RELIGIONS AND THE SANCTITY OF THE HUMAN SOUL

ABSTRACT

The right to life is understood as being a fundamental right. It is the purpose and the inner nature of all human rights to protect the individual against physical and mental treatment that violates the personal integrity. This concern converges with the anthropology of religions such Christianity and Islam, who grant the human dignity a high status. As an image of God, every person has a dignity which must not be subordinated to any other purpose, and which must be protected. Therefore, these religions are sensitive to violations of human dignity. That does not take away from the fact that the practice of a religion or members of a religion can miss this goal. How the relationship between religious beliefs and the protection of life is empirically designed is the theme of this book. The right to life is becoming virulent in many areas of human rights. In order to make the studies in this book comparable, this volume presents a selection of topics in which the right to live is particularly under discussion. It is not primarily the question of what a good life should be, which must be discussed in the context of human rights, but rather the question of whether the right to life could be restricted or withheld.

INTRODUCTION

The sanctity of human life is an essential corollary of the dignity that God has bestowed upon humankind. God has created humans with a definite preference over His other creations. Moreover, life is sacred and one of the greatest gifts and blessings of God. Every moment of life has great value and is irreversible. It must be appreciated and protected, even if it has a poor quality. Therefore, the preservation of life is regarded as one of its most sacred obligations. All forms of life are precious and are considered as signs of God. However, human life is the most outstanding and the most precious. Human life is so important that God mentions in the Qur’an its development step by step and finally after referring to the creation of spirit-which is considered as “ َ خلقا ءَاخَر” a completely different creation – says: “Blessed be the Best of creators!” (Qur’an: 23:14). If the creator of man is the best of creators, man himself must be the best of creatures – at least potentially.

The Biblical doctrine of sanctity of life is found in the creation narrative, with the implication that life belongs to God. This is the foundation for all Christian ethics because it teaches that human lives have intrinsic and not merely instrumental value.

Human beings have inestimable value in the sight of God, irrespective of gender, race, state of health, dependency or social and economic utility. It is simple and profound because human beings among the creatures of God have been designed and created for the purpose of enjoying a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Humans are, according to the doctrine, the express image of God (Imago Die), made in His image and likeness. Humans are said to reflect God’s image here on earth with the totality of God’s sovereignty and inestimable and irrefrangible rights and sanctity. The principle of the sanctity of life is clearly ingrained in the Hindu religion. Only God has absolute sovereignty over all creatures; thus, human beings have no dominion over their own lives or non-human life. Consequently, humanity cannot act as a viceroy of God over the planet nor assign degrees of relative worth to other species.

THE MEANING OF “SANCTITY OF LIFE”

There is no one definitive definition of “sanctity of life”. Nevertheless, traditional and modern ethics concur that it embodies the idea that life is sacred and must be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. An intentional act to end one’s life threatens the core of this doctrine and is therefore considered to be a grievous wrong.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, “sanctity” in the present context is defined as “ultimate importance and inviolability”. Kuhse states that the sanctity-of-life ethics is one that “absolutely prohibits the termination of life and that sees all human life, regardless of its type or quality, as of infinite and intrinsic worth”. Keown similarly acknowledges that because all lives are intrinsically valuable, it is always wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. A working definition of the sanctity of life is provided by Gushee: The concept of the sanctity of life is the belief that all human beings, at any and every stage of life, in any and every state of consciousness or self-awareness, of any and every race, color, ethnicity, level of intelligence, religion, language, gender, character, behavior, physical ability/disability, potential, class, social status, etc., of any and every particular quality of relationship to the viewing subject, are to be perceived as persons of equal and immeasurable worth and of inviolable dignity and therefore must be treated in a manner commensurate with this moral status.

THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND THE PROHIBITION OF KILLING THE HUMAN SOUL IN RELIGIONS

Religion is a broad entity that has added some higher purpose to our life and keep us grounded. It is not just a set of rules and teachings that we devote our life to. It’s what we take from our religion that’s important. All religions give the teachings of love, peace and unity. It should be something to believe in, and not just something to define our very actions and thoughts. The most important requirement is peace. Where there is peace there is abundance. We hear or see the word humanity almost daily in our lives. The word is mostly associated with negative connotations these days because of the growing tension and rifts in the world. Almost every day we hear or read news regarding an act of human rights violations. Many Organizations are talking about the importance of humanity by covering human rights violations across the world. On the contrary, the word “humanity” is supposed to be a positive one.

The phenomenon we are facing daily is the “lack of humanity”, which is causing problems for the whole world. The meaning of humanity is a collection of positive traits that humans should have in them. These traits or qualities include kindness, compassion, honesty, courage, tolerance towards differences, empathy, respect, integrity, thoughtfulness, etc. Not every human needs to have all the qualities and in the same ratio. Everyone has more or less of these qualities that make them a human.

These qualities when practiced regularly make a man a human. The lack of these qualities often makes a man evil or inhumane who destroys the world. Of course, humans cannot be perfect beings. There is no black and white to measure when it comes to humans because a large portion comes under the grey areas.

Humans make mistakes and either learn from them or continue making those mistakes without realization. Therefore, the importance of following the teachings of own religion sincerely is necessary to reinforce everyone to practice their humane side.

There is a deep relationship between religions and humanity. No matter what religion we follow, it preaches us the importance of humanity and urges us to follow the path of humanity. Therefore, many people call humanity is the biggest part of a religion. There may be differences in different religions, but the lesson of humanity remains the same. Without humanity religions become rituals. The service of humanity is considered a religious ritual in religions. The importance of humanity is not tied to worldly matters, but it is taught to us through our religions. Here are few examples:

In Islam, life is sacred and one of the greatest gifts and blessings of God. Every moment of life has great value and is irreversible. Therefore, it must be appreciated and protected, even if it has a poor quality. The guiding principle in the Islamic bioethics is: “…if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.” (5:32). According to this verse, saving life is an obligation and the unwarranted taking of life is a major crime.

Life is a divine quality. Among God’s attributes and names in the Islamic scriptures, “the Living” ( الْحَي) is one of the most obvious and outstanding one.

All forms of life are precious and are considered as signs of God. However, among all forms of life in the material world, human life is the most outstanding and the most precious. Human life is so important that God mentions in the Qur’an its development step by step and finally after referring to the creation of spirit-which is considered as “ َ خلقا ءَاخَر” a completely different creation – says: “Blessed be the Best of creators!” (Qur’an: 23:14). If the creator of man is the best of creators, man himself must be the best of creatures – at least potentially.

Life must be appreciated and respected. Killing an innocent person not only is considered as a criminal act (i.e., murder), but also represents an underestimation or an insult to human life.

In Surah Al Isra’s verse 70, the Quran states:

“We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of Our creation.”

The importance of the sanctity of life has been mentioned and emphasized numerous times in the Holy Qur’an and hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah states that life and death is strictly an exclusive prerogative that belongs to Him, and that life cannot be taken away except by His Will:

1. “No soul can die except by Allah’s permission” (3:185);

2. “And when their term has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it]” (16:61);

3. “And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allah at a decree determined” (3:145); and

4. “Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought” (39:42). The sacredness of life and the gravity of sin one commits in taking a life, be it his own or another, is stressed in the Holy Qur’an.

5. “Do not take life, which Allah made sacred, other than in the course of justice” (17:33) The doctrine of sanctity of life is accordingly substantiated in several hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The absolute prohibition and severity of consequences upon committing suicide and murder are illustrated in the following narrations:

6. Narrated by Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then he is what he has said, (e.g., if he says, 'If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,' he is really a Jew). And whoever commits suicide with a piece of iron will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell Fire." Narrated Jundub theProphet (peace be upon him) said, "A man was inflicted with wounds, and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book 23, Number 445)

7. Narrated by Abu Huraira: “The Prophet said, "He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book 23, Number 446)

The Old Testament doctrine of sanctity of human life is the conviction that all human beings, at every stage of life, in every state of consciousness or self-awareness, of every race, ethnicity, level of intelligence, religion, language, nationality, gender, character, behavior, physical ability; disability, potentials, class and social status of any particular quality of relationship to the viewing subject, are to be perceived as sacred, as persons of equal and immeasurable worth and of inviolable dignity. The meaning of sanctity of life is such that, human beings must be treated with dignity and accorded with respect commensurate with the elevated moral status, beginning with commitment to the preservation, protection, and flourishing of their lives.

The Talmud describes many instances when the laws of Shabbat can be broken in order to save a life. For example, on a Saturday, Jews are expected to rest and not carry out any work at all. However, Pikuach Nefesh means that it is acceptable for someone to carry out work on a Saturday to save a life (e.g., by moving rubble from a collapsed wall to save a child or extinguishing a fire if someone were trapped).

The New Testament affirms the immeasurable values of human life that run counter to endangering human life, threatening human life, or human being at the mercy of others, oppression, injustice, etc. It is not equivocal if one states that New Testament teaches love, unity, justice, as “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

Before the coming of Jesus, the bias to the poor which Jesus preached against was nothing new in Judaism. The poor were so greatly disadvantaged from the mere fact of their poverty, that “the God of Israel” extended His special protection to them in order to avenge injustices to them. Judges in Israel were directed to uphold the cause of the poor and those without protectors, including widows, orphans, and strangers.

According to the Hindu religion, all living beings are sacred because they are parts of God and should be treated with respect and compassion. A great many Hindus are vegetarian because of this belief in the sanctity of life. Hinduism teaches that sacrifice is the noblest form of action and that the doors to ruin (anti-life) are the doors of lust, wrath and avarice.

The principle of the sanctity of life is clearly ingrained in the Hindu religion. Only God has absolute sovereignty over all creatures; thus, human beings have no dominion over their own lives or non-human life. Consequently, humanity cannot act as a viceroy of God over the planet nor assign degrees of relative worth to other species. The idea of the Divine Being as the one underlying power of unity is beautifully expressed in the Yajurveda: The loving sage beholds that Being, hidden in mystery, wherein the universe comes to have one home; Therein unites and therefrom emanates the whole; The Omnipresent One pervades souls and matter like warp and weft in created beings (Yajurveda 2.8).

The sacredness of God's creation means no damage may be inflicted on other species without adequate justification. Therefore, all lives, human and non-human, are of equal value and all have the same right to existence. According to the Atharvaveda, the earth is not for human beings alone, but for other creatures as well:

Born of Thee, on Thee move mortal creatures;

Thou barest them - the biped and the quadruped;

Thine, 0 earth, are the five races of men, for whom

Surya (Sun), as he rises spreads with his rays

the light that is immortal (Atharvaveda 12.1-15)

In Buddhism, as well, though springing from the Hindu tradition as a reform movement and often presented in humanistic and even atheistic forms, the first commandment is: "Do not destroy life."

The doctrine of the sanctity of life is roughly the claim that all human life is of equal intrinsic value. Accordingly, except in cases of the legitimate defense of others' lives, it is always intrinsically wrong to take human life.'

This doctrine includes the following four theses:

(1) That as life is a gift from God, it is to be cherished.

(2) All human beings are to be valued, irrespective of age, sex, race, religion, social status or their potential for achievement.

(3) The deliberate taking of human life is prohibited except in self-defense or the legitimate defense of others.

(4) Human life is a basic good as opposed to an instrumental good, a good in itself rather than as a means to an end.

Jainism, another offshoot of Hinduism, and, like Buddhism, rejecting the caste system, lists as its first commandment: "Do not kill or hurt any living thing." By far, the most important teaching of Jainism is the principle of Ahimsa, or "non-injury," i.e., great reverence must be shown to all living things, and killing of any form of life is strictly forbidden. This requires, again, "conquering of oneself," which is what "Jain" means.

THE CRIME OF KILLING ONESELF AND WAR CRIMES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE SECURITY AND STABILITY OF SOCIETIES

Crimes' role in both the process and in communities in general is rather significant due to the extent of its presence today. For many, crime is a serious cause for concern and often impacts people's decision to live in certain areas. It's a frequent issue for societies, and many other issues can be affected by criminal activity in the area.

Among all other crimes, killing oneself and war crimes have a decidedly negative effect on a society and its members. Before mentioning the negative effects of these crimes, let me explain the definition of war crimes. International law has ‘Laws of war’ which offers a set of permitted acts and non-permitted acts to all involved stakeholders during the conflicts. Among these international laws, the Geneva Conventions is the most significant which includes four conventions and three additional protocols. War crimes have been clearly defined in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Any act amounts to war crime which has following characteristics:

▪ Act which contains violation of war laws and customs.

▪ Atrocity against individual or property which is already illegal against the laws.

▪ Unlawful confinement of persons who are protected by law.

▪ Murder, ill treatment or deportation for slavery of civilians in an occupied territory.

▪ Murder or ill treatment of prisoners of war or Persons on seas.

▪ Hanging or killing of hostages without any due procedure of law.

▪ Torture, inhuman treatment and biological experiments on common people.

▪ Ravaging public and private property.

▪ Unnecessary destruction of cities, towns and villages.

Article 7 of the Rome statue, which has also created International Criminal Court (ICC), mentions about “Crimes Against Humanity”. This includes atrocities against the civilian population such as murder, rape, genocide, slavery, etc. in pre or post war periods. Distinction, Proportionality and Precaution are three determining principles of war crimes. If any or all are found to be violated, then it is called a ‘war crime’ by the jurists. These principles are defined as follows:

Principle of proportionality

It invalidates all those military objects as legal which the proportion of casualty of civilians is too high.

Principle of distinction

The principle of distinction dictates that the involved parties must launch military operations only after understanding the through and clear distinction between combatants and civilians.

Principle of precaution

It mandates the parties to always take active efforts to ensure the safety of innocent civilians.

What killing oneself and war crimes do to societies?

Reduces Safety: Crime and safety go hand and hand; when one increases, the other typically decreases in response. Higher rates of criminal activities are going to negatively impact safety beyond the action of a crime being committed. People are going to feel like they are not safe when they learn a crime has happened in their area. They may act as a result, and those actions may put themselves and others in danger if they are not careful.

Disrupts order, creates chaos: Crime naturally goes against the established social rules, which can prevent things in a community from functioning properly. It's counteractive to how things operate, and serious cases can be especially devastating when they occur on a large scale (e.g., violence). Criminal acts have been a method of turning the social order upside down for years, and it has historically been a favored tactic of criminal organizations. Being able to disrupt the social order of a community is powerful especially when it's well-executed and the chaos that comes from it can be an easy way to assume control.

Impedes Community Collaboration and Trust: Any action that impeded public safety is going to impact the trust present throughout the community. Specifically, the trust people have that regarding the things in the community that are supposed to protect them. When there is a lack of trust in a community, its ability to collaborate is impeded. People don't necessarily want to work with someone that they don't trust, and the outcome of their collaboration can be impacted.

Economic Costs: Crime is expensive and can put a lot of added strain on the local economy. It places a huge financial burden on communities to prevent, combat, and clean-up the aftermath of criminal activity. These are things that occupy a pretty significant portion of budgets in communities across the country. There's an entire market dedicated to crime prevention and security alone, which has its own economic implications in society. Economic facets like tourism and business can be especially impacted by crime, as productivity and sales can drop in areas associated with criminal activity. This doesn't even necessarily count the personal and non- monetary costs crime has on a community, like pain and suffering.

