Rs- issues of life and death

• Life: chance or God's plan?

  Most religious believers say that there is a divine mind behind all life. The bible tells us that God knows all people before their birth and has a plan and a purpose for all living beings.
• Christians interpretation of Genesis 1&2:

  • LP- Have a more liberal view on it- don't read genesis literally, believe it has a deeper meaning
  • Most Christians- believe God created the universe in 6 days- "God saw what he had made and it was very good"
  • NR- don't accept the genesis account as true- can only know what is true through reason, evidence and science
• Religious reactions to Darwin:

  Today, there are many religious believers who welcome Darwin's theories. Liberal Christians accept the idea that science can teach us things that the writers of the bible had no understanding of. Some Evangelical Christians see Darwinian evolution as an attack on their belief.
• What is the study of the origins of the universe called?

  Cosmology
• Evolution theory quotes:

  • LP- Creation story is symbolic
  • All christians- Fossils are created by Noah's flood
  • NR- " The illusion of design in the living world is explained with far greater economy... by Darwinian's natural selection" (Dawkins)
• What does Stewardship mean?

  To look after the world for God.
• Stewardship:

  When God gave humans dominion over the land, he gave them the responsibility too. Humans were created to be stewards of the land i.e:

  1. to use it
  2. to look after it
  3. to protect it
• What does dominion mean?


  It means humanity's right to control and have power over the land and all other living beings.
• Attitudes to stewardship:

  • LP- we are the guardians of the earth- "then God placed man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it"
  • RC- care for animals, rather than exploit them- "nature never forgives" (PF's 2015 Papal Encyclical)
  • NR- Need to maintain the earth for future generations- "because I want my grandchildren to see Elephants" sir Hermann Bondi, former president of BHA
• The soul:

  • Most Christians believe that the 'soul' differentiates humans and other animals
  • Most Christians believe that the soul is not physical, it is 'spiritual'
• What are the four key aspects of the scientific explanation of the world:

  • matter is eternal
  • the universe began with a Big Bang
  • The universe took billions of years to develop
  • Humans are evolved from other animals
• Christian/ Biblical creation:

  • Creation by God
  • 7 day creation
  • order of creation is different to what evolution suggests
  • not random "designed" with purpose
  • God created "ex-nihlo" (out of nothing)
• Attitudes to abortion:

  • LP- Quality of life- Situation ethics do the "most loving thing"
  • RC- Goes against God's plan- "Before i formed you in the womb i knew you" (Jeremiah 1)
  • NR- A woman's choice- mother's rights come first as it's her own body.
• Attitudes to euthanasia:

  • LP- maintaining human dignity- they don't want to prolong unnecessary suffering
  • RC- Natural law, 'preserve life'- thou shalt not kill (6th commandment)
  • NR- Free will- "we don't let animals suffer, so why humans?" (Professor Hawking)
• Beliefs on the afterlife:

  • LP- Jesus states that there is an afterlife- "the one who believes in me will live, even though they die" (John 11)
  • RC- Spiritual resurrection- "It is raised a spiritual body" (St Paul, 1 Corinthians)
  • NR- No scientific evidence- therefore they don't believe in an afterlife
• Funerals:

  • LP- to give thanks for the person's life & that they have gone to God- "There is a time for everything... a time to be born and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3)
  • RC- Pray for their soul to go to God- have a eucharist (holy communion)
  • NR- Celebrate living on- reminder that the person lives on in their legacy