St Phils Blog - Thursday 16th May

Euthanasia and the NSW Parliament

You may be aware that a couple of weeks ago, State Greens MP Cate Faehrmann introduced "The Rights of the Terminally Ill" Bill into NSW parliament. On the surface, it seems reasonable and comes with a flowchart of the proposed process needed to voluntarily end a person's life.

Euthanasia is back on the agenda of public discourse – what do you make of it, and are you ready to speak about it?

The word euthanasia comes from 2 Greek words literally meaning “good death”, and as a legal definition it refers to the act of killing or permitting the death of a hopelessly sick or injured person in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. It is marked by 3 things: 1. It tries to bring about death in as painless a way as possible 2. Usually only seen as legitimate when medical treatments to cure or improve a sickness have been exhausted. 3. It involves another person – it is assisted suicide. Now euthanasia can be voluntary – when the recipient gives an expressed intention and permission to die. And it can be involuntary – when next of kin make decisions on behalf of an unconscious recipient. But in a worldly sense, the aim is to bring on a good death in a terminal patient.

This is one of those areas that Christians are qualified more than most to speak on. Euthanasia brings to the fore issues such as death, the value and meaning of life and an understanding of love – issues that believers should be well equipped to speak on given that we know Jesus. So how would you speak about this issue?

There are three main arguments that people give pro-euthanasia, yet we must see them as unchristian.

(a) “People have a right to choose to die”. The current political and social environment holds independent autonomy as one of its key tenants. To argue against this severely cuts against the grain of our culture. Certainly, Christians should agree that individuals have rights, but we believe our lives do not solely belong to us. Christians cannot think of their lives as independent of God. Two reasons: God not only made the world, but sustains it too (without Him, no-one has life). Second, every human carries the fractured resemblance of their creator so our identity as people comes inextricably linked to Him. To decide that “my” life should come to an end reflects a desire to be more like Creator than creation.

(b) “It is the loving and compassionate thing”. The desire to bring relief to suffering should resonate with Christians and it is important for us to feel the weight of this argument. It is perhaps the strongest of the “cases” that can be made for euthanasia to be legalised because of the emotive force that comes with talking about particular people. In the heartbreak of suffering, it is not hard to think of euthanasia as an expression of love: When someone we care for is in great pain, or is in great suffering, then it is hard not to want to do anything to alleviate that suffering. This is particularly so because the conscious intention of the euthanasia is not “I hate this person and want to kill them” it is “I love this person and I hate what’s happened to them – I hate the situation that they find themselves in.” So for most advocates, euthanasia is about caring for people – about kindness, respectability and dignity in death. As Christians we are called to love, and there is something about the idea of minimising pain that resonates with us, isn’t there?

Firstly, such a statement falls into the trap of (a). Secondly, Christian compassion is not about minimizing suffering, but maximizing care. As Christians, we expect suffering to be a part of a world ravaged by sin and we know that suffering will only truly be removed in heaven, when sin and death are done away with. So, true love will be ongoing and steadfast care (and prayer) throughout suffering. We need to be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that death is our friend. Death is the enemy and so it is unloving to prematurely bring people into its clutches.

(c) “Resources are better invested elsewhere”. It is not wrong to be dependent on another person. Especially in the Christian community, there will be times when all of us need to rely on the support and love of other people. It may be ongoing. Christian friends need to work hard to care for the incapacitated especially in showing them that they are not a “burden” we would prefer to be removed to make others' lives easier.  The value of a person comes in the fact that they are loved by Jesus. The terminal, the disabled, the crippled are no less valuable to God than the most successful businessman or athlete. Their life has meaning because of Jesus, especially so in the light of heaven, where believers will be clothed in perfection, in a body that will never perish, spoil or fade. For the terminally-ill unbeliever, we fall back prayerfully on the gospel of Grace, knowing that the Spirit of Jesus can invest them with eternal salvation even when bed-ridden. People might be valued less by society if they are dependent, but certainly not by God.

On a pastoral level, be mindful that this issue will be ‘live’ and ‘raw’ for some of your friends to talk about, so remember to love them in your manner as well as your words. But if you were looking for an opportunity to promote the gospel – Cate Faehrmann has very kindly given us one.

In the end, the political debate is not about personal views - law is about promoting what is good for society. And so the question is this: Is euthanasia good for the people of NSW?

YBIC,
Andrew

P.S. We did a series on Christian Ethics back in 2009 and I gave a sermon on this issue. You can listen to it here.

Prayer:

From the Anglican Prayerbook Service for Funerals:

Lord,
You alone are the source of life.
May your life-giving Spirit flow through us.
Grant us your compassion one for the other.
In our sorrow, give us the calm of your peace.
Kindle our hope, and let grief give way to joy;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

St Phils Blog - Thursday 9th May

On The Idols Of Our World

Jess and I have been using a book called "Bible Delight" as part of our quiet times together (thank you to the kind person who gave it to me as a present!). It is a book by an English pastor, Christopher Ash and in it, he works through Psalm 119 section by section.

In a recent entry, on Psalm 119:37-40, he gave these words about the line in verse 37: "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and in your ways give me life".

Archbishop William Temple once compared British society to a shop window in which the price tags had been changed around. Things of no worth are priced dear; and things of great worth are counted as dirt. Falsehood, the clever crook, Enron, the successful corrupt, the sexual winner, the financial wheeler-dealer, the celebrity are all priced high. We paint as valuable that which is empty. But when did we last read a magazine article extolling  the value of self-control? The Fruit of the Spirit is counted as dirt. But the Word of God makes me love goodness and appreciate its value. It is a good illustration. An idol sells itself dear. Whether it be career success or sexual fulfillment or popularity or self esteem, it says it is valuable and worth a big investment of my energies. Indeed it demands a big investment; idols do not come cheap. But actually an idol is empty.

