EDEXCEL RE GCSE UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE

SECTION 1 - BELIEVING IN GOD

GLOSSARYAGNOSTICISM Not being sure whether God exists

GCSE Revision Booklet Year 10 Unit 2 K Bullard

ATHEISM Believing that God does not exist

CONVERSION When life is changed by giving yourself to God

FREE WILL The idea that human beings are free to make their own

choices

MIRACLE Something which seems to break a law of science and

makes you think only God could have done it

MORAL EVIL Actions done by humans which cause suffering

NATURAL EVIL Things which cause suffering but have nothing to do

with humans

NUMINOUS The feeling of the presence of something greater than

you

OMNI-BENEVOLENT The belief that God is all good

OMNIPOTENT The belief that God is all powerful

OMNISCIENT The belief that God knows everything that has

happened and everything that is going to happen

PRAYER An attempt to contact God, usually through words


The most important part of the Christian religion is belief is God. However, not

everyone believes in God and those that do believe do so for a variety of

reasons.

Religious UpbringingFamilies and communities play an important part in the way in which people

come to believe in God. The faith of many believers is closely linked with the

beliefs that their families hold and the important aspects of their faith are passed

down from one generation to the next.

In the Christian religion, the main purpose of marriage is to have children and

bring them up in a secure and loving Christian environment, so that they will

come to believe in God and love Jesus. Most Christians take their children to be

baptised and promises are made about their upbringing and family life. Later

they may be confirmed. Both are sacraments.

To bring their children up as Christians, the parents are likely to:

teach their children bedtime prayers

take their children to church (especially to family service and/ or special

services at Christmas Easter)

send their children to Sunday school to learn about God

maybe send their children to a church school where they will be taught the

National Curriculum in a Christian environment

take care of each other in difficult times often with reference to Church and

Biblical teachings

celebrate religious festivals

The Bible is clear on the importance of family:

“Honour your father and your mother.”

Exodus 20


Similarly, the Churches teach about the importance of the family for religious

belief.

“The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral

values, begin to honour God and make good use of freedom.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Religious ExperienceSome people believe in God because they feel that, somehow, they have

actually experienced him. A religious experience can be briefly defined as ‘an

encounter with God.’ This can occur in many ways, for instance;

i) A numinous experience – a feeling of great wonder, where you feel that there

is something greater than yourself, which you can only call God. It is often

described as an experience of the transcendent.

ii) A miracle – a belief that prayers are answered or that an act of God has

occurred. It is an event that seems to break the laws of science and can

therefore only be explained by God.

iii) A conversion experience – the feeling that there is something inside you

wanting you to change your life and to believe in God. It is sometimes called a

regenerative experience because it gives a feeling of being born again.

iv) A charismatic experience – an experience where the Holy Spirit descends

upon you, for example, speaking in tongues, prophecy or healing.

v) A mystical experience – an experience of the divine which is difficult to

describe, for example, hearing God’s voice or seeing a vision.

vi) A near-Death experience – an experience of God when in the process of

dying or having died, but then being resuscitated.

vii) Prayer – All religious believers think that they can make contact with God

through prayer. Prayers can be formal, e.g., for a Christian in Eucharist in the

Lord’s Prayer. Prayers can also be informal where a believer makes their own

prayer to God in their own private place.

Miracles


Miracles are actions carried out by God that break a natural law. A natural law is

something that happens so often within the world that it would be considered

beyond the workings of nature if it happened differently, or failed to happened

when it was expected to do so, for example, the sun rising in the morning. If

someone is healed of a disease and there is no other explanation for it, then it

may be convincing enough to lead people to believe that God did it and must

exist after all.

Believers say that God is unchanging (immutable) and eternal and performs

miracles because, as an all-loving (omni-benevolent) and all-powerful

(omnipotent) being, he wants the best for his creation. An example of a Biblical

miracle is Jesus feeding the five thousand which can be found in the New

Testament:

Jesus and the disciples went to a town called Bethsaida and were followed by many crowds. Jesus started to teach them about the Kingdom of God. Late in the afternoon, the disciples asked Jesus if they could send the crowd away to get something to eat. Jesus told them to give the crowd something to eat. The disciples answered that they had gathered only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes – it wasn’t anywhere near enough to feed the whole crowd. But Jesus told them to gather people in to groups of about 50 each. Then Jesus held the fishes and loaves and looked up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples who were able to feed the entire crowd with 12 basketfuls left over.

PrayerPrayer is the way in which religious believers communicate with God. It may

involve words, or be silent. A believer will feel closer to God through prayer and

it can take many forms:

Adoration and worship – praising God

Thanksgiving – giving thanks for all that God has given

Intercession – asking God to meet the needs of the people

Petition – praying for you own needs and asking for God’s help

Confession and penitence – asking for forgiveness for the wrongs you have

done and promising not to do them again.


