An Outsider Visits a Lutheran Church

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Dignity is not Enough: Thinking Biblically About Assisted Dying

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  I always imagined dying a faithful death for Christ would mean burning at the stake. Now, I suspect it will mean dying in my bed of natural causes. The assisted dying movement gained momentum recently when the New York State Assembly and the UK House of Commons both passed laws paving the way for patients to die with the help of the medical community. Pending final approval, they will join nations such as Canada, The Netherlands, most of Australia, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as twelve U.S. jurisdictions. The push to legalize what is often termed “Medical Assistance in Dying” is a major sign of what philosopher Philip Rieff called “the triumph of the therapeutic”: the belief that for everything there must be a therapy, a remedy, a provision of comfort. Not only every aspect of our lives, but now even our deaths must be therapized. It is also significant that assisted dying has gained acceptance in countries where individual choice and freedom of action are valued the highest....
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The Never-Children Are His Always Children

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