Unit 8. Religion and Society (Rights and Responsibilities)

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  • Created by: maria
  • Created on: 16-05-13 19:09

Rights and Responsibilities

-     Christians use the Bible, Church and Conscience to make moral decisions. And some use the theory of Situation Ethics invented by Joseph Fletcher.

-    Bible: Christians believe that the Bible has an authority. Firstly, they use the Bible to make moral decisions because; it contains teachings, for example: Sermon on the Mount, the Decalogue and so forth. Sermon on the Mount is a vital source of morality because Jesus said: Do not judge others or he will judge you, Walk away from violence, Pray in private. Therefore, some Christians use these to make moral decisions. Secondly, the Decalogue contains commandments formed by Jesus, for example: Do not kill (Exodus), therefore Christians says the bible contains rules to help them make moral decisions. Thirdly, Christians use the bible to make moral decisions because it describes the life of Jesus, due to this, Christians should follow the footsteps of Jesus and use his life as an example to make moral decisions. Lastly some Christians, mostly literalist, say that the bible contains the actual word of God and it cannot contain errors, therefore Christians use the bible as a source of morality to make decisions.

-     Some may disagree: Liberal Christians believe that the book doesn’t contain the actual word of God but inspired by God. Therefore, it shouldn’t be seen as the most important source to make moral decisions. Secondly, some may argue and say that the bible needs to be updated because it contains teachings that aren’t so useful for the current generation. Thirdly, Catholic may think that the bible is hard to understand, therefore, the church needs to help them. Lastly, some people think that people should follow their conscience rather than following exactly what the bible says.

-      Church: Some people use the teachings provided by the church alongside with the bible to make moral decisions. Firstly, Christians believe that the church has a job to help Christians to make moral decisions by helping them tackle difficult moral issues; this is because the Roman Catholic Pope (Pope Francis) should base his teachings on moral issues through official letters and the Catholic Catechism. Secondly, Roman Catholic Christianity teaches us that the church is ‘The body of Christ’ therefore; they should base their moral decisions according to the teachings by church. Thirdly, Christians believe that God gave Peter the keys to heaven and he was the first pope, so Christians should obey the teachings created by church. Lastly, the church has be around for more than 2000 years so the teachings by the church is certainly inspired by God and people should take it into their account while making moral decisions.

-     Some may disagree: Not every Christian will say that church is an important source of authority or morality. The Catholic Church was part of many crusades over the centuries. This including fighting, war and violence. Therefore some Christians may argue that church isn’t a source of morality and no one should base their decisions on the church…

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