hello to you I do hope you're well welcome to this gcsc religious studies video I'm B Wardle and today we are revising theme B religion and life so we'll be talking through every topic from euthanasia to animal experimentation so you can feel confident about securing 24 out of 24 and getting a grade nine in this section of the exam so let's just take a look at the theme be specification which sets out all the topics that could come up on the exam and we'll be talking through contrasting Christian and Islamic beliefs for each one in today's video starting with the origins of the universe we'll be looking at the Big Bang Theory and whether Christians and Muslims would support it we'll then talk about the origins of human life and for this topic we'll talk about the theory of evolution and again we'll be asking is the theory of evolution compatible with Christian and Islamic beliefs we'll then talk about stewardship and Dominion so all about the relationship that humans have with the environment and also with animals which leads us on to our next topic the use of animals as food and also in experiments we'll then talk about the sanctity of human life before applying that to abortion and euthanasia and then finally we will talk about life after death as well so lots to talk about in today's video Let's Start by talking about our exam technique shall we because we know we'll be asked five questions about theme B on the exam total in 24 marks so what do we need to do in order to get full marks well question one will always be worth one Mark and all we need to do to get that Mark is Tick the correct keyword so make sure you know your AQA key terms and we will be talking through all of them in today's video so do not worry about that question two is worth two marks and we'll ask us to give two and the command word give just means to bullet points so we need to bullet point two beliefs in order to get our two marks so you state which religion that belief is from and then you summarize their belief in one sentence question three is worth four marks and it will always ask us to explain too and the command word explain means to go into detail about the reasons for the belief and you can do that by using the phrase this is because now with question three really important pay attention as to whether those two beliefs need to be similar or contrasting because if it says similar they need to be the same meaning they are in agreement on the issue whereas if it says contrasting they need to be clearly different so they need to oppose each other on that issue for question four which is worth five marks we will again be explaining two beliefs about a topic so we need to be going into detail about the reasons for the beliefs and we do that by using the phrase the this is because now in order to get that fifth mark one of your explanations needs to include reference to scripture so you need to say where you've got that teaching from for example the Bible the Quran but it could also be a Hadith or a teaching from the pope and then you need to paraphrase the teaching it doesn't need to be exact you don't need to memorize but it does need to be an accurate paraphrase and that is where you'll get that fifth Mark for explicitly referencing your sourceable Authority and then finally question five it's worth 12 marks and it will ask us to evaluate a statement so we need to explain two arguments to agree with the statement we need to say who would agree and explain why we then need to explain two arguments to disagree with the statement and again we need to say who it is that would disagree and then explain why they would do that and as part of that explanation you need to use religious evidence for example you need to refer to the Bible the Quran to a Hadith or a quote from the pope you also need to evaluate your arguments you need to say whether it is a strong argument if it's a weak argument and again go into detail about why so if you've used a quote from the Bible as part of your argument you could then add at the end of the paragraph This is a strong argument for Christians because it is based on teachings from the Bible which they see as the infallible word of God and then finally at the end of your 12 marker make sure you reach that justified conclusion so State whether you now agree or disagree with the statement and explain why and at this point you can either reaffirm your strongest argument from your essay or introduce a new argument of your own and if you do all of those things I think you can be confident about securing the top marks in this section of the exam so let's get started talking through our topic shall we and we're going to start with the origins of the universe our key term here is the Big Bang Theory which is our scientific theory for the origins of the universe developed Did You Know by a Catholic priest called George the martra it is the belief that the Universe began 13.8 billion years ago with a reaction of particles from a singularity followed by a process of inflation and expansion so what do Christians and Muslims believe about this well we're going to look at two different groups we're going to look at a literalist who believes scripture is literally true and then a non literalist who as you may have guessed believe scripture is not literally true so they believe it contains truth but it shouldn't be taken as word for word correct it's not meant to be an exact recording of exactly how things happen so let's start with our literalists shall we and a literalist Christian also known as a creationist believes that God created the universe in six literal days followed by a day of rest and that's because it's what Genesis one that literally happened so on day one light was created on day two sky was created on day three we have the dry land sea plants and trees day four the sun moon and stars day five sea creatures and birds day six we have the land animals and humans made in magod day which is very important when we talk