THE POSITION OF RELIGIONS ON THE RIGHTS OF VULNERABLE MINORITIES AND CIVILIANS DURING ARMED CONFLICTS AND WARS

All countries in the world include persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, enriching the diversity of their societies. Although a great variety of minority situations exist, common to all is the fact that, too often, minorities face multiple forms of discrimination resulting in marginalization and exclusion. The fundamental pillar of human rights and minority legal protection are the principles of non-discrimination and equality which constitute the basis of all core human rights treaties. They apply to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms and prohibit discrimination based on a list of non-exhaustive categories such as race, color, religion, language, nationality and ethnicity or working descent.

The post-September 11 world is seized with the dangers of religious extremism and conflict between religious communities, particularly between two or more of the Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The threat of religious extremism is real and well documented. The connection between religion and conflict is in the process of being thoroughly explored, however, to the extent that overemphasis and exaggeration are commonplace. In the popular mind, to discuss religion in the context of international affairs automatically raises the specter of religious-based conflict. The many other dimensions and impacts of religion tend to be downplayed or even neglected entirely.

But in recent decades, religion has assumed unusual prominence in international affairs. We need to beware of an almost universal propensity to oversimplify the role that religion plays in international affairs. The role of religion as a force in peacemaking is usually overlooked. All three of the Abrahamic faiths contain strong warrants for peacemaking. There are past cases of mediation and peacemaking by religious leaders and institutions.

All existing religions are the indicator of our daily way of life which calls us to live in peace and harmony with all people. Religions invite humanity to tolerate diversities and respect human rights. Dialogues among all religions could be right recipe to eliminate stereotypes and misinterpretations of other civilizations. Modern and reformist religious leaders from different religions should work together in order to decrease the role of traditional political motivated religious views. Religious affiliation and conviction often motivate religious communities to advocate peace- related government policies. Religious communities also directly oppose repression and promote peace and reconciliation.

Religious leaders and institutions can mediate in conflict situations, serve as a communication link between opposing sides, and provide training in peacemaking methodologies. This form of religious peacemaking garners less public attention but is growing in importance. As it is mentioned above, interfaith dialogue is another form of religious peacemaking. Rather than seeking to resolve a particular conflict, it aims to defuse interfaith tensions that may cause future conflict or derive from previous conflict. Interfaith dialogue is expanding even in places where inter religious tensions are highest. Not infrequently, the most contentious interfaith relationships can provide the context for the most meaningful and productive exchanges.

EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM

Extremism in its broadest sense is an individual or group of individuals who take an extreme position from that of the norm or take an extreme action. Commonly, those with extremist perspectives have a particular perspective or belief in the sense that they take their opinions or beliefs to the limit and do not allow much room for the existence of any other views of life.

Terrorism is the violent act or event against innocent individuals to incite fear or anxiety among a citizenry. Threats from violent extremism and terrorism have increased in recent years and have become more and more interlinked at local, regional, and international levels.

Violent extremism and terrorism are worsening existing governance and inequality challenges within countries and societies and increasing the risk of violent conflict. Violent extremist groups exploit and reinforce divisions among social groups and undermine the social contract between citizens and their governments.

Minor religious people of all genders and ages are increasingly becoming a target of extremist violence and terrorist acts, including the use of sexual violence and slavery to undermine their essential freedoms and rights. Terrorist groups also force on religious majority norms and dynamics within certain societies to enforce violence and perpetuate extremist acts.

MEANS OF CONFRONTATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND RELIGIOUS TREATMENT

Religions and beliefs are based upon ethical tenets such as the duty to widen the bounds of good neighborliness and the obligation to meet human need in the broadest sense. The teaching that one should love one’s neighbor as oneself is a part of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the various branches of Buddhism and Hinduism. Most religions and beliefs are instilled with a sense of the oneness of mankind.

All divine religions have the same teachings when it comes to the humanity. To confront the evil caused by the extremism and terrorism all divine religions should use the one platform, i.e., Interfaith Dialogue. Religion and dialogue are important means to issues which can counteract the influence of violent extremist groups and their message of intolerance and it is vital to include faith and community leaders in the fight against extremism and terrorism and give them a platform to work together and face the new realities with the framework of our values and commitments.

