February - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

60
The Free Presbyterian Magazine
sense of what he called “the big picture”. While we would wish to have heard
more spiritual points made and, particularly the Bible recommended as “the
word of salvation”, we hope that these approving comments will go some way
to reversing the decline in the use of the Authorised Version – the most faithful
and accurate translation of the Word of God in the English language.
The Trinitarian Bible Society said recently: “Sadly, many Christians have
abandoned this wonderful version of the Word of God in recent decades. This
marked decline in the use of the Authorised Version has to be set alongside
an unprecedented downgrade in the Church, marked by a lack of reverence, an
embrace of false doctrine and worldliness and a huge movement towards
unbiblical modes of worship and Christian living.”
Our urgent duty as a country is to turn to the Word of God to hear and heed
what He requires of us in Church and state. “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word
of the Lord” (Jer 22:29).
NMR
End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill
It is reason for thankfulness that the Scottish Parliament on 1 December 2010
rejected Margo MacDonald’s Bill by 85 votes to 16 with 2 abstentions. Thus
assisting a person to commit suicide, which is the plain meaning of “end of
life assistance”, continues in Scots law to expose a person to the charge of homicide.
The Bill aimed to decriminalise “assistance, including the provision or
administration of appropriate means, to enable a person to die with dignity and
a minimum of distress”. A person would qualify to request such assistance if
he or she “(a) has been diagnosed as terminally ill and finds life intolerable; or
(b) is permanently physically incapacitated to such an extent as not to be able
to live independently and finds life intolerable.”
Much stress was laid on the autonomy of the individual. According to the
Policy Memorandum, “the philosophical argument for autonomy is that ‘any
competent person has the right to make momentous personal decisions which
involve fundamental religious or philosophical convictions about life’s values
for himself’. Death is seen as amongst the most significant events of a person’s
life, ‘the final act of life’s drama’, which should ‘reflect our own convictions,
those we have tried to live by, not the convictions of others forced on us in our
most vulnerable moment’.”
In the debate one supporter of the Bill said that he believed that, when he or
anyone else comes to die, “the principal question is what control we have over
the precise timing, location and circumstances of our passing. I would like the
law to allow me the greater right, even if I choose not to use it.” Another declared:
“Our authority does not come from a deity or a holy book, even for those
of us who believe in deities and holy books. Our authority comes from the
electorate . . . a life belongs to the person who is living it . . . each one of us is
the one who is best qualified to make that decision in respect of our own life.”