Matters of Life and Death
revision
This unit is based on Christianity
and Islam
Write down the answers then check your work
by clicking the mouse
Resurrection
A: The belief that after death the body stays in the grave until the end of
the world when it is raised
Immortality of the soul
A: The idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
Sanctity of life
A: The belief that life is holy and belongs to God
Abortion
A: The removal of the fetus from the womb before it can survive
Non-voluntary euthanasia
A: Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but
you have good reason for thinking they would want you to do so e.g.
switching off a life support machine
Many people claim to
have seen ghosts
The fact that
some people
remember
‘past lives’
which may be
a sign of
reincarnation
The idea that
once someone
dies, that can
just be it, nothing
else
People claim to have
had deja vu
Non-religious reasons
for believing in life
after death
Near death experiences
The use and claims of
mediums
The use of Ouija boards
and séances
However, some
people don’t
believe there can
be an afterlife
because:
Near death
experiences
are just
hallucinations
as the brain is
starved from
oxygen
The idea of life
after death is
contradictory. A
person is either
dead or alive.
Scientists
would say that
nothing can
survive death.
There is no scientific
proof of a soul so
there is nothing to go
on anywhere else
once the body dies
If there is an afterlife,
where is it? It can’t exist
as there is no where for it
to be.
What Christians believe:
1.
Some Christians believe in resurrection
This is the idea that when the body dies the soul waits until God ends
the world. At this point both the dead and the living will face God
and are judged on their faith and actions while living.
2. Some Christians believe in the immortality of the soul.
This is the idea that when people die, their souls live on in a spiritual
realm after being judged by God on their good and bad deeds.
The good will go to heaven, the bad to hell.
3. Some Christians who believe in the immortality of the soul think that
hell does not exist as the Bible says that God is loving and
forgives all sins.
4. Roman Catholics believe in a place called purgatory
This is a kind of waiting room where a soul does time for all the sins
that person committed before going to heaven
Reasons:
Resurrection
1.
It happened to Jesus which is recorded in the Bible
2.
The Creed (statement of Christian belief) talks of it
Immortality of the soul
1.
The Lord’s Prayer talks of heaven
2.
The belief in life after death is a comfort
3.
The Church teaches that there is life after death
4.
When Jesus was on the cross he said to the criminal with him that
there would be paradise straight after death
Purgatory
1.
The Roman Catholic Catechism says that there is
2.
This would make sense of the fact that the Bible talks of both
resurrection and immortality of the soul
No hell
1. God is all loving and so there can’t be such a place
Islam and the Afterlife
Muslims believe:
1. When a person dies the soul is taken to a waiting area
before it is judged on the Day of Judgement. This is
called resurrection
2.
The Qur’an says that on the Day of Judgement (which
is at some point in the future that only God knows) a
book is opened which has recorded the good and bad
deeds of everyone
3.
Everyone will be judged by Allah based on their
actions
4.
Allah will send those who are good to heaven and
those who are bad to hell forever
The reasons Muslims believe there
is an afterlife:
1. Every Muslim prophet, including Muhammad,
taught that there was an afterlife
2. It is reasonable to expect Allah to reward good
behaviour and so there must be an afterlife
3. It is part of the Shahadah (the 7 main beliefs
all Muslims have) that there is a life after death
4. The Qur’an says that there is.
Test yourself
1. What does the word paranormal mean?
2. Give 3 non-religious reasons for the belief in
life after death
3. Give 4 religious reasons for the belief in life
after death
4. What is resurrection?
5. What are 3 different Christian attitudes to what
happens after death? Give 1 reason for each.
6. Give 2 reasons why Muslims believe there is a
life after death
The Sanctity of life
Both Christians and Muslims believe in the sanctity
of life and this should be used in religious
questions about abortion and euthanasia!!!
It is the belief that life is special and so should be
treated with care
This means that Christians and Muslims believe
that it is wrong for people to take away life in
abortion and euthanasia
Abortion
Until 1967 abortions in the UK were illegal. This meant that before this
time women put their lives at risk by having backstreet abortions.
