ChristianityTolerance

End of life – Multicultural Day

John Barker

Christianity

• Historical

• ‘Christ’ – ianity– A king figure come to rescue people– Jesus

• Book = Bible (66 books spanning many yrs)

• Message known as the gospel (‘good news’ gk.)

Prophetic

• 2000 years of God’s dealings with people – anticipating the coming of the ‘Christ’

• How he would be born

• Live

• Die and Rise

Documents / History (accounts of Jesus)

Source

Latin

Greek

OtherQuoted

5’300

10’000

24,000

Author WrittenEarliest

CopyTime Span Copies

Caesar (History) 100 - 44 BC 900 AD 1,000 years 10

Pliny (History) 61 - 113 AD 850 AD 750 years 7

Suetonius (Roman History)

70 - 140 AD 950 AD 800 years ?

Tacitus (Greek History)

100 AD1,100

AD1,000 years 20

The Good news / Gospel

• Only good news if there is some very terrible news or situation to bring good news into

Six Steps through the message of the Bible

•God the creator of all and loving ruler over all

1

God1

You are worthy…    to receive glory and honour and power,    for you created all things,       and by your will they were created       and have their being.

Revelation 4:11 

1

God• I’ll live in your world my way

2

2 ways to rebel• Religiously

– If I do this God will owe me

• Irreligiously– I’m going to live as the god of my life

– Luke 15.11-31

Humanity in Rebellion – bleak!

There is no one who is really good, not even one;     there is no one who understands,       no one who looks for God.  All have turned away,       they have together become worth nothing;    there is no one who does good,

Romans 5.10-12

2

ChaosWar

Addiction

Abuse

Sickness

Death

Pollution

Jealousy

Anger

Famine

3

With no pleasure at all God gives us the separation from

Him and His blessings that we ask for – Very Bleak!

Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement

Hebrews 9:27

3

• Jesus – the man who died for rebels

4

 But he was pierced for our transgressions,        he was crushed for our iniquities;

       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

Isaiah 53.5

4

• Jesus – the risen Ruler

5

J

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1.3

5

The Choice6

J

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

6

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.“

John 3:36 

6

Two Issues

Tolerance

• Lots said in the multicultural arena

• Be and let be

• Keep Quiet about ideas – especially absolute truth claims

A Christian View - Tolerance

• Open discussion of issues

• View of Humanity as family – when differing views conversation as siblings is helpful image

• Ethics may be hard but because of Chaos in the world but there are often better and less good decisions

• Tolerance

End of Life

• Thomas Sydenham (1642-1689) summarises nicely

• (Sydenhams Chorea)

• (Medical History taking)

• "It becomes every man who purposes to give himself to the care of others, seriously to consider the four following things:

• First, that he must one day give an account to the Supreme Judge of all the lives entrusted to his care.

• Secondly, that all his skill, and knowledge, and energy as they have been given him by God, so they should be exercised for His glory, and the good of mankind, and not for mere gain or ambition.

• Thirdly, and not more beautifully than truly, let him reflect that he has undertaken the care of no mean creature,

for, in order that he may estimate the value, the greatness of the human race, the only begotten Son of God became himself a man,

and thus ennobled it with His divine dignity, and far more than this, died to redeem it.

• And fourthly, that the doctor being himself a mortal man,

should be diligent and tender in relieving his suffering patients, inasmuch as he himself must one day be a like sufferer."

Find a large support amongst Christians for palliative care rather than assisted suicide /

euthanasia