Some Christians also think that contraception goes against the ‘sanctity of human life’ as it prevents the beginning of a new life. In Jeremiah 1:5 it says “before I formed you in the womb I knew you”. This shows that God has planned life before conception so if you use contraception you could stop a life that was already planned and affectively be destroying it. Roman Catholics believe that a married couple should only have sexual intercourse if they want to have children. All artificial forms of contraception are condemned. Whereas the Church of England and most Anglican denominations believe that as long as both partners agree contraception is acceptable.
Christians also disagree with capital punishment as all life is sacred and only God can take life. The person who kills the criminal also becomes a murderer himself.
Christians believe that God has given everybody life for a purpose and as long as they are on earth they are just as important as the next person. As the Church of England said, “mentally handicapped people have much to give… and, like us all, are children of God”. Christians also believe the old are important and should be looked up on as it is said in the Bible “respect your mother and father”(Exodus 20:12).
Christians should be prepared to care for the sick and anoint them so dying will be as pleasant as possible for them.
Christians believe that God chooses when lives begin and end. They should be willing to love and care for God’s creation throughout one’s whole life as everyone is important in the world.
Word count – 654
Skill AO2 Explain how Christians would respond to an issue on abortion. In your answer you should refer to different attitudes that Christians have to the selected issue(s) as well as to the practical ways that Christians might offer support.
Abortion is an emotional issue in today’s life and Christians have strong views on the subject. Different denominations and organisations have different views. This would affect their support and advice to others.
Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church attitude to abortion is that it destroys God’s creation and is wrong in all cases. Therefore they want to have their response heard and do this in protests and appeals to the government. In Jeremiah 1:5 it says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Roman Catholics therefore believe that life begins at the moment of conception so no matter how early in the pregnancy you have an abortion it is still morally wrong, which is the mainly why they want to make it illegal again. Most Catholics are pro-choice which would affect their attitude.
The Church of England and Protestant Church also agree that abortion is wrong but feel that in extreme situations it is allowed. They respond to different situations in different ways. Their attitude focuses on the mother’s health as well or even more as the foetus’. In the case where a child has been conceived by rape their attitude is that it might not be loved and love is essential in ones life. The General Synod response was “we believe that abortion is evil but we also believe that to withhold compassion is evil.” Christian’s response is therefore that to say in all cases it is wrong isn’t showing Christian compassion.
The difference between the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church is that C of E responds to each case individually whereas the Roman Catholic Church have made their decision before they’ve heard it.
People’s attitude differs when they argue about when foetus’ life actually begins but for some Christians this is irrelevant. They’re response would be that the foetus is a potential person and should be regarded as a person. Their attitude is that the foetus had nothing to do with how it was conceived so why is it the one that should suffer.
There are many groups that Christians support that are either helping those who have had an abortion or are campaigning against abortion. Not all of these are Christian groups but Christians do support them.
SPUC is one of these groups, which are trying to promote human life’s importance from conception onwards protecting a child before and after birth. This also means to defend the welfare of mothers during pregnancy and her children.
LIFE is a pro-life organization that also respects human-life from conception. They therefore feel that it is their responsibility to help and offer support to women who are having problems with pregnancy. They offer emotional and practical support to help women continue their pregnancy, counsel those who have had an abortion or are in a dilemma. They also support young women in need of clothes and a house during and after pregnancy.
Marie Stopes International is pro-choice so for that reason believes that to carry on pregnancy is a big decision and all women should have that right to choose. It is not their place to be judgmental but give the help and advice needed.
All Christians believe that abortion is immoral but certain things differ between different denominations and organizations. Word count – 543
Skill AO3 – “What Christians believe about life is up to them, they should not try to make others accept their position.”
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer and show that you have considered more than one point of view. Refer to Christianity in your answer.
The real question is how do others feel about Christians expressing their views on life to them. Roman Catholics and other denominations feel that they should tell others what they believe, as Christians, about life and feel that people need to accept. These include abortion, contraception, euthanasia and capital punishment. They put their point across in leaflets, campaigns and even preach in the street.
Christians feel that it is their responsibility to do the work of the Kingdom of God on earth and this means spreading the church’s attitude on life. Christians believe that by doing this they are bringing the Kingdom of God to earth and stopping people to do wrong even if this means condemning them, which would mean that you would disagree with the statement. Others, agreeing with the statement, could say that they are not showing Christian compassion and it is only God who has the right to judge a person.
Our community is of mixed religions and so people should not have to accept or even listen to Christian’s views. Everyone is entitled to free choice and so therefore don’t have to listen to what others think which consists of Christians as well. If others should respect a Christian’s position, shouldn’t they respect others. This means when giving their views they should take other people’s beliefs into consideration. One could argue that everyone has the right of free speech including Christians.
Some Christians believe that those who are in certain circumstances should have every point of view so that they can make the right choice. Christians for Free Choice believe this. Other Christians feel that there are people out there who feel they have no other choice and as Christians they need to stick up for the defenceless. Another reason why Roman Catholics give their opinion on euthanasia as it might become legal which is a worry as they strongly oppose euthanasia.
I believe that everyone has the right to express their view and Christians should have that same right but that does not mean they have the right to make others accept that view. I also think that if Christians want their views heard then they should listen to the opposing peoples’ views.
Word count – 369
Bibliography
- Moral Contemporary Issues
- The Roman Catholic Tradition: Christian Lifestyles and Behaviour
- www.bbc.co.uk/religoin/ethics/sanctity-life/
- www.painsley.org.uk/re/signposts/gcseaqa
