EDEXCEL RE GCSE UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE
-
Upload
bellaaquilina -
Category
Documents
-
view
225 -
download
3
Transcript of EDEXCEL RE GCSE UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE
SECTION 1 - BELIEVING IN GOD
GLOSSARYAGNOSTICISM Not being sure whether God exists
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
ATHEISM Believing that God does not exist
CONVERSION When life is changed by giving yourself to God
FREE WILL The idea that human beings are free to make their own
choices
MIRACLE Something which seems to break a law of science and
makes you think only God could have done it
MORAL EVIL Actions done by humans which cause suffering
NATURAL EVIL Things which cause suffering but have nothing to do
with humans
NUMINOUS The feeling of the presence of something greater than
you
OMNI-BENEVOLENT The belief that God is all good
OMNIPOTENT The belief that God is all powerful
OMNISCIENT The belief that God knows everything that has
happened and everything that is going to happen
PRAYER An attempt to contact God, usually through words
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
The most important part of the Christian religion is belief is God. However, not
everyone believes in God and those that do believe do so for a variety of
reasons.
Religious UpbringingFamilies and communities play an important part in the way in which people
come to believe in God. The faith of many believers is closely linked with the
beliefs that their families hold and the important aspects of their faith are passed
down from one generation to the next.
In the Christian religion, the main purpose of marriage is to have children and
bring them up in a secure and loving Christian environment, so that they will
come to believe in God and love Jesus. Most Christians take their children to be
baptised and promises are made about their upbringing and family life. Later
they may be confirmed. Both are sacraments.
To bring their children up as Christians, the parents are likely to:
teach their children bedtime prayers
take their children to church (especially to family service and/ or special
services at Christmas Easter)
send their children to Sunday school to learn about God
maybe send their children to a church school where they will be taught the
National Curriculum in a Christian environment
take care of each other in difficult times often with reference to Church and
Biblical teachings
celebrate religious festivals
The Bible is clear on the importance of family:
“Honour your father and your mother.”
Exodus 20
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Similarly, the Churches teach about the importance of the family for religious
belief.
“The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral
values, begin to honour God and make good use of freedom.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Religious ExperienceSome people believe in God because they feel that, somehow, they have
actually experienced him. A religious experience can be briefly defined as ‘an
encounter with God.’ This can occur in many ways, for instance;
i) A numinous experience – a feeling of great wonder, where you feel that there
is something greater than yourself, which you can only call God. It is often
described as an experience of the transcendent.
ii) A miracle – a belief that prayers are answered or that an act of God has
occurred. It is an event that seems to break the laws of science and can
therefore only be explained by God.
iii) A conversion experience – the feeling that there is something inside you
wanting you to change your life and to believe in God. It is sometimes called a
regenerative experience because it gives a feeling of being born again.
iv) A charismatic experience – an experience where the Holy Spirit descends
upon you, for example, speaking in tongues, prophecy or healing.
v) A mystical experience – an experience of the divine which is difficult to
describe, for example, hearing God’s voice or seeing a vision.
vi) A near-Death experience – an experience of God when in the process of
dying or having died, but then being resuscitated.
vii) Prayer – All religious believers think that they can make contact with God
through prayer. Prayers can be formal, e.g., for a Christian in Eucharist in the
Lord’s Prayer. Prayers can also be informal where a believer makes their own
prayer to God in their own private place.
Miracles
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Miracles are actions carried out by God that break a natural law. A natural law is
something that happens so often within the world that it would be considered
beyond the workings of nature if it happened differently, or failed to happened
when it was expected to do so, for example, the sun rising in the morning. If
someone is healed of a disease and there is no other explanation for it, then it
may be convincing enough to lead people to believe that God did it and must
exist after all.
Believers say that God is unchanging (immutable) and eternal and performs
miracles because, as an all-loving (omni-benevolent) and all-powerful
(omnipotent) being, he wants the best for his creation. An example of a Biblical
miracle is Jesus feeding the five thousand which can be found in the New
Testament:
Jesus and the disciples went to a town called Bethsaida and were followed by many crowds. Jesus started to teach them about the Kingdom of God. Late in the afternoon, the disciples asked Jesus if they could send the crowd away to get something to eat. Jesus told them to give the crowd something to eat. The disciples answered that they had gathered only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes – it wasn’t anywhere near enough to feed the whole crowd. But Jesus told them to gather people in to groups of about 50 each. Then Jesus held the fishes and loaves and looked up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples who were able to feed the entire crowd with 12 basketfuls left over.
