Fundamentalist Christian
Christians who believe that the statements in the Bible are literally true
Liberal Christians
Christians who believe that the Bible's authors were guided by God, but not everything is written in a literal account
Wonder
Marvelling at the complexity and beauty of the universe
Awe
A feeling of devout respect, mixed with fear or wonder
Responsibility
A duty to care for, or having control over something or someone
Stewardship
The ideas that believers have a duty to look after the environment on behalf of God
Domininon
Dominance or power over something; having charge of something or ruling over it
Environment
The natural world; the surroundings in which someone lives
Natural Resources
Things the earth provides that will eventually run out as there is a limited amount of them
Abuse
Misuse of the world and the environment
Sustainable development
Building and progress that try to reduce the impact on the natural world for future generations
Global warming
Pollution causing a hole in the ozone layer which means the planet is being increasingly heated up by the sun
Pollution
Making something dirty and contaminated
Vivisection
Experimenting on animals
Evolution
The process by which living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms of life during the history of the earth
Natural selection
The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. This process brings about evolution
Theistic Evolution
The belief that God created humans through the process of evolution
Sanctity of life
Life is sacred because it is God-given
Quality of life
The general well-being of a person in relation to their health, happiness, and the idea that the value of life depends on the level of satisfaction a person has about their life
Pro-life
To believe that life begins at conception and therefore abortion is wrong as it is murder
Pro-choice
To believe that legalised abortion is acceptable as it is the mothers right to choose
Euthanasia
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease. Performed by a doctor because s/he is unable to do it for them self
Life-support machine
A machine used by doctors to artificially keep a person alive through feeding tubes, heart pumping and breathing support
Palliative care
Pain relief treatment for someone suffering with a terminal illness, usually through morphine
Active Euthanasia
When active steps are taken to end someone's life, for example by giving them a lethal injection
Passive Euthanasia
When the dying person is allowed to die through taking away the medical support they have so the illness is allowed to kill them
Assisted suicide
When a person wishes to end their own life but need help from someone else to enable them to do so, eg to buy the tablets but the person takes for them self
Voluntary euthanasia
When the patient asks for help to die. This is the type of euthanasia that people are campaigning to have made legal in the UK
Hospice
A home where people who are terminally ill might go for respite care to give their families a rest or they may choose to go there to die rather than go to a hospital
Adoption
The legal process where a child is taken into someone else's family and is brought up as their son or daughter
Fostering
Taking a child into a different family and bringing up the child in this family but legally the child still belongs to their birth parents. This can be short term or long term
Abortion
The deliberate ending of a pregnancy, usually within 24 weeks in the UK