Annotated outline

Running head: Christians and Hindus attitude towards death and dying 1

Christians and Hindus attitude towards death and dying 3

Christians and Hindus attitude towards death and dying

Introduction to World Religion PHIL-1304-51401

Sanir Khati

Date: 11/19/019

The paper is about the Christians and Hindus attitude towards death and dying. Death is a part of life and our beliefs about it shape the manner in which we behave. In Christianity, we are encouraged to repent our sins and stay on the righteous path in order to able to go to heaven after judgement day. Christians believe that there is life after death therefore death is considered God’s will.

This topic really matters to me because it affects various parts of human life including health decisions. For instance, according to Christianity only God has the right to take one’s life. However, in health, euthanasia is allowed in some countries across the globe. Voluntary euthanasia is the action of ending the life of an individual in a painless manner. A patient can choose to have voluntary euthanasia when death is imminent. As a Christian, voluntary euthanasia is wrong because it amounts to murder which is against the sixth commandment (Nichols, 2018). Life is precious and was given to us by God therefore he is the only one who has a right of taking it. In addition, God expects us to persevere all the hardships in this world because in the afterlife, we will rejoice with him in heaven and never have to undergo hardships. This topic is very important to me because it will enable me understand the impact of one’s attitude towards death and dying on one’s life decisions.

In this paper, I will use Christianity and Hinduism to dialogue with. Hindus believe in rebirth and reincarnation of souls. Death is not therefore not a calamity because it is not the end of someone but is a resting period whereby one recuperates and comes back to the world to continue his/her journey. The believe that death is a natural process affects the manner in which Hindus view various things. For instance, voluntary euthanasia would be altering the natural process therefore based on this it is wrong (Brockington, 2018). However, based on the fact that aiding to end a painful life, an individual is performing a good dead, then euthanasia is acceptable. This topic is very interesting because it enables one understand the impact of religion on real life decisions.

References

Brockington, J. L. (2016). Hinduism and Christianity. Springer.

Nichols, S., Strohminger, N., Rai, A., & Garfield, J. (2018). Death and the self. Cognitive science, 42, 314-332.