Article by Michael R. Bott BA
“The Nazis had a scheme for killing the mentally insane which they called ‘mercy-killing’ or ‘euthanasia’ ; apparently, they could hardly wait for the smokescreen of war to put it into effect. By an order dated Sept. 1, 1939 – the very day war broke out – Hitler authorised the Chief of his chancellery, Buehler, and his private physician, Dr. Brandt, to administer ‘mercy killing’ to incurable persons.” [Ref. 1: Gideon Hausner. Justice in Jerusalem (NY: Holocaust Library, 1968), p.90].
Introduction
Euthanasia, as far as the 20th century is concerned, is no new thing. Immediately after the Second World War, revelations about the Nazi Holocaust meant that euthanasia fell into disrepute. However, euthanasia, once considered unthinkable, is now widely practised in the Netherlands. In Australia, in our own part of the world, the Northern Territory Government has recently voted to allow voluntary euthanasia.
It is with macabre irony that the capital of the Northern Territory is named after the man whose theories have done much to undermine Christian values – Charles Darwin. (His ‘theory’ of natural selection was defined in terms of ‘survival of the fittest,’ a phrase first coined by Herbert Spencer).
For full article go to:
http://www.christian-apologetics.org/html/death.htm#t2
Previously published in
Apologia (The Journal of the Wellington Christian Apologetics Society Inc.)
Vol. 4 no.2 (1995): 5-12
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