Section 8.2 Environmental and Medical Issues Flashcards
What do Christians think about the environment?
4
P: The environment is a gift from God
E: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’
E: The environment is God’s so you should look after it
P: God’s anger and judgement
E: ‘I brought them into my land to eat its fruit and its produce. They came and made my land unclean. They made my property disgusting’
E: On the day of judgement, God will judge you on the way you have treated His creative world
P: People should be stewards of the earth
E: ‘Man was put on the earth to cultivate it’
E: The Bible is the word of God
P: Church teachings support environmentalism
E: RCC Statement : ‘The earth and all life on it is a gift from God given to us to share and develop, not to dominate and exploit’
E: The Church holds the words of God, so God thinks you should do this
What do Muslims think about the environment?
4
P: Tawhid - Muslims accept that God is the creator of creation
E: ‘And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth’
E: You should look after the environment because it belongs to Allah
P: Stewards of the earth
E: Allah created both the earth and humans to care for it
E: Muslims have a responsibility to care for the world, given to them by Allah. This is called Khalifah.
P: Muslims must act as Khalifah
E: It is God’s will that they do
E: On the day of judgement, they will be judged on whether they have been good stewards. If they have not done the will of Allah then they will not go to paradise
P: There is unity in creation
E: Islamic teachings on the Ummah mean that all Muslims are part of a brotherhood who should care for one another
E: All members of the Ummah, past, present and future, share in the earth’s resources so you need to look after them as well
Why are fertility treatments important?
- It can allow same sex couples to have children
- It can allow couples who have fertility problems to have children
- Everyone who wants a child should be able to have a child
What are some problems with fertility treatments?
- Fertility treatments are very expensive. The cost of a single IVF round can be between £4000-£8000
- No guarantees it will work
- Fertility drugs often have side effects, e.g. vomiting
- People take advantage of the system - a case where a lady from Wales (Liz Buttle) said she was 49 when she was actually 61
- There are alternatives e.g. adoption
What do Christians think about fertility treatments?
FOR (4)
P: Christians are taught that family life is important
E: Dignitas Personae ‘The origin of human life has its authentic context in marriage and in family’
E: It allows couples to experience this
P: Bible teachings
E: ‘Be fruitful and increase in number’
E: The Bible is the word of God, so God wants you to have children
P: Jesus healed
E: Infertility is an illness
E: This continues his work on earth
P: God has given us the gift of knowledge
E: God has given humans the capacity to innovate fertility treatments
E: If God didn’t want us to be able to, we wouldn’t be able to
What do Christians think about fertility treatments?
AGAINST (4)
P: God has a plan
E: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart’
E: Many Christians would therefore say that fertility treatment was going against God’s plan and so couples should seek out other options, like adoption.
P: Fertility treatment involves masturbation which is a sin
E: ‘…he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.’
E: The Bible holds the words of God
P: Some fertility treatment involve adultery
E: ‘thou shall not commit adultery’ Decalogue
E: The Bible holds the word of God
P: Imago Dei
E: We are made in God’s image, not that of humans
P: Sanctity of Life
E: IVF involves the destruction of unused embryos
E: This therefore goes against the sanctity of life which many Christians view as being highly important and so they are then likely to not support fertility treatment.
What do Muslims think about fertility treatments?
FOR (4)
P: Infertility is a disease so we are allowed to find a cure
E: ‘There is no disease that Allah has sent down except that he has also sent down its treatment.’
E: As some Muslims then might perceive fertility treatment as the cure Allah has sent, they will then agree with it.
P: Family is very important in Islam
E: It is Allah’s will for a family to have children
E: Therefore Muslims will likely support fertility treatment because it allows people to have a family and follow Allah’s will
P: Destruction of embryos is not a problem
E: Embryos are destroyed in IVF at 14 days old so they are not classified as ‘human’, as Islam teaches the soul does not enter the foetus until 120 days
E: Therefore, as it does not go against any Islam laws, Muslims may support these types of fertility treatment
P: Allah has given us the gift of knowledge
E: Says this in the Qur’an
E: If Allah did not want us to create life in this way, the treatment would not work. However, it does so this must help Allah’s plan
What do Muslims think about fertility treatments?
AGAINST (4)
P: The Qur’an states it is Allah’s will whether a couple has children or not
E: ‘He creates what He wills… He bestows both males and females and He leaves barren whom He wills’
E: Some Muslims do not support fertility treatment because they see it as going against the teachings of the Qur’an and the will of Allah
P: They view some forms of fertility treatment as adultery, like donor eggs or sperm, as it involves a third person
E: Adultery is forbidden under Shariah Law
E: Therefore as Shariah Law is very important to Muslims, they are therefore unlikely to support fertility treatment
P: All Muslims believe that surrogacy is wrong
E: Under Muslim moral rules, they believe it violates the marriage contract
E: Therefore they are unlikely to support it
P: Allah has a plan and there are other options
E: Adoption
E: Muslims might therefore believe it is not for us to intervene in Allah’s plan so couples who cannot have a child should seek out other options, like adoption
What are some problems with transplant surgery?
