"For a Christian to die for his or her beliefs does not make sense - It is better to live for them" - Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have thought of more than one point of view.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Life After Death – AO3

“For a Christian to die for his or her beliefs does not make sense. It is better to live for them”.

Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have thought of more than one point of view.

Many Christians have died for their beliefs. Oscar Romero died for his opinions and beliefs. El Salvador was ruled by an extremely brutal dictatorship when Romero was killed. It was because of the ruling in El Salvador that he became known, this is because of his involvement in the peaceful fight for justice for the poor. Romero often preached about the rights of the poor at Sunday mass, he knew by speaking out that his life was at risk and he would possibly have to die for his faith. Romero was following Jesus’ leadership, although he did not want to die he knew that he would have to, “Not my will but thine be done”. Romero also believed that death was not the end, “I have to confess that, as a Christian, I don’t believe without Resurrection, if they kill me, I will rise again in Salvadoran people”. In a way Romero was like Jesus, he died for his faith even though he may not have wanted to.

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Mother Teresa lived for her faith. Mother Teresa was a Loreto nun who gained international fame, including the Nobel Peace Prize. When Mother Teresa was a young novice the suffering, poverty and deprivation in the slums in the cities of India overwhelmed her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity, which is am international organisation. Mother Teresa was involved in supplying food, offering comfort and giving medical help to all those who suffered. Throughout all the help Mother Teresa gave she kept Christ’s words in her head: “Whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me” (Mt 25:40). Mother Teresa also said that “Non Christian and Christians both do social work, but … we do it for someone. We do it for God. It is our love of God in action”. Mother Teresa is the prefect example of someone who lived for her faith. She helped many people throughout her life especially the poor and needy.

Many people have done a lot of good work in their lives, many have lived for their faith and many have dies for their faith. When someone dies for their faith they show their commitment and belief. This however does not mean that people who live for their faith do not show as much commitment. They may simply feel that they show as much example for living for their beliefs.

Some Christians believe that dying for your beliefs rejects Christian values as they see that “life is sacred” and by dying you are taking the “easy way out”. They also think that you should not have to die to prove your faith, just as the disciples did. The disciples followed Jesus and had a lot of faith but they did not die for it. People also feel that dying for your faith is asking too much as they would leave their friends and family destitute.

However, if people die for their faith they are living just as Jesus lived. Many people who die for their faith do not choose this but they see it as an only option. Jesus did not die for us out of his own free will but God’s, “Not my will…” Even when Jesus died it did not mean the end to Christian faith, infact it meant that the faith grew stronger. The path of discipleship is not easy to follow. However, we can see that it is possible. Jesus’ death was the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus could not have made a bigger sacrifice. By Jesus’ death we can also see that our life does not end, we go onto eternal life with God.

Therefore, it does make sense for a Christian to die for their faith because by doing this they are following Jesus and making sacrifices.

By: Suzanne Crawford –12/1