Matters of Life and Death - Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Unit 3

Christianity and Life after Death
1. Resurrection of the body - when people die, they stay in the grave until the end of the world. Then God will raise everyone and judge them. Good=Heaven, Bad=Hell
  1. Jesus rose from dead
  2. St Paul'd teaching in 1Cor 15
  3. Part of Christian Creed
2. Immortality of soul - no belief in resurrection! Instead the belief that the soul lives on after the death of the body. When people die, their soul goes straight to heaven.
  1. Jesus said criminal on cross would be in paradise straight after death
  2. Near-death experiences (soul leaving body and going down a tunnel of light to God) show immortality.
Why do Christians believe in Life after Death?
1. The Bible and Creed teaches that there is an afterlife.
2. Jesus rose from dead.
3. Evidence of ghosts and spirits which are said to haunt places are believed to be souls of those whose passage has been disrupted on the way to their next life.
4. Near Death Experiences have occurred at moments of death, whereby people experience sensations of floating away from the body towards bright light where they meet a religious figure.
5. Life after Death gives life meaning and purpose.
Why do some people not believe in Life after Death?
1. Religions all teach different things about life after death - Buddhism=reincarnation, Christianity= resurrection - and they cannot all be true
2. Religious people simply believe an afterlife exists by faith, but ultimately they cannot prove their belief to be true.
3. Near Death Experiences can be scientifically proved by the brain being starved of oxygen, and so producing hallucinations.
4. Ghosts and spirits are figments of people's imagination.
5. The soul has no physical substance and therefore does not exist.
Abortion and the Law
1. Cannot be carried out after 24 weeks
2. If mother's life is at risk, physical or mental health is at risk, child is likely to be born severely handicapped and serious effects on children in family - abortion is acceptable.
Christianity and Abortion
1. Against
  1. Human life begins at conception, so this would be killing life.
  2. "Do not Kill" Decalogue Commandment - it is God alone who should be the giver and taker of life, and we cannot mess with his plan and his omniscience.
  3. Human life is sacred and all life belongs to God - the embryo/foetus is human and therefore should be given the right to life and full human rights.
  4. God has a plan for each and every one of us - we cannot mess with the Creator.
2. For
  1. The Bible does not teach anything specifically on abortion.
  2. Lesser of two evils.
  3. Acceptable if the child will be brought into a family whose parents will not be able to cope and the child's quality of life may be deficient.
  4. Rape, Psychological effects, Lack of support in terms of money/funds.
Sanctity of Life
1. God created life, so only God can take it.
2. Decalogue - "Do not commit murder"
3. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is not your own!" - St Paul
4. "All human life is sacred" - Magisterium
Christianity and Euthanasia
1. Against
  1. Life is sacred - can only be taken by God.
  2. "Do not kill" - Decalogue
  3. Doctors are required and paid to save lives, not kill.
  4. Hospices are in function for terminal illnesses.
2. For
  1. Doctors should be allowed to give lots of pain killing drugs, even if they will shorten life, in order to stop suffering.
  2. Expensive treatments need not to be carried out to lengthen the lives of dying patients.
  3. "Love your neighbour" and Golden Rule.
Causes of Poverty
1. War - sometimes caused by corruption or by the way the country was split when it was colonised. Wars destroy homes, crops, schools, hospitals and create refugees.
2. Natural Disaster - LEDC's are in areas of floods and earthquakes which destroy homes, crops etc. e.g.. Bangladesh.
3. Debt - all LEDC's suffer from debt. Have to borrow money from banks in developed countries and pay large amounts of interest which could be spent on development.
4. Unfair Trade - High taxes so goods are very expensive.
5. AIDS/HIV
6. Other Factors - Lack of clean water, too many children, lack of education - all prevent country from developing.
CAFOD
1. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development
  1. Work to relieve poverty
2. Many churches have fundraisers throughout the year and money is donated to the charity.
3. Raises money through education on poverty.
4. Long term Aid - deals with root causes of poverty and helps people to help themselves out of poverty. Groups of people come up with ideas in which people can become self supporting and CAFOD fund these projects such as food production, technical know-how or community development.
  1. Support for health programmes, such as eradicating the largest threat malaria.
5. Short term Disaster Fund - deal with natural disaster that usually takes priority over long term aid.
  1. Send food, antibiotics, shelters, blankets.
6. Some of budget spent on educating Christians on how they can help LEDC's.

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