Sanctity of life

Cards (18)

  • Liberal Christian beliefs about
    sanctity of life, imago dei and
    abortion
    Liberal Christians (in this case the Church of England) agree that life is sacred and humans are created in God’s image. Abortion is not a good
    thing, but sometimes it is ‘the lesser of two evils’. There are some situations where abortion might be the best course of action such as If the
    pregnancy is the result of rape, continuing the pregnancy might be dangerous to the woman’s physical or mental health, then abortion should be
    allowed. If the child is likely to be severely disabled and so effect its quality of life.
  • Catholic belief about sanctity of life
    All human life is sacred and everyone has a right to life which should be protected and valued at every stage
  • Imago Dei
    The Catholic belief that humans were made in the Image of God
  • The Catholic Church is against abortion in all circumstances
  • Abortion
    Seen as murder, a great moral evil
  • The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception
  • Sanctity of life
    The Catholic belief that all human life is sacred and that everyone has a right to life which should be protected and valued at every stage
  • Humanist beliefs about sanctity of life,
    imago dei and abortion
    Humanists such as Peter Singer reject any belief in the sanctity of life. Human life does have value but it does not belong to God and humans were
    not created in the image of God. In terms of abortion, Humanists value happiness and personal choice. In making a decision they would look at
    the evidence, consequences and rights and wishes of everyone involved. Life is not sacred but is worthy of the highest respect. Generally they
    would take a pro-choice stance and argue that quality of life is more important that sanctity of life.
  • Jewish beliefs about sanctity of life
  • Imago Dei
    Humans are made in the image of God
  • Sanctity of life
    Life is sacred and belongs to God
  • Sources of Jewish beliefs about sanctity of life
    • Book of Genesis in the Torah (Jewish written law)
    • Book of Jeremiah
    • Psalms
    • Ten Commandments
  • Taking life is wrong: “Do not kill”
  • Abortion is not specifically mentioned in the Torah
  • Exodus implies that the life of an unborn child is of equal worth to the life of the mother
  • In cases such as abortion ‘pikuach nefesh’ might apply
  • “So God created mankind in his own image”
  • “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”