, culture, social background and
other important aspects of the life of the individuals (Ziebertz, 2019). On the one hand,
euthanasia offers the opportunity suffering from terminal illnesses to relieve their pain, suffering
and also to die with dignity and respect however on the other hand it is seen that the religions of
the world have repudiated this process by highlighting the idea that God is the giver and taker of
life and thus the human beings have no right to end their life. The purpose of this paper is to
analyze the concept of euthanasia from the perspective of the Christian worldview through the
usage of the case study of George who is in a dilemma whether or not to undertake euthanasia.
Fallenness of the world, Christian Worldview and George’s suffering
Francis, McKenna and Sahin (2019) are of the viewpoint that an important idea
propounded by the Christian worldview and also the different other religions of the world can be
attributed to the fact that God Himself is the Creator and the Destroyer of all forms of Life in the
universe. Adding to this, Botvar et al. (2019) have noted that all the things which happen in the
life of the individuals or to them are the wish of the God and are intended to test the strength of

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their faith on God and Christianity. More importantly, the Christian worldview also propounds
the idea that the different diseases, pain, suffering and others which the individuals had to endure
are the resultant effect of the various sins and mistakes that they have committed in this life and
also in their past life as well (Steffen, 2017). In this relation, the concept of Original Sin
committed by Adam and Eve is important to note since the Christian worldview clearly indicates
that the present fallen condition of the world and also the human beings is the resultant effect of
Adam and Eve’s disregard of the Word of God, which in turn forced Him to banish Adam and
Eve and their descendent from Heaven (Gamble, 2018). These ideas regarding the fallenness of
the world, sin and punishment and others associated with the Christian worldview are likely to
yield insightful information regarding the condition of George in the case study under discussion
here.
The case study describes George as a family man and also as a role-model for his son
who lead a good moral life. More importantly, the case study under discussion here does not
indicate either implicitly or explicitly regarding any sin or crime that George had committed in
the past which might offer an explanation for the pain as well as the suffering that he is
undergoing presently on the score of his health issue of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from
which he suffers from. In the light of these aspects, it can be said that the present condition of
George rather being a punishment for the past sins or the mistakes that he had committed can be
seen as a form of trail that God is undertaking to test his faith on God and Christianity.
Hope of Resurrection, Christian Worldview and George’s suffering
Zaccaria, Anthony and Sterkens (2019) are of the viewpoint that an important factor
which distinguishes Christianity from the other religions of the world can be attributed to the fact

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it propounds the idea of an afterlife. Adding to this, Liégeois and De Schrijver (2018) have noted
that as per the Christian worldview the bodies of the individuals can be viewed as mere vessels
which are meant for carrying the soul of the human beings from one life to another. The resultant
effect of this is that after the death of an individual although the body of the individuals
deteriorates and disintegrates yet the soul of the individuals is transferred to another vessel or
body and thus the soul lives on till the eternity (Herzog, 2019). However, at the same time it
needs to be said that the Christian worldview makes it explicit only the individuals have strong
faith as well as belief on God and also the Christian worldview are likely to go through the
process of afterbirth or rebirth (Nwabueze, 2016). Thus, the individuals are required to go
through different kinds of trials, punishments, sufferings and others through which God tests
their faith and based on the results of these trials, punishments, sufferings and others, the
individuals take rebirth.
In the particular context of the case study under discussion here, it is seen that George is
going through a substantial amount of pain as well as suffering because of the amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease which he is presently suffering. However, rather than seeing the
illness as a form of suffering or pain, he needs to view the same as a form of trial or test which
had been undertaken by God Himself to test his faith on God and also on Christianity as well.
Thus, rather than giving up hope and undertaking the process of euthanasia he needs to go
through this illness gracefully so as to be able to get resurrected after his death and thereby take
rebirth. This is important since he needs to realize the fact that his body which is presently
suffering is likely to deteriorate as well as disintegrate after death however his soul would live on
and thus rather than reducing his pain he needs to focus on saving his soul.