The UK law currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks as long as 2
doctors agree on one of the 4 conditions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The mother’s life is at risk
The mother’s physical or mental health is at risk
It is thought that this child will be born with severe handicap
There is a risk of health and welfare of the mother’s existing
children.
In reality any woman who wants an abortion under 24 weeks gets one,
usually under condition 2 – her mental health is at risk.
Many people want the time limit shortened to at least 22 weeks as
wanted children who have been born prematurely at 22 weeks
have been known to survive thanks to our advances in medicine
Non-religious arguments for an against
abortion
For
It’s a woman’s right to
choose what happens to her
body
Against
1. The foetus should be valued
as a life, not just an
inconvenience
2.
It may be the kindest thing to
do if a foetus is known to
have severe disabilities
2. Any people with disabilities
have productive lives e.g
Mozart
3.
It can be used as population
control
3. Abortion seems to be treated
as contraception
4.
If conception happened due
to rape then surely
continuing with the
pregnancy would only cause
more distress to the woman
4. Even if the woman is raped, it
is not the foetus’ fault and it is
still a part of her
1.
Organisations
SPUC is a pro-life group who are against abortions.
They campaign that women have other options and feel that
once life is created it is precious.
They think that unwanted babies could be adopted or that
their mother’s just need extra help and support
Christian teachings on abortion
All Christians are against abortion however
some Christians think that in some
circumstances may be it could be the best
thing to do
When answering a question on abortion you
must make it clear that all are against it
but there are 2 attitudes
Attitude 1: Some Christians (Roman Catholics) are totally against it in
every circumstance
Reasons they think this:
1.
The 10 Commandments say “Do not kill” and they think that life
begins at conception
2.
They believe in the sanctity of life
3.
They believe that all life belongs to God – He gives life so he
should be the only one to take it away
Attitude 2: Other Christians (Church of England) also hate abortion but
do accept it in EXTREME circumstances such as rape (never say
that they think it’s ok because they don’t)
Reason they think this:
1.
Jesus taught that people should do the most loving thing and in
the circumstance of rape, allowing abortion may be the most
loving thing to do
2.
Jesus said “Love thy neighbour” and allowing an abortion could
be an act of love
Muslim attitudes to abortion
Attitude 1: Most Muslims believe that abortion should never be allowed
2 reasons:
1.
The sanctity of life
2.
The Day of Judgement - No-one knows for certain when Allah puts the soul
in to a body and so not allowing abortion protects people from killing another
and being punished for it on the Day of Judgement
Attitude 2: Some Muslims agree with abortion if the mother’s life is at risk
1 reason:
The Qur’an teaches that the mother’s life is more important than the unborn
child’s.
Attitude 3: Some Muslims (but not many) believe that abortion can happen up until
120 days old
1 reason:
This is because they believe that Allah puts the soul in to the foetus at 120 days
and so abortion before this is not murder
Test yourself
1. What does abortion mean?
2. Give 3 non-religious arguments against
abortion
3. What is the name of the pro-life (anti-abortion)
group?
4. Give the 3 Christian attitudes to abortion
5. What reasons are given for these attitudes?
6. Give the 3 Muslim attitudes to abortion
7. What reasons are given for these attitudes?
What do the following mean? Write them out then check
your answers by clicking on the mouse
Euthanasia
‘Gentle’ or ‘happy death’ and refers to prematurely ending
the life of a terminally ill person
Assisted suicide
Providing a seriously ill patient with the means to commit
suicide
Voluntary euthanasia
When someone terminally ill asks the doctor to end his/her
life painlessly
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Ending someone’s life when they can’t ask you to do it but
you have good reason to believe that they would want
you to e.g. when someone is on a life support machine
The legal view
It is currently illegal in the UK
In special cases doctors may be allow passive euthanasia
(withdrawing treatment or the life support machine and
so the patient dies naturally). This is usually for people in
comas and on life support machines
Some terminally ill people recently have travelled to
Switzerland where it is legal under strict conditions
If a person helps someone die (assisted suicide) in the UK
they can be put in prison for it
Non-religious arguments
For
1.
It could stop many people dying
an agonizing death which is a
kind thing to do
2.
It would give the patient control
over their life – if they choose it,
what is the problem?