PrayerPrayer is the way in which religious believers communicate with God. It may
involve words, or be silent. A believer will feel closer to God through prayer and
it can take many forms:
Adoration and worship – praising God
Thanksgiving – giving thanks for all that God has given
Intercession – asking God to meet the needs of the people
Petition – praying for you own needs and asking for God’s help
Confession and penitence – asking for forgiveness for the wrongs you have
done and promising not to do them again.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Prayers may be private or individual, or they may be corporate, when a number
of people pray together. They may be formal or spontaneous, when people
make up a prayer to meet a particular need. Some believers practise meditation.
This is a quiet form of prayer, where believers focus their thoughts entirely on
God. The person meditating simply sits still and concentrates on God.
Christians believe that although God is a loving father who listens to and answers
prayers, this does not mean every prayer will be answered, just like a good
parent does not give in to every request from a child. Christians believe that God
answers prayer in his own way and that he always does what is best. Jesus said
the following about prayer:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him
who knocks the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
Experience of the world leading to belief in GodFor many people, belief in God comes through their experience of seeing and
living in the world – they look at the world, the solar system and feel that it has
been somehow deliberately designed or caused (causation) by some great
intelligence, a cosmic designer, whom they call God.
i) Design – Using the appearance of design to lead to belief in God is often
called the Teleological Argument (William Paley). If the world has been
designed, it must have a designer. The only possible designer of something as
beautiful and complex as the world would be God.
The universe appears to have been designed
A being with intelligence must therefore have designed the universe
Only God could design something as complex as the universe
Therefore God exists
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
ii) Causation – The appearance of causation in the world is often called the
Cosmological Argument (William Paley). Anything cause to exist must be caused
to exist by something else because to cause your own existence, you would have
to exist before you exist, which is nonsense. There must be a beginning to all
chains of cause and effect. The universe must, therefore, have a first cause.
The only possible first cause of the universe is God.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1
Nothing can come into existence on its own – everything needs a cause
The universe therefore needs a cause
Only God is powerful enough to bring the universe into existence and to
keep it going
Therefore God exists
iii) Meaning of life/ Purpose – Many people ask questions such as why are we
here, where are we going or what’s the purpose of our life on earth? This
searching can lead people to think the purpose of this life involves the existence
of life after death where the good are rewarded and the evil are punished. Only
God could provide an afterlife and decide who should be rewarded and punished.
iv) Religion and belief in God - Some people think that religion itself is evidence
for the existence of God. People have always had religious beliefs, with the idea
of God as creator and that life should be led in accordance with religious moral
codes. With 86% of the world’s population belonging to some form of religion,
religion is clearly a major feature of the world.
Why some people do not believe in GodMany people are unsure about the existence of God (agnosticism), or simply do
not believe (atheism.)
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
An agnostic is someone who says that they do not know whether or not God
exists. Agnostics will be open to believe in God if they discover convincing
evidence. Until then, they will hold back from making a decision either in favour
of God’s existence or against it.
An atheist is someone who does not believe in God’s existence. There are many
reasons why people may be atheists – for instance, because they believe that
there is a lack of empirical evidence, that is evidence which can be confirmed by
use of the senses – things that can be seen, heard, smelt or touched. When
things can’t be seen or heard it is difficult to decide whether they are true or not.
The problems with miraclesMiracles are acts of God that apparently break the laws of nature. For believers,
they offer convincing evidence for the existence of God. However, there could be
other, better explanations for what appears to be a miracle. Sometimes a person
may recover unexpectedly from an illness. At other times, apparently miraculous
events are simply coincidences, not God intervening in peoples’ lives.
Unanswered PrayerPrayers that go unanswered can lead people away from believing in God.
Atheists argue that if an apparently loving God exists then surely he should
answer prayers. Unanswered prayers also test the faith of believers too,
especially if they pray in faith at times of hardship and nothing happens.
Non-religious explanations of the universeThe scientific theory known as the ‘Big Bang’ suggests that the universe came
bout, not be God’s creation, but through an explosion of matter and energy about
15 billion years ago. Another non-religious explanation is the theory of Natural
Selection. Charles Darwin argued that all living things have descended from
common ancestors and have evolved from more primitive forms of life. The earth
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
itself is also in a process of evolution or change. Living things were not created
by God, but evolved from chemical matter.
Both theories are potentially compatible with religious belief by Christians who do
not believe that the Bible is literally true. They believe that the creation story in
Genesis is a myth which tells people about God’s relationship with human beings
rather than a factual telling of creation. God could be responsible for the Big
Bang and evolution.
