Preliminary communication
EUTHANASIA IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS’ DEATH ON THE CROSS. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF A DIGNIFIED DEATH
Ivan Markešić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5067-1676
; Institute of Social Sciences "Ivo Pilar"
Abstract
In the discussion of euthanasia as the right of the individual to freely choose the date and place of their own death, worthy of a human being, the author relies on the view that euthanasia, defi ned in such a way, is a socially constructed fact. The author attempts to fi nd one specifi c case of such socially constructed “euthanasia upon personal request” in a free interpretation of the text from the Gospel which states that upon Jesus’ request (“I am thirsty!”), when he was already crucifi ed, the Roman soldiers off ered him a sponge full of vinegar that he tasted and then died (John 19:29–30). Based on such possible scenario of Jesus’ death on the cross, which, despite everything, should have been worthy of a human being, the author wants to discuss the (un)justifi ed demand of contemporary humans for the right to freely dispose of their lives in hopeless life circumstances, for example, in the case of chronic pain that accompanies long, hard and terminal illnesses, a patient’s right to ask for the termination of treatment and death worthy of a human being. Regarding this, the paper discusses the values and dignity of life, off ers a short overview of the history of euthanasia as well as the crucifi xion and, in a free interpretation, analyses the last moments of Jesus’ life.
Keywords
“holiness of life”; “quality of life”; freedom; human dignity; euthanasia; Jesus; crucifixion; death
Hrčak ID:
67439
URI
Publication date:
15.4.2011.
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