Life and Death

Question 1

What is a quote about being judged after death?

Answer 1

‘For he will come to judge the living and the dead’

Question 2

What is the Last Judgement?

Answer 2

• The Second Coming of Jesus where he comes to judge all that have ever lived
• He will punish those that have sinned and reward those that have lived in accordance with God
• We will go to heaven or hell accordingly

Question 3

What are Christian beliefs about the resurrection of each person when they die?

Answer 3

• It is believed that everybody’s bodies and souls are ressurected after they die in order to go to heaven, though only our souls will actually ascend
• ‘We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed’
• This is a linear belief - we are not reincarnated

Question 4

What is a cyclical view of life and death?

Answer 4

• Samsara in Hinduism
• It says that every living thing, including humans, will be reborn once they die
• What they are reincarnated as is related to their karma which they accumulated as they lived
• This is an example of the consequences of cause and effect on life after death

Question 5

What are some quotes about the nature of heaven and the nature of hell?

Answer 5

• Heaven is a place of harmony - ‘the lion shall lie down with the lamb’
• God is absent from Hell - ‘forever separated from the Lord’

Question 6

What is heaven also known as to Christians?

Answer 6

The Kingdom of God

Question 7

What is a Christian’s ultimate purpose?

Answer 7

Achieve union with God in order to end up in the Kingdom of God - heaven, after this life

Question 8

Why was it, for a time, impossible for Christians to achieve their ultimate purpose?

Answer 8

Through the Fall, the relationship between God and Humanity had been broken, therefore we could never enter his Kingdom for a time

Question 9

How did God try and mend his relationship with humanity?

Answer 9

• God, in the form of Jesus, sacrificed himself in his innocence for our sins
• This shows grace towards humanity, which is undeserved love
• This is known as atonement, and brought us closer to God, allowing Christians to achieve their ultimate purpose

Atonement is when your sins are forgiven - atoning for your sins brings you closer to God

Question 10

How did Jesus’s atonement of our sins bring about Salvation?

Answer 10

• Jesus’s sacrifice in his innocence on the cross saved us from the Original sin of the Fall, therefore bringing about Salvation
• Jesus’s Resurrection proves this sacrifice is effective
• Humans restored our original relationship with God, meaning we are now in a state of salvation and can achieve our ultimate purpose

Question 11

What is the quote about Jesus bring about salvation?

Answer 11

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life’

Question 12

What do some people think is all we need to achieve our ultimate purpose?

Answer 12

• The grace of God, granted to us through Jesus’s sacrifice, as it restores our relationship with him
• Grace is undeserved love from God

Question 13

What else, other than Grace, do many Christians believe we need to achieve our ultimate purpose and what are some examples of this?

Answer 13

• Works
• It is believed that Jesus’s sacrifice only opened the door to God, but we still need to work hard to achieve personal salvation by avoiding sin and doing as God commanded
• ‘He (God) will give to each one according to his works’

If we do the wrong actions in life, it is believed we go to Hell, the other destination in eternal life

Question 14

What is a quote about being saved through faith alone?

Answer 14

‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned’

This supports exclusivism

Question 15

What are some non-religious views about the purpose of life?

Answer 15

• Humanism - No observable or inherent purpose, so we ought to pursue our own happiness and bring happiness to others
• Existenalism - We need to give our own lives personal meaning as there is no external deciding force - ‘Without God, everything is permitted’
• Nihilism - Without religious belief, life has no purpose and we cannot give it one

The purposes of life for Christians are outlined in the card in section 1

Question 16

What does the law say about euthanasia in the UK?

Answer 16

• Euthanasia, along with assisted suicide is illegal in the UK and punishable by law as per the 1961 suicide act
• However, passive euthanasia, where a doctor withdraws something keeping somebody alive for a genuine reason, is not illlegal

Question 17

What are religious arguments against euthanasia?

Answer 17

• The sanctity of life argument which states that since life was created by God, it is inherently valuable and it is therefore not within our right to tamper with it
• ‘Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’
• Furthermore, the belief in Imago Dei suggests we were all made in God’s image so we should not end the life of anybody
• ‘Let us create mankind in our image, in our likeness’ - Genesis 1

Question 18

What are the secular arguments for euthanasia?

