If your religion teaches you that when you die you go to a better place; why would you use technology to extend your life to make it longer? I understand that most religions teaches you that purposely ending your life is wrong but not that refusing treatment is wrong. So wouldn't you want to get to that better place as soon as possible?
My question more entails to the taking medical care. As far as I know the Bible (I'm not as knowledgable about Islam so I don't know about that one) doesn't state that you have to treat your own illness. So if you are so sure that you are going to heaven why extend your stay here. It's like right before you take a big vacation telling your employer that you'll delay your vacation indefinitely. It just doesn't make sense to me that people that truly believe that they are going to heaven would want to delay it.
That is a complicated issue. There are miracles of medicine that lend to a better quality of life. Then there are the extended life prolonging devices that just prolong the end. I used to work as a respiratory therapist and so often people would be hooked up to ventilators for extended periods of time. In a coma, unresponsive, absolutely the machine doing everything for that person. The doctors used to say that one can realistically expect a person to only survive like that and regain total health within a month, sometimes less, depending on circumstances. When the brain waves come back with negative results and the kidney functions are fading fast, the body starts to shut down. I see it as being very selfish to want to keep a loved one in that situation. I see it as loving to allow that person to leave the world in peace and dignity, in saying, "no more."
You are not giving up on the life but letting go of the personal desire to keep that person close to you. Think of it in terms of how you want your own end of life. When there can be no more done, no more heroics, then do you want your family to mourn your illness or celebrate the life they shared with you?
That being said, I also do not mean that you give up on every illness. Not every illness is life threatening. It is not like you lay down and wait for the shadow of death to come over you. I do believe the Lord expects you to take the best care of yourself that you can and utilize physicians and medcine. I think of my youngest son - if not for his team of specialists and medicine - he would not be here. In not treating his illnesses he would be missing out on his greatest joys.
Wantinhg to echo what Janine said so beautifully. It is out of love that we make those tough decisions. Thank you, J, for sharing and your Dad's picture. You have an angel on your shoulder! Hugssssssss.
Weeeell...... irregardless of what medical decisions people choose to make for their loved ones, I'm quite sure its based out of LOVE for that person.....again, who are we to judge.
I've not had to actually choose the direct medical path of a loved one....but I'd probably error on the side of selfish LOVE! But, then again.....who knows!?
This is the best place to be. The other side is boring. Well, maybe not boring but there is so much more diversity here. It's just more fun here. I mean, you can't even wrestle crocodiles over there. There is no such thing as food or eating over there so when you jump on a croc, he just looks at you as if you are crazy. That's why I want to stay here.
lol, maybe we are crazy people in padded cells, who were sent to the institute for believing in this fantasy world in which this strange thing called "death" exists.
Haha! I couldn'timagine not being able to ruffle a few feathers and start some diversity myself... it's half the fun of being alive! The other half is love and the people who care about you... but i <3 being able to start stuff up!
I believe that we choose to extend life because death is the unknown. Most of us simply hope that there is another side. So just in case there isn't.....we want to stay alive in this life as long as possible.
The buddhist point of view on this is that we are in Samsara (a state of living on earth but enduring the pain and suffering of being human. Kind of like being on a roundabout) here on earth, we are really not in the best "place" per se.
We are here to learn how to be better people-as learning and making a difference to other humans, animals and the earth with all of its wonders. HOWEVER, this can only be done by living, breathing humans. this is why we prefer to extend life. To escape this realm (Samsara)and as one of the other posters stated to be "worthy" of a better existence either living or as a "spirit" In "heaven" or "the other side" or whatever.
Does this help?-it's actually very difficult to explain in simplistic terms.
I might as well add that as far as extending a terminally ill persons life that is man's doing.
Why if they are in pain and suffering and poor quality of life do we want them to live that extra month?
The other half is love and the people who care about you... but i <3 being able to start stuff up!
Linear Mode
