Just as the beginning of life is important to Christians, so is its ending. Jesus’ death was premeditated, painful and he accepted it willingly. His death paved the way for Christian belief that death is as important as birth. Christians believe in life after death so death is a fresh start and it is Christian responsibility for others at the beginning and end of their lives as life is sacred from start to end.
The Roman Catholic Church has strong views about the sanctity of life in the Humane Vitae, “Human life should be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of their existence, a human being must be recognised as having the rights of a person – amongst which is the inviolable right of every innocent being in life.” There is very staunch belief in this passage by the Roman Catholic Church and it is stresses that it is more than a Christian duty to respect human life.
As usual, the different parts of the church have different opinions. The Protestant church teaches about compassion in such circumstances and it gives different situations in which things do not go by the Bible. In some cases, if the embryo of a child puts its mother’s life in danger, it would have to be removed to save the mother. This does not however mean that the Protestant church does not listen to the bible, it upholds its duty to save one or both lives instead of risking them both.
AO2
Euthanasia and abortion are some of the most litigious issues discussed in today’s modern world. They have sparked off huge responses from all Christians.
Different types of Christians have had different responses to these topics mostly because of what is or what is not taught in the church. Because euthanasia and abortion are not directly talked about in the bible, most Christians do not know what to believe; their ethics or their religious values.
Abortion is a process carried out to remove the growing foetus from its mother’s womb so that it can be destroyed. The Roman Catholic Church does not allow abortion under any circumstances including if the pregnant mother is in a life-threatening situation. The teachings of this church say that an unborn child is already and individual who has their own life and that abortion is an act of murder. God has plans set for every individual before they are even born and they should not be terminated.
Mother Theresa’s entirety of abortion said, “ God had created us to love and be loved in his own image, as evidence of his love. For this reason I say abortion is the greatest evil. If anyone of you does not want his own child, do not kill it, give it to me.” She took suffering people into her own care and tended to them so that they would not die without care. She followed Jesus’ example and took care of the downtrodden and sacrificed her life by devoting it to make people’s lives better.
The Protestant church does not support abortion but it allows abortion in certain cases where the mother of the unborn child’s mental and physical well-being is precarious. This in most cases involves the mother being too young or with cancer whereby if the mother was allowed to give birth, she could die. In other cases, the child might have a defect and be unable to survive when born. In such situations, the unborn child’s life would have to be terminated to save the mother. If the mother is mentally at risk and she could harm her baby, abortion would have to be allowed. To help with this issue, churches all over the world have tried to provide support, which would be of help to children born of abandoned children and orphans. Many Christians do not support abortion as it has brought about a lot of inconveniences and sparked off wrangles among groups of people with different opinions.
Euthanasia is the act of bringing about the easy and gentle death of a person, usually someone who is terminally ill or in great pain. It is derived from a Greek word that means ‘mercy killing’.
Christians are taught by the bible about the sanctity of life, it is clear from the bible that human beings are not to choose whether they die.
‘For every thing there is a reason, and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted’ (Ecclesiastes: 1-4). It says that, ‘ Your body is a temple of the Holy spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19). The church has tried to let people know of other alternatives to euthanasia by offering prayer and counselling services and also building hospitals especially for people in pain.
The Roman Catholic Church opposes passive euthanasia that is when artificial means of sustaining life are either not offered or are withdrawn. The actual teaching, which informs both of these points of view, is the Roman Catholic Church’s belief about the ‘sanctity of life’ – the belief that human life is sacred because God creates human life, and no human should decide another human should die. Therefore if there are ways a person can be kept alive then they should be, and this means passive euthanasia is to be opposed. The reasons why most people might not agree with euthanasia are because it is contrary to the dignity of human beings; euthanasia destroys the respect that is due to God, the beginning and end of all life. It is also against the laws of nature.
Many people if faced with a making a choice like euthanasia, would probably want consideration and support as most might find themselves unable to face their loved ones in pain and so they would opt for euthanasia, something which the Bible is clearly against.
A03
Christians all have different views about most things. Everyone has a right to what they think about things. Most people prefer listening to someone’s view and if it makes sense to them, they can accept it. It is not moral and religious to try to force people to accept your views. As long as people keep their views to themselves, no one will get to know of them as no one can know or force you what to think about.
Some of the most controversial issues bring about people trying to get their views out and let others know about them so that they can have people to support them. These issues have brought about questions about whether some actions might be legalised and that is when Christians believe that it is up to them to make a difference by telling other people their views. Forcing people to accept ones views is often a mistake, as people won’t take the views to heart. One issue that has brought about such a situation is euthanasia and abortion. Many Christians do not agree with such situations because they are against what these people think is right. Some people do not know what to support because they cannot bear to think about what they would do if caught up in situations like abortion and euthanasia.
It is often better to let your views known as people are at times confused about what to do and as a Christians, we should give our views and at times they will make a difference. Counselling offenders and unsure can help them to turn their lives around for the better. This is often because people’s thoughts always turn to deeds and they could make grave mistakes when in fact your views could have helped. It is then recurrently our task as Christians to give our views.
I think therefore that Christians should not try to force people their views but should give their views nevertheless and accept the situation if their views are not accepted because a point taken by someone willingly might go further than that which is forced. It is also morally wrong and it would create a picture of a person being egotistical.
