Simon Cox Blog: Recent Research on End-of-Life Issues Reveal Holes in Our Theology

Friday, 9 December 2016

Recent Research on End-of-Life Issues Reveal Holes in Our Theology

If we are pro-life, we are anti-assisted suicide.

A study by Lifeway Research recently revealed a disconcerting belief among Christians generally, and Evangelicals in particular.

In the survey, 67% of Americans agree with the statement, “When a person is facing a painful terminal disease, it is morally acceptable to ask for a physician’s aid in taking his or her own life.” This is a shockingly high number. More disturbingly, however, are these numbers: among faith groups, more than half of all Christians (59%) agree with the statement, as do 38% of those who profess to be Evangelical. This confirms what Pew Research found in 2013 when they asked a similar question on end-of-life issues.

My friend Scott McConnell, executive director at Lifeway Research, said this about Lifeway’s latest findings: “Traditional Christian teaching says God holds the keys to life and death. Those who go to church or hold more traditional beliefs are less likely to see assisted suicide as morally acceptable. Still, a surprising number do.”

I would say it this way: a shockingly high number of Evangelicals believe that it is now okay for people to take their own lives when they see fit. When we filter the biblical truth that God gives and God takes away, that God creates and God ends, this 38% is quite disturbing.

Of the research Scott added, “If they are facing a slow, painful death, Americans want options. Many believe that asking for help in dying is a moral option. They don’t believe that suffering until they die of natural causes is the only way out.”

Let me be clear: No one wants to suffer. It is a result of our fallen world. All of creation, indeed, all of humanity, groans under the weight of sin and death (Rom. 8). Of course, we don’t ...