As a foundation, I'll first demonstrate from the scripture the nature and purpose of physical life. The book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, is one big philosophical discourse on human life. The following scriptures give a broad overview of the progression of thought throughout the book:
Ecclesiastes 2:3
... I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 5:18
Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14Notice the language which is used in the first three passages in reference to human life: our days are "few," life is "vain," and it "passes like a shadow." Though much of the book decries many common activities as "meaningless" or "vanity," the second passage admonishes us to enjoy life rather than be caught up in the worries of this world, and the final passage reveals what is most important in this life: that we build a relationship with our Creator by showing Him respect and obedience.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
As modern medicine continues to extend the life expectancy of the average person, a certain cultural anomaly has developed in which people become obsessed with living for as long as possible. The "anything to keep me alive" mentality has been clearly and publicly displayed in cases of euthanasia of people who are being kept alive artificially at the bequest of their desperate families. Even before the capability of modern medicine had bridged this gap, it is a natural human response to protect life at all costs, even if it results in poor quality of life.
Let me clarify by saying that I'm not insinuating that human life is not important - indeed, it is a precious gift from God. But exactly how important?
I have encountered certain people who reject the morality of the bible because of this very issue. Essentially, their argument centers on the enforcement of the death penalty that God instituted for ancient Israel, and they claim that any God who would order someone to be killed for breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14), cursing his father and mother (Exodus 21:15-17), or being homosexual (Leviticus 20:13) cannot be the absolute authority on morality because these are not offenses that they believe deserve death. They say that they have a better sense of morality than any god who would support killing people for not resting on a particular day or speaking badly of their parents or choosing an "alternative" lifestyle.
In truth, they fail to see the forest through the trees. Not only did God order that these people be put to death for their sins, but also that every man and woman who has ever lived should be put to death, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Every physical human death amounts to God enforcing the same death penalty for sin that he enforced on Adam and Eve - the time and place of death are irrelevant! Humoring the logic of people who think their morality is superior to God's, I ask: what kind of a loving God would kill every living creature He ever made? What they fail to understand is that God has prepared hope for all people through His resurrections.
Specifically, the first resurrection of human beings is a resurrection of God's saints at the time of Jesus' return:
1 Corinthians 15:20-26Notice that it says that those who belong to him will be resurrected when he comes, but that he still has enemies to conquer before death will no longer exist. Also, notice that just as all die in Adam, all will be made alive in Christ - not just His followers! We get more details in the following verses from Revelation concerning the thousand year period during which Satan is bound and Christ reigns on earth:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Revelation 20:4-6It says that they came to "life," and later it says that the "second death has no power over them," indicating that they are, at that time, given eternal life. Furthermore, notice that the "rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended," and this has been called the "second resurrection" since the scripture itself declares that the saints are part of the "first resurrection." This is a vital point: every human who has ever lived will live again (click here for a more detailed proof of this, and here for an exhaustive proof). So no, God did not create us just so that we would live and die, but, rather, that everyone can have a chance at eternal life. Since the first resurrection is only for God's people who are specifically called by God in their life on earth, the second resurrection is for everyone who is not called by God in this life. This includes not only the masses of people who lived and died and never heard the name of Jesus (the only name given among men by which we must be saved), but also the masses of people living today who think that they have been called by God but are actually deceived by false Christianity. They will all live a second physical life and have the opportunity to understand God's way of life and to make their decision to obey Him or not.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament about the time of the second resurrection. It is alluded to that there will be a period of over 100 years in which people will be living free of disease and death,
Isaiah 65:19-20Since there is still risk of death indicated during this time period, we know that chronologically this prophecy is before the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20, since death will be destroyed immediately after this final judgment.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
Going back to the morality discussion, now we can see that God has not created humanity in vain so that he can punish us with death for doing wrong, but rather so that He can give every person the ability to realize their mistakes and to knowingly choose what is right, in order that He can "bring many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10).
Another morality question that I have encountered along these lines goes like this: if someone threatened to kill 1000 people unless you bow down and worship them, would you do it?
First of all, this question is loaded. Would the ethics of the situation change if it were 999 people? 998? I'll save my fingers some typing and go ahead and whittle that down to 1 person. If the issue is the sanctity of human life, then 1 life is just as important to protect as 1000 lives. So now the question is a little less intimidating: would you worship someone other than God in order to protect someone else's life? At a glance, this is a tricky question. Jesus even said "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
This would be a good time to review the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo.
In Daniel 3, we have this story of these three Jews who had been serving in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar during the time of the Babylonian exile. Nebuchadnezzar sets up an image of gold and declares that anyone who won't worship it will be thrown into a furnace. These three, of course, being devoted to God, are determined not to break God's law. So Nebuchadnezzar calls them together and reiterates his command. Pay close attention to what he says, as well as their response:
Daniel 3:15-18We all know that God did save them from the fire, and walked with them among the flames of the furnace. Notice the last thing that Nebuchadnezzar says: "what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" Any man who claims to have authority over life and death is challenging God. In the morality problem, though it is not explicitly stated, there is an implicit challenge to God's authority just as Nebuchadnezzar gave. Notice also their response: "the God we serve is able to save us from it... But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." In the same way, regardless of whether it is our own life at stake or that of another person or of a bajillion people, our allegiance must be to God and God alone. Jesus' teaching of laying down your life for your friends does not apply here, since in this case you are not laying down your mortal life for your friends' mortal lives, but your relationship with God for their mortal lives. This is again where the skeptic's view is too narrow: even if God did allow these people to die, the person who killed them has not, despite his best efforts, truly ended their lives because God is going to resurrect them to live again.
[Nebuchadnezzar said] "If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
As we saw in Ecclesiastes, the whole duty of a man, in the short amount of time that we are given in this mortal life, is to fear God and to keep His commandments. We may always not like the fact that this life passes as a shadow, especially when it is the shadow of a loved one that is passing, but this is the reality of our existence. When answering questions that deal with human life, God's perspective is the perspective that we should try to understand. This is the fault of both of the skeptic arguments presented in this post: that the perspective of the person asking the question was limited only to what they can physically perceive in this life, leading them to the false conclusion that the unconditional protection of human life supersedes all endeavors. As it is written,
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
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