There are a number of reasons why people do not believe in God. These
include:
i) Nietzsche - believing that God is simply a kind of ‘superstition’.
ii) Feuerbach – believing that God is ‘made up’ by mankind.
ii) Freud – believing that God is just a ‘wish’ or ‘dream.’
iv) Science has given us comprehensive explanations for how the universe came
in to being and miracles. This effectively relegates God to the ‘god of the gaps.’
v) Unanswered prayers may make people feel that God isn’t there or doesn’t care
enough to act.
vi) The problem of evil and suffering (further discussed below.)
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
The greatest argument against believing in God is the problem of evil and
suffering:
God is said to be omni-benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient
If God is omni-benevolent he would want to remove evil and suffering
If God is omniscient he would know how to remove evil and suffering
If God is omnipotent he would be able to remove evil and suffering
Therefore, both God and evil cannot exist
Evil and suffering do exist
Therefore, God cannot exist.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
This is the problem of evil and suffering which, when laid out as in the diagram
below, can be referred to as the inconsistent triad:
Evil exists
God is omni-benevolent God is omnipotent
Religious believers try to answer this by saying that there are two kinds of evil;
i) Moral evil – suffering caused by human beings doing wrong things, e.g.,
murder.
ii) Natural evil – suffering caused by nature itself, e.g., earthquakes.
A theodicy is a way in which believers explain how there can be both evil and
yet a loving God. There are four possibilities:
1. Free Will Defence – that God has given human beings the free will to do as
they wish and God therefore cannot interfere. Evil and suffering are caused by
God not humans.
2. Preparing believers for heaven – God allows evil and suffering to prepare
believers for heaven. Bad things happen so that good can result and believers
can become more like Jesus, for instance, if there were no poor people, then
believers could not give to charity. Moreover, in heaven all evil and suffering will
cease.
3. God works in mysterious ways – We cannot understand God’s reasons. For
some Christians, the answer is that they don’t know why there is suffering but
that they should trust God’s love – even Jesus had to suffer. God works with a
final plan in view, which is all good and all loving:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying, or pain...” (Revelation 21:4)
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
4. Original sin – One of the oldest Christian responses is based on the accounts
of creation and the Fall in Genesis 1-3. These accounts suggest that God
created the world and human beings perfectly and that he gave humans free will.
The first human beings, Adam and Eve, chose to use their free will to disobey the
command God gave them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. When they did eat it, sin and suffering were brought into the world
be their freely chosen actions.
The main responses of Christians to suffering are to help those in need, either by
intercession (praying to God for help) and/ or helping and serving others by
doing voluntary work and giving to charity.
How do programmes about religion affect a person’s beliefs about God?
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
SECTION 2 - MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
GLOSSARYABORTION The removal of a foetus from the womb before
it can survive
ASSISTED SUICIDE Providing a seriously ill person with the means
to commit suicide
EUTHANASIA The painless killing of someone dying from a
painful disease
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL The idea that the soul lives on after the death
of the body
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE When someone about to die has an out of body
experience
NON-VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are
unable to ask, but you have good reason
forthinking they would want you to do so
PARANORMAL Unexplained things which are thought to have
spiritual cases, eg, ghosts, mediums
QUALITY OF LIFE The idea that life must have some benefits for it
to be worth living
RESURRECTION The belief that, after death, the body stays in
the grave until the end of the world when it is
raised.
SANCTITY OF LIFE The belief that life is holy and belongs to God
VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA Ending life painlessly when someone in great
pain asks for death
REINCARNATION The belief that, after death, souls are reborn in
a new body
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
The Sanctity of LifeThe Bible teaches that life is a gift from God and so essentially belongs to God –
this is known as the sanctity of life.
“If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or
die, we belong to the Lord.”
Romans 14
Christians believe that life is a gift from God and therefore is sacred – this means
that life is to be treated as holy and therefore valued and preserved. Humans
are, in a sense, created in the image of God Himself.
“So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him;
male and female, he created them.”
Genesis 1
Since life is sacred and precious, Christians believe that it is wrong to kill another
person.
“You shall not commit murder.”
Exodus 20
“God alone is the Lord of life…no one can under any circumstances claim for
himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Moreover, the body is not just a physical object, it is the dwelling place of the
Holy Spirit and must always be treated with reverence and respect.
“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God. You are not on your own.”
1 Corinthians 6
The sacredness of human life is highlighted for Christians in the life and death of
Jesus. They believe that God sanctified (made holy) human life by becoming
human himself and that the way Jesus suffered without attempting to do anything
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
to cut short his sufferings shows that life is not to be ended except when God
decides.
Life after DeathPhysical life eventually ends but many people believe that there is something
more beyond this life. There are many reasons for this:
There ought to be something beyond earthly life, which gives meaning to
life
Earthly life is short. An after-life would enable humans to fulfil their
potential
Perhaps there should be a reward for those who lead good lives on earth
and punishment for those who have been evil
Immanuel Kant believed that the three points above proved that life after
death must be real
If life is sacred, it ought to carry on beyond death
Most religions talk about an afterlife
The Bible says of God’s love continues beyond death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ is proof that there is life beyond the grave. Christians believe that earthly
life is preparation for eternal life with God. Christians differ in their views about
life after death. There are two basic concepts:
a) Immortality of the Soul – this is the belief that humans have a physical body
and a spiritual, immortal soul which is their real self. The soul survives the
physical death of the body and goes to exist in a spiritual place for ever, such as
heaven or hell. This idea is known as dualism since it rests on the belief that
there are two parts to human nature – the physical and the spiritual.
There are problems with this viewpoint. The most crucial one is whether or not
the immortal soul is really a person. Are there, for instance, male and female
souls? And where do these souls go when the body dies? The philosophy
Thomas Aquinas suggested three possible places:
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Hell – a place of eternal punishment for the worst people
Purgatory – a place where Christians who have lapsed in their faith may
undergo a period of punishment and purification
Beatific Vision – Heaven; a place of everlasting joy and happiness, where
God dwells.
The doctrine of the communion of the saints supports the belief that Christians
died and go to heaven and that it is perfectly possible for Christians on earth to
pray to the Saints in heaven to ask for their help and guidance.
“Those who have died in God’s grace and are perfectly purified go to heaven.
Those who have died in God’s grace but were imperfectly purified (eg, Catholic
sinners) will go to Purgatory and be purified. Those who have refused to believe
will go to hell. Then Jesus will come back to earth, the dead will be raised and all
these souls will be reunited with their bodies. Then God will judge everyone. A
new heaven and earth will be made and the resurrected from heaven will live
there forever, but the resurrected from hell will return there forever.” Catechism
of the RCC
b) Bodily Resurrection – this is view that, by an act of God’s love, one day the
dead will be restored to life again in bodily form. On this Day of Judgement, the
dead will be raised and God will judge the world. Evil will be banished forever
and the righteous will be rewarded with eternal life:
“God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those whose by
persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal
life.” Romans 2:5
God re-creates the person on the Day of Judgement, but this time their body is
spiritual and will never die. This is shown by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
himself, who appears to the disciples after his death. He talks to them, eats with
them and they can touch him:
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see, a ghost does
not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Luke 24:39
St Paul explains that the resurrected body is spiritual and cannot die:
“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable...it is sown in a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
There are problems with this doctrine – for instance, if a person is resurrected is
it really them or something that just looks like them? And what about people who
have disabilities on earth – will they still have these disabilities in eternal life?
Near-death experiencesScientist have examined the cases of many people who have died and been
resuscitated. In a near-death experience, people describe a feeling of floating
out of their bodies and then travelling down a tunnel to emerge into another
world. Here they met Jesus, or a figure associated with their own religious
tradition. Non-religious believers claimed to meet a dead relative or friend.
Between them and the figure was often a barrier or gate. At this point, they are
forced to make a choice as to whether to cross the barrier, or to return to earth. It
has been suggested that such accounts are simply hallucinations, dreams, or
subconscious memories.
ParapsychologyThe Spiritualist Movement claims that there is a spirit world where peoples’ spirits
live on after death and which can be reached through séances and mediums.
However, the Spiritualist Movement has been the subject of many hoaxes that
have made the whole thing appear bogus.
Why do some people not believe in life after death?
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
There are many people who do not believe in any kind of life after death. There
are several reasons for this:
When someone dies they just decay
It does not make sense to speak of life after death since, if there is such a
thing, then the person could not really be dead in the first place
Is an afterlife desirable anyway?
Life is about personal identity. If a person dies and have life after death in a
different form – say, as an immortal soul – then that are not the same person who
died
Roman
Catholic
Church
Believe in both the resurrection of the
body and immortality of the soul.
They believe that the soul of a
Christian who has not sinned since
their last confession will go straight to
Heaven. The soul of a Christian that
has sinned will go to Purgatory for
their souls to be cleansed. The souls
who do not believe in God or have
committed unforgivable sins will go to
Hell. After this, Jesus will come back
to Earth (on the Day of Judgement) to
raise the dead and reunite their
bodies and souls. God will make a
new Heaven and a new Earth and the
souls in Purgatory will go to Heaven
and the souls from Hell with return to
Hell.
Resurrection of Jesus
Teachings of New
Testament (See above)
Teaching in the
Catechism of the RCC
(See above)
Belief that Jesus is
seated on the right
hand of the father and
will come again to
judge the living and the
dead.
Church of
England
Believe that after death the body will
stay in the grave, but the soul will go
straight to God for judgement. There
is a difference of opinion about what
Jesus told a thief on the
cross that he would be
in Heaven that day
(Luke 23:43)
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
will happen to those who do not go to
Heaven, and some believe there is no
such place as Hell.
Jesus said his father’s
house had many rooms
that Jesus was
preparing for his
followers (John 14:2)
The teaching of the
Church is that there
can be a communion of
the saints
(communication
between dead and
living Christians)
Evidence of the
paranormal such as
ghosts and mediums
Evangelical
Christians
Believe that after death the body and
soul stay in the grave until the end of
the world. At this time a Christian will
be judged. The good will go to
Heaven and sinners who have not
repented will go to Hell.
Jesus’ body was raised
from the dead (Luke
24:39)
They are taught to
believe in the
resurrection of the body
and everlasting life
St Paul teachers this
belief in 1 Corinthians
15:42-44
The Problem of Abortion
Abortion presents a serious moral problem for Christians, since it conflicts with
the belief in the sanctity of life.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.”
Jeremiah 1
An abortion is the termination of the foetus in the womb. This may be natural in
the sense that the foetus is expelled by an act of nature itself – this is called a
miscarriage. Alternatively, the abortion may be procured, that is, the foetus is
removed by doctors. It is abortion in this sense which we shall deal with here.
In the UK a woman can only have a legal abortion if she comes within the
Abortion Act 1967 and 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act which
allows abortion up to 24 weeks only on certain conditions.
If two doctors agree that:
i) Continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the physical/mental
health of the mother
ii) Physical/ mental health of the existing family would suffer after the birth
iii) Child is likely to be born mentally/ physically handicapped.
Abortion after 24 weeks is allowed if there is:
i) A risk to the mother’s life
ii) Evidence that the baby will be severely handicapped
iii) Risk of serious physical/ mental injury to the mother.
In 1971 there were 94,570 abortions carried out compared with 176,364 in 2001.
Abortion is often justified by politicians and others by saying that it helps to
control the rise in population. Pro-choice groups often say that abortion
supports the right of every woman to choose what happens to her body, and
enables her to choose the right time for her to have a baby, rather than have an
‘accident.’ A pregnancy as a result of an accident, a rape or a ‘one night stand’
should not be allowed to ‘spoil’ a woman’s life.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Abortion presents many problems – the most important is the question of when
does life begin? Some religions, including Catholicism, believe that life begins at
conception and that to have an abortion is to kill a human being.
Others say that life does not really begin until much later, perhaps when the baby
starts to move in the womb (called quickening) or even when the baby becomes
viable that is, capable of existing outside the womb. That is why the law gives a
limit of 24 weeks – until that time the foetus is not viable and therefore is not, in a
sense, a human being.
Many religious believers say that abortion is wrong. The Bible says that God
gives the gift of life to everyone:
“For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother’s
womb.” (Psalm 139:13)
The RCC and many Protestant groups are opposed to abortion because:
Life is a sacred gift from God
The Bible forbids the murder of human beings
Life begins at the moment of conception
The unborn child is created in the image of God
Every human being has the right to life
The Doctrine of double effect is permitted by the Catholic Church – if the
mother’s life is in danger and treatment to save her might harm the foetus, then
treatment is permitted. As long as the harm to the foetus is unintentional it is
acceptable.
The Church of England and the Methodist Church agree that abortion is
undesirable but, at the same tiem, argue that an abortion might sometimes be
the most loving thing to do, for instance, in the case of rape, severe handicap or
where the life of the mother is at risk.
Catholic views
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Since Catholicism states that life begins at conception, the Catholic Church is
generally opposed to abortion. The Sanctity of Life is very important for religious
views on abortion.
“Abortion is a horrible crime…the law must provide appropriate sanctions for
every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Church of England views“We affirm that every human life is unique, born or yet to be born…we therefore
believe that abortion is an evil. But we also believe that to withdraw compassion
in circumstances of extreme distress or need is a very great evil. In an imperfect
world the ‘right’ choice is sometimes the lesser of two evils.”
Methodist views“Abortion is always an evil to be avoided if at all possible…However, in an
imperfect world there will be circumstances where a termination of a pregnancy
may be the lesser of two evils.”
(NB: Contraception – Some religious believers suggest that the use of
contraception itself is wrong since it prevents a human life from forming and that,
in a sense, contraception is a kind of abortion anyway. The morning after pill has
been dubbed the ‘abortion pill’ by some.
Arguments in favour of abortion (pro-choice)1. The woman’s right to choose.