Prayers may be private or individual, or they may be corporate, when a number

of people pray together. They may be formal or spontaneous, when people

make up a prayer to meet a particular need. Some believers practise meditation.

This is a quiet form of prayer, where believers focus their thoughts entirely on

God. The person meditating simply sits still and concentrates on God.

Christians believe that although God is a loving father who listens to and answers

prayers, this does not mean every prayer will be answered, just like a good

parent does not give in to every request from a child. Christians believe that God

answers prayer in his own way and that he always does what is best. Jesus said

the following about prayer:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be

opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him

who knocks the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Experience of the world leading to belief in GodFor many people, belief in God comes through their experience of seeing and

living in the world – they look at the world, the solar system and feel that it has

been somehow deliberately designed or caused (causation) by some great

intelligence, a cosmic designer, whom they call God.

i) Design – Using the appearance of design to lead to belief in God is often

called the Teleological Argument (William Paley). If the world has been

designed, it must have a designer. The only possible designer of something as

beautiful and complex as the world would be God.

The universe appears to have been designed

A being with intelligence must therefore have designed the universe

Only God could design something as complex as the universe

Therefore God exists


ii) Causation – The appearance of causation in the world is often called the

Cosmological Argument (William Paley). Anything cause to exist must be caused

to exist by something else because to cause your own existence, you would have

to exist before you exist, which is nonsense. There must be a beginning to all

chains of cause and effect. The universe must, therefore, have a first cause.

The only possible first cause of the universe is God.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1

Nothing can come into existence on its own – everything needs a cause

The universe therefore needs a cause

Only God is powerful enough to bring the universe into existence and to

keep it going

Therefore God exists

iii) Meaning of life/ Purpose – Many people ask questions such as why are we

here, where are we going or what’s the purpose of our life on earth? This

searching can lead people to think the purpose of this life involves the existence

of life after death where the good are rewarded and the evil are punished. Only

God could provide an afterlife and decide who should be rewarded and punished.

iv) Religion and belief in God - Some people think that religion itself is evidence

for the existence of God. People have always had religious beliefs, with the idea

of God as creator and that life should be led in accordance with religious moral

codes. With 86% of the world’s population belonging to some form of religion,

religion is clearly a major feature of the world.

Why some people do not believe in GodMany people are unsure about the existence of God (agnosticism), or simply do

not believe (atheism.)


An agnostic is someone who says that they do not know whether or not God

exists. Agnostics will be open to believe in God if they discover convincing

evidence. Until then, they will hold back from making a decision either in favour

of God’s existence or against it.

An atheist is someone who does not believe in God’s existence. There are many

reasons why people may be atheists – for instance, because they believe that

there is a lack of empirical evidence, that is evidence which can be confirmed by

use of the senses – things that can be seen, heard, smelt or touched. When

things can’t be seen or heard it is difficult to decide whether they are true or not.

The problems with miraclesMiracles are acts of God that apparently break the laws of nature. For believers,

they offer convincing evidence for the existence of God. However, there could be

other, better explanations for what appears to be a miracle. Sometimes a person

may recover unexpectedly from an illness. At other times, apparently miraculous

events are simply coincidences, not God intervening in peoples’ lives.

Unanswered PrayerPrayers that go unanswered can lead people away from believing in God.

Atheists argue that if an apparently loving God exists then surely he should

answer prayers. Unanswered prayers also test the faith of believers too,

especially if they pray in faith at times of hardship and nothing happens.

Non-religious explanations of the universeThe scientific theory known as the ‘Big Bang’ suggests that the universe came

bout, not be God’s creation, but through an explosion of matter and energy about

15 billion years ago. Another non-religious explanation is the theory of Natural

Selection. Charles Darwin argued that all living things have descended from

common ancestors and have evolved from more primitive forms of life. The earth


itself is also in a process of evolution or change. Living things were not created

by God, but evolved from chemical matter.

Both theories are potentially compatible with religious belief by Christians who do

not believe that the Bible is literally true. They believe that the creation story in

Genesis is a myth which tells people about God’s relationship with human beings

rather than a factual telling of creation. God could be responsible for the Big

Bang and evolution.

There are a number of reasons why people do not believe in God. These

include:

i) Nietzsche - believing that God is simply a kind of ‘superstition’.

ii) Feuerbach – believing that God is ‘made up’ by mankind.

ii) Freud – believing that God is just a ‘wish’ or ‘dream.’

iv) Science has given us comprehensive explanations for how the universe came

in to being and miracles. This effectively relegates God to the ‘god of the gaps.’

v) Unanswered prayers may make people feel that God isn’t there or doesn’t care

enough to act.

vi) The problem of evil and suffering (further discussed below.)

