Sanctitiy of life, Imaho Dei and Abortion

Question 1

catholic beliefs about sanctity of life, imago dei and abortion

Answer 1

• believe each person is unique because God made them. “So created mankind in his own image” Genesis
• creation of humans was unlike the rest of creation as they were made in the image of God
• latin term ‘imago dei’
• Catholic Church teaches all life is sacred (sanctity of life) and everyone has a right that should be protected and valued at every stage
• Catholic church against abortion
• catholic church teaches life begins at moment of conception so abortion is therefore seen as murder, a great moral evil

Question 3

liberal christian (church of england) beliefs about sanctity of life, imago dei, abortion

Answer 3

• agree life is scared and humans are created in God’s image
• abortion is not good thing but sometimes it is ‘the lesser of two evils’. some situations where abortion might be the best course of action such as if the pregnancy is the result of rape, continuing the pregnancy might be dangerous to the woman’s physical or mental health, then abortion should be allowed
• if the child is likely to be severely disabled and so effect it’s quality of life

Question 4

jewish beliefs about sanctity of life, imago dei, abortion

Answer 4

• god is the creator of all life and humans are made in the image of God teaching comes from book of genesis in torah
• Tenakh also outlines jewish beliefs that life is scared and belongs to God in the book of Jeremiah and the Psalms. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah’ “You formed my innermost being and knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalms)
• 10 commandments, which form the covenant with Moses, make it clear taking a life is wrong “Do not kill”
  abortion not specifically mentioned in Torah but Exodus implies an unborn child is of equal worth to the life of the mother. in cases such as abortion, ‘pikuach nefesh’ might apply

Question 5

humanist beliefs about sanctity of life, imago dei, abortion

Answer 5

• humanists such as Oeter Singer reject any belief in sanctity of life
• human life does have a value but doesn’t belong to God and humans were nit created in the image of God
• terms of abortion, they value happiness and personal choice. in making a decision, they would look at the evidence, consequences and rights and wishes of everyone involved
• life is nit sacred but is worthy of highest respect
• generally, they would take a pro-choice stance and argue that quality of life is more important that sanctity of life