Assisted Suicide is Spiralling Out of Control in Canada
Plenty of the same people who were outraged that the United States Supreme Court would overturn precedent on seminal abortion decisions, seemingly had no problem with the overturning of precedent in this Canadian case. This is because implicit in the view of rights and judicial review that many progressives hold, is that it is perfectly acceptable to overturn precedent in the name of expanding or establishing some newly discovered right — but once this is done, the debate is settled and there can be no reasonable dissent or change of heart. History, it seems, only marches in one direction.
An important part of the Carter decision, where the court determined that relevant social facts had changed, was essentially a blithe dismissal of exactly what has come to pass in Canada less than a decade after the decision. The court rejected the concern that once assisted suicide was allowed in some rare cases, there would be a “slippery slope” from helping terminally ill people end their lives, to a system in which vulnerable people like the disabled were caught in a euthanizing net.
Evidence presented in the case by a medical expert from Belgium that this might be possible, was dismissed by the court because “the permissive regime in Belgium is the product of a very different medico-legal culture.” Unlike those barbaric Belgians, enlightened Canada could avoid sliding down this slippery slope in which safeguards are easily gotten around. They would avoid the creeping expansion of eligibility by setting up a “carefully regulated scheme” that would keep its application narrow and exceptional.
Yet just seven years after the decision, the exact scenario dismissed by the court has come to pass. Who could have seen this coming? Well, all sorts of people, and not just religious voices. Disabilities advocates in Canada have been sounding the alarm on the path Canada was headed down since 2015, seemingly ignored by the courts and government.
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Lord Sabaoth His Name
Written by Reuben M. Bredenhof |
Sunday, January 30, 2022
The hymn expresses well Luther’s faith, and not only his faith, but that of the church in his day. Christians back then looked to God Almighty as the one who would fight and also win their fierce battles against falsehood and persecution. For that reason, Ein Feste Burg has been called the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” It captured the spirit of the Reformation so aptly that when Protestant martyrs were walking to their death at the scaffold or stake, it was often “A Mighty Fortress” that they chose to sing.Around Reformation Day—and throughout the year—this hymn is sung by the church with great passion. Often after sermons that celebrate the power and faithfulness of God our Saviour towards his people, the organist will pull out a few extra stops and we’ll belt out this cherished song.
Lord of the Sabbath?
As tends to happen with more of the tried and true psalms and hymns, “A Mighty Fortress” contains some old expressions whose meanings are no longer clear. And though we love to sing familiar lyrics , it’s proper that we know the meaning of what we are singing.
In “A Mighty Fortress,” in its second verse, we find especially one phrase that seems to be widely misunderstood. Speaking of the right Man on our side/ The Man of God’s own choosing, Luther asks and answers a rhetorical question about our Saviour: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He. And then, to further identify this person, his title is given:
Lord Sabaoth his Name.
What is this title, “Lord Sabaoth?” If asked, someone might think for a moment and tentatively suggest that this could be linked to the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 12:1-8. There Jesus is disputing with the Pharisees concerning what is lawful on the Sabbath. Jesus ends his words to the Pharisees with this definitive statement, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). So we might conclude that in the second verse of “A Mighty Fortress” we celebrate Jesus as the one with authority over the Lord’s day.
Lord of Hosts
But while Matthew 12:8 teaches an important truth, it’s not Jesus’ revelation of his lordship over the Sabbath that is being celebrated in Hymn 53:2. The confusion arises because the word “Sabaoth”—not Sabbath—is an English representation of a Hebrew word, sebaoth.
Of course, Luther didn’t write his hymn (Ein Feste Burg) in Hebrew, but in German. Yet in his original composition too, he simply gave the German representation of that Hebrew word sebaoth. So from Hebrew to German to English, “Sabaoth” has found its way into this favourite hymn.
For what this word “Sabaoth” means then, we must turn to the Hebrew Old Testament. There we regularly find this title for God: “Yahweh Sebaoth.” This title is often translated in English Bibles as “the LORD of hosts.”
Over what kind of hosts is the LORD? This is debated. There are some texts in Scripture that depict God as the head of human armies. For example, in 1 Samuel 17:45 David confronts Goliath with these words: “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.”
Other texts suggest that the hosts which God commands are the celestial bodies, like the sun, the moon and the stars. For instance, after God defeats the Canaanites, Deborah sings this: “From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera” (Jdg 5:20).
Still other texts say that the LORD’s hosts are heavenly creatures, such as the angels. The prophet Michaiah once described this war-room scene in heaven: “I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven around him” (1 Kgs 22:19).
