The Roman Catholic Church believes that life begins at the moment of conception and that everyone has a right to life. To them abortion is considered as murder and it breaks the sixth commandment. In practice they officially oppose abortion and believe that it is not only morally and ethically wrong but religiously too.
'By the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his successors, and in communion with the bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.' (Papal Encyclical 1995)
Father Andrew of St Cedd’s Roman Catholic Church said:
“ Abortion goes against the whole purpose of creation and is a sin against God. Life is sacred and when something is that important, you cannot allow it to be destroyed unless it is naturally taken by a higher and mightier power which is God.”
So for Catholics procured abortion is a serious sin in all circumstances.
The Church of England previously held the same view on abortion as Catholics do but in 1983 made resolutions, and recognized that under extreme circumstances abortion is permissible. Situations where the continuance of pregnancy threatens the life of the mother is the most recognised. The 1983 Resolution of Synod said:
“That in situations where the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother a termination of pregnancy may be justified and that there must be adequate and safe provision in our society for such situations.”
The Anglican Church believes that life does not begin until the baby has a chance of surviving in dependently. This is known as viability and is estimated to be about 24 weeks.
Christians for free choice is an organisation of Christian who believe that the matter should be left to an individual’s conscience. The decision to continue or terminate a pregnancy should not be forced on the woman.
One of the reasons behind the different Christian views is the wide variation of opinion among religious groups and individuals in our pluralistic society as to when personhood begins. Some Christians believes that life begins after birth and others say it does not begin until the baby is viable. The Bible however does not strongly profess either one of these views.
“ God made everything, and you can no more understand what he does than you understand how new life begins in the womb of a pregnant woman” (Ecclesiates 11:5)
This tells us that life does NOT begin after birth but in the mother’s womb
When Mary had just conceived Jesus, she visited Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with John. As they met:
“ Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said in a loud voice, ‘ You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me? For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness” (Luke 1:39-45).
The Spirit of John responded to the Lord Jesus even though Jesus was just a few cells in his mother’s womb, and yet God had already imparted Spirit and life. This supports the previous idea and so proves to Christians that Life begins at conception and so any attempt to kill it would be murder.
However in this biblical battle of the concept of Personhood, Dr. Ward argues that in the Bible the basic understanding of a human being is defined under the Hebrew concept of ‘ Nepesh’, a breathing creature, and that under this definition there is no living person until there is breath. When breath departs the person is a corpse. The Bible also says:
God “ breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7)
This quote however leads one to believe life begins in fact AFTER birth.
Pro-choice groups campaign in the United Kingdom for abortion to be legalised like it is in America. Feminists believe a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body and the foetus is part of a woman’s body. They claim that if the availability of abortions is low there would be an increase in the number of illegal abortions, resulting in deaths. Pro-choice organizations like ARLA and EFC say that unwanted children may suffer rejection and it is wrong to bring them into this world especially if the child is handicapped. Many other pro-choice groups life Marie Stopes International say that when a pregnancy is the result of rape or sexual abuse, the woman should not be forced to continue with the pregnancy. They strongly believe in
“Children by choice, not by chance.”
Euthanasia is the action of inducing a quiet and easy death. The word itself means ‘ good death’.
Some Christians believe that it should be allowed because it is kinder to let people die than to make them carry on living in pain. However most condemn it. Many also believe that the suffering of death can be meaningful. They say Doctors are there to cure people not kill them. It is human nature to be scared of pain and suffering but Christians are told to do their best to bear everything with patience and fortitude.
Some also argue that the issue of 'quality of life' is not to be measured by a person's physical health but by their relationship with God. Only when a person has a relationship with God would some Christians argue that a person has any 'quality of life'.
[Jesus said] 'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' (John 10:10)
Unlike abortion euthanasia is actually mentioned in the Bible on two occasions. One of these is when Abimelech asks his armour-bearer to put him to death after he had been hit on the head by a millstone.
“ Then he quickly called the young man who was carrying his weapons and ordered, ‘ Draw your sword and kill me. I don’t want it said that a woman killed me.’ So the young man ran him through, and he died,” (Judges 9:54).
Many anti-euthanasia organizations like Alert professes the idea of Hospices and still feel that better methods of caring for the dying should be developed. There are many drugs that can be taken to ease pain and suffering and necessary precautions should be taken.
Roman Catholics oppose Euthanasia as they believe that God calls upon Christians to preserve life and any actions taken against this ideal is opposing God’s love for that person. To them euthanasia goes against God's will, because people are meant to die through natural means. So to go against this (i.e. deliberately ending someone's life), is to go against God's will, and thus to sin. However they do believe that to discontinue medical treatment that will only prolong life is allowed. Many Catholics regard switching of life-support machines as direct Euthanasia.
'... an act, or an omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder greatly contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.' (The Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Most non-Catholic Christians have exactly the same views on Euthanasia, except some would allow the not taking certain measures to stay alive.
The Salvation Army Says:
“The common experience of Christians throughout the ages has been that the grace of God sustains heart and mind to the end. To many, the end of life is clouded by pain and impaired judgement, and whilst we believe that it is right to use all medical treatment to control pain, experience denies the rightness of legalising the termination of life by a doctor, authorised by a statement signed by the patient in whilst in health. Such Euthanasia threatens to debase the function of doctors and impairs the confidence of their patients.”
