Christian duty and organ donation are not often words you hear together. In fact, religious duty is not the first thing most people think about when it comes up to giving up their organs after death. Because of a belief in resurrection, some religious groups do not believe in organ donation and feel it should be kept in the body. Others let it up to the conscience of the individual.
Anglican Church leaders have issued a statement saying that organ donation is a Christian Duty according to the BBC.
As much as I dislike using science to prove or disprove a religious point, because valid science is not given the same treatment when it disproves theories like the Earth being 6,000 years old, the religious arguments against organ donation do not hold up either. Even a person with a basic grasp of life science knows that once an organism dies bacteria starts to break it down.
Unless the resurrection happens within a few years of the person shuffling off the mortal coil, only the bones will be left. If God decides to resurrect the person sometime later, his organs will have to be reconstructed from what remains of his genetic code.
The idea that it may be a Christian Duty is not new, but it is the first time any church has made an official statement that it is a Christian Duty. Science tells us that organs that get buried along with the body merely decay over the course of time.
If the organs are harvested within time of death, they can be put to good use to keep another person living. It may seem a little cruel, but obviously, the dead person does not need them any more and if the organs are capable of working in another person who needs a spare, those who understand Christian duty should be more than willing to let them be used by someone else.
So, for those who are bothered by the somewhat ghoulish aspects of organ donation, there is no real reason other than the idea just seems a little creepy to have a part of you live on after your spirit has departed from its body. Letting someone else put your organs to good use seems not only like acting on your Christian Duty, but showing your concern for your fellow man instead (The latter even works when you are not a Christian).
