What Christians Believe about the Sanctity of Human Life

What Christians Believe about the Sanctity of Human Life

AO1: Explain what Christians believe about the ‘sanctity of human

life’ and especially their responsibility for those at the beginning

and those at the end of life. Use bible passages and Christian church

teaching to support your answer.

Christians believe God created everything, as God created life it is

therefore sacred. God has created us all in his own image, Genesis

1:26-27 ‘so god created man in his own image’. Killing anyone is

directly hurting God, as we are part of him. Life is a gift from God

and should not be just thrown away but preserved and cared for.

The beginning of life has been valued highly since Jesus’ time, it is

said in Lk 12:4-7 ‘the very hair on your head are numbered’ which

shows that God cares for us all greatly and that life is not just a

physical body, God is in us.

In Psalms 139:13-16 ‘you knit me together in my womb’ shows that God

has mapped out our lives, we have a purpose even if you are disabled

or handicapped in any way. The baby (‘you’) has realised that God

created him or her, the baby can think for it’s self and can make it’s

own choices even at such a young age. Jeremiah 1:5 ‘before I formed

you in the womb I know you’ suggests that God has planned out our

lives before conception, destroy this baby through abortion is

directly going against God’s plan for our lives.

There is not as many teaching’s about the end of life from Jesus but

the apostle Paul says ‘do you know that your body is a temple’ which

implies that God is present in all of us and should not be chucked out

with age or illness though euthanasia. Jesus healed all people not

just the young, he knew that everyone is equal no matter there illness

or age. For example he cured lepers, which was incurable, the people

at the time thought they where sinners destine to die.