Many argue that the mother has the right to make choices concerning;
What happens to her body
What happens to her life
Her future
Her relationships
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Whether to have a child
In other words, the right of the mother take precedence over those of the foetus
as long as the foetus is not able to survive outside the mother’s womb.
2. The Quality of life
It may be argued that the foetus has the right to a reasonable quality of life,
which means a life free from pain and the right to be a wanted child. If these
things are not possible, then abortion may be the best option.
3. The Doctrine of Double effect
If a woman’s life is in danger, an abortion may save her life. The doctrine of
double effect is the principle that whilst an abortion is undesirable, it is carried
out to save the mother’s life.
4. Population growth
Some argue that abortion helps to keep the population numbers down.
Arguments against abortion (pro-life)Anti-abortionist groups, such as LIFE and The Society for the Protection of the
Unborn Child (SPUC) claim that the foetus is a human being and has the right.
Not to be killed
To fulfil its potential
For its life to be valued
To be fairly represented by an unbiased third party
They argue that it is wrong to kill a foetus just because it is handicapped, would
have a poor quality of life or because having a baby might affect the mother’s life
or career.
The Problem of Euthanasia
Euthanasia is defined as the action of inducing ‘a quiet and easy death’ or ‘a
good death’. It is used to refer to the termination of the lives of people suffering
from great physical or mental handicap or a painful terminal illness. There are
several ways in which this might be done:
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
a) Assisted suicide – providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit
suicide.
b) Voluntary euthanasia – the situation where someone dying in pain asks
another person to end his/ her life painlessly.
c) Non-voluntary (or passive) euthanasia – where medical treatment given to
prolong the patient’s life is not longer given and the patient is allowed to die
naturally, for example, switching off a life-support machine.
British law says that all these methods of euthanasia are crimes and people
involved in them can be sent to prison. This is an area of great controversy
especially as some countries, such as the Netherlands, have made euthanasia
legal if it is agreed to by the patient, the patient’s relatives and at least two
doctors. This debate has recently been reignited by Terry Pratchett in his
Dimbleby Lecture in March 2010 as well as the case of Kay Gilderdale who was
acquitted of killing her daughter when she helped her to die.
Arguments in favour of EuthanasiaThose who support euthanasia offer the following reasons:
It leads to a pain-free death
It allows the sufferer to die with dignity, rather than a slow, uncomfortable
death
It saves on hospital and medical expenses
It relieves the burden on families
The Voluntary Euthanasia Society has campaigned for people to be given the
right to make Living Wills or Advance Directives. These are documents made by
individuals in a time of good health, indicating that should they become severely
injured or handicapped, that they be allowed to die rather than receiving intensive
medical treatment. However, such documents are not legally binding. In 1993,
the House of Lords rejected a proposal to legalise euthanasia, saying: “It would
be next to impossible to ensure that all acts of euthanasia were truly voluntary.”
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Arguments against EuthanasiaThose against euthanasia say that doctors should save lives, not kill. They argue
that euthanasia is the easy option and that there are many moral issues which
need to be considered.
Not all illnesses diagnosed as terminal will necessarily end in death
If doctors are allowed to kill those who are very sick, then society will stop
looking for cures
The elderly and the sick might feel pressure on them to die
The Hospice Movement cares for the terminally ill and offers an alternative
to euthanasia. However, at present, hospice care is expensive.
Palliative care – Keeping people pain-free by use of drugs which may leave
them semi-conscious all the time.
Pharmacologoblivion – Sometimes the only way of easing a person’s pain is to
give them huge doses of painkillers which, in the end, may kill them anyway.
This is sometimes done deliberately.
Doctrine of Double Effect – Giving a large dose of painkillers to relieve pain
(first effect) knowing that it will also shorten a person’s life (a secondary effect.)
The blame for ending the person’s life cannot be given because the intention was
purely to ease their suffering, the shortening of their life was purely a by-product.
(Permitted by the RCC because the intention is not to end a person’s life.)
Christian viewsThe Catholic Church is absolutely against euthanasia and, unlike many Christian
churches, is also against doctors having the right to switch off life support
machines with the consent of the patient’s family.
“An act or omission which 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.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Most Christian churches are against euthanasia, but would agree with the right of
doctors to switch off life support machines with the consent of the patient’s family.
This cross Church agreement comes about because of the Sanctity of Life
principle.
“We believe that it is right to use medical treatment to control pain. We deny the
right to legalise the termination of life by a doctor.”
Salvation Army
As an alternative to euthanasia, many Christians look to the Hospice Movement.
A Hospice is a kind of residential home where those suffering a terminal illness
can live out their remaining days being cared for in a peaceful and dignified way.
