Christian Perspectives on Euthanasia Essay

Christian Perspectives Roger Crook captures the Christian perspective on euthanasia by posing the question in terms of how we care for the dying. What do we do for the person who is comatose with no hope of recovery How do we care for the terminally ill person whose remaining days are increasingly agonisingly painful? The Human being is not simply a biological entity but a person, in the image of God and Christ. Death marks the end of a personhood in this life. Biblical teachings prohibit killing; the Sixth Commandment states ‘You shall not kill’ – both in terms of murder and involuntary manslaughter. Life should not be violated, while the prohibition of killing seems to be a moral absolute of Christianity there are exceptions for warfare and self-defence. There are examples in the Bible where the sacrifice of life is considered virtuous ‘Greater love has no man than this: That a man lay down his life for his friends’ The Bible does not prohibit all taking of life in all circumstances, although Christians have traditionally considered taking one’s own life to be wrong Roman Catholic Perspectives At the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, the Roman Catholic Church condemned crimes again life ‘such as any type of murder, genocide ,abortion, euthanasia or wilful suicide’ Life is sacred and a gift from God, ‘which they are called upon to preserve and make fruitful’ To take a life opposes God’s love for that person, and rejects the duty of a person to live life according to God’s plan. In the same declaration, the Roman Catholic Church made it clear that it was wrong to ask someone for an assisted death, and that an individual cannot consent to such a death: â€Å"For it is a question of the violation of the divine law, an offence against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity’ The kind of autonomy that John Stuart Mill argues for is rejected by the Roman Catholic Church. We simply don’t have that freedom, because we are made by God for the purpose of loving God. A distinct argument is made about suffering and its role in Christian theology. Jesus died in pain on the cross, and human suffering at the end of life connects us to the suffering that Jesus felt. This does not mean that Christians should refuse to take painkillers or should actively seek pain, but it does grant suffering the possibility of having a positive effect on the individual. It provides the change that he or she may grow closer to God. Thomas Wood writes that suffering can seem meaningless, is terrible and is never sought, it is not the worst evil – it can be an occasion for spiritual growth and it can have moral effects on those in attendance. It can have meaning in the context of a life lived in faith. Protestant Perspectives Liberal Joseph Fletcher is an active advocate of the patient’s ‘right to de’ on the basis that Christian faith emphasises love for one’s fellow human being, and that death is not the end for Christians. Acts of kindness may embrace euthanasia, for instance when a human being is dying in agony, as a response to human need. Fletcher’s argument for euthanasia is essentially based around four points: 1. The quality of life is to be valued over biological life 2. Death is a friend to someone with a debilitating illness 3. All medical interventions place human will against nature and extraordinary means 4. Special equipment and unnecessary surgery are not morally required for a person who is terminally ill People are prepared to ‘face death and accept death as preferable to continuous suffering for the patient and the family’ There is no distinction between our response to a suffering animal or human. There is no difference between passive and active euthanasia as the result is the same. Conservative Represented by Arthur Dyck – he thinks an act of kindness can result in withdrawing treatment but not doing something actively to bring about death. Permitting some acts of active euthanasia, such as in the case of severely disable children, seems to be creating a class of human beings who are treated as less valued. He argues that a mentally retarded child is not dying, is not in pain an cannot choose to die. â€Å"Since killing is generally wrong it should be kept to as narrow a range of exceptions as possible’ While mercy is a moral obligation, killing is never as mercy. The term mercy killing is a contradiction and when we use the term to justify the killing of the disabled or the mentally incompetent, we fail to care for the most needy in the community, which is a fundamental moral duty. Dyck’s view is in keeping with traditional Christian thought, and most Christian theologians, which holds that active, direct help in the taking of human life is prohibited. Whereas voluntary euthanasia, self-willed by a rational, legally competent person, has ben permitted by some theologians, active euthanasia in which the person plays no role, has been condemned by the majority of Christian thinkers. The ethical approaches to the problem taken by Christians sometimes reflect a move from general principles to specific applications (the sanctity of life to the prohibition of euthanasia) and also at times the concern about the sinful nature of human beings and their unreliability at making good decisions through the use of ‘right reason’

15 Uses of the Tooth Paste that you Never Know

Beauty Uses Toothpaste contains many useful ingredients that can be soothing and healing to the skin. For this reason, you'll be able to use toothpaste to help you with the following issues: 1) Pimples. Reduce redness and the size of your pimples with a dab of toothpaste. Let it sit overnight, then rinse away in the morning for a noticeable difference. 2) Brittle fingernails. Since our nails are made of the same enamel as teeth, toothpaste can do a lot to help them.Simply give your nails a good scrub with some oothpaste for cleaner, shinier, stronger nails. You'll also get that dirt out from underneath them in no time! 3) Fly-away hair. A gel toothpaste is largely made with the same ingredients as basic hair gels, so you'll be able to substitute easily here. Just use a little dab and apply like a hair gel when needed. First Aid Uses Beyond beauty care, you'll also find helpful ways to use toothpaste in that first aid kit. Keep a small tube tucked inside your kit for these emergencies : 4) Bites, sores, and blisters.Apply toothpaste to areas of skin irritation to reduce tching, swelling, and irritation. Toothpaste will dry them up quickly and help them heal faster. 5) Burns. For minor burns with no open sores, a quick toothpaste application can give you instant relief. The cooling properties get to work right away, relieving that painful sting. In the long-term, toothpaste will keep the burn from becoming a painful, oozing blister. 6) Bruises. For large bruises that take forever to fade, use a little toothpaste and a wide-tooth comb.Apply the toothpaste and gently comb the bruise in one direction o break up the blood clotting beneath the skin. Toothpaste helps with circulation and fghts off the inflammation. Fashion Uses the average tube of toothpaste. Give these a try: 7) Jewelry cleaner. Before you pay for someone else to clean it, rub toothpaste onto your silver Jewelry and leave it overnight, the wipe it clean with a soft cloth. Give a light scrubbing to your diamonds to see them sparkle again, Just be sure to rinse thoroughly. Avoid using toothpaste on pearls. Show care.Scuffed or dirty shoes can look new again with a little toothpaste. Apply it irectly to the dull, dirty, or scuffed parts of the shoe, scrub with a brush, and wipe them clean. Ta-da! 9) Clothing stains. Tough stains will disappear with a little toothpaste and some brisk scrubbing. Squeeze it right on the stain and rub until it disappears, then wash as normal. If using whitening toothpaste, be advised that this can have a bleaching effect on some colors and fabrics. Household uses : Toothpaste can save you money around the house by helping with some very basic tasks: 10) Computer cleaner.Scrub away fingerprints from your keyboard with a white, aking soda-based toothpaste. Follow up with a damp cloth and your keys are good as new! 1 1) Iron cleaner. Take away the â€Å"crusties† from the bottom of your clothes iron with a quick toothpaste rinse. Just be sure to rem ove all the toothpaste before you start ironing again. 12) Baby bottles. To freshen up baby bottles and remove that sour-milk smell, put some toothpaste on your bottle scrubber and give them a quick wash. Always rinse them very well afterwards. 13) Piano keys.Like computer keys, piano keys get grubby with repeated use from the irt, oil, and grime on our fingertips. Use a damp cloth and some toothpaste to rub down the keys, then wipe them clean with a dry cloth. 14) Crayon stains. Undo your kids' damage to the walls with a damp cloth and some toothpaste. Rub it in gentle circles and watch the crayon fade away. 1 5) Odor removal. After cooking with â€Å"stinky† foods in the kitchen (fish, garlic, onions, etc. ), getting the smell out of the skin is a challenge. Wash your hands thoroughly with water and toothpaste for a quick and easy remedy.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Having a Big Family Essay

