Decalogue
The Ten Commandments
Bible
Holy book of Christians
Church / church
Big C- the community of Christians
Small c- a Christian place of worship
Conscience
An inner feeling of the rightness or wrongness of an action
Situation ethics
The idea that Christians should base moral decisions on what is the most loving thing to do
Human rights
The rights and freedoms to which everyone is entitled
Democratic processes
The ways in which all citizens can take part in government (usually through elections)
Electoral processes
The ways in which voting is organised
Political party
A group which tries to be elected into power on its policies
Pressure group
A group formed to influence government policy on a particular issue
Golden rule
The teaching of jesus that you should treat others as you would like them to treat you
Social change
The way in which society has changed and is changing (and also the possibilities for future change)
Global warming
The increase in the temperature of the earths atmosphere (thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect)
Natural resources
Naturally occurring materials such as oil and fertile land, which can be used by humans
Conservation
Protecting and preserving natural resources and the the environment
Creation
The act of creating the universe, or the universe which has been created
Environment
The surroundings in which plants and animals live and on which they depend to live
Stewardship
Looking after something so it can be passed on to the next generation
Artificial insemination
Injecting semen into the uterus by artificial means
Embryo
A fertilised egg in the first 8 weeks after conception
Infertility
Not being able to have children
In-vitro fertilisation (IVF)
The method of fertilising a human egg in a test tube
Surrogacy
An arrangement whereby a woman bears a child on behalf of another woman OR where an egg is donated and fertilised by the man through IVF and then implanted into the woman’s uterus
Organ donation
Giving organs to be used in transplant surgery
Conflict resolution
Bringing a fight or struggle to a peaceful conclusion
The UN
An international body set up to promote world peace and co-operation
World peace
The ending of war throughout the whole world (aim of the UN)
Aggression
Attacking without being provoked
Exploitation
Taking advantage of a weaker group
Just war
A war that is fought for the right reasons and in a right way
Pacifism
The belief that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means
Weapons of mass destruction
Weapons which can destroy large areas and numbers of people
Bullying
Intimidating/frightening people weaker than yourself
Respect
Treating a person or their feelings with consideration
Forgiveness
Stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what they have done wrong
Reconciliation
Bringing together people who were opposed to each other
Crime
An act against the law
Judgement
The act of judging people and their actions
Justice
Due allocation of reward and punishment/the maintenance of what is right
Law
Rules made by parliament and enforceable by the courts
Capital punishment
The death penalty for a crime or offence
Deterrence
The idea that punishments should be of such a nature that they will put people off committing crimes
Rehabilitation
Restore to normal life
Reform
The idea that punishments should try to change criminals so they will not commit crimes again
Retribution
The idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong
Sin
An act against the will of God
Addiction
A recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its bad effects
Responsibility
Being responsible for ones actions