In this thread in the AAA forum, a question was asked about a moment in a movie and whether it would be a sin to sacrifice oneself for the good of others. The specific example given in the thread, I assume based on the description, is from the movie The Day After Tomorrow. The scene is where three guys are traversing the the snow covered landscape heading towards New York City. On the way to the Library where they are to meet up with other survivors, they travel across the top of a mall, which has a glass ceiling. The three men are roped together to keep together and not lose anyone. While making their way across the glass, one of the panes breaks under the last guy in the line. He falls and drags the other two with him. The last guy, however, manages to catch a grip on the window trim and catches the other two guys on the line. However, he cannot hold both for too long, and he can only manage to pull one guy up. In an attempt to save the other two, the last guy cuts the line attaching him to the other two, falling to his death, leaving the others able to get out and escape.
The question posed is whether it is still considered suicide. The apologist's answer, and mine, is no.
My first thought goes to Jesus, knowing he would die, allows himself to be sacrificed to redeem all of humanity.
This also leads me to think about when you do things for a specific purpose, but there are unintended consequences, like how a woman is morally allowed to use contraceptive pills as medication, with the unintended/unwanted consequence of possibly preventing pregnancy, or even causing an unwanted miscarriage. (I can't remember the name for what this is called off the top of my head right now)
Is this the right kind of thinking for why it would be moral for this guy to sacrifice himself for the good of his fellow man?
What are your other thoughts on the situation.
The question posed is whether it is still considered suicide. The apologist's answer, and mine, is no.
My first thought goes to Jesus, knowing he would die, allows himself to be sacrificed to redeem all of humanity.
This also leads me to think about when you do things for a specific purpose, but there are unintended consequences, like how a woman is morally allowed to use contraceptive pills as medication, with the unintended/unwanted consequence of possibly preventing pregnancy, or even causing an unwanted miscarriage. (I can't remember the name for what this is called off the top of my head right now)
Is this the right kind of thinking for why it would be moral for this guy to sacrifice himself for the good of his fellow man?
What are your other thoughts on the situation.