Christians Often Speak Of The Sanctity Of Life - What do they mean by this?

When Christians speak of the sanctity of life they are referring to what makes it special, of the value they associate with it. The reason they have such respect for it has nothing to do with worldly possessions, or jobs or power or status. It is to do with what Christians see life as; a God given gift. Christians refrain from engaging in acts which may be interpreted as ‘playing God’. Most of these topics have become controversial due to the strong views Christians have about them. Some of these things may be seen as positive i.e. scientists genetically engineering genes to prevent birth defects, others negative such as capital punishment, some undecided such as euthanasia. In today’s society any thing seems to go and more and more thing are passable. Some people may think that Christian views are outdated and non relevant to the diverse world we live in today. But Christians will always have strong foundations upon which they cast their moral judgements; these will always be distinctive and true to their beliefs, especially when they are concerning life choices. This is because Christians do not base their views on personal preference or what may be easiest for them, but on the bible and Jesus’ teaching. This is the reason why many Christians have to make difficult choices and sacrifice what they want for what they believe to be the greater good. This vs. society’s idea of good and bad, right and wrong have fuelled some of the most ongoing, heated debates about topics like abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia and scientific experiments.

A Christian sees life as a precious gift not to be abused and a means for a person to prove they are worthy of eternal life. As the old saying goes ‘you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ Christians do as much as they can not only to appreciate life, but bear with it when times are tough. They aim to see the good in it even when this may seem impossible, and do not give up. Christians do not agree with murder or suicide as they feel man plays no part in the giving or taking of life and shouldn’t be able to dictate the fate of his or his fellow man’s faith (euthanasia and abortion are not accepted for the same reasons).

To conclude, Christians believe that life is sacred and man is blessed to have received it, and he who abuses it is going against the wishes of God and proving himself unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven.