Chapter 7 Study Questions

27. Under what circumstances might a state have the moral right to impose the death penalty?

According to Evangelium Vitae, States have the mural right to sentence someone to death if it is absolutely necessary to protect others in society from the one convicted.

13. Preliminary actions or even dispositions that could lead to the destruction of the life of another are also severely prohibited by the Fifth Commandment. Explain what this means and give examples.

Anger, hatred, abusive language, and resentment are at the root of murder, just as lustful thoughts are at the root of adultery.

23. What is assisted suicide, and why does the Church teach that it is wrong?

Assisted suicide is similar to euthanasia in that a person is helped to die by doctors, nurses, family members, or friends often because he or she lacks the strength in the means to perform this action unaided.

4. For Christians, the Fifth Commandment is more than a mere prohibition on the taking of human life. List other acts prohibited by the Fifth Commandment.

Besides killing, the fifth commandment also forbids gluttony, substance abuse, abuse of alcohol, and disrespect of ones body, whether through disfigurement, mutilation, excessive tattooing and body piercing.

3. What new light did the teachings of Jesus shed on the Fifth Commandment?

Christ added that we must be willing to love, serve, and forgive others if we want a meaningful relationship with God.

16. What is excommunication, and what is its connection with abortion?

Excommunication is the exclusion of a baptized person from participating in the sacramental life of the church everyone who receives, performs, or cooperates in an abortion is automatically excommunicated.

24. We must use every means available to keep a person alive for as long as possible. True or false? Explain.

False, if there is no reasonable prospect of success, extraordinary means of medical treatment can be refused. However, ordinary care, such as nutrition and hydration, must always be provided.

12. Everyone agrees that it would be wrong to drive a car while drunk. Why is drunkenness itself an offense against human dignity?

Getting drunk is an offense against human dignity because, when one is intoxicated, self-control and proper judgment or relinquished and the use of reason is impaired.

1. Why did God create us.

God created us for our own sake to be made in his own image and likeness and to share in his everlasting life.

19. A politician states that although he or she is personally against abortion, he or she believes that everyone should have the right to make up his or her own mind. Explain why this political position is wrong.

Law is supposed to protect human rights. If a politician is convinced that abortion violates the unborn child's human rights, then the politician must work to prohibit abortion. It is like saying one is personally opposed to terrorism, but the law should not prohibited because each person should make up his own mind.

26. What are the boundaries placed on the legitimate right to self-defense?

Legitimate self defense must be against an unjust aggressor, and the action taken must be in proportion to the attack.

7. What is meant by the sin of scandal?

Scandal is an attitude or behavior that leads another to do evil.

28. How might the sacredness of life be devalued by use of the death penalty?

State executions may send the message that human life does not have an inherent dignity or sacredness.

10. What did St. John Paul II mean by the "culture of death"?

The term "culture of death" refers to a society or culture that tolerates or favors acts and ideas that are an affront to the dignity of human life.

15. What are the three classifications of abortion? Give an example of each.

The three kinds of abortion are eugenic abortion, therapeutic abortion, and psychosocial abortion.

6. God made us stewards of human life. What does this mean, and what are its ramifications?

This means that every individual is obligated to respect one's own life as well as the lives of others by cultivating good health, avoiding physical injury to oneself or others, treating all human persons with the utmost respect, and defending human dignity.

14. When does life begin? What implications does this have for the unborn child?

A new human person comes into existence at the very moment of conception. As a result, any intentional termination of a pregnancy violates the fifth commandment because one is killing a human person.

9. What are some of the causes which might lead a person to suicide?

A person may be more likely to commit suicide if he or she likes the nurturing love and attention required for healthy emotional or psychological growth and development, has severe psychological problems, or replaces God with and idolatry of a cheap meant money, physical appearance, or success.

8. The severity of the sin of scandal depends on the person giving it and the people offended. Explain.

A teacher, role model, or leader, for example can give greater scandal. Young people in their innocence are more vulnerable to being scandalized.

32. Why is direct sterilization an immoral act, while indirect sterilization is sometimes permissible?

Direct sterilization is a moral because it mutilates a healthy body. Indirect sterilization comes about as a non-wheeled in unintended effect of a medical procedure designed to treat a serious medical condition. For example, a doctor might remove a disease to uterus to save a woman's life, and an indirect sterilization would occur.

18. Some claim that embryonic stem cell research promises great cures to alleviate human suffering. Why is embryonic stem cell research wrong?

Embryonic stem cell research is wrong because human embryos are created and killed to extract their stem cells. Embryos are human beings and have a right to the same respect you to the child already born and to every human person.

22. What are some ways in which euthanasia could be abused by the state?

Euthanasia could be used to eliminate people that the state considers useless or an economic burden.

21. What is euthanasia? What does it say about the value of human life?

Euthanasia is an action Orono mission that of itself or by intention causes death in order that all suffering may be eliminated. Proponents of euthanasia implicitly argue that the life of an elderly, disabled, or ill person is not as worthwhile as that of a normal healthy person.

31. Why is human cloning wrong?

Human cloning is wrong because it opposes the dignity of both the conjugal act between husband-and-wife and human procreation itself. It aggregates to man the creative decision of God. It takes away the child's right to have a father and a mother.

2. What does it mean that human life is "sacred"? What implication does this have on the way that we regard human life? What are the consequences when human life is not held as sacred?

Human life is sacred because we are made in the image of God, who is sacred. God has ultimate dominion over man and absolute power over human life, and he alone has the authority to grant life and to take it away. As a result, people should always respect human life when human life is not held to be sacred, manipulation or actual destruction if the whims of society or convenience so dictate.

17. What is IVF, and what moral questions are raised by its usage?

IVF, or in vitro fertilization, is the fertilization of a woman's eggs in a laboratory, after which the embryos are placed into the woman's uterus to develop. The problem with this procedure is that the conception of human life is in a laboratory setting is a gravely sinful acts, contrary to the moral law, because it opposes the dignity of conjugal union between husband and wife.

25. Explain in your own words the conditions required before a government may legitimately go to war.

In order for a country to legitimately go to war, it must be acting in self-defense. War must be the last resort after all the temps at diplomacy have failed.

29. When would an organ transplant be considered wrong?

Organ transportation would it be wrong if either the donor for patient did not give informed consent or if the donor was exposed to disproportionate risks

11. Name three offenses against the human body. Why are they wrong?

Other offenses against the body are colt of body, gluttony, and substance abuse.

20. In what way does the pro-choice position try to avoid the issue of human life?

Pro-choice apologists limit their discussion on how every woman should have the choice to do what she wants with her own body without addressing the fact that abortion murders and unborn child.

30. What two organs cannot be transplanted based on moral law? Why?

The brain and gonads cannot be transplanted because they ensure the personal and procreative identity of a person.

5. What enables a Christian to live out this Commandment as Christ intended?

With serious prayer and a sacramental life, we are better able to live a holy life and have the love and charity required of every Christian.