The Problem of Evil and Suffering

The greatest argument against believing in God is the problem of evil and

suffering:

God is said to be omni-benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient

If God is omni-benevolent he would want to remove evil and suffering

If God is omniscient he would know how to remove evil and suffering

If God is omnipotent he would be able to remove evil and suffering

Therefore, both God and evil cannot exist

Evil and suffering do exist

Therefore, God cannot exist.


This is the problem of evil and suffering which, when laid out as in the diagram

below, can be referred to as the inconsistent triad:

Evil exists

God is omni-benevolent God is omnipotent

Religious believers try to answer this by saying that there are two kinds of evil;

i) Moral evil – suffering caused by human beings doing wrong things, e.g.,

murder.

ii) Natural evil – suffering caused by nature itself, e.g., earthquakes.

A theodicy is a way in which believers explain how there can be both evil and

yet a loving God. There are four possibilities:

1. Free Will Defence – that God has given human beings the free will to do as

they wish and God therefore cannot interfere. Evil and suffering are caused by

God not humans.

2. Preparing believers for heaven – God allows evil and suffering to prepare

believers for heaven. Bad things happen so that good can result and believers

can become more like Jesus, for instance, if there were no poor people, then

believers could not give to charity. Moreover, in heaven all evil and suffering will

cease.

3. God works in mysterious ways – We cannot understand God’s reasons. For

some Christians, the answer is that they don’t know why there is suffering but

that they should trust God’s love – even Jesus had to suffer. God works with a

final plan in view, which is all good and all loving:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or

mourning or crying, or pain...” (Revelation 21:4)


4. Original sin – One of the oldest Christian responses is based on the accounts

of creation and the Fall in Genesis 1-3. These accounts suggest that God

created the world and human beings perfectly and that he gave humans free will.

The first human beings, Adam and Eve, chose to use their free will to disobey the

command God gave them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil. When they did eat it, sin and suffering were brought into the world

be their freely chosen actions.

The main responses of Christians to suffering are to help those in need, either by

intercession (praying to God for help) and/ or helping and serving others by

doing voluntary work and giving to charity.

How do programmes about religion affect a person’s beliefs about God?


SECTION 2 - MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH

GLOSSARYABORTION The removal of a foetus from the womb before

it can survive

ASSISTED SUICIDE Providing a seriously ill person with the means

to commit suicide

EUTHANASIA The painless killing of someone dying from a

painful disease

IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL The idea that the soul lives on after the death

of the body

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE When someone about to die has an out of body

experience

NON-VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are

unable to ask, but you have good reason

forthinking they would want you to do so

PARANORMAL Unexplained things which are thought to have

spiritual cases, eg, ghosts, mediums

QUALITY OF LIFE The idea that life must have some benefits for it

to be worth living

RESURRECTION The belief that, after death, the body stays in

the grave until the end of the world when it is

raised.

SANCTITY OF LIFE The belief that life is holy and belongs to God

VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA Ending life painlessly when someone in great

pain asks for death

REINCARNATION The belief that, after death, souls are reborn in

a new body


The Sanctity of LifeThe Bible teaches that life is a gift from God and so essentially belongs to God –

this is known as the sanctity of life.

“If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or

die, we belong to the Lord.”

Romans 14

Christians believe that life is a gift from God and therefore is sacred – this means

that life is to be treated as holy and therefore valued and preserved. Humans

are, in a sense, created in the image of God Himself.

“So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him;

male and female, he created them.”

Genesis 1

Since life is sacred and precious, Christians believe that it is wrong to kill another

person.

“You shall not commit murder.”

Exodus 20

“God alone is the Lord of life…no one can under any circumstances claim for

himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.”


Moreover, the body is not just a physical object, it is the dwelling place of the

Holy Spirit and must always be treated with reverence and respect.

“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received

from God. You are not on your own.”

1 Corinthians 6

The sacredness of human life is highlighted for Christians in the life and death of

Jesus. They believe that God sanctified (made holy) human life by becoming

human himself and that the way Jesus suffered without attempting to do anything


to cut short his sufferings shows that life is not to be ended except when God

decides.

