Sixth Commandment

1. Read

2. Define murder. Are all forms of killing "murder"?

Read .

Distinguish between intentional and unintentional killing. (In our laws: first and second degree murder, voluntary & involuntary manslaughter). Does not include capital punishment. As well as lives taken in war.

3. Why the penalty of death? Read .

- (hard to imagine in digital age of multiple copies) think of a painting. Destroying the painting is like destroying the artist himself.

Part B: Abortion

3 positions: Pro-abortion, pro-choice, pro-life. Legally, pro-choice is in the same camp as pro-abortion. Once you say you don't think we should make abortion illegal you are giving your votes to the pro-abortion side.

4. What are reasons for abortion?

- avoid pain (either for the mother or the unborn itself)

- avoid stigma or embarrassment (hence maybe the family itself wants her to abort).

Toughest (emotionally-charged) imo is in the case of rape victims.

Response: two wrongs don't make it right. But its tough unless she believes in the sovereignty of God.

5.Some pro-abortion/pro-choice arguments:

- The church should not legislate its morality on non-Christians.

Response: the church wants the state to be the state, which exists to preserve life.

- women's right to her own body. Laws should never restrict an individual's right.

Response: Women (and men) can't do whatever they want with their body. We can't use our body as a suicide bomb. Laws exist to restricts someone's right to murder in order to protect someone's right to live. What about the right of a female baby? e.g countless female babies aborted in China.

6. Is abortion murder? How do we determine if abortion is murder?

- the issue hangs on whether the unborn are humans.

Pro-abortion arguments for why the unborn are not humans.

- underdeveloped/viability - a baby can't survive on its own even after delivery. And what about disabled adults that can't survive on their own. Or those missing body parts/organs. Are they less human?

- Standard procedure for stillborn babies is to let the parents name them, hold them, to say goodbye to them. It assumes that are human.

- Silent scream video.

- Biblical Perspective: Read . Life for life. The unborn is regarded as a human. Additional: or , .

Part C: Response & Conclusion

7. Personal Response. Read . Lets hate the sin but not the sinner. Beyond/behind literally murdering - is the desire for someone to be hurt or harmed. In that sense none of us here have perfectly kept the law "Thou shall not murder".

Christ-centered response:

We who dishonoured our parents (in every sense) can enjoy the status of God's children because Jesus honoured His Heavenly Father. We who "murder' can enjoy life because the author of Life allowed himself to be murdered.