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Maybe I don't get it, but sounds like he offers as an option the virtues of evil, or giving the devil a chance at equal time at church. I don't find the difference between good and evil to be that complicated, but I guess that is just me, a sucker for absolutes.

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A universal consensus on topics such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide does not exist, said John Ferguson Jr., assistant professor of political science at Howard Payne University’s Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom and author of Point/Counterpoint: The Right to Die.

“There’s not one Christian view, and there’s not even just one Baptist view. A lot of Baptists differ in their views on the topic and where these lines of differing opinions should be drawn,” Ferguson said. “Some would argue that it is a very Christian thing to support a right to die if it will alleviate pain.”

As Ferguson points out in his book, however, the Southern Baptist Convention approved in 2001 a resolution castigating euthanasia. The strongly worded resolution read: “The messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting … affirm our belief that every human life, including the life of the terminally ill, disabled or clinically depressed patient, is sacred and ought to be protected against unnecessary harm; and be it further resolved, that we find legalized euthanasia immoral ethically, unnecessary medically and unconscionable socially.”

Ferguson’s book, written primarily for a secular audience, tries to provide both sides of the argument—not supplying an answer, but offering the fuel necessary to power the engines of thought.

“I see a lot of students who are very interested in these topics, and they tend to have a very reflexive reaction because of the views they’ve heard from others. They haven’t given enough thought to these issues to make them their own,” Ferguson said.

As a teacher, he often thought of students while writing his book that offered divergent viewpoints.

“It’s a very personal situation, but a lot of undergrads who have never had to deal with a loved one in this situation have very stringent views. But if they have seen a loved one go through a lengthy or painful death process, they are more open to seeing other viewpoints,” he said.

The situation gets much more complicated when Christians are elected to office and start to make public policy based on their personal beliefs of what is right or wrong. Ferguson pointed to the machinations of the legislature and judicial bodies in the Terri Schiavo case as an example of how bad things can get.

When Christians become convinced they are right and all others are wrong in such cases, “it doesn’t show the gentler side of Christianity for those on either side of the issue,” he pointed out.

Ferguson discovered the difficulty of finding an easy answer as he researched the subject before he wrote his book.

“I criticize students for not seeing more than one viewpoint, but this is one subject I hadn’t thought very deeply about. I discovered that this is a question where there are no quick, easy answers,” he said.

He doesn’t posit one viewpoint as better concerning the right to die in the book and will not now. But he reached one conclusion while writing the book: It’s important to put into writing one’s wishes concerning whether to continue life when there is little hope for recovery—and do it long before a crisis occurs.

“The problems that arise in this area are because people don’t think about it in advance, and it puts tremendous burdens on families and divides families as they try to choose their course,” Ferguson said. “Everyone needs to have written instructions for their family to follow.”

Ferguson also advised churches to be careful dealing with right-to-life issues in Sunday school lessons and sermons.

“The church is to be a place of healing, and these right-to-life Sundays can be very divisive and hurtful to families who have had to make very difficult decisions,” he said.

Consensus lacking on end-of-life issues

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A slice of Seattle PI...

Giuliani's lead has been astounding because he has not kowtowed to the religious right on social issues that are dragging down his party nationally, as all the other GOP candidates have done. The name of poor Terri Schiavo never crosses his lips, but he does stress his intention to appoint conservative judges like Clarence Thomas and tells conservative crowds they have "nothing to fear from him."

It's not enough not to be Hillary

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My goodness, where to start?

“There’s not one Christian view, and there’s not even just one Baptist view. A lot of Baptists differ in their views on the topic and where these lines of differing opinions should be drawn,” Ferguson said. “Some would argue that it is a very Christian thing to support a right to die if it will alleviate pain.”

Even Christians aren't perfect. There are some among us who don't accept the Christian view regarding euthanasia. Some don't accept the Christian view of homosexual behavior. If you picked apart every Christian, you'd probably find that most of them part with Christianity on at least one topic. Their unChristian views are not what define Christianity.

As Ferguson points out in his book, however, the Southern Baptist Convention approved in 2001 a resolution castigating euthanasia. The strongly worded resolution read: “The messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting … affirm our belief that every human life, including the life of the terminally ill, disabled or clinically depressed patient, is sacred and ought to be protected against unnecessary harm; and be it further resolved, that we find legalized euthanasia immoral ethically, unnecessary medically and unconscionable socially.”

Well then, that is the Southern Baptist view. Any Southern Baptist (real or imagined) who espouses a differing view, isn't speaking for the Southern Baptists. I'm not sure what's too complicated about that for Mr. Ferguson to comprehend.

“It’s a very personal situation, but a lot of undergrads who have never had to deal with a loved one in this situation have very stringent views. But if they have seen a loved one go through a lengthy or painful death process, they are more open to seeing other viewpoints,” he said.

Nonsense. We often get this argument from our visitors. They pretend that everyone who know murder is wrong (i.e. "have very stringent views") have no experience to base their opinions on, but once somebody has had to deal with the death of a loved one they become pro-death (i.e. "are more open to seeing other viewpoints). When it all comes out in the wash, it turns out they've never actually endured the death of a loved one themselves. They've endured the death of someone they were connected to, not by love, but by inheritance.

The situation gets much more complicated when Christians are elected to office and start to make public policy based on their personal beliefs of what is right or wrong. Ferguson pointed to the machinations of the legislature and judicial bodies in the Terri Schiavo case as an example of how bad things can get.

All of the legislation was aimed at ensuring Terri's right to have her choices represented in court. This dufus John Ferguson Jr. only approves of the right to choose if death is the only choice available. I don't see him complaining about atheists, muslims or devil worshippers writing legislation they agree with. Only Christians are required to write legislation they are personally opposed to. Does he hate Christians because we support the right to life, or does he hate the right to life because Christians support it?

When Christians become convinced they are right and all others are wrong in such cases, “it doesn’t show the gentler side of Christianity for those on either side of the issue,” he pointed out.

Since when has Christianity been about gently submitting to evil? Who is this moron who thinks he has the right to tell Christians what it means to be Christian?

“I criticize students for not seeing more than one viewpoint, but this is one subject I hadn’t thought very deeply about. I discovered that this is a question where there are no quick, easy answers,” he said.

But that doesn't stop him from offering one, in the true spirit of his instant philosophy. He never thought about it before, but now he's the expert.

Ferguson also advised churches to be careful dealing with right-to-life issues in Sunday school lessons and sermons.

“The church is to be a place of healing, and these right-to-life Sundays can be very divisive and hurtful to families who have had to make very difficult decisions,” he said.

This, from an overnight philosopher, who thinks the only good Christian is a dead Christian. And we should let him lead our Sunday school lessons. I don't think so.