# Where does Christian opposition to Euthansia come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561 "2014-11-25T06:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/1 "2014-11-25T06:11:14Z")
Specifically is there any actual scripture in the bible forbidding euthanasia? Even the case for forbidding Suicide from the Bible is weak, there is nothing directly forbidding it and yet it is universally condemned. The Catholic church is adamant in opposition to Euthanasia. Am I right in thinking this opposition is based on later Catechism that was adopted and not on original biblical sources? Trying to keep this out of great debates by only focusing on the relevant basis of the theological argument rather than the pro or con of Euthansia itself. mod: please correct title to Euthanasia ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/2 "2014-11-25T06:29:49Z")
Uh, “thou shalt not kill”? ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/3 "2014-11-25T08:49:17Z")
Sigh. “The Jewish sages note that the word “ratsakh” applies only to illegal killing (e.g., premeditated murder or manslaughter) — and is never used in the administration of justice or for killing in war. Hence the KJV translation as “thou shalt not kill” is too broad.” From here: [http://www.levitt.com/hebrew/commandments.html](http://www.levitt.com/hebrew/commandments.html) So no, “thou shalt not kill” does not apply to either suicide or euthanasia. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/4 "2014-11-25T12:11:53Z")
But Judaism thinks that suicide is sinful too. So maybe the one belief has roots in the other? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/5 "2014-11-25T12:51:45Z")
Besides, the question is where Christian opposition comes from. The KJV has been extremely influential, so even if “Thou shalt not kill” is not an accurate interpretation, it has been an influential one in Christian thinking, which is the question posed by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/6 "2014-11-25T13:22:45Z")
Yes but I am hoping for a deeper answer than that. Why was the KJV translated as thou shalt not kill rather than thou shalt not murder ? I am guessing somewhere in the early church is commentary which addresses this and that’s what I am hoping to track down. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/7 "2014-11-25T13:30:07Z")
Catholics are very firmly opposed to suicide and (I think) also euthanasia, probably more so than most other Christian denominations, and Catholic doctrine is most certainly not influenced by the King James Version, a Protestant translation. Anyway, the OP makes the now common, but quite false assumption that all Christian doctrine is ultimately derived from The Bible (or even that Christians, in general, _believe_ that all doctrine _ought_ to be derived from the Bible). This has never been the case, and is especially not the case for Catholics, who hold that the Pope has a special direct insight into theological truth, due to the papacy descending in a direct line from Peter. Even apart from that, however, much of Christian doctrine is based on traditions established during the several centuries of Christian development that happened before the current biblical canon was (more or less) established (in the 5th century AD). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/8 "2014-11-25T13:34:01Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Sigh. “The Jewish sages note that the word “ratsakh” applies only to illegal killing (e.g., premeditated murder or manslaughter) — and is never used in the administration of justice or for killing in war. Hence the KJV translation as “thou shalt not kill” is too broad.” > > From here: > [http://www.levitt.com/hebrew/commandments.html](http://www.levitt.com/hebrew/commandments.html) > > So no, “thou shalt not kill” does not apply to either suicide or euthanasia. Was suicide illegal at the time this determination was made, and if so, how does this apply? Or did they mean illegal within the context of the laws expressed in the Old Testament? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/9 "2014-11-25T13:36:30Z")
As a child I was taught that a significant part of the issue was the attitude that life itself was a gift from god/creator and that only said god/creator had the right to take it. This seemed to fit with a Christian notion holy grace and miracles - so that even the desperately ill should await the possibility of divine intervention into their lives. This also seems to be coupled to an idea of “the cowards way out”. Like many things in religions, received truth is often modified by the mores and traditions of the society into which the religion is transported. Wars of course were typically justified with some form of religious component - so clearly waging it was doing god’s work, and thus implicitly OK, as would the implementation of any holy law. So executions could get a pass too. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/10 "2014-11-25T14:35:13Z")
[QUOTE=njjt] Catholic doctrine is most certainly not influenced by the King James Version, a Protestant translation. [/QUOTE] The OP did not restrict his inquiry to Catholicism, but to Christianity in general, so a discussion of the influence of the KJV is relevant to his inquiry. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/11 "2014-11-25T14:36:37Z")
In Judaism, it’s wrong to interfere with a natural process, so DNRs are OK, but active euthanasia is not. Removing feeding tubes from people who are vegetative is more controversial, and usually a case-by-case basis thing, but Orthodox Jews tend to be more conservative about “heroic” measures in the first place, because the rule usually is that they are “interfering” if they are put in place when there is little hope of recovery, but once they are in place, it is “interfering” to remove them. It’s been my observation that Catholics tend to be “life at all costs”-minded, and describe people alive but in vegetative states as “miracles” if they survived serious car accidents, or something. Some Catholic woman paraded her brain dead daughter, [Audrey Santo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Santo), around as a healer, who was suffering for the sake of other, for like two decades, until the poor kid finally died. Abortion of very damaged fetus carried no weight with Catholic authorities, because of this “life at all costs.” So the suffering of someone who wishes to go out a little early when they have a terminal disease anyway, carries no weight. On top of that, Catholics (at least by doctrine; I cannot read the minds of individual Catholics) believe that suffering is good, because it is Jesus-like. I think there are elements of all those things: non-interference, life at all costs, suffering is good; and when you put them all together, there is no place for euthanasia. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/12 "2014-11-25T14:50:21Z")