Life after DeathPhysical life eventually ends but many people believe that there is something

more beyond this life. There are many reasons for this:

There ought to be something beyond earthly life, which gives meaning to

life

Earthly life is short. An after-life would enable humans to fulfil their

potential

Perhaps there should be a reward for those who lead good lives on earth

and punishment for those who have been evil

Immanuel Kant believed that the three points above proved that life after

death must be real

If life is sacred, it ought to carry on beyond death

Most religions talk about an afterlife

The Bible says of God’s love continues beyond death and resurrection of Jesus

Christ is proof that there is life beyond the grave. Christians believe that earthly

life is preparation for eternal life with God. Christians differ in their views about

life after death. There are two basic concepts:

a) Immortality of the Soul – this is the belief that humans have a physical body

and a spiritual, immortal soul which is their real self. The soul survives the

physical death of the body and goes to exist in a spiritual place for ever, such as

heaven or hell. This idea is known as dualism since it rests on the belief that

there are two parts to human nature – the physical and the spiritual.

There are problems with this viewpoint. The most crucial one is whether or not

the immortal soul is really a person. Are there, for instance, male and female

souls? And where do these souls go when the body dies? The philosophy

Thomas Aquinas suggested three possible places:


Hell – a place of eternal punishment for the worst people

Purgatory – a place where Christians who have lapsed in their faith may

undergo a period of punishment and purification

Beatific Vision – Heaven; a place of everlasting joy and happiness, where

God dwells.

The doctrine of the communion of the saints supports the belief that Christians

died and go to heaven and that it is perfectly possible for Christians on earth to

pray to the Saints in heaven to ask for their help and guidance.

“Those who have died in God’s grace and are perfectly purified go to heaven.

Those who have died in God’s grace but were imperfectly purified (eg, Catholic

sinners) will go to Purgatory and be purified. Those who have refused to believe

will go to hell. Then Jesus will come back to earth, the dead will be raised and all

these souls will be reunited with their bodies. Then God will judge everyone. A

new heaven and earth will be made and the resurrected from heaven will live

there forever, but the resurrected from hell will return there forever.” Catechism

of the RCC

b) Bodily Resurrection – this is view that, by an act of God’s love, one day the

dead will be restored to life again in bodily form. On this Day of Judgement, the

dead will be raised and God will judge the world. Evil will be banished forever

and the righteous will be rewarded with eternal life:

“God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those whose by

persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal

life.” Romans 2:5

God re-creates the person on the Day of Judgement, but this time their body is

spiritual and will never die. This is shown by the resurrection of Jesus Christ

himself, who appears to the disciples after his death. He talks to them, eats with

them and they can touch him:


“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see, a ghost does

not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Luke 24:39

St Paul explains that the resurrected body is spiritual and cannot die:

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is

perishable, it is raised imperishable...it is sown in a natural body, it is raised a

spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

There are problems with this doctrine – for instance, if a person is resurrected is

it really them or something that just looks like them? And what about people who

have disabilities on earth – will they still have these disabilities in eternal life?

Near-death experiencesScientist have examined the cases of many people who have died and been

resuscitated. In a near-death experience, people describe a feeling of floating

out of their bodies and then travelling down a tunnel to emerge into another

world. Here they met Jesus, or a figure associated with their own religious

tradition. Non-religious believers claimed to meet a dead relative or friend.

Between them and the figure was often a barrier or gate. At this point, they are

forced to make a choice as to whether to cross the barrier, or to return to earth. It

has been suggested that such accounts are simply hallucinations, dreams, or

subconscious memories.

ParapsychologyThe Spiritualist Movement claims that there is a spirit world where peoples’ spirits

live on after death and which can be reached through séances and mediums.

However, the Spiritualist Movement has been the subject of many hoaxes that

have made the whole thing appear bogus.

Why do some people not believe in life after death?


There are many people who do not believe in any kind of life after death. There

are several reasons for this:

When someone dies they just decay

It does not make sense to speak of life after death since, if there is such a

thing, then the person could not really be dead in the first place

Is an afterlife desirable anyway?

Life is about personal identity. If a person dies and have life after death in a

different form – say, as an immortal soul – then that are not the same person who

died

Roman

Catholic

Church

Believe in both the resurrection of the

body and immortality of the soul.

They believe that the soul of a

Christian who has not sinned since

their last confession will go straight to

Heaven. The soul of a Christian that

has sinned will go to Purgatory for

their souls to be cleansed. The souls

who do not believe in God or have

committed unforgivable sins will go to

Hell. After this, Jesus will come back

to Earth (on the Day of Judgement) to

raise the dead and reunite their

bodies and souls. God will make a

new Heaven and a new Earth and the

souls in Purgatory will go to Heaven

and the souls from Hell with return to

Hell.

Resurrection of Jesus

Teachings of New

Testament (See above)

Teaching in the

Catechism of the RCC

(See above)

Belief that Jesus is

seated on the right

hand of the father and

will come again to

judge the living and the

dead.