Statement by the Salvation Army in ‘ What Churches Say on Moral Issues.’
Pro-Euthanasia groups argue that Euthanasia is ‘mercy-killing’ and that when a patient is dying of an incurable and painful disease they should be allowed to ask a doctor to help them die. They feel that there should be legal documents to sign and witnesses present as the doctor provides a lethal drug to help them die.
Christian who oppose Euthanasia do so because of their belief in the sanctity of human life as it is a sacred gift from God. Killing someone who is ill and going to die is still murder, and it is playing God to say who may live and who may die.
In society today abortion and euthanasia are accepted generally as morally justifiable. Good and decent people genuinely think it's humane and right to kill. This includes Christians. Although the different Christian denominations have strong views on these issues, recent surveys showed that not all Christians agreed with their Church leaders. 86% of the Church of England and 2/3’s of Roman Catholics were in favour of abortion. This can be blamed on the lack of religious influence on people’s lives and the media, such as television and magazines which profess these practices as “normal”.
(2) “God gives life and only God can take it away.”
Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have considered more than one point of view.
Birth and death, the giving and taking of life, is the beginning and end of our life here on earth. From a religious point of view, God is Lord over life and death. As the Creator he controls when we enter this world and when we leave. He is the source of life for all creation and maintains it.
“ In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Many people believe in the saying in question. The Bible supports this view,
“ …since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone” (Acts 17:25)
Christians believe that life is not human-given. God gave us life on earth and only he has the right to take it away from us, by natural means at the appropriate time. Human intervention in such issues is just people trying to ‘play God’. God gives and takes life for reasons we cannot comprehend and so we have no right to interfere.
Christians also believe that God created humans in his image and each of us have a part of him. The taking of human life therefore not only violates man but is a violation of God Himself for it is from Him that we receive the deposit of life and only he has the right to receive it back to Himself.
Whether or not we should be able to take our own life or the lives of others is a hotly debated issue around the world. Many religious people condemn practices as capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, embryo research and cloning for this reason.
Capital punishment is still practiced in many part of the world. For Christians it goes against God’s sixth commandment,
“Thou shalt not kill”
(Exodus 20:13)
Here people believe that God is telling us that it is forbidden and so sinful to kill what ever the circumstances and so this completely rules out capital punishment. However some people feel that there are situations when it should be enforced,
“ Who ever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death. When a man kills another after maliciously scheming to do so, you must take him from my altar and put him to death.”
(Exodus 21:12-14)
But there is great controversy in itself as to what situations it should be enforced. Opposition to Capital Punishment argue that people could be wrongly accused and therefore innocently killed. Christians especially feel strongly about it, as Jesus himself and St Peter were both unjustifiably killed by means of Capital Punishment.
Actions such as abortion and euthanasia are generally justified in society. To many people euthanasia is acceptable as the person is going to die anyway and so it is better that they go through less suffering. Many people feel that abortion is the answer in situation where the child is not wanted as it is not right for a child to grow up unloved. However many Christians believe that only God can decide when a person’s life should end as humans do not understand life and death as God does and so we should not interfere. Christians for this reason especially condemn suicide as a selfish act and also say that it is rejecting God’s sovereignty and his gift of life to us.
However it is generally thought that people are co-creative with God when producing children so why can’t they be so in ending their life? They say that humans are called to be God’s partners and to be in charge of the world.
“…and let them (humans) rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over livestock, over all the earth.”
(Genesis 1:26)
So if Humans are God’s managers on earth why can they not decide when they should leave?
Many people believe that in response to this, humans are only the possessors but not the owners, of the God-given gift of life. For that reason, only God can dispose of the gift of life. Humans have no moral right to terminate their own life or the lives of others. Paul Ramsey a Protestant theologian has said,
“We are stewards and not owners of our lives.”
Recent advances in medical science have marked the start of worldwide practices of IVF, AI and cloning. To many, these are seen as human interference in the creation of life. Many believe that the use of in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination is giving human beings the power to interfere as to when a life should be created.
Many people welcome the scientific advances as it gives infertile couples the chance to have children. The Catholic Church accepts IVF and AI as long as they are not used to replace the act of sexual intercourse between a couple. They say that it is allowed and does not denounce the fact that God has created us.
Cloning however has sparked great controversy between the medical and religious worlds. Many people believe it deprives a person of the uniqueness that God has given each and every one of us, and so is therefore “Playing God”. The political organisation LIFE say,
“human cloning is not only immoral, it is unnecessary”
As a religious person myself I often look to my faith for its views on moral issues. To me the Almighty God is the only giver, sustainer and taker-away of life. Life-giving and Life-taking are divine prerogatives which are permitted to human beings only by specific divine mandate. Mother Teresa summed up these views when she said:
“...Only God can decide life and death……..That is why abortion is such a terrible sin. You are not only killing life, but putting self before God; yet people decide who has to live and who has to die. They want to make themselves almighty God. They want to take the power of God into their hands”
(Mother Teresa)
After all, “ An eye for an eye, A tooth for a tooth”
Recent use of ivf give infertile couples chanc to make babies
Cath AI condi
As long as it does not replace sex between the coupleThis is therefore fine and does not denounce the fact that god created us.
Cloning- “playing God”
LIFE say
Deprining a person of their uniqueness.
Ivf and cloning are seen by people human interference in the creation of life
Bibliography