“We are now always able to control pain in terminal cancer in the patients sent to
us…euthanasia as advocated is wrong…it should be unnecessary and is an
admission of defeat.”
Christian Hospice Movement
Causes of World Poverty1. WarsWars destroy crops, homes, schools, hospitals, etc., causing even more poverty.
They also force many people to leave their homes and become refugees in other
safer countries. These neighbouring countries may have been developing, but a
sudden influx of refugees with no money or food can make that country poor
again.
2. Natural DisastersMany LEDCs are situated in areas of the world where natural disasters
(earthquakes, floods, droughts, etc.) are more frequent and more severe than
anywhere else. An earthquake or a flood, for example, can destroy many
thousands of homes and the farmland on which the inhabitants depend. If rains
does not fall, crops will not grown unless people have the wealth to sink wells,
install pumps and organise an irrigation system.
3. Debt
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Most LEDCs have to borrow money from the banks of developed countries to
survive and begin to develop. However, these banks charge interest, so a less
developed country can find itself paying more in interest that it earns in foreign
currency. In the early seventies, for example, Chile borrowed $3.9 billion. By
1982, the country had paid $12.8 billion in interest, but still owed money. This
extra $9 billion could have been used to speed up Chile’s development, instead it
went to countries that were already rich.
Because unpaid interest is added to the original debt, since 1990 the amount of
money poor countries have to pay in interest to rich countries has risen from £7.4
billion to £10.3 billion.
4. Unfair TradeWorld trade is dominated by the rich countries of the world. It is often the rich
countries that determine the prices paid for products from LEDCs.
Most people in poor countries work in agriculture and one way for them to
become richer would be for them to grow surplus crops and export their surplus
to earn money from MEDCs. However, the rich countries are using their wealth
to protect their farmers. They pay subsidies to their farmers to grow crops, and
put high tariffs (import taxes) on crops from poor countries so that their products
are more expensive. Then, if the MEDC farmers produce more crops than are
needed, they export them at lower prices than the LEDCs can produce them for.
To overcome the problem, many LEDCs grow cash crops such as cotton, coffee,
tea and tobacco, which they can sell to the developed world. Many people in
LEDCs are starving because land is used to grow cash crops instead of food,
and the prices for the cash crops go down because too many countries are
growing them. The price of coffee has fallen by 70% since 1996 costing poor
countries $8 billion.
5. HIV/AIDSThis disease is sweeping the LEDCs. The methods of safe sex and drugs to
control the disease used in the rich countries are far too expensive. South Africa
has the largest number of people with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the disease is
having a horrifying effect on children. It is estimated that by 2010 one-quarter of
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
all the children in South Africa will have lost their parents. The loss of so many
earners and the presence of so many children who will not be able to have an
education is causing many African countries to become poorer. This effect is
going to get worse, and only the rich countries can help.
6. Other factorsThere are other factors contributing to world poverty. Lack of education means
that young people in LEDCs do not have the skills needed to work in industries
that might improve the country. Lack of clean fresh water leads to disease and
children dying at a young age; such low life expectancy leads families to have a
large number of children so that a sufficient number will survive to look after their
parents in their old age. Relying on one export (such as copper or oil) can lead
to poverty because, if the value of the product goes down in the world market, the
country will be making a loss instead of a profit. This can change a country form
rich to poor almost overnight.
The work of one religious agency for world developmentThere are many religious agencies working for world development. One of the
major agencies based in the UK is Christian Aid.
Christian Aid began as Christian Reconstruction in Europe, set up in 1945 to help
relieve the suffering of people left homeless after WW2. It is now a leading UK
and Irish overseas Development Agency that works across the globe in more
than 50 countries. It acts where the need is greatest, regardless of religion.
Christian Aid prefers to work alongside local partner organisations, in the belief
that local people are best placed to find their own solutions to the problems they
face.
Christian Aid works on the basis of need regardless of race or religion.
To achieve its aim, the work of Christian Aid is split into different groups or
sections.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Fund-raisingIn order to do any work to relieve poverty, Christian Aid needs money which is
raised in several ways.
Since 1957, Christian Aid Week has been organised as a nationwide event in
May each year. Churches divide up towns between them and try to put an
envelope and information sheet about the work of Christian Aid into every house.
In 2004, Christian Aid week raised £15 million. Many churches and individual
also have fund-raising events throughout the year. Christian Aid also receives
government grants.