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Are You Overlooking Christ’s Worth?
When the Apostle Paul makes the case for the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus, he puts his arms around everything in existence and says that Jesus is better. His supremacy is supported by showing that everything exists because Christ wills it to. So, he is better than creation because he made it, owns it, and keeps it going. How could we turn to anything in creation without turning to something less than Jesus? Put it (whatever it is) on the scale and see that it weighs less than a feather compared to the infinite weight of Christ!
In 20 years of pastoral ministry, I’ve noticed a regularly overlooked emphasis for many Christians. And this emphasis is so important, so valuable, that if adopted, I think it could drastically affect your life. I know this firsthand. I’ve seen it happen and watched it in many others walking that narrow path toward Immanuel’s land.
Intrigued?
Okay, here it is: Besides considering Christ’s work, reflect on his worth.
I’m grateful that many Christians return to the story of the gospel. There’s an unfathomable benefit to our souls when we consider all that Jesus did for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. When we walk down those familiar roads in our minds and dwell upon these truths in our hearts, we’re reminded that our sins are gone and that there is a basis for our adoption into God’s family. Because of the doing and dying of Christ, we have his everlasting righteousness. God is pleased to pardon our sins–all our sins!-–forever! They are gone, and we are his! Praise the Lord.
As good as this is for our souls, there’s another step.
Answer these questions: In light of who Jesus is and what he’s done, how does he stack up against anything and anyone else? Where does he fit? How valuable is he? Is there anyone or anything that can rival him?
Most Christians can answer this question quickly and confidently. “No!”
But isn’t it true that we forget this? Believers don’t walk around thinking, “This sin is more valuable than Christ.” This would be insanity. But isn’t temporary insanity what sin is? It’s ridiculous to think that anything or anyone is better than Christ. But when we become futile in our thinking, and our foolish hearts are darkened, we thoughtlessly and absurdly exchange the glory of the Creator for the creation (Romans 1:21–25). Living in periods–however short–where we forget the surpassing excellence of Christ is spiritually dangerous. Therefore, we must fight to revisit and remember the infinite worth of Jesus.
Along these lines, it’s helpful to remember some of the testimonies of Scripture.
When the Apostle Paul considered his pedigree and performance as a religious man, he counted it all as rubbish in comparison to the surpassing value of knowing Christ:
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
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On Plundering the Egyptians
Although we must use discernment when using pagan philosophies, there is no need to fear their usage in the Christian church. Being able to rightly appropriate these things in service to Christian doctrine is evidence of the Holy Spirit working in common grace and the obligation of Christian theologians. This is precisely what theologians in the Great Tradition in the church has sought to do.
The debates surrounding catholicity and theological retrieval do not seem to be slowing down any time soon. With all the back and forth about Thomas, Aristotle, and Van Til, one theological topic seems to be overlooked more often than others—namely, common grace.
Often, the discussion of common grace is relegated to subjects such as marriage, art, government, and science. We think about these as goods not only for Christians, but for all mankind, perhaps recalling that God causes rain to fall on the just and unjust alike (Matt. 5:45). Yet we find common grace at work not only in the actions of unbelievers, but also in their intellect and inner life.
Although clearly different than special grace for the elect, common grace remains a sovereign operation of the Holy Spirit. As John Murray has said, in common grace the Spirit
“…endows men with gifts, talents, and aptitudes; he stimulates them with interest and purpose to the practice of virtues, the pursuance of worthy tasks, and the cultivation of arts and sciences that occupy time, activity and energy of men and that make for the benefit and civilization of the human race.”[1]
Therefore, unbelievers can, by virtue of common grace, come to philosophical conclusions that are helpful and true and can be utilized by the Christian.
This in and of itself is not highly controversial. Though in recent days, when it comes to Aristotle (and Aquinas’s use of Aristotle), there are some who are quick to sound an alarm, typically seeking to eschew these men in favor of claiming “sola scriptura.” This is not, however, how the Reformed have traditionally handled these matters. Rather, Reformed theologians have sought to utilize the insights, metaphysics, and philosophical truths from pagans where it is appropriate, while rejecting that which is antithetical to divine truth. Simply put, the Reformed can affirm the maxim that all truth is indeed God’s truth.
This does not mean that we should uncritically swallow everything that pagan philosophy has to say. Rather, we can claim that which is true as a gift of God, since the Holy Spirit is the fountain of all truth who guides us into all truth (Jn. 16:13). Understanding this allows us to understand philosophy rightly—even that of Aristotle or Plato—and utilize it as the handmaiden of theology.
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