- theme B - religion and life

- theme B - religion and life

1. origin of the universe

   • cosmological argument
     • the world in which we live in provides evidence to Gods existence
     • everything has a cause and effect. The universes cause is God
     • Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning He created the heavens and the earth"
     • the chain of cause and effect began by God as He is eternal and so He is the first cause.
     • it agrees with most religions that God is the superior being / eternal so he has to be the first cause
     • however it relies in the belief that God exists. There is no scientific proof. "Eternal" may be questionable as it isn't observed. The universe itself can be eternal and it doesn't need a first cause (God)
   • the big bang theory
     • Fundamentalist Christians interpret the bible literally they believe the world was created in 7 days
     • Liberalists interpret the bible symbolically, they believe that God may have created the universe but through the big bang theory and that the creation theory may not be true
   • the design argument
     • Paley's watch
       • paley said the world is like a watch - it is so intricate and works perfectly just like the way the world works. If one thing goes wrong is the world then it will all be destroyed. so God created the world to work perfectly.
     • the world is too perfect for God to not exist. Everything is just perfect such as gravity which in itself proves Gods existence.
     • proves the existence of things that are not mad made. it is based on the observation that everything is perfectly working. the universe and life were created to have a purpose. god designed the world so it was just right for human life to develop.
       • God pays attention to details in life to create order in the world. He created everything for a purpose and created the good for the world
     • there are too many imperfections to the universe for god to exist such as poverty and natural disasters. there are many imperfections in the world but most of the problems such as terroism are created by humans, life is not perfect.

2. value of the world

   • humans should be protecting the world
     • Christians believe they have a duty to look after the world (stewardship) and treat it with respect
       • Humans have the responsibility to look after the world including animals
     • Humans have dominion (power) over nature
       • Genesis 1: 28 "rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature"
   • animal experimentation and the use of animals for food
     • Christianity
       • the sanctity of life suggests that "every life is precious, this may include animals life too so some christians would disagree with animal experimentation
         • imposing cruelty on animals would be contradictory on their creator God. unecessary cruelty would be wrong
           • but animals were NOT created in Gods image
             • so using them for food wouldnt be going against god
               • luke 12 "you are worth more than many sparrows
       • modern view points would agree with animal experimentation if it is for a good purpose such as medicine.
         • greatest good for the greatest number - using animals for the greater good would be the best thing to do in a situation.
           • killing humans would be worse than killing animals
           • the law of love - the most loving thing may be to experiment on animals
         • stewardship - taking care of the world, killing animals would be the wrong thing
       • Genesis 1: 28 "Adam was told to take care of the world"
       • Christians were given dominion of animals so they should be able to do whatever they wish
         • they should be able to eat animals for food
           • genesis 9: 3 "everything that lives and moves about will be food
     • buddhism
       • first moral precept "shouldn,t kill or harm any living thing including animals"
       • treating animals with cruelty is unskillful and will lead to suffering. treating animals with kindness and compassion would lead to happiness and good karma
       • Buddhists believe that they maybe reborn as animals so killing them in any way would be like killing a soul
       • the Buddha never refused meat - he did not actually kill the animal so he believes that it was not wrong
         • no one should kill animals for food (even if you are not actually killing it but eating it). it is still a casue of killing which as a harmful act towards animals
           • should refrain from causing suffering to the animal
         • this however didn't stop the Buddha from reaching enlightenment

3. euthansia

   • voluntary euthanasia means that the person has made their own choice whether to end their life or not as it is their human right to make that decision for themselves. non voluntary euthanasia means the person has no choice - however non voluntary euthanasia is used when the patient can not make that decision for themselves
     • active euthanasia means that the person would die painlessly and quickly to remove suffering. however passive euthanasia means ending medical treatment which means the patient would endure suffering untilthey die
   • exodus 20:13 "you shall not murder"
     • genesis 1:27 "god created man in his own image
       • the golden rule "do unto others what you want them to do for you"
         • the law of love do the most loving thing
           • luke 12 : 6 - 7 "life is valuable and precious
             • god created you to have a purpose in this world and may be the suffering someone is enduring has a purpose
           • the most loving thing in a situation may be to perform euthanasia
             • betrayal to god by deciding to end someones life. god created life so he should be the one whp decides when it ends
               • god gave free will
         • dont kill others if you would not want that to happen to you
           • easing the suffering may result in euthanasia
       • you shouldnt murder gods creation
   • a christian response to a terminal illness would be : to give pain relief (even if the end result is death). to avoid life prolonging treatment and hospice care
     • hospice care is when a terminally ill person can receive support trough paliative care.
       • a person receives love and care through councelling, therapists and many activities
       • the law of love supports is is caring for the ill is a loving thing to do. the golden rule treating others with love and care the same way that you would like to be treated
   • for Buddhists this breaks the first moral code . ending life forcefully can affect the way how Buddhists re reborn. they may be suffering as to a consequence of an unnatural death