about the sanctity of Life later and finally after all of that hard work he'd had a very busy week God rested on day seven now our literalist Christians as I say also known as a creationist believe that this is literally true that this is what literally happened over 7even days and so of course they would be rejecting that Big Bang Theory because there's nothing in those seven days about particles and inflation and expansion so they would reject anything that contradicts the Bible and they would say the Big Bang contradicts the Bible um and so they would believe in the creation story which is why we call them creationists now of course lots of of questions we can ask about that story lots of critique we can do um but we could say a strength of being a literalist is that it takes the Bible seriously it reaffirms that the Bible is the inherent and infallible word of God are Islamic teachings here then and there are many Muslims who believe that God created the universe again in six days or some believe in six phases they don't specify it's actually a day because again this is what the Quran teach teaches and of course we know Muslims believe the Quran is the infallible and inherent word of God so Surah 11 says God created the heavens and earth in six days so again if a Muslim believes that that is literally true they would have some questions and some reservations about the Big Bang Theory so for our literalists whether they're Christian or Muslim they are going to be rejecting The Big Bang Theory because it seems to go against what scripture says or does it that is my question to you because when we look at the non literalist point of view we can see that actually you might be able to reconcile belief in God with accepting The Big Bang Theory and that is what a non literalist Christian does so our non- literalist Christians are also known as our liberals and they believe that God created the universe but not in six literal days so they agree that God is the Creator but they disagree about Genesis telling us how he did that so they believe that the Genesis story contains a metaphorical or spiritual truth but that it's not literally true so they are then able to accept scientific explanations because they say they complement what we read about in scripture so they would say that Genesis contains important truths for example that God is omnipotent and that human life is sacred but it's not meant to be seen as literally true so we can then look to science we can look to the big bang for example in order to understand quite how God created everything and an important case study here is Pope Francis he said that the Big Bang explains how God created the universe he also said that Evolution explains how human beings came into existence so Pope Francis would say that God caused a big bang and he started off Evolution so you can accept both religious scripture and scientific theory we can also see a similar idea in Islam many Muslims believe that God used the big bang and evolution as part of his creation for example the Quran has a birth stating we are its expander and you could see that is consistent with the big bang and that process of inflation and expansion and so many Muslims would be accepting scientific theories and believe in the scientific Endeavor because they believe God wants you to gain knowledge about the world and that science is one of the ways we can gain that knowledge so again a non literalist isn't then saying don't read scripture but they are saying scripture alone isn't sufficient that we can actually have scientific theories alongside scripture that they complement each other and together they give us that overall knowledge and understanding let's have a look now at the origins of human life and remember our scientific theory here is evolution this is the idea of the development of our species involving a process of natural selection and survival of the fittest now interestingly this was pioneered by Charles Darwin who began as a Christian but then after all of his scientific work ended up being agnostic so he started questioning belief in God so the question for us today is kind of Christian and a Muslim support the theory of evolution or not well are literalist would not be supportive so let's start with our literalist Christians again they're also known as creationists and they believe that God created the first humans on day six of creation so they believe that God created Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden Genesis chapter 2:7 says that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the Breath of Life God then made Eve from Adam's Rib in order to be a helper for him so remember our literalists believe the Bible is the inherent and infallible word of God which is literally true they would therefore reject Evolution because it goes against that biblical explanation it says we evolved over millions of years rather than being created on day six they might also see it as going against IM magod day the idea that we are made in the image of God and so distinct from the rest of creation because of course evolution is saying that we evolved from animals whereas the Bible is saying we were made completely distinct and that is why we then have that special role within creation and we'll talk about that a lot more when we talk about stewardship and dominion and also when we talk about the sanctity of life as well how about the teachings in Islam well many Muslims believe that God created the first man Adam from clay so again that would contradict wouldn't it scientific explanations so we could say that actually for many Muslims they would reject Evolution because they believe God created Adam from clay rather than through this process of natural selection and survival of the fittest what about our non literalist views here though our non literalist Christians who as we know are known as liberals believe that God created the universe but not in six literal days so they believe that God has