Church of

England

Believe that after death the body will

stay in the grave, but the soul will go

straight to God for judgement. There

is a difference of opinion about what

Jesus told a thief on the

cross that he would be

in Heaven that day

(Luke 23:43)


will happen to those who do not go to

Heaven, and some believe there is no

such place as Hell.

Jesus said his father’s

house had many rooms

that Jesus was

preparing for his

followers (John 14:2)

The teaching of the

Church is that there

can be a communion of

the saints

(communication

between dead and

living Christians)

Evidence of the

paranormal such as

ghosts and mediums

Evangelical

Christians

Believe that after death the body and

soul stay in the grave until the end of

the world. At this time a Christian will

be judged. The good will go to

Heaven and sinners who have not

repented will go to Hell.

Jesus’ body was raised

from the dead (Luke

24:39)

They are taught to

believe in the

resurrection of the body

and everlasting life

St Paul teachers this

belief in 1 Corinthians

15:42-44

The Problem of Abortion

Abortion presents a serious moral problem for Christians, since it conflicts with

the belief in the sanctity of life.


“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.”

Jeremiah 1

An abortion is the termination of the foetus in the womb. This may be natural in

the sense that the foetus is expelled by an act of nature itself – this is called a

miscarriage. Alternatively, the abortion may be procured, that is, the foetus is

removed by doctors. It is abortion in this sense which we shall deal with here.

In the UK a woman can only have a legal abortion if she comes within the

Abortion Act 1967 and 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act which

allows abortion up to 24 weeks only on certain conditions.

If two doctors agree that:

i) Continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the physical/mental

health of the mother

ii) Physical/ mental health of the existing family would suffer after the birth

iii) Child is likely to be born mentally/ physically handicapped.

Abortion after 24 weeks is allowed if there is:

i) A risk to the mother’s life

ii) Evidence that the baby will be severely handicapped

iii) Risk of serious physical/ mental injury to the mother.

In 1971 there were 94,570 abortions carried out compared with 176,364 in 2001.

Abortion is often justified by politicians and others by saying that it helps to

control the rise in population. Pro-choice groups often say that abortion

supports the right of every woman to choose what happens to her body, and

enables her to choose the right time for her to have a baby, rather than have an

‘accident.’ A pregnancy as a result of an accident, a rape or a ‘one night stand’

should not be allowed to ‘spoil’ a woman’s life.


Abortion presents many problems – the most important is the question of when

does life begin? Some religions, including Catholicism, believe that life begins at

conception and that to have an abortion is to kill a human being.

Others say that life does not really begin until much later, perhaps when the baby

starts to move in the womb (called quickening) or even when the baby becomes

viable that is, capable of existing outside the womb. That is why the law gives a

limit of 24 weeks – until that time the foetus is not viable and therefore is not, in a

sense, a human being.

Many religious believers say that abortion is wrong. The Bible says that God

gives the gift of life to everyone:

“For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother’s

womb.” (Psalm 139:13)

The RCC and many Protestant groups are opposed to abortion because:

Life is a sacred gift from God

The Bible forbids the murder of human beings

Life begins at the moment of conception

The unborn child is created in the image of God

Every human being has the right to life

The Doctrine of double effect is permitted by the Catholic Church – if the

mother’s life is in danger and treatment to save her might harm the foetus, then

treatment is permitted. As long as the harm to the foetus is unintentional it is

acceptable.

The Church of England and the Methodist Church agree that abortion is

undesirable but, at the same tiem, argue that an abortion might sometimes be

the most loving thing to do, for instance, in the case of rape, severe handicap or

where the life of the mother is at risk.

Catholic views


Since Catholicism states that life begins at conception, the Catholic Church is

generally opposed to abortion. The Sanctity of Life is very important for religious

views on abortion.

“Abortion is a horrible crime…the law must provide appropriate sanctions for

every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.”


Church of England views“We affirm that every human life is unique, born or yet to be born…we therefore

believe that abortion is an evil. But we also believe that to withdraw compassion

in circumstances of extreme distress or need is a very great evil. In an imperfect

world the ‘right’ choice is sometimes the lesser of two evils.”

Methodist views“Abortion is always an evil to be avoided if at all possible…However, in an

imperfect world there will be circumstances where a termination of a pregnancy

may be the lesser of two evils.”

(NB: Contraception – Some religious believers suggest that the use of

contraception itself is wrong since it prevents a human life from forming and that,

in a sense, contraception is a kind of abortion anyway. The morning after pill has

been dubbed the ‘abortion pill’ by some.

