Euthanasia and Religion

            
             In Western Countries, those that are traditionally Christian ones, many of the people who condemn Euthanasia and suicide do so on that grounds that it goes againstGod's Will?. Many believe and feel that suicide is the ultimate mortal sin, and anyone who succeeds in it, will go straight to hell, with no hope of a reprieve. The Bible (Christian) contains many references to men seeking to commit suicide, by direct action, or asking another for assistance, in indeed by praying to God to strike them dead. The authors of the various scriptures do not appear to consider such actions a great mortal sin; they seem to regard them as straightforward personal decisions.
             A well-known Old Testament suicide is Samson, who was captured and blinded by the Philistines. Samson, finding himself chained to the pillars of a temple, he pushes the pillars apart and thereby knowingly causes the collapse of the building and ultimately his own death. He also causes the death of the people inside, and if we believe what is generally preached to us, he sends all these people straight down to Hell. It is taught in Churches that Samson's suicide is a vindication of God, a repudiation of idol worship and his best choice of actions given the circumstances.
             In the Ten Commandments, it statesThou Shalt not Kill?. Christian and Jews alike are divided over whether this includes war, legal execution, abortion or suicide. As Earl Horton states in his paper, the Jews tend to translate this asThat Shalt not murder? Traditional Christian beliefs concerning suicide appear to have become solidified much later than the final edit of the Christian scriptures. Augustine in The City of God condemned suicide on the basis that it violates the commandment not to kill, and that there is no justification for it as there is for war or government sanctioned executions. Thomas Aquinas went further and asserted three arguments against suicide.