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The Commandments

http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/the-ten-commandments.html#TheTenComm
andments

Scripture Foundation of
Ethics.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 1-17)


is a sources of Christian ethical teaching,
since it is part of Divine Revelation
The Ten Commandments state the essential
duties for the Christian adherent.
For example: Christians arguing against
Abortion use the Biblical commandment Thou
Shall not Kill as justification for their stance.
They hold that since the embryo is human from
the time of conception it has the rights as a
human and therefore cannot be harmed or
killed.

Differences between Protestant


and Catholics

Different Christian variants give different


weight to each of these sources.
Roman Catholic - faith and reason help to shed light
on human good and all sources are integrated within
or under the authoritative teachings of the Church.
Protestants - The primacy of the scriptures over
natural law or Tradition.
Protestants consider the bible very important (New and Old
Testaments)
Protestants are more flexible than Catholics and Orthodox.

BIOETHICS
What is bioethics?
Bioethics is concerned with life and death
issues; and, in between, with health and
sickness and what we can do about them.
Is there a Christian approach to bioethics?
Why?
4

What you will need to know for


your HSC exam
2 of the following bioethical issues well

E.g. Embryonic Stem Cell Research


Euthanasia
Abortion
Organ transplants

What

do 3 Christian denominations
think about the issue you have chosen?

Bioethics
Bioethics

is a science that a system


of medical priorities for acceptable
survival.
Bioethics is the application of our
ethical principles to human life issues
such as the dignity of the human
person, the beginning of human life
at conception.

The

modern challenges to the natural


law are:
Euthanasia
abortion
human cloning
inappropriate stem cell research (embryonic,
not adult!)

Describe

of these

your understanding of each

Different bioethical approaches


within Christian denominations

There are many differences between the


approaches of the various denominations to
bioethics.
Orthodox and Roman Catholics state that
abortion is wrong. The Orthodox find no
reason for agreeing with the Roman Catholic
prohibition of conception.
Many Protestants refuse to concur with the
Orthodox and the Catholics concerning
abortion.
And some Protestants see some grounds for
accepting limited voluntary active euthanasia

The Core of the Christian Bioethic

God is close to Christians; he calls us to


profound communion with himself, now and in
eternal life

Human life is a life of relationship, a gift of


God, the fruit and sign of his love; sacred &
inviolable

Jesus has a unique relationship with every


person, which enables us to see in every
human face the face of Christ

Not only must human life not be taken, but it


must be protected with loving concern

Is the moral norm against killing a


human being, absolute?
Christians also distinguish between direct and indirect killing
on the basis of intention.
What am I seeking to bring about?
What is my goal?

Am I really seeking to bring about the death of another


person?
Is his/her death my goal?
or
Legitimate self defence; defence of anothers life,
the common good of the family or of the state?
The death penalty
EV 55,56
10

Principle of double effect


One act with two effects, one good, one bad; only the
good effect is desired, the bad effect merely
foreseen or risked
The act is permissible if:
1.
the act isnt forbidden outright because intrinsically
evil
2.
the bad effect is genuinely not ones goal or means
to ones goal, but merely a foreseen side effect
which would be avoided if it could be
3.
the act is not unjust to others and the good effect is
sufficiently desirable to compensate for the
allowing of the bad effect
11

Can

you think of an example of:

Acceptable double effect


Negative double effect

Using your text and other


sources, complete the
following:

Explain

the source of Christian


ethical teaching 1 page

Holiday Task 1
Bioethical issue: Embryonic Stem Cell
Research (Description page)
What is the Catholic position on
Embryonic Stem Cell Research page
What is the Protestant position on
Embryonic Stem Cell Research page
What is the Orthodox position on
Embryonic Stem Cell Research page

Holiday Task 2
Bioethical

issue: Abortion
(Description page)
What is the Catholic position on
Abortion page
What is the Protestant position on
Abortion page
What is the Orthodox position on
Abortion page

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