People who have taken the path of a true Orthodox Christian ask many questions, the answers to which will help them get closer to spiritual perfection, committing fewer sins. One such issue is that of euthanizing sick pets. Due to a lack of knowledge and understanding, many people compare animals with humans, thinking that if the church condemns euthanasia, then its position on euthanizing sick pets will be the same. In fact, the Bible clearly tells us what the difference is between animals and humans, and by delving deeper into the words of the Holy Scriptures, you can find a comprehensive answer to the above question.
The Orthodox Church on the euthanasia of animals: attitude, opinion and answers to frequently asked questions
Good afternoon. The main argument that is given “against” hypnosis is that a person is deprived of his free will and cannot control what happens to him. In a state of hypnosis, you can suggest almost anything, and these things are not always good and useful. Regarding hypnotherapy for depression - yes, such a method exists and is used quite successfully. However, there are also other methods of treatment - these include taking specially selected drugs (the harm from which is not commensurate with the therapeutic effect), psychotherapy, and various physical practices. In most cases, a competent combination of such methods helps to cope with depression. It is very important to find a good and qualified psychiatrist who can choose the right method of therapy.
As for worship in the temple, its purpose is not at all to put a person into a trance. People who regularly go to church and know the order of the service, listen carefully to everything that is sung and read, and listen to the words. Worship is not at all perceived as monotonous background singing without meaning, like a mantra. It is completely unacceptable to compare church prayer and trance; these are things of a different order. Prayer is living, real communication with God as a Person, turning to Him. Those. prayer is an act that comes from outside of man and is directed towards the person of God. Trance, meditation and similar spiritual practices have a completely different direction - they go inside a person, immerse him in himself. Therefore, talking about “equally hypnotic states” is completely wrong.
The help of the church and faith in God in treating depression is not that the person relaxes, relieves spasms and feels relief. To do this, one could get by with massage, gymnastics and similar practices. Orthodoxy gives a person disproportionately more - healing of the soul. By struggling with his passions, cleansing his soul of everything evil and unrighteous, a person is healed first spiritually, and then often physically. And there is plenty of evidence of this in our church.
Of course, God “wouldn’t mind” us all being healthy and happy.
But the catch is that it is not the evil God who creates illnesses and misfortunes, but people themselves. The Lord is Absolute Love, and He did not create anything bad or evil. But man, through his sinful life, through his falling away from Christ, creates suffering for himself. It’s like sitting down on a hot frying pan without permission and reproaching God for what’s burning you. Answer
What does the Bible say about the differences between animals and people?
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By carefully plunging into the lines of the Holy Scriptures, and more specifically, by reading the book of Genesis, you can find the Lord’s words, which sound like this: “let the water bring forth living creatures.” The Bible also says about the properties of animals that “the life of the body is in the blood.” These words make it clear that the soul of an animal is a life force derived from natural elements, which indicates its mortality, because life force is inseparable from the body. When an animal's body dies, its blood also disappears, and therefore its soul.
These words cannot be taken as some kind of permission to cruelly treat animals, because a person must take care of them. If your pet is seriously ill, then you need to help him to the last. But if nothing helps him, and he suffers very much, then you can put him to sleep, it will not be a sin.
As for the words of the Lord about man, which again can be found in the book of Genesis, they are as follows: “Let us make man in Our image and in Our likeness,” which speaks of the presence of a piece of the Lord in each of us. This means that if the Lord breathed a part of Himself into a person, then his soul remains immortal, even after death, as is also stated in Scripture. If you read the Bible more carefully, you can find lines that after the death of a person, his body returns to the earth from which it was taken, but the soul returns to God, being a part of him.
Therefore, the Church condemns euthanasia, because. it prevents the maturation of the human soul through suffering for Eternity, but does not condemn the euthanasia of terminally ill pets, because they do not possess an immortal soul and do not inherit Eternal Life.
Orthodox view on the issue
The Church does not give an unambiguous answer to this. Euthanasia of people is prohibited as murder, but in relation to animals it cannot be considered a sin of equal gravity.
Euthanasia of dogs
Each case is considered separately; much depends on the opinion of the individual priest. There are priests who consider euthanizing a pet a sin in any case.
Important! According to most priests, it all depends on motivation. Euthanasia is acceptable if it is not a manifestation of cruelty and selfishness, but of care for the animal and the desire to save it from suffering.
In what cases is euthanasia not a sin?
- If your pet is in great pain and cannot be cured. However, if it is possible to alleviate this suffering with painkillers, then it is better to leave him until a natural death.
- When an animal poses a serious danger to people. For example, dogs with rabies.
In what cases should you not euthanize?
- It happens that owners in this way want to rid themselves of problems associated with their pet. For example, they euthanize a cat “because it shits.” This is an unconscionable act and, of course, sinful.
- There are cases when people, being in financial difficulties, euthanized their pet because they could not support it. This is also a sin. Priests say that it is better to abandon an animal on the street or toss it to someone than to take its life.
The Church's attitude to the euthanasia of animals
Euthanasia of a hopelessly ill animal: pros and cons
Many Muslims keep animals at home - they can be both pets (cat, turtle, parrot) and livestock (sheep, cows, goats, etc.). However, they, like all living beings in this world, are susceptible to incurable injuries and diseases.