created human life but that he didn't do it on day six that he used evolution in order to bring humans into the world they believe that the Genesis story contains that metaphorical and spiritual truth but it's not literally true and the spiritual truth about humans is not that they were created on day six but that human life is sacred and special humans have a special role within the universe to care for creation and that links in with stewardship and also the sanctity of life um and it is interesting isn't it to think that this means taking this view of the Bible means they can then accept those scientific explanations um so for example Pope Francis said evolution is not inconsistent with belief belief in God he teaches Catholics that God used Evolution to bring us into existence and then we can say about Islam that many Muslims also believe that God used um have put the big evolution there as part of his creation um I just meant to say Evolution but I could have coined a new term there we could now start calling it the big evolution it was quite impressive let's be honest uh how we evolved over millions of years so for example the Quran teaches we created you in stages so we could say that that verse is consistent with Evolution um as I say lots of questions that we have to ask you know if you take the literalist view is that suggesting that humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs for example so you know loads of questions lots of critique to be done and that's very important to include in your 12 Mark answers when you are evaluating statements for example about whether Christians can accept the Big Bang or Evolution let's take a look at our next topic now which is stewardship because we've talked a little bit already haven't we about the relationship humans have with the world which has as we know been created by God so when we talk about stewardship and Dominion this is all about the relationship human beings have with the world and their role within it so let's talk through our key terms first the first one is stewardship it's seen as a duty given by God to humans to look after the world world and all life within it and in Islam the idea of stewardship is known as being a Khalifa We then have the contrasting term Dominion the belief that humans have been given control and have been put in charge of the world so they are then able to dominate over it and that might be why they then use natural resources and they experiment on animals because they have been given the role of dominion that they can then use the planet and they can use animals in ways that benefit them where is stewardship emphasizes responsibility a responsibility means having a Duty or obligation to act in a certain way so for example when we talk about Islamic beliefs on being a good Steward um the Hadi says do not take more than you need uh and so that would teach Muslims that actually you've got to be responsible you can't just exploit you can't cause harm for your own advantage and selfish gain you have to be responsible you have a duty to care and conserve natural resources and this is where caring and not abusing is important are resources which are found in nature so are fossil fuels such as coal oil and natural gas but also then plants and the question is well can you just use them you know and consume them in ways that will benefit you or do you have a responsibility to be sustainable and to act in a certain way to be a good Steward and that of course leads us to pollution which which is contamination of an environment with harmful substances because of course if we aren't responsible that can cause pollution and damage to the environment so let's look at our two key teachings shall we we're going to start with stewardship and then we'll take a look at Dominion a reminder that stewardship is the duty given by God to humans to look after the created world and then all life within it so what do Christians believe about this they do believe we are here to be God's stewards and um that is because the Bible teaches Christians that God put man in the garden to take care of it which is from Genesis the very first book of the Bible this means that Christians should be good stewards and look after God's creation for him uh now very interestingly Pope Francis wrote an encyclical which means a letter about this called lord C and in this letter he said let us be Protectors of God's creation so that was a letter he sent out to every Catholic Church in the world which was then read in a service in that church so all Catholics all of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics have now heard this message from Pope Francis let us be Protectors of God's creation which teaches them that they need to be stewards for example by Recycling and reducing pollution so you can't just use and abuse the planet you have got to protect it because it is God's creation what about our teachings in Islam Islam teach teaches that humans are God's khalifas which means stewards Prophet Muhammad taught Muslims that God has made you his stewards this means that um Muslims should take care of creation we also see in the Hadith that Prophet Muhammad taught the whole earth is a place of worship so again you've got to care for it you've got to look after it you cannot just exploit natural resources for your own personal gain because actually it's all been the whole planet has been created by God and designated a place of worship so it must be treated with respect what about Dominion then remember this is the belief humans have been given control and put in charge of the world Christianity first and the Bible teaches humans that they have authority over animals in the world we have a teaching from Genesis that they may rule over all the creatures so we can use that when we're talking about animal testing and the idea that we can use animals as food as well and it means that humans can use animals and natural resources in ways that are advantageous to them for