Suicide : a Christian response : crucial considerations for choosing life / Timothy J. Demy and Gary P. Stewart, editors ; foreword by Carl F.H. Henry. [print]

Part I. Legal and medical reflections Shaping euthanasia rights : compassion in Dying volume Washington and Quill volume Vacco Edward R. Grant Roe volume Wade and the euthanasia debate James Bopp Jr. and Richard E. Coleson Brick walls on the slippery slope : reasonable moderation or unjust discrimination against persons with disabilities? Daniel Avila The physician-assisted suicide : is it ever justified? Robert D. Orr The management of cancer pain Matthew E. Conolly Suicide and the right to die (with help) : the cases of Sigmund Freud and JAMA's Debbie David L. Schiedermayer A nurse's perspective on euthanasia Mary Krumholz Clifford -- Part II. Philosophical reflections Physician-assisted suicide : today, yesterday, and tomorrow John F. Kilner The price of life Alister E. McGrath Euthanasia : an overview John S. Feinberg The morality of suicide : issues and options J.P. Moreland Suicide and the problem of evil : why bad things cause people to end their lives C. Ben Mitchell Christians and a culture of death : affirming moral accountability in an amoral world J. Daryl Charles Absolute autonomy and physician-assisted suicide : putting a bad idea out of its misery Francis J. Beckwith Homicidal medicine John M. Dolan -- Part III. Theological reflections A theology of death Dennis P. Hollinger The Masada suicides : the making and breaking of a cultural icon Barry R. Leventhal Did early Christians "lust after death"? : a new wrinkle in the doctor-assisted suicide debate Darrel W. Amundsen Some reservations about suicide A.A. Howsepian -- Part IV. Biblical reflections Suicide and the concept of death in the Old Testament Eugene H. Merrill Death, an impetus for life : Ecclesiastes 12 :1-8 Barry C. Davis But the Bible doesn't say they were wrong to commit suicide, does it? Donal P. O'Mathuna A "wisdom" perspective on advocacy for the suicidal James S. Reitman Did Paul condone suicide? : implications for assisted suicide and active euthanasia Donal P. O'Mathuna The Good Samaritan and the euthanasia debate H. Wayne House -- Part V. Pastoral and personal reflections Suicide's companion : a trail of tears Gary P. Stewart Pastoral reflections on adolescent suicide Jeffrey A. Watson Pastoral reflections on suicide and the local church : humanity against itself Fred C. Chay Pastoral reflections on the suicide of a family member Charles Ballard Bringing the Grace of God to victims of suicide Gary P. Weeden Pastoral reflections on suicide intervention Timothy C. Tatum Decision making and Dad Joni Eareckson Tada Personal reflections on the death of a teenage friend Stan R. Kellner Confidence betrayed : personal reflections on the suicide of a friend and mentor John D. Hannah.

The questions raised in this volume are not simple, yet they are crucial to the future of our society. As author and advocate for the handicapped, Joni Eareckson Tada observes that there is a discernible disintegration of a "helping" society already taking place: "Euthanasia is now seen as a cure-all to societal problems such as rising public health-care costs and limited facility space for elderly and debilitated people. It's easier to kill than cure, or even care. Society is now assigning no positive value to suffering and is becoming more oriented toward a culture of comfort."

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