Arguments in favour of abortion (pro-choice)1. The woman’s right to choose.

Many argue that the mother has the right to make choices concerning;

What happens to her body

What happens to her life

Her future

Her relationships


Whether to have a child

In other words, the right of the mother take precedence over those of the foetus

as long as the foetus is not able to survive outside the mother’s womb.

2. The Quality of life

It may be argued that the foetus has the right to a reasonable quality of life,

which means a life free from pain and the right to be a wanted child. If these

things are not possible, then abortion may be the best option.

3. The Doctrine of Double effect

If a woman’s life is in danger, an abortion may save her life. The doctrine of

double effect is the principle that whilst an abortion is undesirable, it is carried

out to save the mother’s life.

4. Population growth

Some argue that abortion helps to keep the population numbers down.

Arguments against abortion (pro-life)Anti-abortionist groups, such as LIFE and The Society for the Protection of the

Unborn Child (SPUC) claim that the foetus is a human being and has the right.

Not to be killed

To fulfil its potential

For its life to be valued

To be fairly represented by an unbiased third party

They argue that it is wrong to kill a foetus just because it is handicapped, would

have a poor quality of life or because having a baby might affect the mother’s life

or career.

The Problem of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is defined as the action of inducing ‘a quiet and easy death’ or ‘a

good death’. It is used to refer to the termination of the lives of people suffering

from great physical or mental handicap or a painful terminal illness. There are

several ways in which this might be done:


a) Assisted suicide – providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit

suicide.

b) Voluntary euthanasia – the situation where someone dying in pain asks

another person to end his/ her life painlessly.

c) Non-voluntary (or passive) euthanasia – where medical treatment given to

prolong the patient’s life is not longer given and the patient is allowed to die

naturally, for example, switching off a life-support machine.

British law says that all these methods of euthanasia are crimes and people

involved in them can be sent to prison. This is an area of great controversy

especially as some countries, such as the Netherlands, have made euthanasia

legal if it is agreed to by the patient, the patient’s relatives and at least two

doctors. This debate has recently been reignited by Terry Pratchett in his

Dimbleby Lecture in March 2010 as well as the case of Kay Gilderdale who was

acquitted of killing her daughter when she helped her to die.

Arguments in favour of EuthanasiaThose who support euthanasia offer the following reasons:

It leads to a pain-free death

It allows the sufferer to die with dignity, rather than a slow, uncomfortable

death

It saves on hospital and medical expenses

It relieves the burden on families

The Voluntary Euthanasia Society has campaigned for people to be given the

right to make Living Wills or Advance Directives. These are documents made by

individuals in a time of good health, indicating that should they become severely

injured or handicapped, that they be allowed to die rather than receiving intensive

medical treatment. However, such documents are not legally binding. In 1993,

the House of Lords rejected a proposal to legalise euthanasia, saying: “It would

be next to impossible to ensure that all acts of euthanasia were truly voluntary.”


Arguments against EuthanasiaThose against euthanasia say that doctors should save lives, not kill. They argue

that euthanasia is the easy option and that there are many moral issues which

need to be considered.

Not all illnesses diagnosed as terminal will necessarily end in death

If doctors are allowed to kill those who are very sick, then society will stop

looking for cures

The elderly and the sick might feel pressure on them to die

The Hospice Movement cares for the terminally ill and offers an alternative

to euthanasia. However, at present, hospice care is expensive.

Palliative care – Keeping people pain-free by use of drugs which may leave

them semi-conscious all the time.

Pharmacologoblivion – Sometimes the only way of easing a person’s pain is to

give them huge doses of painkillers which, in the end, may kill them anyway.

This is sometimes done deliberately.

Doctrine of Double Effect – Giving a large dose of painkillers to relieve pain

(first effect) knowing that it will also shorten a person’s life (a secondary effect.)

The blame for ending the person’s life cannot be given because the intention was

purely to ease their suffering, the shortening of their life was purely a by-product.

(Permitted by the RCC because the intention is not to end a person’s life.)

Christian viewsThe Catholic Church is absolutely against euthanasia and, unlike many Christian

churches, is also against doctors having the right to switch off life support

machines with the consent of the patient’s family.

“An act or omission which causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes

a murder greatly contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect

due to the living God, his Creator.”



Most Christian churches are against euthanasia, but would agree with the right of

doctors to switch off life support machines with the consent of the patient’s family.

This cross Church agreement comes about because of the Sanctity of Life

principle.

“We believe that it is right to use medical treatment to control pain. We deny the

right to legalise the termination of life by a doctor.”

Salvation Army

As an alternative to euthanasia, many Christians look to the Hospice Movement.