3.
4.
It would save the NHS millions
of pounds on treatments for
people who will die any way
It would relieve the emotional
and financial stress of the
patients family and friends (it is
hard to watch a person you love
in pain)
Against
1. The UK has many hospices
where people can to die. They
have excellent pain relief
programmes
2. Not all terminally ill people die. If
it was legal then some people
may make the decision too quick
3. When they qualify doctors have
to promise that they will do ‘no
harm’ and euthanasia kills
4. Pressure may be put on patients
who do not want to die but don’t
want to be a burden to their
families
A possible solution: The
Hospice Movement
These are places where terminally ill patients can go,
where the surroundings are different to hospitals and
their families can often stay with them.
Trained medical staff can give pain relief and the person
can die in peaceful surroundings.
Hospices say that most pain can be made manageable and
so people do not have to commit euthanasia to avoid an
agonising death. Hospice care aims to improve the lives
of people whose illness may not be curable. Hospice
care can be provided in a number of different settings
and can be for days, weeks or years.
Christian teachings on abortion
Attitude 1: Some Christians (Roman Catholics) are totally against euthanasia
even in cases where people are in pain
2 reasons:
1.
The sanctity of life
2.
The Commandment “Do not kill”
3.
The belief that God gives life and so only God should take it away
Attitude 2: Some Christians agree with passive euthanasia i.e. switching off a
life support machine
2 reasons:
1.
Jesus taught that people should do the most loving thing and this can be
the kindest thing when there is no chance of recovery
2.
Turning off a life support machine does not kill, God could still save that
person if he wanted to
Attitude 3: All Christians believe that euthanasia is wrong in all other cases
including those in pain
Muslim teachings
Attitude 1: Most Muslims do not accept any form of euthanasia
3 reasons:
1. Sanctity of life
2. The Qur’an says that murder and suicide are forbidden
3. They think that life is a test from Allah which includes
suffering
Attitude 2: Some Muslims allow a life support machine to be
turned off
2 reasons:
1. Religious laws can be relaxed in some cases if it is to stop
pain and suffering.
2. It does not kill a person and so Allah could still allow that
person to live if he wanted to
Test yourself
1. What is assisted suicide?
2. What is passive euthanasia?
3. Give 2 non-religious arguments for and against
euthanasia
4. What are Christian attitudes to euthanasia?
5. Why are most Muslims against euthanasia?
6. What is a hospice?
Note! In exam questions do not give non-religious
answers for questions about religious views, or
talk about the sanctity of life etc if asked about
non-religious views
The Media and matters of life and
death
• This is a new topic for this exam and so you may
be asked a question on it.
• Be careful to answer what is asked and DON’T
just describe what happened in a programme
you saw.
You need to know arguments for and against the
media being free to criticise what religions say
about matters of life and death.
Types of media include:
• Newspapers e.g. we studied the case of the Jehovah’s
Witness who refused a blood transplant and so died
• TV documentaries e.g. we watched “The Right To Die” which was
about euthanasia, and ‘My Foetus’ which was about abortion
• Soap operas e.g Eastenders had the storyline of Danielle making
the decision to, and having an abortion
Should the media being able to criticise what
religions say about matters of life and death?
Yes because:
1. We live in a free society and
everyone has the right to
give their opinion
2.
People who watch or read
the criticisms do not have to
agree with what was
said/written
No because:
1. The media can interfere in
people’s private lives and
don’t care what harm they do
2. Only sensationalised stories
are reported as they want to
sell papers or get viewers
(e.g Jehovah’s witness
woman and Right to Die)
3. Sometimes the ‘facts’
selected or the way it is told
only give half the story
4. It is unfair because it can
prejudice people’s views
If asked to comment on a particular issue you should:
1. Write a sentence saying what issue was featured e.g. say
that a Jehovah’s witness mother died after refusing blood
because her faith told her this was not allowed
2. Add a sentence giving your view about how the media
handled the issue.
- Was it fair?
- Did they favour one side more than the other?
- Were they too critical?
Try to use examples to develop your answer and get full
marks
3. Add a sentence saying why you think it is good for people to
be informed about issues like this.