3
P: There is a big illegal trade
E: Many organs, like kidneys, are sold by desperate people to gangs for sometimes as little as $5000
P: It relies heavily on generosity
E: 1000 people on the waiting list die every year
E: Not enough organs are being donated so many people die
P: Requires fast harvesting of organs
E: The heart has to be collected very shortly after death
E: Can be uncomfortable for the family of the deceased
What do Christians think about transplant surgery?
FOR (4)
P: Bible Teachings
E: ‘I myself can say that you would have taken out your own eyes, if you could, and given them to me’
E: The Bible holds the words of God
P: Jesus’ Teachings
E: The Golden Rule
E: Jesus’ teachings are very important to Christians and as they seem to endorse transplant surgery, Christians are then likely to support it.
P: Resurrection of the soul
E: Some Christians believe that the body is not resurrected with the soul, but remains in the ground and decays
E: The body is not needed in resurrection so therefore can be used to help the living
P: Church Teachings
E: ‘There is an everyday heroism’ in ‘the donation of organs in a morally acceptable manner.’ - Pope John Paul II
E: The Church holds the words of God
What do Christians think about transplant surgery?
AGAINST (4)
P: God has a plan
E: Transplant surgery can be seen as intervening in God’s plan
E: Christian’s should always trust in God as his plan is always the best for the person
P: Sanctity of Life
E: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you’
E: As all life belongs to God and we therefore should not intervene
P: Full body resurrection
E: On Judgement Day we will be resurrected in our bodies
E: Therefore we need all of our organs to be resurrected
P: Donations can be unethical
E: There are 10,000 black market organ operations every year
E: Christians won’t endorse this and so are then more likely to be put off the whole idea of transplant surgery
Why is transplant surgery important? + random facts
- P: It can save many lives
E: One donor can save up to nine lives and improve 50 others through tissue donation.
E: One tiny donation can save and improve multiple lives so it’s clearly important.
- 9000 people are on the transplant waiting lists in the UK
- 3000 organ transplants are carried out every year
- 1000 people on the waiting list die every year
Islam FOR: Transplant Surgery
- P: Qur’an says Muslims should save the lives of others
E: ‘Whoever saves the life of one person it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind’ - Qur’an 5:32
E: The Qur’an is very important to Muslims and as transplant surgery saves lives, they are then likely to support it because of the Qur’an - P: Some donations don’t affect resurrection
E: You can donate a kidney and survive with only one
E: Therefore, it does not effect the resurrection and so that solves that problem for some Muslims - P: The Muslim Law Council (1996) issued a fatwa allowing Muslims to carry donor cards and have transplants
E: The Council supports organ transplants as a means of alleviating pain or saving life on the basis of the rules of Shari’ah Law
E: As the Muslim Law Council has a high authority for many Muslims, by them saying transplant surgery is okay in some situations, Muslims are then more likely to support it. - P: It is an effective and proven method of curing life-threatening diseases like heart or kidney malfunction
E: ‘There is no disease that Allah has sent down except that He has also sent down its treatment’
E: As transplant surgery is a cure for these diseases, some Muslims might support it because they view it as Allah’s sent down cure
Islam AGAINST: Transplant Surgery
- P: Playing God
E: Qur’an states that God created our bodies
E: Therefore, to take an organ from our bodies can be perceived as an act against God and His plan. - P: Qur’an’s Teachings
E: Qur’an says that the body should be buried soon after death and not interfered with.
E: Qur’an is the holy book and so very important to Muslims and therefore they are likely to therefore not support transplant surgery. - P: Full body resurrection
E: Very strong belief for Muslims that on the Last Day we will be resurrected in our bodies - ‘then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection’
E: Therefore we need all of our organs to be resurrected - P: Donations can be unethical
E: There are 10,000 black market organ operations every year
E: Muslims won’t endorse this and so are then more likely to be put off the whole idea of transplant surgery
Global Warming , Pollution and Natural Resources
Sheet how do humans cause pollution? contributing to global warming • farming practices leading to eutrophication • by contributing to landfill • burning coal leading to acid rain
Punish polluters
Sewage plants can be built to ensure no unsafe waste enters the water supply
Materials can be recycled
Deforestation: fewer trees to remove CO2 from atmosphere
CFCs are used in fridges
Animals produce methane: more meat farmed: more methane
Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of CO2
Melting ice caps
Rising sea levels
Increase in temperature
Less land to farm because of flooding: insufficient food
150,000 people die every year because of climate change
Within 50 years a third of all land based species could face extinction
Transport that doesn’t need fossil fuels must be developed
Increased recycling to make better use of resources
Use less energy
Produce power in environmentally friendly ways
Reasons for supporting this statement could be:
• We need to use oil for energy
• Manufacturing goods is very resource dependent
• It isn’t fair if developing countries aren’t allowed to
progress
Reasons for not supporting this statement could
be:
• Christianity teaches the importance of stewardship
• The use of fossil fuels contributes to global warming
• There are alternative sources of energy (e.g. nuclear)