example they can use animals as food and they can use natural resources as fuel because we have got this special role within creation uh and we can then rule over the rest of creation what about Islam will the Quran teaches Muslims that God has made you successes upon the Earth humans can therefore use certain animals as food remember Halal is the key term we would use there and also use natural resources in ways that are ad advantageous to us for example for fuel however it is important that in Islam successorship is seen as carrying responsibility so you can't take more than you need or cause unnecessary harm to animals or the environment so important to remember that yes you are God's successors but you are also stewards so they go hand in hand so you can't then exploit that role and cause unnecessary harm whether that is to the environment by polluting it or to animals by doing unnecessary experiments on them which we're going to come on to now because our next topic is the use of animals so animal experimentation is our first key term it means the use of animals for medical research and product testing and it is important we know the difference because you could argue that medical testing is allowed because it's about preserving human life whereas product testing also known as cosmetic testing is not not allowed because it's unnecessary and it's about making a profit so important to make the distinction between those different types of experimentation why would Christians and Muslims support the use of animals then well our key quote from Christianity is they may rule over all the creatures which as we know is from Genesis so we could say that Christians believe God has given humans dominion over animals that means we can use them in ways that are advantageous to us for example using them as food or in experiments that will benefit us for example that help us to develop life-saving vaccines the catechism of the Catholic Church teaches Catholics that God created everything for man another quote for you from St Augustine who you'll meet when you do a level RS he said that both animal life and death is subject to our use and that is the idea there is a high of souls so you've got humans at the top with animals and then plants at the bottom so we can then use animals and also plants in ways that are advantageous to us because we have been created in magod day we are the Pinnacle of Creation in terms of our Islamic teachings then we've got a great quote from the Quran that God has made grazing animals upon which you ride and some of them you eat so that would teach Muslims that God has allowed for certain animals to be used by humans in ways that are advantageous to us of course the key Point here is some of them you eat because of course Halal is when it is permissible whereas Haram means it is forbidden what about our opposing views now though why might Christians and Muslims be against using animals well a great quote from Pope Francis is to let us be Protectors of creation so let's not eat it all and experiment on it Christians believe that God has appointed them to be stewards of creation this means they should look after the animals um they would not allow unnecessary harm to be caused to animals so you could say and it's always great to use examples in order to get your grade nine that certain methods of farming that cause harm such as factory farming and certain types of animal testing such as cosmetic testing would be wrong because you're not being a protector you are being an exploiter you are causing unnecessary harm what about our Islamic teachings we've got a great quote from the Quran here that all creatures are communities like yourselves so Muslims believe that animals are part of God's creation and so must be cared for this means they should only be used responsibly for example animals should only be used in testing if absolutely necessary a great a great quote excuse me from the Hadith is that actions are judged by intentions so you've got to think well what is the int ention behind this is the intention of animal testing to save human lives in that case you could say yes it would be allowed whereas if it's cosmetic testing and the intention is just to make a drugs company more profit then you could say no it's not allowed because it's unnecessary and it causes unnecessary suffering and that shouldn't be caused because all creatures are communities like yourselves our next topic then is the sanctity of life and sanctity of life is the belief that human life is sacred and holy because it was created by God and so of course that is a religious concept that Christians and Muslims believe in about the worth and the value of human life a contrasting concept is the quality of life which is a secular idea it is the standard of Health comfort and happiness experienced by a person so whereas sanctity of life is fixed and doesn't change because once your life is being created it will always be sacred the quality of your life does change doesn't it because it will vary depending on your situation depending on your health and depending on what you are doing in your life at that time and of course one of the key debates when we get onto euthanasia will be do we just focus on sanctity of life and saying well life is from God so it can never be taken away or should we actually consider quality as well should we say that if your quality of life has decreased so low you should be able to have euthanasia um so really interesting actually to consider the relationship between the sanctity of of life that it is sacred and holy and it's from God and then the quality of life the standard the self assessment you give of your health and happiness let's start with our Christian beliefs on the sanctity of life and remember Christians do believe in the sanctity of Life the idea that life is sacred and holy because it was created by God and we see that in Genesis don't we when God creates us IM magod day in the image and likeness