Nowadays more and more people tend to have only one child or not to have children at all. The reasons are different: some of them want to have more time to themselves, some want to get to the top in their career and some just don’t want to have such a big responsibility. Either big or small families have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of them. To begin with, children from bigger families are more sociable while the only child in the family may be a little bit too shy. It is said, that children who haven’t got any siblings and get a lot of love and attention from the parents, start taking everything for granted and become spoiled. I think, it depends not on the size of the family, but on parents and the way they are bringing their child up. And on the other side, in bigger families parents may have their ‘favourites’ and love them more than the others. It is completely wrong and may leave some of the siblings sad and miserable. Also, the more children people have, the harder it may be to provide them with food, clothes, education and other necessary things. For me, the option of having a big family is unacceptable. Even one child seems to be too much. I’m not quite mature and I don’t think I ever will be, and I realize what a huge responsibility the family bond is, so I won’t decide to have a child until there remains even the smallest shadow of a doubt. Also, I can’t imagine taking care of someone except myself and how I’m going to sacrifice all my freetime and interests, and hobbies, and lifestyle for the sake of constant cooking, clothes washing and house cleaning. And no matter how many advantages a big family has, I’m not going to change my mind.

The Stereotypical Image of the American Soldier

Military supremacy is what makes a nation a superpower—with the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States of America is undeniably the only superpower left in the world. No other country at the present world can come close to America’s military prowess.Because the foot soldier is the basic unit of the military, their image is of utmost importance. However, like most professions, there are stereotypes related to the American soldier. These stereotypes, used as propaganda to intimidate the forces of the enemy, may be traced back to the Second World War or maybe earlier (Snellman).Since wars are not that â€Å"encouraged† anymore, the image of the American soldier has been shaped mostly by media, which also paved the way for stereotypes on the American soldier to develop. Stereotypes Because the world has not a seen a major, full-scale, and closely contested war since Vietnam or Korea (Wars after those were mostly one-sided), the image of the American soldier has not been covered as much as they were during times of major conflicts. Movies provided the civilians with an alternative into developing their perceptions regarding the American Soldier.Sadly, these perceptions that the public has come up with are stereotypical and sometimes offensive. The American Soldier as a White Male When we first think of the visual image of the American soldier, the first thing that we would imagine is that of a white male.An American soldier is usually visualized as white, standing bravely with a gun on his hand. This is the case because of two things. First, the whites are considered as the majority race in the US, so the chances of a soldier being white are quite high.Second, the American soldier is also thought to be white most of the time because of the history of the US—In the past up until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and maybe until now, the blacks were discriminated greatly.This translated into the white soldier as the image of the American so ldier, even if the African-Americans played an important role during the Civil War. The American soldier is also stereotyped as a male simply because our society is generally a patriarchal society despite the rise of feminism. The American soldier is thought (and should be) to be strong physically.Being physically strong is not an attribute that is associated with women, thus creating the image of the American soldier as masculine. The American Soldier from the Lower Class A job in the army has never been a glamorous or desired job for the public.Enlisting in the army is stereotyped as a last resort to earn a living because the person cannot afford to go to college or get a high paying job. There is some element of truth into this stereotype because this scenario is usually the case. However, that does not mean that all soldiers are from poor economic backgrounds.Some of them may really want to join the army despite having other bigger opportunities as a civilian. This stereotype ma y also have surfaced because the army does not even require a high school diploma (Army. com). The American Soldier as an Independent, Self-reliant, and Assertive Individual Despite being part of the most powerful (in force and number) and advanced army in the world, the American soldier, when he or she is by him- or herself, is stereotyped as independent, self-reliant, and assertive, as they ought to be.The strength of the army is measured by the strength of its soldiers. If even one of its soldiers does not possess the said traits, the strength of the army maybe compromised. Therefore, the public thinks highly of our soldiers as having all those traits mentioned.Sometimes, while practicing their independence or by trying to assert themselves, soldiers may be branded as aggressive, but it is only their eagerness to be independent and assertive that they become stereotyped as aggressive.The public expects the American soldier to be aggressive because they are supposed to be combat-r eady all the time. The American Soldier as a Strict, Stiff, and too Disciplined Person Discipline is one of the core values of the military. Army personnel are expected to conduct themselves properly at all times, but that does not mean that they are always like that even when they are not on duty. Media have portrayed our soldiers as being too strict, too conscious about discipline, and stiff in their movements, even (or especially) the retired ones.This is not a realistic portrayal of the soldiers because it is highly doubtful that they are like that to their families. Although we could expect military men referring to civilians as â€Å"Sir† or â€Å"Ma’am,† the chances of father and mother soldiers barking orders at their children and making them do push-ups, crunches, and all those military punishment are slim. The American Soldier as a Grown Man Pictures of American soldiers in the news and especially depictions in movies are almost always a picture of a m ature man. Rarely do we see young soldiers slugging it out on the screen.This stereotype of the American soldier is partly true and partly false—true because today, even if the army does not even require a high school diploma, it is mostly the experienced men that go out into the field, and false because during the previous wars, a lot of young men were forced into battle because of the scarcity in military personnel. Now, young men are no longer forced into action because the army has a lot of experienced men ready to battle all the time. Conclusion The American soldier is one of the enduring images of patriotism in the United States.The American soldier’s image has developed stereotypes through the years because of media coverage and portrayals in films. This has led the public into coming up with stereotypes that are now synonymous to the term American Soldier.Works CitedSnellman, Pekka. â€Å"The Grunt: Analysis of a Stereotype. † Power Pride and Politics in American English. 22 March 2006.University of Tampere. 27 March 2009. . Army. com.Requirements to Join the US Army. 27 March 2009 .

