SECTION 4 CHRISTIANITY- TOPIC 1.4.2 SANCTITY OF LIFE

Question 1

Sanctified –

Answer 1

=made holy

Question 2

Why is human life holy?

Answer 2

-it is a gift from God
-is to be treated as holy and therefore valued and preserved

-Life belongs to its creator and so life and death decisions must be in the hands of God

-God sanctified human life by becoming human, and that the way Jesus suffered without any attempt to cut short his sufferings
shows that life is not to be ended except when God decides to do so.

Question 3

How is life shown as special in the Bible?

+SOWAA

Answer 3

The Bible teaches that human life is precious and special in several ways:

-only man has the capacity for a relationship with God. Only man has a soul. Only man was made in God’s likeness:
“in the image of God he created them”

-Human life is special because it comes directly from God:
“The Lord God formed a man”

-The Bible makes the special nature of human life clear in the Ten Commandments where it says:
“You shall not murder”

-In the New Testament, St Paul describes the human body as a temple because God’s spirit is in humans:
“your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit”

Question 4

Areas where sanctity of life is important for Christians today ?

Answer 4

Killing in self-defence
Killing in war
Capital punishment

Question 5

Killing in self-defence

Answer 5

Most would say that it is legitimate to take the life of someone attacking you if that is the only way to protect your own

The sanctity of one’s own life
takes precedence over the sanctity of other people’s lives.

Question 6

SOWAA for why you can kill in self-defence?

Answer 6

Catholic Catechism
“Someone who defends his life is not guilty”

Question 7

Killing in war

+SOWAA

Answer 7

Some believe that the sanctity of life means they should never fight in wars.

Christians should strongly believe in pacifism (not going war) because they should:

“Love your neighbour”

BUT

some believe that they can fight in just wars because the need to protect the innocent from aggressors and break the sanitity

“right to use arms to repel aggressors”

Catechism says “a grave duty” -to protect
others and be
responsible
for them.

Question 8

Capital punishment

Answer 8

Many believe that capital punishment is
Un- Christian

all life is sacred

if abortion and euthanasia are wrong because of the sanctity of life, then so is capital punishment.

BUT

others that capital punishment can be used because the Bible gives the death penalty as the punishment for various offences

Catechism should be allowed because sometimes death penalty is…
“the only possible way of effectively defending human lives”