issues of life and death

Question 1

afterlife

Answer 1

Life after death; the belief that existence continues after physical death.

Question 2

Environmental sustainability

Answer 2

Ensuring that the demands placed on natural resources can be met without reducing capacity to allow all people and other species of animals, as well as plant life, to live well, now and in the future.

Question 3

Euthanasia

Answer 3

From Greek, eu ‘good’ and thanatos ‘death’. Sometimes referred to as ‘mercy killing’. The act of killing or permitting the death of a person who is suffering from a serious illness.

Question 4

Evolution

Answer 4

The process by which different living creatures are believed to have developed from earlier less complex forms during the history of the earth.

Question 5

Abortion

Answer 5

When a pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child.

Question 6

Quality of life

Answer 6

The extent to which life is meaningful and pleasurable.

Question 7

Sanctity of life

Answer 7

The belief that life is precious, or sacred. For many religious believers, only human life holds this special status.

Question 8

Soul

Answer 8

The spiritual aspect of a being; that which connects someone to God. The soul is often regarded as non-physical and as living on after physical death, in an afterlife.