Answer 18

• The quality of life argument which states that the value of life is proportional to how much the individual enjoys it - therefore if they are suffering it is within their right to end it and it is not sacred - This is held by humanists
• We should have autonomy over our own lives - it gives us liberty
• Legalising euthanasia would ensure regulations are put in place to prevent illegal methods or people travelling abroad

Question 19

What are the secular arguments against euthanasia?

Answer 19

• Euthanasia opens the doors for more unethical things such as eugenics - slippery slope
• Palliative care allows for people to have a good quality of life when terminally ill and euthanasia would decrease the quality of this care
• There is a possibility for miraculous recoveries

Question 20

What does the law in the UK say about abortion?

Answer 20

• Abortion is legal in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy as per the 1967 abortion act
• This is unless it is to save the women’s life

Question 21

What are some secular arguments against abortion?

Including arguments which may have been made by religious people but are not necessarily dependent on the belief in God

Answer 21

• ‘Millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother… If a mother can kill her own child - what is left for me to kill you’ - Mother Theresa
• ‘Abortion and racism are both symptoms of thinking that when someone stands in our way we can justify getting that person out of our lives’ - Alveda King

Question 22

What are some religious arguments against abortion?

Answer 22

• ‘The Golden rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development’ - Pope Francis
• Roman Catholics believes life starts at conceptions therefore abortion is murder and is unacceptable due to the sanctity of life argument (life was given by God) - The Pope said ‘It is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being’
• The Church of England 1983 resolution of Synod agrees in most cases it is unacceptable but justified if the continuation of a pregnancy threatens the life of a mother

Question 23

What are some arguments for abortion?

Answer 23

• Personal liberty - ‘No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body - Margaret Sanger
• It is not the right of the state to prevent it from happening - ‘Politicians have no business interfering with women’s health decisions’
• The quality of life of the child and mother is more important - ‘We really need to get over this love affair with the foetus and start worrying about children’ (quality of life argument)

Question 24

What are some Christian beliefs about love?

Answer 24

• We do it to honour the love God has given to us - ‘We love because he first loved us’
• It is holy and created by God - ‘Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;’
• We should love God and others unconditionally as he loves us - ‘God’s own agape was revealed when he sent his one and only Son into the world’ and ‘Love thy neighbour’ (Leviticus 19:18)

Question 25

What are purposes of sexual relationships for Christians?

Answer 25

• To obey God’s orders of reunification - ‘Therefore a man leaves his father and a mother to be with his wife, and they become one flesh’
• To reproduce - ‘Go forth and multiply’
• To enjoy ourselves and honour our bodies which are ‘temples of the holy spirit’ and were made in God’s image

This is all within marriage

Question 26

What are some Christian views on sex outside of marriage?

Answer 26

• It is a sin - ‘Do not commit adultery’
• It should be avoided, and if sexual immorality does occur, marriage should take place - ‘If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.’
• More liberal Christians (along with aethiests) accept sex outside of marriage as they believe people should have autonomy over their bodies and therefore their sexual lives, though promiscuity is frowned upon due to the lack of love and risk of STIs

• Roman Catholics hold the belief more strongly than the Church of England
• The same things apply to promiscuity

Question 27

What are some non-religious purposes of marriage?

Answer 27

• Romantic love
• Public commitment through vows
• Legal or financial reasons
• Stable or correct place for sex and raising children
• Tradition or parental encouragement

Question 28

What are the Christian purposes of marriage?

Answer 28

• To produce and raise Christian children - ‘bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’
• To obtain the favour of the lord ‘Whoever finds a wife, finds a good thing, and obtains the favour of the Lord’
• The importance of marriage is shown through Jesus’s turning of water into wine at a wedding in Cana
• To avoid sexual immorality - ‘Since sexual immorality is occuring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife’
• To unite as the Bible commanded ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh’
• For support ‘It is not good that a man should be alone, I will make a helper for him’

The belief that marriage is for procreation is an argument against same-sex marriages

Question 29

What do Christians teach about wedding vows and monagamy?

Answer 29

• Monagamy is the only correct way of marrying - ‘I will make a helper for him’ and ‘the two will become one flesh’
• Vows are performed with God as a witness for accountability, meaning marriage is a religious commitment as well as a legal contract
• Marriage is a sacrement in the Roman Catholic Church
• It equates the relationship between the bride and the groom with the relationship between Jesus and the Church
• These therefore support the idea of monagamy as showing affection to another whlie married would be breaking th convenant made by God and would be sinful and adulterus

Question 30

What are some non-religious reasons to abstain from marriage?

Answer 30

• Unnecessary - legal contracts can be signed (civil partnerships) cohabitation can occur instead
• Old fashioned - enforces unnecessary traditional gender roles
• Change in attitude to having sex and children outside marriage
• God does not exist therefore there are no commands or expectations to marry

Question 31

Why might the Christian view of marriage be an impossible ideal?

Answer 31

• Emphasis on traditional gender roles is not sustainable in our modern society, along with very high standards and exptations for all are hard to follow given many people’s more liberal understanding of the Bible
• In an increasingly multifaith society and with people who have conflicting beliefs, it becomes harder to simply ‘raise a child to be Christian’, this is especially when more pluralist and inclusive views are being assumed
• However liberal readings allow flexibilities in interpretations, and the ethical and moral guidance, supportiveness and commitment a Christian marriage provides remains appealing
• Fundamentalists will see the Bible commands to marry as absolute and things to be adhered to regardless of a changing society

Question 32

What are some Christian and non-religious views on co-habitation?

Co-habitation is living together without being married

Answer 32

• Many are against as it could result in sex outside of mariage - ‘But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry’
• Many also view it as sinful or unacceptable as you are ordered to get married according by religious teachings
• You are not following God’s plan for you to become ‘one flesh’
• Many non-religious as well as progressive Christians accept it however - more liberal Christians still value the importance of love but see that the Christian ideal of marriage is quixotic and unfeasible
• 50% of marriages in the UK end in divorce, however those who are married are statistically more likely to stay together

Question 33

What are some different views on same-sex marriage/homosexuality?

Answer 33

• Legal - Homosexuality legalised in 1967 and Civil Partnerships allowed in 2004, however Same-sex marrige only legalised in 2013. Many Churches also now allow same sex weddings
• Humanist/aetheist - If welfare, happiness and personal liberty are prioritised, same-sex marriages should be cherished
• Many Christians do not agree with same sex marriage due to teachings from the Bible - ‘To lie with another man as with a woman is an abomination’ - Leviticus and ‘the unrighteous…nor the man who practices homosexuality… will inherit the kingdom of God’ - Corinthians
• However, many more liberal Christians such as Quakers believe that the homophobic Bible verses can be interpreted differently and seen as a product of the time they were written in - instead they can listen to the more broad messages of Christianity such as ‘love thy neighbour’ (Leviticus 19:18) and ‘for we are all one in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28)

Scientifically heterosexual relationships are the best for population growth

Question 34

What is the Catholic view on divorce, annulment and remarriage?

Answer 34

• Marriage is a sacrement so divorce is not allowed as the marriage cannot be dissolved and you would be disrupting the covanent you made with God
• Remarriage would then be considered adultery/bigamy
• ‘Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself’ - Catechism
• Jesus says in Mark ‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her’
• You may be able to have a civil divorce if there is a justified reason, but you would still be married in the eyes of the church and would therefore not be allowed to remarry
• Annulments are fine if you can prove that the marriage was never a true marriage (because of adultery, incest, being drunk when making vows etc.)

The only thing which permits a remarriage is if the spouse dies

Question 35

What are non-religious/Anglican views on divorce, annulment and remarriage?

Answer 35

• Divorce reform act of 1969 allowed divorce if the marriage is breaking down, before the matrimonial causes act of 1857 a divorce was impossible
• Divorces are usually wrong but are allowed as long as there is a good reason and the marriage has broken down - they would then be allowed to remarry and this is usually a positive thing
• Jesus said ‘I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery’ in Matthew
• Liberal readers of the Bible would look away from the specific teachings that divorce is wrong and apply it to modern circumstances where much can go wrong - they would then look to Christian teachings on forgiveness and argue that the same should apply to divorce and remarriage

Views on annulment are similar to the RC’s

Question 36

What are the different family structures?

Answer 36

• Extended family - Living with family beyond your immeadiate (aunts, uncles etc.)
• Nuclear family - Mother, Father, Children, a result of industrilisation and people being able to live in their own house, seen as traditional
• Reconstituted - Divorced parents remarrying (not to their previous partner) who both have kids
• Cohabitation - A couple together without being married
• Civil Partnership - A legal relationship between two people of the same sex which is not marriage but gives them similar treatment to in the name of the law

Question 37

Why might Christians or non-religious people think that the nuclear family is or is not the best model for society?

Answer 37

• A nuclear family provides a stable basis for men and women to fufill their religious roles and to raise children ‘in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’
• The nuclear family was most likely what the Bible commands: ‘a man will leave his mother and his father and be united with his wife’ and allows Christians to fufill their God given purposes
• However for many it is unsustainable is modern society, for example following divorces and remarriages
• Extended families provide the ability for people to care for their relatives and for older relatives to impart wisdom to their children

Question 38

What is the traditional role of men and women in family life according to the Bible?

Answer 38

• Wives should be submissive to husbands ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church’
• Women’s role is to procreate evidenced by it being her punishment due to the fall and Augustines view: ‘women will be saved through childbearing’
• Husbands should be respectful ‘Husbands in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect as your weaker partner’
• The wife is the inferior partner and simply a helper/extension of the man ‘It is not good for a man to be alone, I will make a helper for him’ and ‘The Lord God made a woman from the rib he had take out of the man’ - the man will earn money while the women will help with menial tasks
• However, some view them as equal and both made in God’s image - ‘Nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28)

However some of these beliefs are becoming increasingly unfeasible in our modern society

Question 39

What is the role of parent and child according to the Bible?

Answer 39

• Children should obey - ‘Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right and honour your mother and father’
• Parents should give their children a Christian upbringing but without unnecessary forcefulness - ‘Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord’

Question 40

How do Christian communities support family life?

Answer 40

• Provide relationship counselling for couples
• Eliminate abuse by spreading awareness and promoting equality and healthy relationships
• They give advice on how to raise children, particularily in a Christian way
• They organise youth groups and activities which give children something to do after school or on weekends
• Organisations such as Mother’s union and Care for the Family do this

This is often through local churches

Question 41

What are some Christian views on contraception?

The Bible never explicitly mentions contraception so churches have formed their own teachings

Answer 41

• Pope John Paul wrote ‘all artificial forms of contraception are evil’ because sex was designed by God for procreation and contraception disrupts God’s will and the natural law
• This is particularily true for forms of contraception such as ‘the pill’ which allow the egg to be fertilised then destroy it - they view this as murder and is bad as abortion therefore resent it due to their view on the sanctity of life
• However, the Anglican church and other churches would argue that the couple should have the liberty to be able to decide how many children they want
• They also think that sex strengthens the bond of love between couples and it should be able to occur without causing reproduction

Question 42

What are some legal/non-religious views on contraception?

Answer 42

• Contraception was legalised in the UK in 1967 as part of the Family Planning act
• Many non-religious people would see it as necessary to choose how many children you have and to be free
• However many may still see it as murder and unnatural

Question 43

What are Christian teachings on IVF and other forms of genetic engineering to have children?

Answer 43

• Life begins from fertilisation and all humans must be treated with dignity and respect, therefore IVF is unacceptable as it is immoral
• They also believe that procreation and sex are essential parts of a marriage so it is wrong to have children in this way
• Also, many believe only God has the right to decide when children are had or not so many see it as unnatural
• That being said of course many Christians recognise that for some it is the only option of having children and it is better to have children than not have children as this is what God commanded

Question 44

What are some reasons for childlessness?

Answer 44

• Not physically able to have children
• People feel they cannot afford children
• People feel it is environmentally wrong to increase the population
• People may have had an unhappy childhood and not want to expose their children to the same suffering

Question 45

What are some Christian views on childlessness?

Answer 45

• God has commanded us to have children and make them Christian: ‘Go forth and multiply’ and ‘Raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’
• ‘Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife became pregnant.’ - Children are a blessing from God, therefore should always be had
• However many Christians value liberty and freedom and mention how being childless is never seen as immorally wrong
• Furthermore, many people are unable to have children and Christian teachings on loving your children and unconditional love means we must love and respect such people

Question 46

What is a biblical quote on why it is acceptable not to have children?

Answer 46

‘If childlessness from infertility can be condoned, so should the marriages of godly couples who are able but choose not to have children’

Question 47

What are some Christian teachings on celibacy?

Answer 47

• It is acceptable as it allows us to stay focused - ‘An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs’
• It is therefore a very good thing, however in Corinthians it is written that being celibate runs the risk of sexual immorality ‘Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self control’
• Jesus was a celibate as this allowed him to be totally united to the Church - we should therefore follow this example to be free to devote ourselves to Christ
• However, many Christians will believe that you are not fufilling God’s request and not multiplying, depriving yourself of pleasure and not utilising ‘God’s gift’