Rights and Responsibilities Flashcards
Non-religious arguments FOR genetic engineering and cloning
- Could lead to cures for usually incurable diseases
- Using ‘hybrids’ does not involve the loss of human life
- Genetic research is monitored closely by the law
- Some countries already do it
Non-religious arguments AGAINST genetic engineering and cloning
- No information on the long term consequences
- Effects are irreversible
- Gives too much power to scientists
- Treats the human body simply as a comodity
Why some Christians accept GE if it is to help cure diseases
- Jesus was a healer e.g. paralysed man, blind man
- Creating cells is not the same as creating people
- God gave us the intelligence to find these cures
Why Catholics do not want GE to use human embryos
- Killing as embryo is the same as killing a human (murder)
- Life begins at conception whether in a womb or in a dish
Why some Christians are completely against GE
- Humans should not interfere with God’s will
- It is wrong to try and make the Earth perfect
Why some christians only use the bible to make moral decisions
- It is the word of God
- Has god’s teachings on how to behave
- Has Jesus’ teachings on how to live
- Contains the teachings of the disciples such as st. peter and st. paul
Why some christians do not use the bible to make moral decisions
- It was written 2000 years ago and could be out of date
- It does not contain teachings on modern issues
- Some aspects may be exaggerated and difficult to believe
- It was written by humans who could’ve made mistakes
Why some christians use only the church to make moral decisions
- The church is the body of christ
- God speaks to the world today through the church
- By following the church all believe the same thing
- Church authority for RCs comes from the Pope who is infallible
Why some christians do not use the church to make moral decisions
- Catholic priests may not have experience regarding relationships and marriage
- The bible is a better guide as it is god’s word
- The Bible contains the Decalogue which is clear to follow
- Church is led by humans that can make mistakes
Why some christians use their conscience to make moral decisions
- Their believe it is the voice of God speaking to them
- The church says they should follow their conscience
- St paul said the conscience should be the last part of the decision making
- Conscience is immediate and up to date - preferable to Bible
Why some Christians do not use their conscience to make moral decisions
- Could be mistaken
- Following the Church/Bible means everyone does the same
- Life would be chaotic if everyone did their own thing and not what the law said
- Conscience could be your upbringing not God - this is dangerous
Why some Christians use situation ethics to make moral decisions
- Jesus acted in a similar war
- Should only do things that lead to good results
- Jesus said ‘love thy neighbour’
- Christianity is a religion based on love - supported by Golden Rule
Why some Christians do not use situation ethics to make moral decisions
- Bible is the word of God which should not be overruled
- Christians should all do the same thing - situation ethics can cause you to sin or break the law
- Church knows what is best - situation ethics might be against the church (abortion)
- Can never know all of the facts
Why human rights are important to christians
- Right to life is covered by teaching of sanctity of life
- All humans made in God’s image and are equal
- Christians are protected by these laws and so should help protect others
- Human rights are supported by the Golden Rule
- Human rights ban discrimination
- Human rights are similar to the decalogue
How human rights can cause problems for christians
- Some are against civil partnerships which are legal in the UK
- Some against marrying outside their religion
- Against homosexuals having a family (adoption)
- RC do not allow women priests, which is a form of discrimination