Across the Universe †All you need is love Essay

â€Å"Across the Universe† is a musical film based on 34 compositions by the legendary rock’n’roll quartet – the Beatles. The movie is called after the same name song of the band, â€Å"Across the Universe†, which was released in 1969 and later as one of tracks of a charity album â€Å"No One is Going to Change Our World† at the label â€Å"Apple†. The plot has nothing to do with the Beatles’ members life. However the pictured in the movie events represent many characteristics of their era being set in the 60’s and revolve around the songs which match up a lot of great scenes. All main characters bear the names derived from its original lyrics: dwarfed in life Lucy (â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds†), ambitious Jude (â€Å"Hey Jude†), an amateur singer Sadie (â€Å"Sexy Sadie†), a good-for-nothing Max (â€Å"Maxwell’s Silver Hammer†), Prudence (â€Å"Dear Prudence†) etc. The first 45 minutes is hyper and let us meet the characters. It doesn’t really rely on plot, like most musicals, it relies more on character development. Jude moves to the USA in purpose to find his father. On arrival he accidentally meets Max who becomes his friend in a short time. Together the boys go to New York where they are joined by Max’s sister Lucy (she has just lost her boyfriend killed on the battlefield). They quickly find out that the dream of living independently and enjoying their lives as an adults has its own difficulties. The second act is different: Vietnam War, psychedelic trips caused by taking LSD, free love flavoured with rock’n’roll – that is the very scenery of the romantic and at the same time tragic storyline. In the third act we actually get to see the characters solve their problems, it deals a lot more with our feelings towards music and war. Across the Universe† is actually much different from most musicals. Where most musicals rely on either joy, emotion, or war, it relies on all three. There are some moments where you actually feel like you want to get up and dance. The music here is absolutely amazing. No seriously. It’s amazing. The cast members (and read how I say cast members and not vocalists) sang all of these songs and did such a great job that if I even had a choice, I would actually had to say that some of their versions of songs were better than the actual Beatles. Speaking about the strongest moments I would distinguish one perfect example of telling a story through the song that has profound significance to me and too intense for words – the scene where Jude paints a tore and nailed to the canvas bleeding strawberry during â€Å"Strawberry Fields Forever† being sang. The berry as a symbol of love, streams of blood as a symbol of war and death, flashing faces of the characters in the background and paint-made blood all over the screen – it’s all in red, the color of lust and destruction. While watching the movie I felt different emotions: laughter, happiness, excitement but also sadness, fear and anger. What I’ve got from â€Å"Across the Universe† is more than a film, it is an experience in itself. It could be any kind of experience — a fun and very different experience, or a deeply emotional and sensual experience. For me, it was more of the second. When â€Å"Hey Jude† played near end of the movie I had run out of tears. It felt like I knew all the characters forever but when the two hours and ten minutes were over I was dying to see more. I am actually planning on seeing this again and again.

