• Right Respect for life
• Right Response to violence
• Murder is prohibited in the strongest terms in the bible
• Yet it is an ongoing reality, especially within families !!
• A duty of government to enact laws & find ways to enforce them which protect against violence & ensure respect for the life of everyone, even if they're different
• Difficult related issues….

The death Penalty - Christian opinion on this has changed

• "The secular power can, without mortal sin, exercise judgment of blood, provided that it punishes with justice, not out of hatred, with prudence, not precipitation." (Pope Innocent III)
• Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
• If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
• Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offence incapable of doing harm - without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are rare, if not practically non-existent. (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life)

War - The Church was pacifist until the 4th century

• Pacifism vs. "just war theory" (Just Cause; Just Motive; Just Means)
  • The war must be for a just cause.
  • The war must be lawfully declared by a lawful authority.
  • The intention behind the war must be good.
  • All other ways of resolving the problem should have been tried first.
  • There must be a reasonable chance of success.
  • The means used must be in proportion to the end that the war seeks to achieve.
  • A war that starts as a Just War may stop being a Just War if the means used to wage it are inappropriate.
  • Innocent people and non-combatants should not be harmed.
  • Only appropriate force should be used.
  • Internationally agreed conventions regulating war must be obeyed.

Abortion

• In the light of our conviction that the foetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we see abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man, as a great moral evil.
• We do not believe that the right to life, as a right pertaining to persons, admits of no exceptions whatever; but the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed.
• The Church of England combines strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be - strictly limited - conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative.
• That in situations where the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother a termination of pregnancy may be justified and that there must be adequate and safe provision in our society for such situations. (Church of England Official statements)

Euthanasia

• Life is a gift from God
  • all life is God-given
  • birth and death are part of the life processes which God has created, so we should respect them
  • therefore no human being has the authority to take the life of any innocent person, even if that person wants to die
• Human beings are valuable because they are made in God's image
  • human life possesses an intrinsic dignity and value because it is created by God in his own image for the distinctive destiny of sharing in God's own life
  • saying that God created humankind in his own image doesn't meant that people actually look like God, but that people have a unique capacity for rational existence that enables them to see what is good and to want what is good
  • as people develop these abilities they live a life that is as close as possible to God's life of love
  • this is a good thing, and life should be preserved so that people can go on doing this
  • to propose euthanasia for an individual is to judge that the current life of that individual is not worthwhile
  • such a judgement is incompatible with recognising the worth and dignity of the person to be killed
  • therefore arguments based on the quality of life are completely irrelevant
  • nor should anyone ask for euthanasia for themselves because no-one has the right to value anyone, even themselves, as worthless
• The process of dying is spiritually important, and should not be disrupted
  • Many churches believe that the period just before death is a profoundly spiritual time
  • They think it is wrong to interfere with the process of dying, as this would interrupt the process of the spirit moving towards God
  • All human lives are equally valuable
  • Christians believe that the intrinsic dignity and value of human lives means that the value of each human life is identical. They don't think that human dignity and value are measured by mobility, intelligence, or any achievements in life.
  • Valuing human beings as equal just because they are human beings has clear implications for thinking about euthanasia:
  • patients in a persistent vegetative state, although seriously damaged, remain living human beings, and so their intrinsic value remains the same as anyone else's
  • so it would be wrong to treat their lives as worthless and to conclude that they 'would be better off dead'
  • patients who are old or sick, and who are near the end of earthly life have the same value as any other human being
  • people who have mental or physical handicaps have the same value as any other human being
• Exceptions and omissions ??
  • Some believe there are features of Christianity suggest that there are some obligations that go against the general view that euthanasia is a bad thing:
  • Christianity requires us to respect every human being
  • If we respect a person we should respect their decisions about the end of their life
  • We should accept their rational decisions to refuse burdensome and futile treatment
  • Perhaps we should accept their rational decision to refuse excessively burdensome treatment even it may provide several weeks more of life
• End of life care
  • The Christian faith leads those who follow it to some clear-cut views about the way terminally ill patients should be treated:
  • the community should care for people who are dying, and for those who are close to them
  • the community should provide the best possible palliative care
  • the community should face death and dying with honesty and support
  • the community should recognise that when people suffer death on earth they entrust their future to the risen Christ
  • religious people, both lay and professional, should help the terminally ill to prepare for death
  • they should be open to their hopes and fears
  • they should be open to discussion

Medical research issues such as

• Embryo research
• Cloning
• Stem cell research
• see the Church of Scotland's "Society, Religion & Technology Project" website: http://www.srtp.org.uk

Daily life issues

• Look behind the letter to the spirit
• Jesus' teaching against hatred or cursing or lack of respect for others
• Positively we are to make peace & seek reconciliation
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matthew 5v9)
• We are to treat everyone with love, treating them what we'd like them to treat us
• Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3v14)

Jesus' example & words

• Jesus models & teaches a new way of living
• 27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6v27-31)

Anger – the seedbed of murder

• Anger is only a step from murder
• Anger does not accomplish God's purposes
• Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, or man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (James 1v19-20)
• Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4v31-32)

We need a change of heart

• For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matthew 5v19)
• We need the Holy Spirit to grow right attitudes in our lives
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5v22-26)

Questions to consider

• 1. What do you think about the ethical issues above?
• 2. How can we decide what's right & wrong in these areas?
• 3. What implications do you see in the command against murder for the way you live day by day?
• 4. How can you get rid of anger?
• 5. How can you be positively a peacemaker in your place of work, leisure, home, etc.?
• 6. Is there anyone to whom you need to be reconciled?
• 7. How can we have the necessary change of heart of which the New Testament speaks?
• 8. What light does the example of Jesus throw on all this?