2019

Christianity
Genesis 1 states that God created male and female humans on the final day of creation / Genesis 1:27 ‘So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them’ / Genesis 2 says that Adam was formed from the soil and God breathed life into him / while Adam was sleeping God took one of his ribs and formed Eve, the first woman / some Christians believe that this is literally true but others say that the story is designed to show that humans are very special to God, created by him in his image / others believe in God as creator
but also accept the theory of evolution, etc.

Judaism
Genesis 1 tells how God, by speaking, created everything that exists, including humans on the sixth day / ‘And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them’ – Genesis 1:27 / Genesis 2 says that while Adam was sleeping he took part of the man’s side and created Eve / many Jews say that the Torah suggests that God designed everything and so do not accept the Theory of Evolution / others disagree and say that God designed nature so that there would be the survival of the fittest and the evolution of species / others say that Judaism asks the question ‘Why did human life begin not how, etc.

Spec 2

Arguments in support
• there is much scientific evidence for evolution being correct/religious beliefs originate from a time when science was not recognised/evolution does not depend on the existence of a God whose existence cannot be proved/religion is belief, evolution is
considered to be fact
• evolution is a natural process/evolution was a result of chance not planned by God/creatures changed to fit the environment, not placed on earth by God/if humans descended from apes (or a shared ancestor) they were not made in God’s image/have a soul that distinguishes them from animals, etc
• there are so many different religious beliefs that none of them can
be trusted/science is accepted by all, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• only God is powerful enough to create life/evolution does not cover why creation happened, ie because God wanted to create life, nor how life itself began, just how it developed/People have believed in creation for much longer than evolution so why think they are wrong, etc
• evolution is a theory with no conclusive proof so it may be wrong/gaps in the fossil record mean that there is no conclusive evidence for evolution/no clear fossil evidence to support link between apes and humans, etc
• it is possible to combine evolution and creation/evolution is the process God used to create life/argument from design is not addressed by evolution which may be random/many religious scientists accept creation by God and evolution/stories in scriptures believed to be inspired by God, should be accepted or it can be seen as doubting God, etc.

Christianity
Some Christians believe the Genesis creation story, not all literally, but others accept the scientific theory/God created the planet from nothing but used the process of evolution to create and develop life, possibly as the scientific theories describe/theory of evolution does not provide ‘why’ answers/creation stories have strong focus on how life on earth should be treated, which is more important than how things were created, etc.

Judaism
Similar to Christian beliefs (see above) because the story of creation believed by Christians is a Jewish story/most Jews do not interpret Genesis literally/so they believe that God created the universe and science explains how, etc.

Spec 2

• all religions believe that there is an life after death/there are two general ideas – broadly heaven and hell (western faiths) and reincarnation (eastern faiths)
• a person’s destiny after death depends on how a person lived their life/whether they followed their faith correctly
• there is little agreement about whether the afterlife is physical or spiritual, etc.

Christianity
Upon death God decides whether a person spends eternity with him in heaven or without him in hell/this decision is entirely dependent on how a person lived their life/following the Christian faith correctly results in heaven/unclear whether resurrection is physical or spiritual or whether it occurs at the moment of death or a future day of judgement/purgatory is an ‘in between’ stage of preparation for heaven in Catholic
belief/some believe that ultimately all will go to heaven, etc.

2018

Christianity
Christians believe that when people die God judges whether they should go to heaven or hell / some believe in immediate judgement, others that there is a Day of Judgement when Jesus returns / the Catholic Church believes it is important to live righteous lives to avoid spending a long time in purgatory, where souls undergo purification in order to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven / many believe that good works are essential eg like helping the poor and needy (Parable of the Sheep and Goats) and James’ teaching that faith without works is dead, in order to get to heaven / others believe that it is through faith and trust in Jesus that a person is saved from an
eternity in hell / heaven is described as indescribably wonderful eg Revelation 4 and 21:4 / hell is portrayed as for sinners and as something to be avoided (Matthew 13: 50, 25:41, Revelation 14:11), etc.

Judaism
Although unlike the other religions there is little teaching in the Jewish holy books about what happens in Olam Ha-Ba (the World to Come) Jews believe that it is important to live life in obedience to God and trust him for what is to come / this means keeping the laws as laid down in the Torah eg keeping the Ten Commandments, keeping the Sabbath / this is not motivated by a belief that punishment in the afterlife is permanent – many Orthodox Jews believe in heaven (Gan Eden) but not in a place of permanent punishment / a soul-cleansing process as a result of a person’s actions, which is part of traditional Jewish belief, is seen as temporary / the Talmud contains some ideas about resurrection at the coming of the Messiah / Reform and Liberal Jews
reject the idea of the resurrection of the dead unlike Orthodox Jews / Daniel 12:2 / Job 10:21-22, etc.

