Examine Religious And Secular Beliefs Regarding The Value Of Human Life
Examine religious and secular beliefs regarding the value of human life (AO1-45 MARKS)
The value of human life is a concept which is interpreted in many different ways within religion and with secular communities. For example Christianity holds strong belief in concepts such as Imago Dei and the sanctity of life. Christians also hold strong belief that we are given value in terms of free will and a god-given soul. Alternatively, humans are given value in the Buddhist faith through the process of rebirth and the ability to choose a path of self perfection; Buddhists view each individual life as a manifestation of a universal life force. In Secular circles, philosophers such as Sartre give value to human life through his atheist existentialism (as opposed to Kierkegaard’s theistic existentialism) and the idea that human beings are essentially free, thus placing them in higher value than other living things. However, as in most cases, although secular thinkers place value on human life, they can also be seen to devalue it, or reduce it to a state of meaningless through the ideas of abortion and euthanasia or with the theory of evolution.
It is possible to believe that both Buddhism and Christianity regard all human life as valuable. Many Christians believe in the sanctity of life and the idea that all life is valuable and sacred as it is a gift from God and also that we are the pinnacle of creation. The order of creation is usually interpreted to mean that man is the pinnacle of creation and therefore gives him more value than any part of creation. Christians regard human beings as created by God and human life as God’s gift and thus they place high value on human life, murder is prohibited in the Ten Commandments. In some Christian traditions this has been extended to prohibit even legitimate killing like war and state execution. In some instances it has helped to inform Christians about ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia in both cases the view being
The value of human life is a concept which is interpreted in many different ways within religion and with secular communities. For example Christianity holds strong belief in concepts such as Imago Dei and the sanctity of life. Christians also hold strong belief that we are given value in terms of free will and a god-given soul. Alternatively, humans are given value in the Buddhist faith through the process of rebirth and the ability to choose a path of self perfection; Buddhists view each individual life as a manifestation of a universal life force. In Secular circles, philosophers such as Sartre give value to human life through his atheist existentialism (as opposed to Kierkegaard’s theistic existentialism) and the idea that human beings are essentially free, thus placing them in higher value than other living things. However, as in most cases, although secular thinkers place value on human life, they can also be seen to devalue it, or reduce it to a state of meaningless through the ideas of abortion and euthanasia or with the theory of evolution.
It is possible to believe that both Buddhism and Christianity regard all human life as valuable. Many Christians believe in the sanctity of life and the idea that all life is valuable and sacred as it is a gift from God and also that we are the pinnacle of creation. The order of creation is usually interpreted to mean that man is the pinnacle of creation and therefore gives him more value than any part of creation. Christians regard human beings as created by God and human life as God’s gift and thus they place high value on human life, murder is prohibited in the Ten Commandments. In some Christian traditions this has been extended to prohibit even legitimate killing like war and state execution. In some instances it has helped to inform Christians about ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia in both cases the view being