Emergency AidChristian Aid has funds to deal with emergencies such as the recent tsunami in
south-east Asia and the displaced people in Sudan. This work takes place
alongside long-term aid because without it people would die. The sort of
emergency help Christian Aid gives via its local partner organisations includes
sending food, antibiotics and shelters to the victims of the 2004 Bangladesh
floods, sending food to drought-stricken Zimbabwe, and sending blankets, tents
and food to war refugees in Darfur and the Congo. Christian Aid spends
between 10% and 15 % of its funds each year on emergency aid.
Long-term aidChristian Aid has an advantage over many charities because it is in contact with
organisations at the receiving end of the aid. Much of Christian Aid’s emergency
and long-term aid is channelled through organisations in the country concerned.
Often these local groups come up with ideas for long-term aid, which they ask
Christian Aid to support. Christian Aid sees its function as helping people to help
themselves so that they will not need aid. Often this is done through the use of
appropriate technology (technology that can be operated and repaired by people
using it rather than needing support from the outside).
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
Education and campaigningAbout 5% of Christian Aid’s budget is spent on educating the people and
Churches of the UK and Ireland about the need for development and the way in
which people can help LEDCs.
It publishes a quarterly newspaper, Christian Aid News, and many educational
materials. These not only give information about what Christian Aid is doing, but
also about world development. What the world spends on arms in two weeks, for
example, would give everyone in the world enough food, water, education and
shelter for a year.
Christian Aid also campaigns to improve the situation in LEDCs. In addition to is
own campaigns it was part of the Jubilee 2000, which campaigned to persuade
rich governments and banks to cancel the debts of poor countries, and is a
member of the Trade Justice Movement which is a campaign to persuade the
rich governments of the world to agree to world trade systems that will allow poor
countries to develop their economies.
Why does Christian Aid work to relieve world poverty?StewardshipChristianity teaches that God created the universe and everything in it and when
it was created, it was good. This means that Christians should regard the whole
of creation as a gift from God to be used by humans in the way in which God
intended. It is a basic believe of Christianity that God gave humans the
stewardship of the earth and its resources.
Stewardship means looking after something so that it can be passed on to the
next generation. In the Parable of the Talents (Luke 19:11-26), JS taught that
God expects humans to pass on to the next generation more than they have
been given. The Churches teach that stewardship does not only mean looking
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
after the earth’s resources, it also means making sure that the earth’s resources
are shared out fairly.
The Relief of PovertyAccording to the NT, riches must be used for the help of others, especially the
poor. Christians believe that all humans are equal in the eyes of God, and that
all the good things of the earth have been given to humans by God to use to help
each other.
Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats about the good and bad
people being separated at the end of the world, just as a shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats. The good would be sent to heaven because, as JC said,
‘When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I
was naked, you clothed me. When I was sick or in prison, you visited me.’ The
good people wanted to know when they had ever done this and JC replied,
‘When you did this for the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’ The bad people
were told they were going to hell because they had never fed the hungry, given
drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, or visited the sick or imprisioned. When
they asked when they had never done these things, JC said, ‘When you did not
do it for other people, you did not do it for me.’ Clearly this means that Christian
should help to relieve world poverty.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), JC taught that Christians should
share their time and possessions to help those in need, and this has been
backed up by the teachings of all the Christian Churches that Christians have a
duty to help the poor.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), JC showed that the
commandment to Christians to love God and love their neighbours means they
must help anyone who is in trouble whether they live next door or far away.
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
When JC was asked by a rich young man what he should do to gain eternal like,
as well as obeying all the Ten Commandments, JC said: ‘You need to do one
thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you
will have riches in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words
and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. JC looked around and
said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the
Kingdom of God.’
So Christian teachings on stewardship and the relief of poverty mean that
Christians should share their wealth with the poor to help remove the causes of
world poverty and promote world development.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust (made stewards) must
prove faithful…It is the Lord who judges…He will bring to light what is hidden in
darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” (1 Corinthians 4:2-5)
“The universe as a whole is a product of God’s creative and imaginative will. All
its parts are interdependent. Men and women are to be stewards, not exploiters
of its resources material, animal and spiritual.” (Statement by the Methodist
Church in What the Churches Say)
“God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn
away from them….Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate use of
riches or their selfish use.” (Catechism of the RCC, 2443-2445)
“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to
borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42)
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard
“If anyone is well off in worldly possession and sees his brother in need, but
closes his heart to him, how can the love of God be remaining in him? Children,
your love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine.”
(1 John 3: 17-18)
“The Church should concern itself first, and indeed second, with the poor and
needy, whether in spirit or in body.” Faith in the City, a CofE report on poverty
and the Church)
How has an issue arising from matters of life and death been presented in form
of the media and was it fair to religious beliefs and religious people?
Million Dollar Baby
GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard