R.S Unit 8.1 Rights and Responsibilities Flashcards
Bible to make moral decisions:
- Word of God, absolute authority
- God’s teachings on how to behave, the Decalogue
- Teachings of Jesus, Son of God (Sermon on the Mount)
- Life of Jesus, how Jesus would respond
Not just the Bible to make moral decisions:
- Not actual word of God, reflection of social situation
- No modern day issues like contraception
- Church interpret Bible
- Conscience to decide to use Bible or other means
Church to make moral decisions:
- Body of Christ, same authority
- God speaks through Church
- Authority from Magisterium interpret Bible
- All believe same thing, rather than different opinions
Conscience to make moral decisions:
- Voice of God
- Church says to use conscience
- Christian thinker, St. Thomas Aquinas
- Direct voice of God
Not using conscience to make moral decisions:
- Mistake voice of God, Yorkshire Ripper claimed God told him to kill
- Teachings of the Bible
- Teachings of the Church
- If everyone followed conscience instead of laws, chaos
Situation ethics to make moral decisions:
- Jesus overruled Old Testament to heal paralysed man
- Wrong to ignore consequences of actions
- Jesus’s statement ‘Love your neighbour’
- Religion of love and forgiveness
Not using situation ethics to make moral decisions:
- God made laws to follow
- . Church knows better
- Never know all facts to make decisions
- All same thing better than individual ideas
What do Protestants use to make moral decisions:
- Usually the Bible, issues like murder
- Conscience about homosexuality
- Modern issues, contraception, Church/conscience
What do Catholics use to make moral decisions:
- Usually Magisterium, Church, modern life
- Situation ethics issues like AIDS
- Conscience about homosexual intercourse
Why is it important to have human rights?
- Right to life, no death penalty, no killing innocent
- Right to participate in free elections, everyone treated fairly
- Right not to be discriminated, range of beliefs/cultures accepted
- Right to an education, can get a job
Why are human rights important to Christians?
- Right to life, sanctity of life
- All made in God’s image, all treated fairly
- Christians are protected to practice beliefs
- Rights to procession, celebrate festivals such as Easter
What are the problems with human rights for Christians?
- Right to form a civil partnership, homosexuality against Bible
- Against marrying outside religion
- Against homosexulas having a family (adoption)
- Roman Catholics don’t allow women priest, discrimination
Who are people entitled to vote for?
- MPs who sit in the House of Commons
- Local Councilors
Why is it important to vote in elections?
- Gives some control over tax rates
- Chance to affect new laws that may affect you
- Ancestors fought for democratic rights
- Countries whom do not have the right to vote usually treat their citizens badly
How does Jesus’ Golden Rule affect Christian moral duty and responsibility?
Golden rule - to treat others as you would like them to treat you:
- Asylum seekers, put in their situation
- Vote for candidates that will benefit people
How does the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats affect Christian moral duty and responsibility?
Parable of the Sheep and Goats - Accepting Jesus and following God - ‘Shepherd’:
- Duty to feed the hungry, help homeless
- Duty to help the sick, vote for policies with free healthcare
How does the passage ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ affect Christian moral duty and responsibility?
Am I my brother’s keeper?’ - Cain murders Abel in jealousy so God punishes Cain:
- Duty to look after everyone, benefits
- Human rights for everyone
What is genetic engineering?
- The deliberate modification and manipulation of genetic material of an organism
- Used to find cures of prevents diseases or disabilities in humans
What is stem cell research?
- Cloning processes to grow healthy cells to replace malfunctioning ones
- Involves creating stem cells from embryos or adult bone marrow
- Stem cells are cultivated and kept alive, multiply
- Legalisation in 2011 for stem cell research in UK, not US
Non-religious arguments for genetic engineering:
- Offers prospect of cures for currently incurable diseases
- Available to rich who can travel to countries where legal
- Cure diseases by replacing malfunctioning cells with healthy cells
- Cloning using cybrids does not involve loss in human life
Non-religious arguments for genetic engineering:
- Offers prospect of cures for currently incurable diseases
- Available to rich who can travel to countries where legal
- Cure diseases by replacing malfunctioning cells with healthy cells
- Cloning using cybrids does not involve loss in human life
Non-religious arguments not in favour of genetic engineering:
- Not enough information about long term consequences
- Irreversible effects so the change would be permenant
- Treats human body as a commodity, like plants
- People may be screened before life insurance
Liberal Protestant view on Genetic Engineering:
Good only to cure diseases:
- Jesus was a healer so Christians should try to cure diseases
- Discovering genetic make-up of humans improves lives
- No different from discovering new medicines
- Difference between creating cells and creating new people
Catholic view on Genetic engineering:
Allowed only to cure diseases without using human embryos:
- Life begins at conception
- Killing an embryo same as killing
- Embryos produced by methods the Catholic Church does not agree with
- However Jesus was a healer therefore Christians should try to cure diseases
Other Christians are opposed to genetic engineering:
- God created genetic make-up of each person at conception, no right to interfere
- Genetic engineering is ‘playing God’, sinful
- Wrong to try to make the world perfect, preparation for Heaven
- Treats human body like a commodity, should be respected as we are made in the imagebof God
