Section 1 - Religious rights and responsibilities Flashcards
Bible defintion
The holy book of Christians
Church definition
The community of Christians (with a small c it means a Christian place of worship)
Conscience definition
An inner felling of rightness or wrongness of an action
The Decalogue definition
The ten commandments
Electoral processes definition
The ways in which voting is organised
Democratic processes definition
The ways in which al citizens can take part in government (usually through elections)
The Golden Rule definition
The teaching of Jesus that you should treat others as you would like them to treat you
Human rights definition
The rights and freedoms to which everyone is entitled
Political party definition
A group which tries to be elected into power on the basis of its polices
Pressure group definition
A group formed to influence government policy on a particular issue
Situation ethics definition
The idea that Christians should base moral decisions on what is the most loving thing to do
Social change definition
The way in which society has changed and is changing (and also the possibilities for future change)
Genetic engineering AGAINST points
- Long term consequences to genetically modified creatures
- Killing of embryos for stem cell research
- Technologies could use it for ‘evil’
- Slippery slope argument
Genetic engineering FOR points
- Genetic engineering offers a cure for many diseases
- GM crops
- Renewable fuel
- Medicines, Huntingtons disease
Situation ethics AGAINST points
- Goes against fundamental commandments in the Bible e.g. divorce
- Law put in place to curb self interest, Aquinas
- Might lead to evil acts, murder could be allowed
- Idea of love could be ‘subjective’
Situation ethics FOR points
- Jesus’ teachings
- Jesus is a role model for this approach
- Personal. Based on the Well-Being of others
- Practical. It is more flexible and useful than rigidly following Biblical laws for the sake of following them
Conscience FOR points
- Inner feeling of right and wrong, given by God
- Church Teachings
- Joseph Butler, its a natural guide
- Helps Christians know what to do in specific circumstances, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Conscience AGAINST points
- The conscience could be biased towards personal preferences
- The conscience should not be used by itself as it may not have been understood properly
- The conscience is not from God it is our environment (Freud)
- The conscience may be mistaken, Peter Sutcliffe murders
Christian using Church Teaching FOR points
- The Bible teaches that the Church is the Body of Christ on Earth
- Authority to teach was given to the apostles by Jesus and this authority has been passed down through the leaders of the Church
- Christ is called the Head of the Church in the New Testament so Church teachings come from Jesus
- The Holy Spirit is present in the Church today so can guide leaders on modern-day issues
Christian using Church Teaching AGAINST points
- The church is bias, all male
- Church of England is often divided, liberal and conservative
Christians should only use the Bible FOR points
- Fundamentalist Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God
- It contains rules accepted in society, the Ten Commandments do not murder
- It contains the teaching of Jesus and shows what Jesus would do in moral situations
- The Bible is not influenced by present in culture an society
Christians should only use the Bible AGAINST points
- Liberal Christians believe that, although inspired by God, the Bible was written by humans and therefore needs to be seen in the context of history, stem cell research
- Things in the Bible such as slavery and genocide are not accepted in todays society
- Other moral authorities should be used
- The Bible does not contain information on modern day issues
- There are contradictions in the Bible, number of days for the flood
Why are human rights important to Christians?
- Every human being is created by God in his image and we are all equal in his eyes, Imago Dei
- The Teachings of the Bible uphold human rights, golden rule
- The Teachings of the Church uphold human rights, Desmond Tutu
- Jesus is a role model for the protection of people’s human rights
Christian reasons FOR genetic engineering
- God gave us dominion, (power over the world)
- The Golden Rule, help people who are suffering
- Jesus healed, so should we
- God has given us the gift of knowledge
Christian reasons AGAINST genetic engineering
- We are playing God
- The Sanctity of Life, stem cell research
- Ecclesiastes 7:13 “Consider God’s handiwork; who can straighten what He has made crooked”
- Made in God’s image, we shouldn’t be curing things that don’t cause suffering such as short-sightedness