Interfaith dialogue includes the principles of dialogue, the legitimacy of difference and the recognition of the other faith. It works to bridge the gap amongst various religions. No single religion, no single nation and no single organization can do what is needed to confront the challenge of violent extremism and terrorism. It is going to take all of us, putting all our differences aside and coming together, to stand as a united front for humanity and tolerance.

SUICIDE, ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, AND THE POSITION OF THE DIVINE RELIGIONS ON THEM

All religions understand the value of life and humanity that is not simply a matter of majority opinion but refers to a religious authority and finally to the divine will. In a religious view, life is sacred because it is a gift from God and human beings cannot dispose of it in an autonomous way. Nevertheless, different religious traditions have different views on the protection of life, and they might differ not only in the theological foundations of this protection but also on the possibilities of its limitations, such as in the following three cases: suicide, abortion and euthanasia.

These different religious views on the protection of life will be addressed more specifically and thoroughly in the different chapters of this book, now we only sketch them in a synthetic way to show that, despite different theological perspectives and different nuances in their teachings about life issues, these religions all tend to protect the sacredness of life in the debates on abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.

Official teachings of the Catholic Church strongly affirm the protection of life from its conception to its natural end, and are therefore against suicide, abortion and euthanasia, which are considered “intrinsic evils” and as such should be avoided in all circumstances. This position is rooted in the belief that life stems from God, the creator, and human beings should respect God’s will and gift: human beings are custodians of this gift and not owners of it. Therefore, they should protect it, not only to be faithful to the divine commandment not to kill but also as followers of Jesus Christ who commanded to love one’s neighbor, to being kind and doing good.

According to Catholic moral doctrine on abortion, only a serious risk for the life of the mother would justify medical procedures which can lead to the termination of a pregnancy. Euthanasia is never permitted, even though palliative care is encouraged, and the Church advocates refraining from burdensome medical treatments which are disproportionate to the expected outcome.

Islamic theology on life issues is differentiated in many legal opinions which refer to different theological schools and streams. There are scholars who prohibited abortions in all circumstances and others that consider that an abortion can be terminated under certain circumstances only before the 120th day of pregnancy, while others also allow abortion after this threshold, but only for health issues.

Regarding suicide and euthanasia, Islamic theological opinions appear to be less differentiated and more inclined towards forbidding them on the basis that only God, the Creator, determines human lives. Nevertheless, more liberal circles within Islamic schools seem to accept passive euthanasia as allowing God’s plan to occur.

The Jewish tradition regards the preservation of human life as one of its supreme moral values and forbids doing anything that might shorten life. Jewish law and tradition regard human life as sacred and say that it is wrong for anyone to shorten a human life. This is because our lives are not ours to dispose of as we feel like. All life is of infinite value, regardless of its duration or quality, because all human beings are made in the image of God. Saving someone from pain is not a reason to kill them nor is it lawful to kill oneself to save oneself from pain but there is a limit to the duty to keep people alive if someone's life is ending and they are in serious pain, doctors have no duty to make that person suffer more by artificially extending their dying moments Jewish law forbids suicide and euthanasia and regards it as murder. There are no exceptions to this rule, and it makes no difference if the person concerned wants to die. Judaism does not forbid abortion, but it does not permit abortion on demand. Abortion is only permitted for serious reasons. Judaism expects every case to be considered on its own merits and the decision to be taken after consultation with a rabbi competent to give advice on such matters.

Conclusion

In the light of the above, all mentioned religions including Judaism, Islam and Christianity believe that life is given by God, and it is only God that has the power to take it. That means that human being has inestimable values in the sight of God, irrespective of gender, race, and state of health. As such, human beings are not expected to be dehumanized, murdered, raped and kidnapped. The study likewise revealed that when love, unity, and concern are shown, and put into action, there would be peaceful, adorable, and sanctified society where life is seen as worthy of reverence. All of that will be realized if the scriptures on sanctity of life are followed. Human beings at every stage of life will be perceived rightly as sacred and of inviolable dignity.

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