The Holy Quran says:
He also created cattle that bring you warmth and benefit. You also eat it. They decorate you when you bring them back in the evenings and take them out to pasture in the mornings. They transport your goods to places you could only reach with great effort. Verily, your Lord is Compassionate, Merciful. He created horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and for decoration. He also does what you do not know (16:5-8)
Accordingly, all domestic animals, according to the plan of the Great Creator, bring some benefit to humans. If a cow gives milk, then a cat sitting on your lap helps provide psychological relief after a hard day.
But it happens that the animal can become seriously ill and suffer from this. In such difficult moments, the owner thinks about euthanizing the pet (putting it to sleep) or slaughtering it (in the case of livestock) in order to save it from suffering. However, the opinions of scholars are divided regarding the permissibility of such an approach in Islam.
Cons
Opponents of this practice are the ulama of the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs. In their opinion, a believer is obliged to show mercy to animals; accordingly, killing them without a good reason (for food consumption or self-defense) is prohibited, even if it is sick.
One of the hadiths says: “If someone kills a sparrow for fun, then on the Day of Judgment this bird will say: “Oh, Allah! He killed me needlessly and for fun” (Ahmad, Ibn Hibban).
Those. it is concluded that an animal is allowed to be killed only for “gastronomic purposes” or for another valid reason, which does not include the presence of suffering due to illness. If a person intends to slaughter unhealthy cattle for food, then this is considered permissible.
Another argument in favor of this opinion is the words of the Messenger of Allah (s.w.): “Whoever kills a sparrow or a larger living creature will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment” (Nasai). Therefore, if a believer kills an animal, he will be responsible for it before the Almighty.
Pros
Theologians of the Hanafi and Maliki madhhabs are considered to be supporters of euthanizing pets to save them from severe suffering (subject to a number of important conditions, which will be discussed below).
As stated earlier, a Muslim is obliged to treat living beings with mercy. Therefore, if an animal is sick, every possible effort should be made to cure it. And when it becomes obvious that it is incurable and suffers greatly from this, then only then is it allowed to kill it. If someone kills an animal just because it is sick, without making sufficient efforts to improve its health, then in this case it will be considered a sin.
The hadith used as a dalil for this approach is: “If you are merciful to the inhabitants of the earth, then He who is in heaven will show mercy to you” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud). In this case, a believer who decides to euthanize a seriously ill animal shows mercy to him, saving him from torment, which in any case will haunt the poor fellow until his inevitable death. In addition, some scientists argue that if a person in such a situation refuses to kill, then he will continue to spend money on his hopeless animal, which, in turn, will not bring any benefit to it.
Some people, if the animal is no longer needed, simply leave it far from home, as is usually done with small kittens or puppies. From the point of view of Islam, this is also prohibited, since the pet will be doomed to death from exhaustion or other death, which de facto equates to mockery of living beings.
In a hadith cited by Imam Bukhari, it is reported that one woman became an inmate of Hellfire only for starving a cat.
If a believer decides to kill his animal, then he must choose the most painless method. In cases with livestock, you can resort to the traditional Islamic method of slaughtering. If we are talking about a cat or dog, then it is better to contact a veterinarian and kill it by injection.
And Allah knows best!
Is it a sin to euthanize an animal?
If a pet becomes sick and cannot be cured, the owner begins to think about euthanizing it. However, some owners cannot make a definite decision to euthanize their pet due to the moral aspect of this decision. Many people wonder whether putting animals to sleep is a sin in the eyes of the church.
This question cannot have a definite answer, since even the Bible is read differently by different people and they see different things in it. And yet we will try to reason logically and derive some general rules.
What is considered a sin in the eyes of the church is a complex question, since people speak on behalf of the church. After all, clergy are people too, albeit suitably educated ones. And their opinions differ. However, most argue that animals are lower than people in the Christian hierarchy; Christians are not prohibited from eating meat. Therefore, under certain conditions, putting animals to sleep will not be a sin.
There are also cases when it is impossible to do without euthanasia of animals - if they pose a mortal danger to people, for example, due to rabies. An animal with rabies will die in any case, only if naturally, then in terrible agony, and at the same time such an animal can bite and thereby infect a person.
Whether euthanizing animals is justified depends on the person's motive. If a person wants to help an animal, to save it from suffering, then there will be no sin in putting it to sleep. If a person wants to get rid of the unwanted offspring of his animal in this way, or if he no longer needs his animal, and he is too lazy to look for new owners for it, such an act, even from the point of view of a person far from religion, is very bad and is a sin. It is a sin to euthanize an animal just because it, for example, craps in the house, despite all the punishments and suggestions. Animals have different thought processes; you cannot demand the same from animals as from people. You can contact training specialists and animal psychologists. As a last resort, you can always find a new home for the animal, new owners who will take care of the re-education for you.
If the owner wants to euthanize an animal because of his own health problems or because he cannot support it, this is a sin. Even if a person is completely unable to find a new family for a pet, it is better to simply put it out on the street. But it is better to ask other people to place the animal. Even if a person doesn’t know any animal lovers, there are many volunteers; they sincerely love animals, and if you explain to them a difficult life situation, they will certainly cooperate and the animal will be saved.
Everything that protects the interests and is designed to relieve the animal from pain and alleviate the situation is not a sin.
