Overview
At issue today is when life ends. At first glance, the Christian's high view of life may indicate that any and all steps should be taken to keep a terminally ill person alive as long as possible. But is this really the most loving, humane, and godly thing to do? How might Christians have been influenced by a secular view of death?
Table of Contents
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 2:7, 3:19; Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 27:24–25; Job 1:20–22; Proverbs 1:11–12, 15–16; Ecclesiastes 9:3–10; Daniel 3:13–18; Matthew 5:21–22, 26:6–13, 26–29, 36–46, 51–56; Mark 12:30–31; Acts 7:54–60, 17:24–28; Romans 5:12, 13:8–10, 14:7–9; 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, 15:24–26; 2 Timothy 4:6–8; Hebrews 9:27; James 1:5; Revelation 21:3–4
LEADER'S GUIDE
• The Issue
Sample questions:
How is the view of death changing in our society?
How do the attitudes and beliefs of most doctors affect their approach to treating the terminally ill?
• The Scriptures
Sample Scriptures:
What perspective do the following verses give to life on earth?: Psalm 39: 4-7, John 11:25–26, John 14:2–4
Read Genesis 2:7; Job 1:20–22; Acts 17:24–28; and Romans 14:7–9. What control do we have over our own lives?
• The Application
Sample application questions:
Divide into small groups of three or four. Discuss how you would feel and act if you were (1) the patient, (2) the doctor, and (3) a family member in each of the following cases.
What new insights have you gained into the issue of medical care for the terminally ill?
ARTICLE FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY
• The Inevitability of Death, by Rob Roy MacGregor (April 1987, 10 printed pages)
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