Unit 8 x 2 Flashcards
Air pollution consequences
Up to 32,000 people die prematurely in Britain every year due to the effects of air pollution
UK and waste
Every person in the UK throws away 4 times their body weight in rubbish per year. - not enough is being done to stop polluting the land and sea.
Genesis 1:26
“let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle…”
Religious people should drive cars?
- Dominion over other creatures of the Earth- we should be able to do what we like within reason.
- There are other ways to protect the environment (supporting charities)
- There are environmentally friendly alternatives such as electric cars
- Man was placed in the Garden of Eden to ‘cultivate’ the earth. Cultivating the Earth must include making technological advances in the world.
- at the end of the world, God will destroy the present earth and replace it with a new, perfect one! Doesn’t matter how we treat it.
Religious people should not drive cars?
- The Bible says that the Earth and creation belongs to God
- God was pleased and we shouldn’t destroy it, respect it as stewards
- Dominion over other creatures - should respect our role as guardian
- God placed man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and guard it - we should not misuse resources and should protect the environment
1 Corinthians 10:26
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it”
Genesis 1:31
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
Why Christians should look after the environment?
- Dominion - respect our role as guardian
- C’s believe that God gave them the use of the Earth so they believe that they must maintain is and be affective stewards.
- Adam and Eve disobeyed God by taking fruit from the tree of knowledge and not looking after their environment. God greatly punished them…
- God was pleased with his creation - C’s should respect this and the environment by supporting environmental charities
- Judgement day
- God has anger to those who don’t
Genesis 2:15
“Then the Lord God placed man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it.”
Jeremiah 2:7
“They came and made my land unclean. They made my property disgusting.”
Muslims should look after the environment?
- Adam was appointed as Khalifah, vice regent, of the earth and Muslims by implication see themselves as put on earth as khalifah - in a position of responsibility to care for the world
- Hadith
- Surah 30:30 - look after and not damage the environment
- Surah 13:3-4 - the Earth is Allah’s creation and is the duty of humans to respect and protect it
- Ummah
- Judgement day
Surah 30:30
“follow the nature designed by Allah…there is no altering the creation of Allah.”
Surah 13:3-4
“Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see.”
Hadith and the environment
“The Earth is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you his stewards over it.”
Ummah and environment
Ummah - Muslim brotherhood including past and future generations!
All members of the ummah should join together and share the earths resources and treat the environment with respect. They must maintain the order in the environment for future generations.
Christians agree to transplant surgery
- gift of life is precious - make every effort to preserve it
- Galatians 4:15
- some believe immortality of the soul - only resurrected in spirit, not body (organs can be used to help the living)
- golden rule/ agape/ jesus “Love thy neighbour”
- Christianity teaches the importance of sacrifice and helping others
Galatians 4:15
“If you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.”
Muslims agree to transplant surgery
- Islam teaches that it is every Muslims duty to alleviate suffering and save lives - so if donors life isn’t risked ✔️
- in 1995, a ruling (a fatwa) was issued by The Muslim Law Council of Britain that permitted Muslims to carry a donor card and have transplants
- Islam aims to do good and is not intended to put burdens on people which they cannot bear. If a transplant is the only way to save someone ✔️
Muslims don’t agree to transplant surgery
- The Qur’an teaches that on the last day, Allah will resurrect everybody bodily
- sanctity of life - life belongs to Allah and only He has the authority to give and take life. Cannot harm the body that is Allah’s creation.
- Shari’ah Law teaches that nothing should be removed from the body after death (eg organs after death)
- The Qur’an: God has created the body of a person- taking parts from one body and put them into another is to act as God ➡️ greatest sin of Islam!
- Allah is the creator and has a plan for everyone - don’t alter
Christians don’t agree with transplant surgery
- ‘Playing God’ to give organs from one person to another and is disrespecting Him
- Believe in resurrection - at the end of world, everyone will be resurrected bodily
- God has a divine plan for everyone and using transplant surgery to help some people survive when they were going to die is interfering with the plan mapped out for them.
- Paying for organs is strictly prohibited as it can be seen as exploiting the poor which is banned in the bible.
Genesis 1:27
“God created humanity in his own image”
UK fertility
Estimated 1 in 8 couples in the UK have infertility problems
Christianity against Infertility treatments
- Don’t interfere with Gods plan
- IVF involves fertilising several eggs, some of which are thrown away or used for experimentation. RCC Life begins at conception. Discarding embryos - murder.
- Artificial insemination or surrogacy involve masturbation by the male which is a sin for Catholics.
- Catholics believe children have the right to know who their parents are and this is prevented in AID and surrogacy.
- some methods involve donation of sperm/eggs eg AID- insemination of sperm that has been donated to a clinic. It is not the husband’s sperm so this would be considered adultery. (Catechism of CC)
Christianity Infertility treatments ✔️
- god gave humans the knowledge/ability to make technological advances and be able to help infertile couples. We should use these advances to provide the joy of children to loving couples
- Bible story God helping infertile woman (sarah) -it’s an act of great kindness to help a woman to conceive a longed-for child and to remove her suffering
- the discarded embryos are not foetuses and their destruction can be justified by the doctrine of double effect (the intention is to produce children for childless couples not to kill embryos)
- Having children is the purpose of marriage - brings joy to a family - God said ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ -can result in the love and happiness while fulfilling one of God’s intentions for couples.
(• Situation Ethics, agape - love and joy that becoming a family can bring)