An idol promises much in this age, but delivers nothing of lasting value in the age to come. It is an emptiness, a nothing, a weightlessness, a vapour, a will o' the wisp, something that just blows away in the wind of judgement like chaff. Those who worship idols become like them (Ps 115:8). If I bow down to emptiness, then I myself will become empty. The worship of idols is the most successful form of weight loss in the world. I worship until I fade away. I may be physically obese while being spiritually weighless. The [psalmist] prays that his eyes will be turned from looking at, and desiring, empty things.

(Christopher Ash, Bible Delight, pp 66-7)

Such helpful words to consider our own lives, realising the idols that are present and the dangers that lurk in giving our lives to them instead of the Living Lord. May the Spirit of God convict us of such truth by the Word of God, that Psalm 119:37 be found true in us: "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and in your ways give me life".

YBIC,

Andrew

St Phils Blog - Thursday 2nd May

"But you only believe what your culture taught you..."

This is an objection to Christianity that you hear often: You only believe what you do because you grew up in the Shire, and not in [insert exotic location here]. The idea behind this point is simply that what we believe is a product of our society and culture.

There is much I like about New York City Pastor Tim Keller, but particularly I appreciate his ability to respond with humility but force to 'attacking questions'. To use a tennis analogy, if his conversation partner fires a powerful serve at him, he counters with a hard return that requires the server to defend. Dr Keller does this often to create some "relational space" to really talk about the issue.

On the question of religion just being a product of culture, Keller makes this point, quoting the philosopher Alvin Plantinga:

People often say to him: "If you were born in Morocco, you wouldn't even be a Christian, but rather a Muslim". [Plantinga] responds: 'Suppose we concede that if I had been born of Muslim parents in Morocco rather than Christian parents in Michigan, my beliefs would have been quite different. [But] the same goes for the pluralist ... If the pluralist had been born in [Morocco] he probably wouldn't have been a pluralist. Does it follow that ... his pluralist beliefs are produced in him by an unreliable belief-producing process?"

You can't say, "All claims about religions are historically conditioned except the one I am making right now." If you insist that no-one can determine which beliefs are right and wrong, why should we believe what you are saying?"

(The Reason For God, pp 10-11)

Great return serve! It allows then a conversation about truth, and hopefully a conversation about the truth of the gospel found in Jesus. After all, He does not limit where His gospel goes, and His salvation extends through every cultural barrier and idol (Matthew 28:19-20).

YBIC,

Andrew

St Phils Blog - Wednesday 24th April

ANZAC Day and the Enduring Hope of Christianity

This Thursday, Australia celebrates its "religious" holiday. As Christians, we celebrate our freedoms won by our brave armed forces personnel, pray for their safety in combat and honour those who have given their lives in the service of others and for our country. In small ways, such acts remind us of the gospel and the Lord who gave his life for us.

Here is another great video from the Centre for Public Christianity, prompting us to reflect on the gospel as we honour our service men and women.

Lest we forget.

YBIC,

Andrew

St Phils Blog - Thursday 18th April

Artwork on Good Friday

For anyone who attended our church@10 service on Good Friday a couple of weeks ago, you will know that during Alex's sermon on "The Cost of Love", Emily Ackland was painting an artwork, inspired by the passage of Scripture and the spoken sermon. If you've been inside our church building in the last fortnight, you will have seen it - we still keep it up - but here is a picture of the final work.

Emily kindly offered the time to answer some questions about her experience and thinking in her artistic expression of the Gospel:

Andrew: How long has art been a passion for you?
Emily: I have loved art since I was a little girl , drawing and painting at home and in my auntie's studio (she is an artist who has been a huge influence on my painting style).  I studied art at school and spent most of my high school days in the art room with great art teachers like Aris Kartsonis (a church @10 member). After school I went on to study visual arts at ANU in Canberra. 

Andrew: Why do you think that art is such a powerful medium of communication?
Emily: As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. An image can evoke such varying emotions and responses in the viewer, it is also possible to speak to people of all language backgrounds with a single image without the need of a translator!

Andrew: What inspired your artwork on Good Friday?
Emily: Obviously the astonishing sacrifice of Jesus that is the centrepiece of God's salvation story..... The death of Jesus Christ has been depicted hundreds and thousands of times throughout art history - and it was always going to be a huge challenge and privilege to attempt to do it justice. But during one of the sermons at St Phils during March, as we walked through the book of John, I had a clear picture of how I wanted to portray this somber scene.

Andrew: I know this is the question all artists hate, but as you look at your piece, what meaning were you hoping to convey?
Emily: I wanted to convey the darkness of that  moment - the profound shift in heaven and earth that occurred as the temple curtain was torn and the sky went dark .... But I also painted a silver lining around the dark clouds to indicate the hope that would surely come on resurrection Sunday. I wanted Jesus' hand to be outstretched and facing up to heaven to symbolise His free and generous gift of grace that cost His life ... And of course the words of John 16 that sum up the painting "...so that In ME you may find peace."

Andrew: How might art help in spreading the good news about Jesus?
Emily: Art has helped me evangelise in many different ways over the years. It's something that comes naturally to me and I enjoy , just like others may get together over a sport game and share the good news with mates - we are all called to use what's in our hands. I have been in an aboriginal community sitting around a camp fire where I drew pictures in the sand of basically the 2 ways to live Gospel presentation ... I have used art therapy with asylum seekers and refugees to help them process grief and loss as well as guide them towards the hope and freedom found in Jesus. I have used painting in prison ministry where I made banners for the Kairos program that symbolised the breaking of spiritual chains that happens when we make Jesus our Lord .... These are just a few of the many ways art can be used in our witness as Christians.

YBIC,

Andrew