A Hospice is a kind of residential home where those suffering a terminal illness

can live out their remaining days being cared for in a peaceful and dignified way.

“We are now always able to control pain in terminal cancer in the patients sent to

us…euthanasia as advocated is wrong…it should be unnecessary and is an

admission of defeat.”

Christian Hospice Movement

Causes of World Poverty1. WarsWars destroy crops, homes, schools, hospitals, etc., causing even more poverty.

They also force many people to leave their homes and become refugees in other

safer countries. These neighbouring countries may have been developing, but a

sudden influx of refugees with no money or food can make that country poor

again.

2. Natural DisastersMany LEDCs are situated in areas of the world where natural disasters

(earthquakes, floods, droughts, etc.) are more frequent and more severe than

anywhere else. An earthquake or a flood, for example, can destroy many

thousands of homes and the farmland on which the inhabitants depend. If rains

does not fall, crops will not grown unless people have the wealth to sink wells,

install pumps and organise an irrigation system.

3. Debt


Most LEDCs have to borrow money from the banks of developed countries to

survive and begin to develop. However, these banks charge interest, so a less

developed country can find itself paying more in interest that it earns in foreign

currency. In the early seventies, for example, Chile borrowed $3.9 billion. By

1982, the country had paid $12.8 billion in interest, but still owed money. This

extra $9 billion could have been used to speed up Chile’s development, instead it

went to countries that were already rich.

Because unpaid interest is added to the original debt, since 1990 the amount of

money poor countries have to pay in interest to rich countries has risen from £7.4

billion to £10.3 billion.

4. Unfair TradeWorld trade is dominated by the rich countries of the world. It is often the rich

countries that determine the prices paid for products from LEDCs.

Most people in poor countries work in agriculture and one way for them to

become richer would be for them to grow surplus crops and export their surplus

to earn money from MEDCs. However, the rich countries are using their wealth

to protect their farmers. They pay subsidies to their farmers to grow crops, and

put high tariffs (import taxes) on crops from poor countries so that their products

are more expensive. Then, if the MEDC farmers produce more crops than are

needed, they export them at lower prices than the LEDCs can produce them for.

To overcome the problem, many LEDCs grow cash crops such as cotton, coffee,

tea and tobacco, which they can sell to the developed world. Many people in

LEDCs are starving because land is used to grow cash crops instead of food,

and the prices for the cash crops go down because too many countries are

growing them. The price of coffee has fallen by 70% since 1996 costing poor

countries $8 billion.

5. HIV/AIDSThis disease is sweeping the LEDCs. The methods of safe sex and drugs to

control the disease used in the rich countries are far too expensive. South Africa

has the largest number of people with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the disease is

having a horrifying effect on children. It is estimated that by 2010 one-quarter of


all the children in South Africa will have lost their parents. The loss of so many

earners and the presence of so many children who will not be able to have an

education is causing many African countries to become poorer. This effect is

going to get worse, and only the rich countries can help.

6. Other factorsThere are other factors contributing to world poverty. Lack of education means

that young people in LEDCs do not have the skills needed to work in industries

that might improve the country. Lack of clean fresh water leads to disease and

children dying at a young age; such low life expectancy leads families to have a

large number of children so that a sufficient number will survive to look after their

parents in their old age. Relying on one export (such as copper or oil) can lead

to poverty because, if the value of the product goes down in the world market, the

country will be making a loss instead of a profit. This can change a country form

rich to poor almost overnight.

The work of one religious agency for world developmentThere are many religious agencies working for world development. One of the

major agencies based in the UK is Christian Aid.

Christian Aid began as Christian Reconstruction in Europe, set up in 1945 to help

relieve the suffering of people left homeless after WW2. It is now a leading UK

and Irish overseas Development Agency that works across the globe in more

than 50 countries. It acts where the need is greatest, regardless of religion.

Christian Aid prefers to work alongside local partner organisations, in the belief

that local people are best placed to find their own solutions to the problems they

face.

Christian Aid works on the basis of need regardless of race or religion.

To achieve its aim, the work of Christian Aid is split into different groups or

sections.


Fund-raisingIn order to do any work to relieve poverty, Christian Aid needs money which is

raised in several ways.

Since 1957, Christian Aid Week has been organised as a nationwide event in

May each year. Churches divide up towns between them and try to put an

envelope and information sheet about the work of Christian Aid into every house.

In 2004, Christian Aid week raised £15 million. Many churches and individual

also have fund-raising events throughout the year. Christian Aid also receives

government grants.

