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Home , Voluntary euthanasia

Religious Studies Knowledge Organiser: Year 8 Matters of Life and

Matters of Life and Death Key Words Christian beliefs about life after death Non-religious reasons for believing in life after -the removal of a foetus from the Some Christians believe in the resurrection of the body and death womb before it can survive others believe in immortality of the soul. All Christians believe in Why non-religious people believe in life after death: heaven. Some people believe in lifer after death for non- assisted - providing a seriously ill Why Christians believe in life after death: religious reasons such as: person with the means to commit suicide Christians believe in life after death because: Near-death When someone is clinically - the painless killing of • Jesus rose from the dead Experiences dead and then comes back to someone dying from a painful disease • The Bible and the Creeds say there is life after death life, after a heart attack or operation, and can remember immortality of the soul- the idea that the • The Church teaches that there is life after death what happened. Sometimes soul lives on after the death of the body • The soul is something that can never die and life after death gives meaning and purpose to life they see bright lights or dead near-death experience- when someone about relatives. to die has an out of body experience How Christian beliefs about life after death affect the lives of Evidence of a spirit Some people believe , non-voluntary euthanasia- ending someone’s Christians: world ouija boards and mediums life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but They believe that how they live their lives will decide what prove there is a life after you have good reason for thinking they happens to them when they die: death. Mediums, such as TV’s would want you to do so • They will therefore live a good Christian life John Edwards, claim to speak • Go to church, pray and worship God to dead people in the spirit paranormal- unexplained things which are • Follow the parable of the sheep and the goats – and help world. thought to have spiritual causes eg ghosts, those in need Evidence of Some people have mediums reincarnation experiences, quality of life- the idea that life must have where they believe they have some benefits for it to be worth living Why some people do not believe in life after death lived before. An example was a Some people do not believe in God and believe this life is all there is. boy called Cameron (TV’s The reincarnation- the belief that, after death, They do not believe in life after death because: Boy who lived Before) who souls are reborn in a new body • They do not believe in God and that there is no where for life believed he had lived in a past resurrection- the belief that, after death, the after death to happen life. body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised • The different religions all say something different, if there was a life after death they would all say the same thing sanctity of life- the belief that life is holy • Evidence of the paranormal has all been challenged by and belongs to God scientists voluntary euthanasia- ending life painlessly • Mediums could be making it up; near death experiences could when someone in great pain asks for death be a trick of the brain and reincarnation experiences could be lies • Space journeys have shown there is no heaven above the sky • Science shows that the soul cannot live without the body, so when the body dies the soul dies too, there is no need for life after death

The Nature of Abortion Christian attitudes to abortion What is the UK law on abortion? What are the different Christian attitudes to abortion? Abortion is allowed in the UK if two doctors agree that there is a medical reason for it such as: • The mother’s life is at risk Catholic and Evangelical Churches Liberal Protestant Churches • The mother’s physical or mental health is at risk Abortion is always wrong Abortion is wrong but must be • The child is very likely to be born severely handicapped allowed in some circumstances • There would be a serious effect on other children in the family Life belongs to God, so only God Life does not begin at conception cannot be carried out after 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless the mother’s life is at risk or the can end a pregnancy foetus has severe handicaps. Life begins at conception, so Jesus said do the most loving thing Abortion is a controversial issue because: abortion is or the lesser of two evils – • People disagree about when life begins, some believe it begins at the moment of conception sometimes abortion is the most others believe it is when the foetus can live outside the mother loving thing to do • Some people believe that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body. Follow the teachings of the Church The sanctity of life can be broken • Many religious people believe that the unborn child’s is greater than the which is that abortion is wrong in a just war so why not in a just mother’s rights. abortion • Some people believe the time limit should be reduced to 18 or 20 weeks because of medical Adoption is an alternative to Doctors have the ability to find out advances abortion if a baby is going to be severely • There are also arguments about whether medical staff should have to carry out abortions handicapped so parents should have the option to stop their baby from Christian attitudes to euthanasia suffering through abortion What are the different Christian attitudes to euthanasia?

The Nature of Euthanasia All Christians believe that abortion is wrong but they have slightly different attitudes:

What is the UK law on euthanasia? Catholics and many Liberal Protestants believe that , voluntary

The UK law states that assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia are all wrong BUT they believe that switching are all murder. However, the law now allows stopping artificial feeding or not giving off life support machines, not giving treatment and giving painkiller that may treatment (passive euthanasia) as they do not view these things as euthanasia. inadvertently cause death are not euthanasia and therefore allowed. They believe this Euthanasia is a controversial issue because: because: AGAINST Euthanasia (keep it illegal) FOR Euthanasia (make it legal) • They believe in the sanctity of life, God gave life so only God can take life away Relatives might use euthanasia to get Discoveries in medicine mean that people • Euthanasia is murder which is against the 10 Commandments inheritance or stop taking care of elderly who would have died are being kept alive, • If someone is brain dead, they have already died so switching off life support relatives often in agony, and should have the right to machine is accepting what God has already decided die • If you give painkillers to ease someone’s pain but it kills them, this is not An incurable disease might not actually end Euthanasia is already legal as doctors are murder because you only intended to ease their pain (doctrine of double effect) the persons life or a cure might be found allowed to switch off life support machines Some Christians (Evangelical Protestants) believe that all forms of euthanasia are It is a doctors job to save lives not end People have the right to commit suicide so wrong, even turning off life support machines. They believe this because: them why give them the right to ask doctors to • The Bible forbids suicide and murder, and they take the Bible literally assist their suicide if they are too weak to • They believe in the sanctity of life, only God can take life and it says in the do it alone Bible that life and death decisions belong to God alone People might change their mind, but it might Doctors can now stop treatment to allow A few Christians accept euthanasia in certain circumstances because: be too late people to die • Medical advances mean it is hard to know what God’s wishes about someone’s Who would make sure that only people who If an animal suffers we put it out if its death are. God may want someone to die but doctors are keeping them alive really wanted or needed euthanasia died? misery, yet we allow humans to suffer, it is • The teaching of Jesus on loving your neighbour can be used to justify assisting more humane to allow euthanasia suicide because it might be the most loving thing to do • It is a basic human right to have control over your body and what people do to it. People have a right to refuse medical treatment so why not a right to ask for euthanasia