contradictory

“you cannot be a christian and believe in the evolution of human life”

agree

• fundamentalist christians

  • evolution undermines the uniqueness of life and the sanctity of human life

  • genesis - “so god created man in his own image”

  • evolution would mean that we are just animals

• atheists

  • evolution is a natural, accidental process and doesn’t need god

• evolution and survival of the fittest

  • this involves suffering

  • the inconsistent triad

  • therefore no God

disagree

• evolution itself doesn’t disprove Gods existence

• liberal christians

  • Alister McGraph

  • science answers ‘how?’ and religion answers ‘why?’

  • theistic evolution, God guides evolution

• god is the creator, he gave nature freedom

  • genesis says ‘be fruitful and multiply’

  • multiply → diversity → different species

• genesis may be symbolic or metaphorical

“abortion should be allowed”

for

• abortion may be ‘the lesser of two evils’ if the child will have a poor quality of life

• the case of Savita halappanavari n the republic of Ireland

  • she was pregnant with a child but was having a miscarriage, asked to doctors for an abortion but they denied it because it still had a heart beat

  • she died of sepsis

• Joseph Fletcher

  • situation ethics

  • the only ‘good’ action is to do the most loving action in the situation

against

• the belief in the sanctity of life

  • “all people are made in the image of god” - genesis

• ‘before i formed you in the womb i knew you, before you were born i set you apart’ - Jeremiah

• ‘it does not matter wether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. in both instances, destruction is murder’ - early christian writer

• life begins at conception (catholics and some evangelicals)

  • ‘for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. i praise you because i am fearfully and wonderfully made’ - psalm

“there is no evidence for an afterlife”

for

• it is scientifically impossible as no brain activity can be recorded - emotions come from the brain, therefore you cannot experience heaven

• white light in a near death experience is caused by a chemical in the brain if you are dying

• Déja vu - is a delay in messages passing through the brain

• Ian McCormac - may be lying

against

• certain case studies show that when people died and came back to life, they stated that they have seen some depiction of heaven

• déja vu - could be seen as a past life

• christians

  • descriptions of heaven and hell in the bible

• Jesus’ resurrection

• Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

• Ian McCormac - he died from a jellyfish sting and came back in the morgue after seeing heaven

euthanasia should be okay

for

• some may say that a doctors aim is to reduce suffering

• emotional pain

  • the case of Paul Lamb

  • he was left paralysed after a car crash in the 90s and not has to be hand washe and bathed

  • quality of life is not good

• it is cruel for the family to watch you suffer

• you should be able to have control over your own life

• forcing someone to stay alive may be seen as unnatural

• 300 dying people end their own life in the UK each year (dying in dignity campaign) - banning euthanasia doesn’t stop them from dying, it stops people from doing it in a safe environment

• 84% of the public support the assisted dying of terminally ill adults

against

• doctors went into the field to save lives/ make them better, not to end lives

  • they sign the hippocratic oath

• it is selfish to take away life, in the sense that it negatively affects your family and friends.

• people may feel pressured to end their life as they may feel like they are a burden

• the sanctity of life → don’t end your life, manage the pain.