Emergency AidChristian Aid has funds to deal with emergencies such as the recent tsunami in

south-east Asia and the displaced people in Sudan. This work takes place

alongside long-term aid because without it people would die. The sort of

emergency help Christian Aid gives via its local partner organisations includes

sending food, antibiotics and shelters to the victims of the 2004 Bangladesh

floods, sending food to drought-stricken Zimbabwe, and sending blankets, tents

and food to war refugees in Darfur and the Congo. Christian Aid spends

between 10% and 15 % of its funds each year on emergency aid.

Long-term aidChristian Aid has an advantage over many charities because it is in contact with

organisations at the receiving end of the aid. Much of Christian Aid’s emergency

and long-term aid is channelled through organisations in the country concerned.

Often these local groups come up with ideas for long-term aid, which they ask

Christian Aid to support. Christian Aid sees its function as helping people to help

themselves so that they will not need aid. Often this is done through the use of

appropriate technology (technology that can be operated and repaired by people

using it rather than needing support from the outside).


Education and campaigningAbout 5% of Christian Aid’s budget is spent on educating the people and

Churches of the UK and Ireland about the need for development and the way in

which people can help LEDCs.

It publishes a quarterly newspaper, Christian Aid News, and many educational

materials. These not only give information about what Christian Aid is doing, but

also about world development. What the world spends on arms in two weeks, for

example, would give everyone in the world enough food, water, education and

shelter for a year.

Christian Aid also campaigns to improve the situation in LEDCs. In addition to is

own campaigns it was part of the Jubilee 2000, which campaigned to persuade

rich governments and banks to cancel the debts of poor countries, and is a

member of the Trade Justice Movement which is a campaign to persuade the

rich governments of the world to agree to world trade systems that will allow poor

countries to develop their economies.

Why does Christian Aid work to relieve world poverty?StewardshipChristianity teaches that God created the universe and everything in it and when

it was created, it was good. This means that Christians should regard the whole

of creation as a gift from God to be used by humans in the way in which God

intended. It is a basic believe of Christianity that God gave humans the

stewardship of the earth and its resources.

Stewardship means looking after something so that it can be passed on to the

next generation. In the Parable of the Talents (Luke 19:11-26), JS taught that

God expects humans to pass on to the next generation more than they have

been given. The Churches teach that stewardship does not only mean looking


after the earth’s resources, it also means making sure that the earth’s resources

are shared out fairly.

The Relief of PovertyAccording to the NT, riches must be used for the help of others, especially the

poor. Christians believe that all humans are equal in the eyes of God, and that

all the good things of the earth have been given to humans by God to use to help

each other.

Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats about the good and bad

people being separated at the end of the world, just as a shepherd separates the

sheep from the goats. The good would be sent to heaven because, as JC said,

‘When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I

was naked, you clothed me. When I was sick or in prison, you visited me.’ The

good people wanted to know when they had ever done this and JC replied,

‘When you did this for the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’ The bad people

were told they were going to hell because they had never fed the hungry, given

drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, or visited the sick or imprisioned. When

they asked when they had never done these things, JC said, ‘When you did not

do it for other people, you did not do it for me.’ Clearly this means that Christian

should help to relieve world poverty.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), JC taught that Christians should

share their time and possessions to help those in need, and this has been

backed up by the teachings of all the Christian Churches that Christians have a

duty to help the poor.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), JC showed that the

commandment to Christians to love God and love their neighbours means they

must help anyone who is in trouble whether they live next door or far away.


When JC was asked by a rich young man what he should do to gain eternal like,

as well as obeying all the Ten Commandments, JC said: ‘You need to do one

thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you

will have riches in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words

and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. JC looked around and

said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the

Kingdom of God.’

So Christian teachings on stewardship and the relief of poverty mean that

Christians should share their wealth with the poor to help remove the causes of

world poverty and promote world development.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust (made stewards) must

prove faithful…It is the Lord who judges…He will bring to light what is hidden in

darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” (1 Corinthians 4:2-5)

“The universe as a whole is a product of God’s creative and imaginative will. All

its parts are interdependent. Men and women are to be stewards, not exploiters

of its resources material, animal and spiritual.” (Statement by the Methodist

Church in What the Churches Say)

“God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn

away from them….Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate use of

riches or their selfish use.” (Catechism of the RCC, 2443-2445)

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to

borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42)


“If anyone is well off in worldly possession and sees his brother in need, but

closes his heart to him, how can the love of God be remaining in him? Children,

your love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine.”

(1 John 3: 17-18)

“The Church should concern itself first, and indeed second, with the poor and

needy, whether in spirit or in body.” Faith in the City, a CofE report on poverty

and the Church)

How has an issue arising from matters of life and death been presented in form

of the media and was it fair to religious beliefs and religious people?

Million Dollar Baby


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