Theme B part 2

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  • Created by: Sia11
  • Created on: 27-03-21 20:12
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  • Theme B Life
    • Our duty to protect the world
      • Christians believe in stewardship. This is where humans have a God-given responsibility to care for creation. God “saw that (the world) was good” when he created us and put Adam, and thus humanity in charge of looking after and protecting it. 
        • St Francis of Assissi – God loves all creation.
        • We are made in God’s image so should love creation like He does.
      • Muslims also believe in stewardship. The Arabic term for this is khalifah. We are all khalifahs because in the Quran it says Allah made Adam “His deputy.” 
        • They believe in a oneness to Allah and so His creations are all linked. You will be judged on in the afterlife on this duty as a khalifah.
      • Some Christians believe in dominion. They interpret the command from God, to Adam to “rule over all the living things.” As a sign that the earth is ours to use for human benefit. 
        • The Bible tells of the destruction of the world at the end of time and signs include “the sky turning black” so might not protect it.
        • Rapture – Christians will be taken to heaven when the earth is destroyed.
    • The value of the world (awe and wonder)
      • Christians feel a sense of awe and wonder at the world. Awe is being struck by a sense of wonder and amazement. 
        • Otto called this a ‘numinous’ experience and said you can feel God’s presence when being amazed by a beautiful sunset or having your breath taken away by the power of nature eg looking at the stars. You can see God’s design and plan.
      • Muslims also feel a sense of awe and wonder at the world. They are encouraged to use nature and the world to try to better understand Allah and see ‘signs’ of His work in creation. 
        • The amazing balance of creation causes them to be thankful to Allah “be grateful, this water could have been made salty.”
      • Some Christians feel it is only human life that is valuable, not the world itself. When God created the world he ‘saw that it was good’ but then we created disharmony in nature because of the fall. 
        • We now live in a sinful state, separate from God. The world is temporary and if it is being damaged this is God’s will and a sign of the end times to come.
    • The use and abuse of the environment (pollution + use of natural resources)
      • The use of natural resources is damaging human and animal life and threatening the world we live in.
      • The use of fossil fuels is contributing to global warming and more extreme methods are taken to source them as they become scarcer.
      • Most Christians and Muslims would be against this. We are stewards with a God-given responsibility.
        • This has led to many ‘green’ initiatives such as ‘Green Islam’ and the Pope calling for action.
        • Greed is a deadly sin in Christianity and the Quran warns “do not be wasteful” whilst one Hadith of Muhammad says “live in the world as if you were going to live forever,” urging followers to think of future generations.
      • Pollution is seeing plastic endanger sea-life, landfill over-spilling, toxic and deadly air pollution and harmful gasses eroding the O-Zone layer.
      • Although this is a minority view within Christianity, certain denominations do feel that the end of the world is imminent. They welcome this since they will be raptured to heaven.
        • They deny climate change and the human impact of things like pollution on the environment.
          • Instead, they believe that God is causing this and so aren’t concerned with environmental abuse or worrying about future generations. “The sun will fall from the sky.”
      • The use of trees is causing deforestation which is leaving animals without habitats and causing high CO2 emissions.
    • The impact of beliefs about death and afterlife on the value of human life
      • Hindus believe our soul is trapped in the cycle of samsara (reincarnation) the aim is to escape this material existence and reunite with Brahman (the eternal truth)this is called moksha (the liberation of the soul).
        • It is very different to Christian or Muslim beliefs but impacts Hindus in similar ways as they will receive bad karma for bad actions and need to respect the sanctity of life.
          • A difference would be the idea that you should not interrupt a soul on its journey by cutting life short and that you will have future lives to put right any wrongs.
      • Chritsian beliefs may lead to the beliefs that:
        • only humans reach the afterlife so animal life is not important
        • this world will end and is temporary
        • we will be judged for our actions so we need to be good stewards and respect the sanctity of life
        • attempts to end life to escape suffering now may lead to more suffering in the next life
      • Islam beliefs may lead to the beliefs that:
        • only humans reach the afterlife soanimal life is not important
        • this world will end and is temporary
        • we are being tested in this life so we need to be good Khalifahs and respect the sanctity of life
        • attempts to end life to escape suffering now may lead to more suffering in the next life

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