IN CANADA FAITH CONVICTIONS ABOUT ASSISTED SUICIDE DO NOT MATTER

Death on request or aid to suicide violates deeply-rooted moral beliefs of most faiths which deem it to be ethically unjustifiable. Those beliefs do not matter any longer. In the past these beliefs have certainly influenced civic laws in Canada that prohibited euthanasia and assisted suicide. Twelve years ago the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against physician-assisted suicide when Sue Rodriguez petitioned to end her life. Subsequent cases repeatedly challenged that ruling? Sufferers, families of sufferers, and journalists lobbied for approval of assisted death by emotionally describing the petitioners’ desire to leave their pain behind.

POST CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICALS

When my theology was in its formative stages, I was instructed by Great Tradition evangelicals. It was a conservative Evangelical theology that accepted the Bible as God’s inspired and trustworthy word. At the same time I was aware of scholars and theologians who attempted to reform or correct the great faith traditions. Reform or correction was accomplished by questioning divine authorship of parts of the Bible.

CHRISTIANS AND CULTURE

CHRISTIANS AND THE CULTURE AROUND THEM

How well are Christians engaging with the culture outside the protected church environs? It has been common for churchgoers to view culture as “secular,” evil, and something to be avoided. The former group of Christians whom we may term as ‘legalists’ has categorized believers who have not made the secular/sacred distinction as ‘liberal’ or ‘libertine.’ This dichotomy is not uncommon to Christian conversation and Christians have stereotypically opted for one or the other of these approaches to engaging culture.