Questions & Answers

Any action or any failure to act with the intent to cause death or accelerate the dying process is contrary to Scripture (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Matthew 25:42). Scripture does not make a distinction between the denial of food or the denial of fluids. Scripture first looks at the heart and compels individuals to examine their motive.

Today's culture increasingly views a declining quality of life brought on by age, disease or accident as justification to deny continued life-sustaining measures. The decision to remove a person's food or fluids is often shrouded in euphemisms to "let them go" or "set them free" without first challenging the motive.

Any action to deny food and/or fluids which is intended to shorten life and hasten death is contrary to Scripture and is an affront to the Creator who holds dominion over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39).

On the other hand, Scripture also reminds us that a person's time on this earth is limited (Psalm 90:10; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:27). Life does come to an end, and for most people it is a progressive process that occurs over a span of time. As the body ages and the organs of the body begin to fail, efforts to resuscitate or even sustain the body cross a line between beneficial and futile care.

Sometimes that line is clear and easy to see: the organs begin to fail and, without the knowledge or resources to reverse the process, death becomes imminent. In such a circumstance the provision to continue feeding may antagonize or accelerate the dying process because of the body's inability to digest the food. The continued administration of fluids may provide comfort in the closing moments of life. In some circumstances, however, fluids also may not be able to be processed by the body and could agonize the dying process unless they are stopped.

Scripture speaks against actions and inactions which ignore God's dominion over life and death. The real challenges are in the so-called "gray area," because it is unclear whether death is imminent or an action is futile.

The reality is that all people involved with medical care and treatment decision-making are sinful and imperfect. Their judgments are often clouded by ignorance and/or biases. For that reason, when a particular circumstance becomes especially difficult, it is good to obtain second and third medical opinions and ask Christian family, friends, and clergy who are devoted first to serving God and who have a good knowledge of Scripture.

We have not searched historical documents of the Lutheran church regarding this question. However, we would say that there are three main possible sources of such experiences. They are:

1. Products of the person's mind like dreams. In some cases drugs may play a role.
2. Satanic visions intended to mislead the person.  Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). A message that says there is no hell or that life after death is good for everyone is Satanic whether it comes directly from Satan or from the person's mind.
3. God and his angels can appear to his children. God and angels have appeared in dreams.

Study of these experiences suggests that most of them seem to be products of the person's mind and wishes. Catholics see Mary. Hindus see one of their gods, etc. Some of the experiences are comforting. Some terrifying. Most seem to be produced by the mind of the person, but the other two sources cannot be ruled out. One has to look at them on a case by case basis. 

If the message received is contrary to Scripture, we know that we cannot believe it. Some of the apparitions of Mary may be psychological. Some may be Satanic. We may not be able to determine the sources in some cases.

My main advice to you is that you take the time to sit down with your pastor and talk about this. A face-to-face conversation with someone who knows you and in a setting where both of you can ask and answer questions is the preferred route to take. Here I must speak in general terms without really knowing you.

The first point I'll make is this: No, it is not necessarily wrong or sinful to desire death and graduation to glory. The Apostle Paul makes that clear with his famous words, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain . . . I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far" (Philippians 1:21,23).

The second point worth saying is that death is by no means the only thing a believer desires. Read through all of Paul's words in Philippians 1:20-26. Paul compares the desire to die and go to heaven with the value of his staying on earth. If the obtaining and enjoyment of heaven were the only goals of the Christian or the only purposes of God for us, no Christian would need to remain on earth after receiving the gift of saving faith through the gospel of Jesus Christ. God could and perhaps would just take each new Christian into heaven the way he took Enoch (see Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (see 2 Kings 2:1-12). But God has much more in his plans for believers. There is value for others that we remain and serve and testify to the truth here on earth. That is what Paul recognized and made clear.

Finally, it is obviously the cultivation of the gift of godly contentment that you want and need, the willingness to live and the willingness to die as your gracious Lord determines. I suppose all of us have those days with emotional and possibly physical and spiritual low points, and to express a disgust or fatigue as pilgrims on earth is hardly a new thing among believers (consider Elijah again, here in 1 Kings 19:3-5). But we do not seek this as the dominant characteristic of our lifestyle to the degree that it hinders our serving the Savior and our neighbor in the time of grace given to us on earth.

Our synod does not bind anyone's conscience in this matter but leaves it up to the individual child of God. In other words, we consider this something God has neither commanded nor forbidden, a so-called adiaphoron. A Christian should decide this on his or her own, based on the principles of love and wisdom, with a consideration of the possibility of causing someone to stumble in the faith. If a person has a doubting conscience, we should be quick to help them search the Scriptures on pertinent issues that surface here.

The main issues that surface with the subject organ donation deal with (1) loving our neighbor, (2) the treatment of the body, and (3) the resurrection of the body on the Last Day. Love for our neighbor (Romans 13:9) is perhaps the most often used argument for organ donations and transplants. It is an opportunity to serve someone else here on earth. Some who oppose organ transplants have classified them as bodily mutilation and see that as contrary to a proper love for a body redeemed by Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), although the majority of Christians feel that is a misrepresentation of what is happening here. Others have asked whether this somehow interferes with the resurrection of the entire body on the Last Day, although we find that the removal of organs would hinder God no more than the eventual decomposition of the body as "dust returns to dust" (Genesis 3:19).

There are other issues that may enter the picture here and deserve attention and discussion. The potential harvesting of organs when the donor's body is "kept alive" or functioning by machines or when there is less than complete brain death involved, the ethical issues of selling or auctioning organs for monetary gain, and the criteria for prioritizing recipients of donated organs are among the issues that one can think of. Adequate discussion of these takes us beyond our purpose and ability in this Q&A forum. Competent and preferably Christian professionals should be consulted.