Imagine for a moment that a man wrecks his car in a rural area. The car bursts in flames and the man is trapped inside. There is no way for authorities to reach him in time before he dies. Knowing this, he reaches for his gun in his glove box and shoots himself in the head to avoid a long and agonizing death by fire. Did he commit sin (suicide), or is this morally justified?
Now let’s change the scenario a bit. A man wrecks his car in a rural area, right in front of your house. The authorities could never reach him in time to save him. In this scenario, however, he does not have a gun. You hear the accident and explosion from your house and rush to the road to see what has happened. You can hear the man writing in pain from within the car. He sees you through the flames and shouts, “Shoot me! Kill me please!” Is it morally permissible for you to honor his request, killing him with a gun to shorten the amount of agony he must suffer? Or is this murder?
Thinking to Believe 