of God and that means that human life has special worth and value St Paul wrote that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit which again would reaffirm that belief that your body is sacred and your life is precious interestingly within Christianity there are two versions of the sanctity of Life principle the first one is the strong version this is from the Catholic Church who say all life is always sacred so from the moment of conception right until your death your life is sacred and it belongs to God so it's God who created you and it's God who decides when you die so they are completely against abortion and euthanasia whereas the weaker version which is developed and held on to by liberal Christians is the view that life is sacred but that quality of life should also be taken into account so if as I say you get to the end of your life you've got a degenerative illness a terminal illness and the quality of your life is decreasing then liberal Christians might allow euthanasia because they believe quality of life is important it's not just about the sanctity of your life but because they believe in the weaker version of it you can also then consider quality as well and so we will be applying the sanctity of life in both versions strong and weak to abortion and euthanasia in a moment but first let's have a look at our Islamic views on the sanctity of life because Muslims do also believe in the sanctity of life and the idea that life is sacred and holy because it was created by God why is that well the Quran teaches Muslims that you were lifeless and God gave you life so God is the creator of human life and that he is Sovereign over it so what does that mean to say God is Sovereign over it well the Sovereign is the ruler aren't they so you know God is the one in charge is what that is saying he will decide when you're born and then when you die we've got a great quote from the Quran here that it is not possible to die except by permission of God at an appointed time so that is why Muslims are always against youth NAIA that your life and death ultimately belong to God and it is his decision when your life will end their belief in the sancy of life means that Muslims see taken away life as wrong a great verse from the Quran is do not kill yourselves or others so again interestingly we will now apply this to abortion and euthanasia let's start with abortion shall we which is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy legal in uh England and Wales up to 24 weeks into pregnancy so why might a religious person support abortion and allow it well in Christianity we would use situation ethics developed by Joseph Fletcher in the 1960s it's the idea a Christian should always do the most loving thing in each situation and he wrote Love's decisions are made situationally and this is based on the teachings an example of Jesus who always prioritized doing the most loving thing so Joseph lecher says a Christian today should always prioritize youing the most loving thing and that is why the Church of England allow abortion in what they call strictly limited situations for example if the mother's health or life was at risk from continuing with the pregnancy in that case it could be seen as the most loving thing to do which is why in that situation it may be allowed and as I put there that is a strong argument because it is consistent with the teachings of Jesus to always do the most loving thing in that situation A supportive teaching from Islam is that the Quran says no mother shall be made to suffer harm because of her child so a very similar view here that Muslims may allow abortion if the mother's health or life was at risk from continuing with the pregnancy in such cases abortion may be allowed as the less of two evils which is a key principle in Islamic Justice uh so abortion may be permissible prior to what Muslims call ulman so that is 120 days into the pregnancy when Muslims believe that the developing um baby in the womb receives their soul let's look at some contrasting views now then why would Christians and Muslims be against abortion and the first um position is the the Catholic view Catholics are completely against abortion they believe that life begins at conception which is when the sperm fertilizes the egg and so any abortion at any stage would be seen as wrong so they would draw upon the Ten Commandments which they do not killed because remember they believe that from the moment of concept conception excuse me life has begun so they would see abortion as a moral evil that violates God's Commandments and so should not be allowed another quote that you could use to back up that Catholic view is from Jeremiah in the Old Testament which says before I formed you in the womb I knew you Catholics strongly oppose abortion because it violates the strong sanctity of Life principle the belief that all life is sacred and holy because it is created by God they see abortion as interfering with God's plan for New Life and so of course that would be seen as wrong a final opposing teaching on this topic is is from Islam the Quran teaches do not kill your child for fear of poverty we shall provide for them and for you so that could underpin Islamic opposition to abortion uh because it's saying you shouldn't have an abortion because you're worried you can't provide for the child God has said in the Quran he will help you to do so so a fear of not being able to afford to have a child is not legitimate grounds for abortion our next topic is euthanasia this is not legal in the UK so there's a key difference with abortion it is the assisting with the ending of life for a person who is terminally ill or with a degenerative illness so a degenerative illness is an illness that is getting worse and worse and there is no chance of recovery it's often called assisted suicide so why might some Christians support euth in Asia well St Paul wrote to clothe yourselves with compassion so they might support it if it's seen as the most