Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Senior Anglican Priest Slams Opposition to Assisted Dying as 'Pure Fatalism and Superstition'
Christian Today ^ | 1/4/18 | James McIntyre

Posted on 01/08/2018 6:16:04 PM PST by marshmallow

A senior Anglican priest has spoken out in favour of assisted dying, dismissing as 'pure fatalism and superstition' the notion that 'the time of someone's death is purely God's business'.

Canon Rosie Harper, the chaplain to the Bishop of Buckingham and a member of the Church's General Synod, has written a controversial post on the ViaMedia blog urging acceptance of the right to die.

In it, she writes: 'Don't tell me that the time of someone's death is purely God's business. That at the moment when all a human soul wants is for it to end, God stands at the end of the bed and says: "No my child, it is my will that you suffer just a few more days." That is pure fatalism and superstition.'

She adds: 'When our lives are nearing the end there are now many societies where that degree of both choice and responsibility remains. That is not the case in the UK.

'Just when you might think we need our freedom the most the medical profession (by law) take it away from us. Just when you might think that God would most honour the freedom he has given us the Christian community take it away from us.'

In the post, Canon Harper reflects that she is writing on the subject for both 'personal and professional' reasons, reflecting on the deaths of her Swiss uncles, one from an aggressive brain tumour.

(Excerpt) Read more at christiantoday.com ...


TOPICS: Mainline Protestant; Ministry/Outreach; Moral Issues; Theology
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 01/08/2018 6:16:05 PM PST by marshmallow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

Guess he never heard of the slippery slope.


2 posted on 01/08/2018 6:18:41 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Belief in slippery slopes is mainly confined to those worried about sliding down them. Or so it often seems.


3 posted on 01/08/2018 6:23:06 PM PST by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

We are watching my 73 year old Dad waste away from Alzheimers right now. He went in the hospital for pneumonia last week and had a minor heart attack, but medical science saved him for more suffering. If we are going to rely on “God’s Plan” for ending our lives, then why do we keep cheating the many deaths he throws at us?


4 posted on 01/08/2018 6:23:26 PM PST by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
Canon Rosie Harper


5 posted on 01/08/2018 6:24:29 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

This can sometimes be a very difficult situation - and yes, the slippery slope is extremely dangerous in this too


6 posted on 01/08/2018 6:28:06 PM PST by faithhopecharity (“Politicians aren’t born, they’re excreted.” -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bryanw92
If we are going to rely on “God’s Plan” for ending our lives, then why do we keep cheating the many deaths he throws at us?

Maybe wrestling with that question is what God, for your part, wants you to do.

7 posted on 01/08/2018 6:28:56 PM PST by johniegrad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: johniegrad

>>Maybe wrestling with that question is what God, for your part, wants you to do.

I already did. We also had a very close friend die from cancer the week after Christmas and when we were cleaning out her apartment, we found her Hospice “Comfort Kit”. Inside was a bottle of 60 Morphine Sulfate pills. Basically, a suicide kit. That was more comforting than any idea that God wants me to wrestle with a question while my Dad wastes away. (Note: we turned the pills in to the hospital for destruction.)


8 posted on 01/08/2018 6:33:17 PM PST by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Bryanw92

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Bryanw92. My Stepmother was director of nursing at an Alzheimers facility. Her mother was a patient there, and I saw the progression all the way to the end. It’s tough to watch, but I remember some beautiful times with her along the way.

Praying for you to be “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy”—Colossians 1:11


9 posted on 01/08/2018 6:44:04 PM PST by avenir ("But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."--Titus 2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

She.


10 posted on 01/08/2018 6:46:51 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o ("Don't believe everything you read on the Internet." - Abraham Lincoln)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
Say "assisted dying" and "right to die" and you've already adopted their false language and accepted their false argument.

Even "mercy killing" and "assisted suicide" are euphemisms for euthanasia.

And "euthanasia" itself is a euphemism: it's actively or passively killing someone.

The application of layer after layer of euphemism is a pretty good sign of homicide.

11 posted on 01/08/2018 7:07:54 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o ("Don't believe everything you read on the Internet." - Abraham Lincoln)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

How many people are saved in their dying breath? Many. Satan wants the work of salvation to remain unfinished in a soul’s life, assuring it’s position in hell forever. The LORD knows when it is the right time for someone to die. It is He who has the right over life and death. He is God.


12 posted on 01/08/2018 9:13:55 PM PST by Bellflower (Who dares believe Jesus?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bryanw92

Prayers for you and your dad. This is indeed very hard. Sometimes - just as I pray that someone might get a job, or an achievement - I pray that someone be allowed to pass on peacefully from this earthly pilgrimage.


13 posted on 01/09/2018 6:04:12 PM PST by BlackVeil ('The past is never dead. It's not even past.' William Faulkner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson