A person’s attitude toward death probably says a great deal about his or her spiritual condition.

Moreover, in a culture that celebrates dominion over human life at conception, one cannot expect the proper degree of humility to prevail near the end of life, either.

According to CNN, Alice and Ellen Kessler, the 89-year-old German twins who performed alongside the greatest entertainers of the postwar era in Europe and the United States, died Monday in Munich, Germany, by joint assisted suicide.

Sadly, the famous sisters had no known terminal illnesses. They simply chose to end their lives together.

More than a year ago, the Kessler twins joined the assisted-suicide advocacy group German Society for Humane Dying (DGHS).

Wega Wetzel, DGHS spokeswoman, explained the twins’ decision.

“The decisive factor is likely to have been the desire to die together on a specific date,” Wetzel told CNN. “Their desire to die was well-considered, long-standing, and free from any psychiatric crisis.”

Born in 1936, the Kessler twins survived Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and World War II.

According to the UK’s Independent, they then escaped Communist-controlled East Germany for the West in 1952.

Should euthanasia and assisted suicide be illegal?

Yes: 61% (118 Votes)

No: 39% (75 Votes)

Their rise to stardom included appearances on American variety shows such as “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Red Skelton Hour.” They also performed with entertainment icons such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Fred Astaire.

Traditionally, the argument for assisted suicide has involved putting an end to suffering. Thus, though we cannot endorse the practice, we can at least understand the motive behind it.

In this case, however, the Kessler twins apparently had no such motive. They simply wanted to die together.

That kind of attitude seems more likely to develop in cultures where people demonstrate insufficient respect for life and death. In the modern West, for instance, the dominant secular culture treats human beings as most inconvenient at the beginning and end of life. For convenience’s sake, therefore, some must die.

By contrast, consider conservative commentator Tucker Carlson’s reaction to the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this month.

In an interview with podcaster Megyn Kelly, Carlson refused to criticize the late Cheney, whom he regarded as a warmonger.

“I have great respect for death,” Carlson said in a clip posted to the social media platform X. “I’ve seen a lot of it, and I’m opposed to it. I will just say that.”

That line drew a laugh, as Carlson intended.

“But I have reverence for it,” he continued. “And I just don’t — if you’re not, like, back on your heels a little bit in the face of death and just acknowledging that there are mysteries no human mind can comprehend and sort of humble in the face of it, then you’re not really in touch with your best parts. You’re not fully human. So I just don’t criticize people when they die.”

For a much higher authority than the popular conservative commentator, recall that the Bible, too, reminds us that life and death remains God’s prerogative.

“The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” (I Samuel 2:6)

Likewise, the same humility should teach us how to treat our earthly bodies.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

In short, we should follow Carlson in not criticizing the Kessler twins, now that they have chosen to die. But we also pray that those who have shaped the culture of death in which the twins made that choice will soon repent of their arrogance and find their way back to God.

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

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