Gary Nelson: Do not fall victim to ‘culture of death,’ resist euthanasia
In order to stay on the cutting edge of the culture of death, our state legislators are proposing a new euthanasia law. The debate, then, seems to be between those who believe humans have a soul, and those who do not.
If humans do not have a soul, we are simply the forward edge of the sludge of evolution: apes with a briefcase. We are a mistake of nature, with neither purpose nor dignity. Our brains are material, controlling our thoughts and actions by chemical processes. We have no free will. The worst thing in life is suffering and the best thing is pleasure. Death is meaningless.
On the other hand, if we have a soul, and if we are made in the image and likeness of a Creator, then we have dignity and free will. We have self-possession and responsibility for our actions, for they are not merely the result of evolved chemical processes but of something greater. We have purpose and a destiny beyond death.
Life is a gift that does not come from ourselves. Do not allow yourself to be sucked in to this culture of death. You are loved and wanted, from birth to natural death.
Gary Nelson, Modesto
This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Gary Nelson: Do not fall victim to ‘culture of death,’ resist euthanasia."