I see now that the title of the OP is “Christian” not “Catholic,” even though only Catholicism is mentioned in the post. I don’t think euthanasia _is_ universally opposed among all Christians. I think some protestant denominations are perfectly OK with the withdrawal of feeding tubes from people in chronic vegetative states, and do not condemn suicides. However, the position of churches in the US on physician-assisted death is trickier. It is legal by statute in three states, and legal by court precedent in one. It is expressly illegal by statute is 39 other states, so the position of some churches is not to condemn the practice outright, but at the same time, not to support breaking the law either. A lot of churches take the same stance on same sex marriage, and perform ceremonies where it is legal, but not where it is not. I believe the Episcopal church takes this stance, but IANA Episcopalian, so don’t quote me. Probably several of the more liberal protestant churches take this view-- the ELCA (the liberal Lutherans), the Methodists, First Presbyterians, and members of the UU church who consider themselves Christians. Possibly even UCC and American Baptists (not to be confused with Southern Baptists). So, I think that Christians who are against euthanasia probably start from a point of condemning it for extra-biblical reasons, and if they happen to be a bible centered faith, like the Pentecostals, then they go looking for their proof text. What their extra-biblical reason is, I don’t know, but I think the OP’s premise is faulty. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/13 "2014-11-25T14:53:00Z")
Historically, as soon as emperors began to embrace the Christian faith, they had the power to interpret the scriptures any way they pleased. Hence, the distinction between “legal” killing (war, execution, burning heretics, etc.) which served the needs of the emperor, and “murder”. There is no practical limitation on what can be arguably declared to be “God’s will”, and emperors had the authority to surround themselves with priests and theologians who agreed with them. One emperor, King James, wrote his own version of the bible, which is widely and literally quoted as the authority to this day. . Such doctrinaire edits, once set in place, have considerable inertia. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/14 "2014-11-25T14:55:36Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The OP did not restrict his inquiry to Catholicism, but to Christianity in general, so a discussion of the influence of the KJV is relevant to his inquiry. And did you pay any attention to the rest of my post? Anyway, given that all Western Christianity was, in effect, Catholic until the 16th century (and much still is) Catholic tradition probably has far more influence on what most Christians, of all stripes, believe, than does the precise wording of one particular translation of the Bible from the early 17th century. Just because the KJV is held in unreasonable esteem amongst a small, if vocal, proportion of Protestants, it does not by any means follow that it is the source of the very widespread Christian objections to euthanasia and suicide. Indeed, clearly it is not the source, since the objections are particularly strong amongst Catholics, who hold the KJV in no esteem at all. (See **RivkahChaya** ’s post #12.) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/15 "2014-11-25T14:58:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > One emperor, King James, wrote his own version of the bible, which is widely and literally quoted as the authority to this day. What? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/16 "2014-11-25T15:04:35Z")
Via Wiki, I found [this 1980 statement from the Catholic Church](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19800505_euthanasia_en.html) on the topic, which cites specific verses from the NT as well as Vatican II; > [@](#): > > Intentionally causing one’s own death, or suicide, is therefore equally as wrong as murder; such an action on the part of a person is to be considered as a rejection of God’s sovereignty and loving plan. Furthermore, suicide is also often a refusal of love for self, the denial of a natural instinct to live, a flight from the duties of justice and charity owed to one’s neighbor, to various communities or to the whole of society - although, as is generally recognized, at times there are psychological factors present that can diminish responsibility or even completely remove it… > > It is necessary to state firmly once more that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly. nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action. For it is a question of the violation of the divine law, an offense against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity. It may happen that, by reason of prolonged and barely tolerable pain, for deeply personal or other reasons, people may be led to believe that they can legitimately ask for death or obtain it for others. Although in these cases the guilt of the individual may be reduced or completely absent, nevertheless the error of judgment into which the conscience falls, perhaps in good faith, does not change the nature of this act of killing, which will always be in itself something to be rejected. In brief, the argument is that euthanasia is wrong because killing an innocent is wrong, even if the innocent in question is yourself. The document goes on to discuss the use of painkillers (which is OK) and refusing extraordinary measures to save a life (which is also OK and does not constitute suicide). ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/17 "2014-11-25T17:32:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > What? Which part did you not understgand? I’ll let wikipedia restate it for me. “[King]James [IV] gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/18 "2014-11-25T17:40:23Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > What? Please turn on your spell-checker. I believe you misspelled, “The assertion that King James personally wrote the King James Version of the Bible rather than hiring it done is so incredibly off-base that it is difficult t believe anyone could seriously assert it without being under the influence of lysergic acid diethylamide.” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/19 "2014-11-25T17:42:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Which part did you not understgand? I’ll let wikipedia restate it for me. > > “[King]James [IV] gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.” And what does any of that have to do with the question at issue? Anyway, the verse in the KJV that some people in this thread think is relevant, very poorly serves the interests of Kings and Emperors, who are routinely responsible for people’s deaths, in wars, via executions, etc… If the King had been looking out for his interests, in the way you imply, he would surely have insisted that “his” version of the Bible said “Though shalt not murder,” rather than “Though shalt not kill.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561/20 "2014-11-25T18:30:39Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Which part did you not understgand? I’ll let wikipedia restate it for me. > > “[King]James [IV] gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.” James VI (and I), not IV. And he wasn’t emperor of anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-christian-opposition-to-euthansia-come-from/705561.md?page=2)