loving thing to do for for example if someone has a ET teral illness or degenerative illness and you've got sympathy for them and their wish to die with dignity on their own terms another supportive teaching you could use is Joseph Fletcher's situation ethics he wrote that Love's decisions are made situationally so you have to take it on a Case by case basis remember he said you should always do the most loving thing and that can only be assessed in that situation so we can't be complet completely against euthanasia we have to consider what that person is going through and what would be the most loving thing in that situation for them so you could argue a euthanasia may be the most loving thing in certain situations for example if someone has a terminal or degenerative illness they may wish for euthanasia to alleviate their increasing pain and die with dignity on their own terms and you could link that in with any teachings about Free Will in Christianity the idea God has given us free will and we should therefore have autonomy over our bodies and over our lives however many Christians and all Muslims are against euthanasia for these reasons the first one is The Ten Commandments so why would Christians say this opposes euthanasia well the Ten Commandments clearly state do not kill and of course euthanasia would violate this commandment and be seen as sinful The Ten Commandments don't say do not kill unless you have a degenerate illness or unless you can't bear the pain any longer it's very clear isn't it in those Commandments that you cannot take away life only God is Sovereign over human life um and so of course you can link that in with the sanctity of Life Principle as well so whereas support for Ethan Asia would bring in the weaker version because you're saying quality of life needs to be considered for the opposition you are maintaining the strong version of the sanctity of life you are saying that human life is safe and should never be ended it is only God who can take away life and that is why Pope John Paul II a former Pope said that euthanasia is a grave violation against the law of God finally then for our opposition Muslims are against euthanasia and that is because the Quran teaches no soul can die except by permission of God at an appointed time so Muslims are against euthanasia because only God can take away life the Quran teaches Muslims do not kill yourselves or others human life is therefore sacred because it ultimately belongs to God so take that step back and consider both sides of the argument do you think that support has the stronger arguments or is it the opposing views that you think are more convincing because of course we could get a 12 marker on this topic and you need to be thinking what would your Justified conclusion be to conclude today's video then let's talk about life after death which of course is a topic we're very familiar with from paper one so you know please make sure you bring in all of your knowledge and those key teachings that you remember from your paper one studies our key term here is afterlife which refers to beliefs about what happens after our body has died and in many religions it relates to life after death or immortality in some form so the idea that we live on after our death Christians do believe in life after death of course they believe that heaven is an eternal Paradise for the righteous so they believe Heaven is an eternal Paradise where you'll be with God forever Jesus said my father's house has many rooms Heaven is the reward for the righteous in the parable of the sheep and the goats Jesus said that the righteous will have eternal life now it's important to note that within Christianity there are different views about what heaven is like some Christians believe it is a physical place where your body will go whereas others believe it is a spiritual state for your soul so for example the physical resurrection of Jesus gives some Christians hope for a continued physical existence in heaven whereas others believe it is a spiritual State for the soul for example St Paul wrote flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God so that would suggest it is for your soul alone that your soul will leave your body and then go to heaven for eternity and then we have hell of course which is a place of punishment for Sinners The Book of Revelation the very last book of the Bible says that uh hell is the fiery Lake of burning sulfur that does suggest it is a physical place doesn't it and it teaches that it is a place of punishment believed to be for unrepentant Sinners our Islamic beliefs then on life after death again Muslims do believe in these two places called heaven and hell so Heaven it's an eternal Paradise for the righteous Muslims believe Heaven is an eternal Paradise which is a reward for those who have lived a good Islamic life for example performing The Five Pillars and following God's rules Heaven is described in the Quran as the garden promise to the pious it is a blessing reward and a pleasant res in place importantly Muslims don't believe it is a static place but it's actually a continuous Journey towards God and finally hell is um seen as a place of punishment for Sinners um and in particular the Quran says it is where Hypocrites and disbelievers will be gathered so the Quran teaches Muslims that Hypocrites and disbelievers will be gathered in hell it is a place where garments of fire will be tailored for those who disbelieve punishment in Hell includes scolding water being poured on the head and being restrained with iron Crooks it is described as a terrible place in the Quran now of course this raises lots of questions about God's nature for example his Omni benevolence doesn't it would a loving God really send anybody to hell or is it actually part of his just nature that unrepentant Sinners will actually end up there that's something to think about and but thank you for joining me I hope that's been helpful and good luck with your studies bye-bye