her response. Suffering can become thevehicle for learning to hold lightly to life, for coming togrips with our own humanity and for realizing our ultimatedependence on God. While we should not glorify suffering orbring it upon ourselves or others, we need not oppose it atall costs. The story of the life, death, and resurrection ofJesus tells us that the tragedy of suffering, dying anddeath, cannot, and will not be stronger than God'slove.(McCuen pg. 62)Larson and Amundsen show that the Christian oppositionto suicide makes sense in the context of a firm belief inGod's sovereignty and the humble trust that God makes allthings work together for good. God's love, revealed inJesus, gives us the courage to enter into suffering anddeath, knowing that life ultimately triumphs. Beneficence isultimately about mercy; that is, about how we fulfill thedemands of conventional fidelity to one another. What kindof mercy toward the dying fits the commitment first to befaithful and then, whenever possible, to heal? While it maybe inappropriate to speak of killing as healing, may killingbe compatible with mercy toward those who are dyingpainfully and find life empty, oppressive and meaningless?Those who argue in support of euthanasia/PAS think so. Thosewho oppose it fear that granting physicians the license tokill will erode our confidence in them at the very time weneed them most.(McCuen pg. 23)From the Bible we learn that mercy and compassion arethe ways that God loves, provides for and protects God'speople. Out of mercy and compassion Jesus restored thebroken to wholeness. He healed the blind, taught theignorant, raised the dead and fed the hungry. The mercifulare faithful to those who suffer by compassionatelyaccompanying them, not by killing them. Mercy keeps us fromabandoning hope when life is hard. Resorting toeuthanasia/PAS is failing to embody the trust that sustainslife and the commitment to be companions to one another. Opinion polls taken dur...
