Due to this significance and value placed on life, life must therefore be protected. As God is the Lord of life, no one has the right to destroy an innocent human being. This is because God made life, so it is special in God’s eyes. In God’s commandment in Exodus21:13, God said “Do not commit murder.” This means that to kill a life is a sin. Accordingly, the sanctity of life gives rise to its inviolability. As we can see in Genesis 4:10, where God asks Cain, “What have you done?” after he killed his brother Abel. It is like a constant reminder that life is God’s possession and property and as it is wrong to take another’s belonging, it is also wrong to take a life given by God. Life must therefore be protected.
Though, Christians believe in the protection of life, there is a disagreement on when one can say a creation posses life. The Roman Catholic Church believes that “Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception…” –a statement from the 2nd Vatican Council. This means that from conception, the unborn, has the rights of a person, including the right to life. Other Christians believe that a foetus cannot be regarded as a living being until it has its first heartbeat. This is because in the bible, it says “for life of the flesh is in the blood:” (Leviticus17:11a). This is an arguable point as from the first heartbeat the first blood flows. However, there is no part of the scripture that mentions the first heart beat as a process of life in the womb. Also, some other Christians believe that life begins at birth. They believe that the “breath of life” can only be inhaled at birth. However, the Bible indicates that life is in the body before birth, (Hosea 12:3), where Esau and Jacob had a disagreement even in the womb.
Sometimes, the quality of life overrides its sanctity. For instance, the Church of England believes, similarly to the Catholic Church, that life that life is sacred and should be protected from conception. “ All human life, including life developing in the womb, is created by God in his own image and is, therefore, to be nurtured, supported and protected.” (1983 Synod resolution) However, they also believe that there are times when the sanctity of the life of the child must be overlooked for the sake of the mother’s life. “That in situations where the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother a termination of pregnancy may be justified.”(1983 synod Resolution) They also believe that the sanctity of the life of the foetus could be overlooked should the foetus be ‘deformed or defective’, as it is stated in 1993 Synod Resolution “Serious foetal handicap’ should be interpreted strictly as applying to those conditions where survival is possible only for a very short period.”
On the other hand, the Church of Scotland holds a more conservative view than the Church of England towards the sanctity of life. They, like other churches, believe that life must be protected from conception. However, they also hold the view that the inviolability of life is indisputable except when the mother’s life is threatened and all other alternatives have been exhausted.
The subject of when life begins will affect when life needs to be protected. This will help society and Christians decide on moral issues such as abortion, contraception and euthanasia.
In conclusion, we all, as Christians and also as humans, have a responsibility to look after life, ours and that of others around us. “From man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life” (Genesis 9:5). God, in his word calls us to show respect care and concern for life, especially when life is most vulnerable- at beginning of it and at the end of it. Christians should look after the unborn and the dying as they still possess life and the rest of us Christians are accountable for their lives to God.