Euthanasia

The Biblical sacrifices in the Old Testament are required by God to give a brief forgiveness of sins and it is there to foretell the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Are we still continuing the animal sacrifices? The animal sacrifices stopped when Christ died on the Cross, as it says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." Ephesians 1:7. And it also says in the Bible why animal sacrifices happened in the Old Testament: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." Leviticus 17:11 (2) With the ethical question about Euthanasia, I"m going to provide two ethical principles: Virtue Ethics and Religious Ethics. Before bringing here the answers of those theories, I will give the definitions of those words. Virtue Ethics emphasizes the role of one's character and the virtues that one's character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. (Wikipedia) Religious Ethics are the ethical values that have been proclaimed by every religion as God"s laws. (Ethical Society) Focusing on the Virtue Ethics, a man that didn"t have a good character and principles, he would think that old, unadoptable and ugly animals are just jam-packing the animal shelters and they should mercy-killed. Negatively, a person with good traits will assume that "animals have every right to live a happy life the same as humans." They will live by the Golden Rule: "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12)." Relating the Bible verse here, it means that you, or we, should have a good conduct towards any living creature the same as you like to be treated. This thinking could also be related to Kantianism. If we are talking about Religious Ethics, people should not be playing God and therefore, should not take God"s role of having that power to take an animal"s life (and shall not be linked to animal sacrifices because God requires it to do so). To do or attempt as a mere man is a sin. It is stated in Job 1:21 that "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away." The religious duty of every man is to be accommodating and helpful to animals. Answering your question, although I have that small probability to live and recover, performing euthanasia to human beings is deemed wrong. There are many Biblical passages where the definition of euthanasia clearly fails. The following Biblical verses show that euthanasia is murder: "Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." Exodus 23:7 ""Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death. 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone"s animal must make restitution"life for life. 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. 21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death." Leviticus 24:17-21 "Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end"besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD." 2 Kings 21:16 ..and there are many more Biblical passages that says that euthanasia is evil. So what is the option left for me? The way of the Cross; it demands us to provide ourselves to others in need by consuming our time, money, and energy in discovering sympathetic solutions for human misery. (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 8:34; Philippians 2:4-11; Galatians 6:2, 10) [3] There are other few alternatives that are more humanitarian and at the same cost as euthanasia. These alternatives include pet hospice and spaying and neutering. "Veterinary Hospice is a family-centered service dedicated to maintaining comfort and quality of life for the terminally ill or geriatric pet until natural death occurs or the family elects peaceful euthanasia." This practice is obviously for terminally ill animals.(4) Spaying and neutering are for the homeless animals. Before continuing, let us define "spaying and neutering." "Spaying or neutering refers to a surgical procedure to render a dog or cat unable to produce litters of puppies or kittens. In addition to halting reproduction, other health benefits include the prevention of certain types of cancers and behavioral problems that include roaming, fighting and "marking" territory." (5) How is this practice done? To be able to do this, the veterinarian pulls out the uterus and ovaries, which is called ovariohysterectomy. Essentially, the female gets her tubes tied. For the male, the testis is being removed and will take an antibiotic is taken for it to heal in three to four weeks. According to Operation Catnip, in just 7 years, a female cat can produce 420,000 more cats. This will give a lot of problems for the animal shelters. It also helps the animals because they can live a happy life in the wilderness. "As for the young cats (kittens) and dogs (puppies), they can easily be adopted into descent homes and live carefree lives. "Spaying and neutering can also provide the animal with protection from breast cancer, male genital problems, uterine disease, and other health risks such as mastitis and ovarian cysts" (Why "6-7). Spaying and neutering also eliminates the heat cycle, reduces crying, reduces the urge to roam, reduces mounting, and stops spraying. Having all of these benefits either reduces or "removes discomfort, distress, and distraction" from the animals mind so they can live happier lives. These advantages also benefit the community, because it eliminates the problem of roaming and accidents, because the animals don't have to urge anymore to do so." (6) (1) http://www.gotquestions.org... (2) https://bible.org... (3) http://www.lifenews.com... (4) http://www.lapoflove.com... (5) http://www.spayfirst.org... (6) http://www.ukessays.com...