The Sacredness and Inviolability of Human Life: A Biblical-Moral Discourse of Exodus 20:13

Publication Details

Publication Date

10/08/2026

Volume / Issue

Vol 1, Issue 3 (2026)

Article No.

016

Journal

British Journal of Contemporary Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.67693/BJCR-KJHHW3SY

Received

16 Jul 2026

Views

35

Downloads

10

Abstract

This paper focused on providing the proper understanding of Exodus 20:13 with the view of highlighting the moral implications of euthanasia, orthothanasia, and dysthanasia. In other words, this paper argued that Exodus 20:13 is the foundation of the church’s moral teaching, affirming human dignity and the sacredness of human life. The historical-critical, theological and analytical methods were deployed and it discovered that the proper translation of the verb ‘rāṣaḥ’ in Exodus 20:13 is murder. Thus it is translated as ‘You shall not murder’. It discovered that the biblical cum moral implications of this translation is that any intentional act of terminating human life is classified as murder. Therefore, killing might be intentional or unintentional whereas murder necessarily is intentional. Furthermore, it discovered that euthanasia is a premeditated or intentional action regardless of the reason behind it. In orthothanasia, the will of God is allowed to prevail while in dysthanasia, there is the intentional act of unduly preserving life marked by unnecessary suffering. This paper found out that euthanasia and dysthanasia fall short of the moral principle established by Exodus 20:13 in that they both undermine the sacredness of human life while orthothanasia uphold the sacredness of life. Lastly, this paper concluded by insisting that the Church’s moral teaching on human life maintains a balance approach in distinguishing between euthanasia, orthothanasia and dysthanasia. The paper showed that the Church maintains that human life is inviolable, sacred and any action that suggests the contrary violates the moral principles established in Exodus 20:13

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.