Human Resources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Resources - Assignment Example This is aimed at ensuring that all the roles work together to drive its business objectives. Tesco has a seven-part framework that describes the major skills and behaviors for each job at every level in the organization. This aids the employees to comprehend whether they have the right skills, knowledge, or resources to carry out their roles We are going to have an insight how Tesco company will utilize workforce planning to ensure that employees work efficiently. This is a systematic assessment of the future needs of the workforce and the determination of actions and strategies that are needed to meet those needs. Moreover, it is a systematic process that is integrated, ongoing, and methodological. It determines the human capital skills, when and where they will be required to meet the objectives of the organization. Discussion Workforce planning, organizational culture and employee efficiency It is very crucial for a company like Tesco to plan ahead thus the need for work force pla nning. This is because the company is rapidly expanding. This is because vacancies arise from the company when it creates new jobs when it changes its processes and technology, if employees leave the company, and when it opens new stores internationally and in the UK. As a result, the company uses strategic workforce planning where the positions are open, funded, and filled. Strategic workforce planning takes into consideration the projected loss of knowledge through exist of employees and the projected knowledge requirements for progressing and sustaining the business. The knowledge requirements may include new skills, technology, new roles, and documentation of key the workforce intelligence or new business demands. Planning is more agile, proactive, not exclusively top-down, less reactive and more driven by the line leadership. Therefore, workforce planning is a method that a business uses to forecast on the number and type of employees they currently need now and also in future. They then match the right type of employees to the requirements of the business. Workforce planning is helpful to many businesses as it helps them to identify trends, anticipation change, and implementing new policies from the human resources. Moreover, it is also an important part of the overall strategic plan of a business and should be centralized to ensure that the whole business can actually be taken into account. Strategic workforce planning helps the business leaders to anticipate the type, quality, and number of talent needed to execute the strategies of the business (Morell, 2011: 56-8). Tesco utilizes a workforce planning table to determine the anticipated demand for new staff. This considers both the non-managerial and managerial positions. The managers use this as a tool for determining where to focus development and also how to leverage the knowledge of the long term workers. For the employees it is an opportunity to contribute ideas and energy for improving the compan ies operations, future career opportunities, and an opportunity to understand the priorities of work and where contribution and skill is required most. The workforce planning process includes planning, implementing, evaluation, and assessment. The steps for workforce analysis include, conducting a workload analysis, assessing the current programs gaps, establishing the future skills gap and the capability requirements,

Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management Accounting - Essay Example Many individual country studies have been done on the national management accounting practices all over the world (Broomwitch and Wang, 1991; Amat et al, 1994 etc). However, the investor confidence has been deteriorating internationally in the accounting process because of the widespread occurrences of creative accounting and scandal. These two common events have created serious concerns among the investors globally. This has changed the image of management accounting as an objective discipline and showed the political nature of accounting. Many individual country case studies have been done to evaluate the existing management accounting practices globally (Broomwitch and Wang, 1991; Amat et al, 1994; Adlegan, 2000). Given this background, this essay critically evaluates the subjectivity of management accounting and the various images and practice that have shaped the subjectivity debate. The organization of the essay is given below. Section 2 discusses the debate regarding convergen ce to IFRS and true and fair value concept. Section 3 discusses the creative accounting in detail. Section 4 concludes the essay. 2. ... It is argued that the convergence of national accounting standards and IFRS has advantages like internationally comparable financial information with high quality. Moreover, it is supposed to obtain other benefits of globalization (Purvis et al, 1991). At the same time, this has created serious concerns in many nations also in spite of the above-mentioned benefits of financial reporting under IFRS. The main reason for this concern is that though it has many advantages, it may sometimes avoid country-specific interests (Barton, 1999). The internationalization can lead to the emergence of many account setting bodies which can have their own specific interests that can be in conflict with the interests of a particular nation. These groups can have the dominating power in such cases and the specific interests of a nation can be ignored. This has been a debatable issue in the recent years. IFRS has many major requirements, among which the main is the need for fair value reporting of their financial matters by the public companies in their financial statements. Based on this approach, the exchange price estimates need to be the basis for the asset and liability measurement in some cases. These prices need to be in a transaction at present and between parties who are not associated with each other and are known (Landsman, 2006; Ryan, 2008). However, this approach has raised many questions among the different scholars later. There have been many concerns regarding the fair value approach. In case of illiquid markets, the fair values can be obtained only by adjusting for illiquidity. Here, the market to market values or market to model values will be the adjustment done for estimation of fair values (Landsman, 2006).