Matters Of Life & Death

Christians believe after life that God will reward the good and punish the bad in a life after death because

-All 4 Gospels record that Jesus was resurrected

-St Paul teaches that all people will have a spiritual ressurrection body given to them by God after they die

-Most Christians believe in the immortality of the soul. 

-Taught by the Church

-Many Christians find this gives their life purpose.

-Many Christians believe they will be judged by God on their actions in this life, and he will decide based on this whether they are allowed into heaven.

-Living a good Christian life means following Jesus's teachings, which means Christians will try to love God and their neighbours, as well as going to Church on a regular basis.

-Jesus said only those who helped those in need, befriended strangers, fed the hungry and visited the sick and those inprisoned would be allowed into prison.

-Christians say their lives are given meaning and purpose by life after death, as it gives them something to work for in the future. This may be why Christians have lower rates of depression and suicide than agnostics and atheists.

-Near Death experiences

When people are clinically dead and come back to life. Many report meeting dead relatives, floating above their body and seeing people trying to revive them. Some people who are able to recognise the doctors who revived them without ever having met them while clinically alive. If these are true there is a heaven, but this isn't the resurrection described in the Gospels. It is hard to prove these happened while the brain was shut down, as it could have happened just before/during recovery.

-Evidence for a spirit world

Ghosts, mediums and oujia boards all claim to prove there is life after death as especially mediums aim to contact people's dead relatives. Mediums are able to tell people things that it isn't possible for them to know previously.

-Reincarnation

Hindus, sikhs and Buddhists believe in reincarnation: a soul being reborn into another body after death. Some people claim to remember their previous life. This would prove Life after Death.

-There is nowhere for heaven to be.

-If there is no God, there is nothing non-material.

-Science proves the mind cannot exist without the body and brain.

-The evidence for this is based on holy books, and which holy book should a non-believer follow? 

-The paranormal has been heavily criticised by scientists.

-Different religions say different things, but if they were right, they would all say the same thing.

-Many people are not brought up to believe in life after death.

-People's experiences of the deaths of relatives/friends may lead them to believe there is not life after death.

Wrong bc

-Life is holy and belongs to God therefore only God can choose to terminate a pregnancy.

-Life begins at conception so abortion is murder and therefore breaks the 10 Commandments.

-Every person has a right to life and to kill a foetus is to take that right away so it is therefore wrong.

-Abortion can cause trauma involving guilt and leading to mental health problems for the women who go through with it.

Abortion is wrong but permitted in certain circumstances bc

-Abortion may be the most loving thing to do & Jesus said love thy neighbour

-They don't believe life begins at conception

-If abortions were banned it would be unjust as rich women could afford to get abortions abroad but poor women couldn't.

-If the mother's life is endangered by pregnancy, the sanctity of life applies to her life as well and therefore she has the right to have an abortion.

wrong bc

-The Bible bans suicide and they take the word of the Bible literally. Assisted suicide and volununtary euthanasia are forms of suicide. 

-Euthanasia is regarded by them as murder and therefore against the 10 Commandments.

-They regard switching of the life support machine as euthanasia and believe life should be ended by God not humans.

-They believe in the Sanctity of life: life is holy and belongs to God,a dn to take life from God is to put yourself at the same level as God, which is blasphemy.

wrong, but modern medicine creates new issues.

-Sanctity Of Life. Euthanasia is putting yourself on the same level as God which is condemned in the Bible and blasphemous.

-It's Murder, which is forbidden in the 10 Commandments.

-It is up to medical experts to determine when someone has died: if doctors say someone is brain-dead, turning off their life support is accepting what God has decided, not euthanasia.

-Painkillers that may shorten someone's life is acceptable as long as the purpose is to reduce pain not kill the person.

accept a limited use of euthanasia

-Modern medical science means we can no longer be sure what's God's wishes are about someone's death.

-The teachings of Jesus say to do the most loving thing, and euthanasia may be the most loving thing to do: situation ethics.

-Living wills give people the control over what happens to them & how doctors treat them.

HOW: Speaking out on behalf, development programmes, disasters & emergencies.

WHY: 

-In the New Testament it says riches must be used to help the poor.

-In the Parable of the sheep and goats, Jesus says when you help the least of my brothers, you helped me.

- The way to get to heaven is by helping those less fortunate than you.

-Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus taught Christians should give their time & possessions to help those in need.