Spec 2

Arguments in support
• many atheists and humanists would argue that there is no proof of any form of afterlife/or of a soul or spirit that could survive death/nobody has come back from the dead in a way that is guaranteed/even Jesus’ ‘appearances’ could have been made up
• neither reincarnation nor resurrection make sense/a person can only be human in one physical body/another body means another person/you cannot live without a body
• ideas of spirits etc. are just wishful thinking because people are scared of facing the reality that they are alive only for a short time.

Arguments in support of other views
• there is evidence in scripture or religious texts of life after death and scripture is the ‘Word of God’ or the teaching of Gurus etc 
• there are a lot of cases of people being able to recall previous existences in detail that can only be valid if the person actually lived that previous existence
• in near death experiences, the soul leaves the body for a time, proving that the soul is different from the body and can live on without the body/people who have near-death experiences meet people who are already dead but who are obviously continuing in a different form of existence, etc

Christianity
It is claimed that Jesus rose from the dead and promised that those who follow him will enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven/Jesus claimed to be the ‘resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25) and that those who believe in him will have eternal life (John 5:24)/Jesus told one of those crucified with him that he would join him in paradise (Luke 23:43)

2021

Arguments in support
• There is evidence in scripture or religious texts of life after death / scripture is the ‘Word of God’ or the teaching of Gurus, so is true and valid.
• Some people like Ian McCormack claim to have died, seen heaven and have come back to life again.
• There are a lot of cases of people being able to recall previous existences in detail that can only be valid if the person actually lived that previous existence.
• In near-death experiences, the soul leaves the body for a time, proving that the soul is different from the body and can live on without the body / people who have near-death experiences meet people who are already dead but who are obviously continuing in a different form of existence, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• Many atheists and humanists would argue that there is no proof of any form of afterlife or of a soul or spirit that could survive death / nobody has come back from the dead in a way that is guaranteed / even Jesus’ ‘appearances’ could have been made up.
• Neither reincarnation nor resurrection make sense / a person can only be human in one physical body / another body means another person / you cannot live without a body.
• Ideas of spirits etc are just wishful thinking because people are scared of facing the reality that they are alive only for a short time, etc.

Christianity
It is claimed that Jesus rose from the dead and promised that those who follow him will enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven / Jesus claimed to be the ‘resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25) and that those who believe in him will have eternal life (John 5:24) / Jesus told one of those crucified with him that he would join him in paradise (Luke 23:43), etc.

Judaism
Jewish scriptures say that after death everyone goes to Sheol (eg Psalm 86:13, Job 14:13) / Daniel 12:2 “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” / some believe good people will enter paradise and wicked people will go to Gehenna (hell) after the last judgement, etc.

2022

Arguments in support
• Life is God given, therefore by valuing and protecting life, a person is respecting God’s wishes.
• At death there is a judgement on how people have lived their lives and a reward for those who have lived according to God’s word or sacred writings.
• Life is sacred and precious and sacred writings forbid its taking as that is God’s prerogative.
• Religious people believe that they will be rewarded.
• It is possible for people to value and protect human life via indirect means eg. by protecting the environment, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• Valuing and protecting human life is a basic moral duty regardless of any or no afterlife.
• There is no life after death so you can’t be rewarded for what you do or believe in this life.
• No one has experienced an afterlife so who can say what might be rewarded.
• There are other issues and beliefs by which people might be judged if life after death exists eg their actions.
• Some religions teach that people have to believe in their religion to be rewarded, etc.

Christianity
Part of Christian belief is in the sanctity of life and so, for example, most are opposed to euthanasia and many to abortion / life is sacred, precious and a God-given blessing / The Ten Commandments include the instruction not to kill / Christians believe that death is not the end and God judges whether a person’s soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell / heaven is indescribably wonderful and is where God is / the price for salvation was paid by Jesus’ death and resurrection / those who put their faith and trust in Jesus might be forgiven and have the reward of eternal life in heaven / heaven
is not gained simply by being a good person or believing in the value of life but is a free gift to those who believe in Jesus (Romans 10 : 9-10), etc.

Judaism
Jews believe in the sanctity of life / as life belongs to God preserving life is a duty in Judaism / this obligation is called pikuach nefesh / ‘Do not kill’ – Exodus 20 / the Tenakh gives little teaching about the afterlife / the Torah describes death as a time to rejoin one’s ancestors (Genesis 25:8,17) / a place called Sheol is mentioned in the Tenakh and is described as a place of silence and darkness (Psalm 115 : 17) / the Jewish afterlife is called Olam Ha-Ba (the world to come) / many Orthodox 
Jews believe in a resurrection and heaven (Gan Eden) but not in a place of permanent punishment / a soul-cleansing process, which is temporary, is part of traditional Jewish belief / Judaism does not include the concept of eternal (everlasting) punishment / some Jews believe in reincarnation / important to focus on this life now as we cannot know what the afterlife is like, etc.