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LESSON 6
A CALL TO UPHOLD AND RESPECT THE GIFT OF HUMAN LIFE

A grace-filled day! Welcome to Module 6!

Human life comes from God. He is the one who

created us and sustained our existence through His
Spirit. In our every breath, we breathe the Spirit of
Life. We continue to live. When our human race had
come to the point of eternal damnation for choosing
evil, He sent His only begotten Son to save us.

In this module 6, we will discuss the 5th

Commandment, human life as a Gift, Sacred and a
Mystery and the teachings of St. Augustine about
the threats of life.

Respect for human life comes from the recognition

that life is God's gift to us. It is indeed precious. Every
time we see life in any of its forms, we have an
opportunity to experience the presence of God.
Every human being enjoys the same gift. By
respecting life, we are honoring God; we are
celebrating the Spirit's presence among us.
14 Respect God’s gift of Life and you’ll value others.

SO, RELAX, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND ENJOY THIS

LESSON 6! GOD BLESS.

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Week 6/6 hours

The learner values and protects human life

wherever they are.

At the end of the lesson, the learners will be

able to:

1. Identify the basis for the respect for

human life.
2. Discuss offenses to human life as an
offense to one’s dignity.
3. Ask the help of God to overcome the
threats to human life.

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A. Human Life: A Gift, Sacred and a Mystery

1. Human Life is a gift because it is freely given by God.
Human life comes from God. He is the One who created us and sustained our
existence through His Spirit. “For the Spirit of God made me, the breath of the
Almighty keeps me alive” (Job 33:4). In our every breath, we breathe the Spirit of life.
we continue to live. When our human race had come to the point of eternal
damnation for choosing evil, He sent His only begotten Son to save us. For God so
loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might
not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3;16). “He does everything to keep us
alive as human persons whom He loves. He is the Lord and Giver of life, in whom we
live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). As Jacob cried out, “You have
granted me life and steadfast love; and your care has preserved my spirit” (Job
10:12). These loving acts of one God for us arose from His own volition. Thus, this life of
ours “is not a private possession, but is created, sustained, and guided now by the
creative, saving will, and love of Almighty God” (CFC 314).

2. Human life is a mystery because life is full of inexhaustible richness and beauty.
Science reveals not only the greatness of the gift of human knowledge and
ability but the mystery of the human body and life in general. There are always new
things, discoveries, and inventions. There is always more to know. In this regard, we
have to remain humble before God’s creation and realize it as His masterpiece.
Human life is and will remain a mystery before us. It comes from Him who is eternal.

3. Human life is sacred because we are created in God’s image and likeness,
being sustained by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the precious blood of
Christ.
Human life is sacred because we are created in His own image and likeness.
“God created man in His own image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27). Our Church
expresses that “All human life has its basic value and dignity, therefore, because we

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are all created in God’s image and likeness” (CFC 1029). It “is sacred because the
human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living
and holy God” (CCC 2319). We mirror the Divine. Our very thought, word, and action
when exercised accordingly, reflect that of our God. St. Bonaventure says that
“creation contains the footprints of God, that which is created mirrors its Maker and
because of that, is precious.” There is nothing about us that doesn’t mirror and come
from Him.
Human life is sacred because His Holy Spirit sustains our existence. It is His
breathe, Holy Spirit that keeps us alive. More deeply, we are made as His temple. We
are “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16). We are holy in relation to God Most
Holy. “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action
of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole
end. God alone is the lord of life from its beginning until its end” (CCC 2258).
Human life is sacred because it is redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
Jesus saved us from sin that enslaves and gives death. By His Paschal Mystery, we are
given a new life. we are born again. It is on this purpose that He came – that we
“might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). With this, St. John Paul II calls us:
“Let us then, all together, renew our esteem for that value of human life,
remembering also that, through Christ, all human life has been redeemed.”

B. The Fifth Commandment

The fifth commandment obliges us to respect life.
The fifth commandment, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) forbids direct attacks
on human life and physical integrity. It does not only command us not to violate
human life. It obliges us to “protect God’s gift of life and promotes practical care and
respect for the life and dignity of all persons” (cf. CHF 1028). God as the source of all
good including life (cf. Acts 17:28), did not give the human beings absolute dominion
over their lives, but rather gave them the responsibility of guarding their own lives and
of those around them. (Socias 236)
“Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because
the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the
living and holy God.” (CCC 2319) Human life has sacred and inviolable character,
which reflects the inviolability of the Creator Himself. Precisely for this reason, God will
severely judge every violation of the commandment “you shall not kill,” the
commandment which is at the basis of all life together in society. He is the goal, the
defender of the innocent (cf. Gen 4:9-15; Is 41:14; Jer 50:34; Ps 19:14).
The fifth commandment is the basis of the Catholic doctrine concerning the
value of life. Killing an innocent person is a grave sin contrary to the natural law,

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dignity of the person, and the holiness of the Creator. The Father commands
everyone to respect his own life and the lives of others.This commandment deals with
protecting the most fundamental human right: the right to existence itself. For that
reason, God reminds humanity in the Old Testament that He is the only owner of life
and that, when creating the human person, He gave him the personal right to
defend it, and defense against an unjust aggressor is a grave obligation for the
common good. No one can deny this right, and therefore to attempt to take one’s
own life or that of another is especially serious. (Socias 237)
Jesus fulfilled this command when He directly linked it with His love command.
“You have heard the commandment ‘You shall love your countryman and hate your
enemy.’ My command to you is: Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. This will
prove that you are sons of your Heavenly Father, for His sun rises on the bad and the
good, he rains on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5: 43-45). Love is the reason why
in many instances, we overcome our pride and selfishness and rather think of what is
good for others. With love, we gain the courage and strength to hurt no one. Love
and life are distinct but inseparable. Love motivates us to respect life. Life enables us
to love. Thus, the command of Christ to love one another even our enemies is a
command as well to respect life. (Diaz, 2019)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also enriched it with these words: “You have
heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill and whoever kills be liable
to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be
liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and
whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift
at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift.” (Mt 5:21-24)
Moreover, the call to respect life includes raising the quality of our everyday
living both materially and spiritually, and that of our relationship with other people. We
enjoy in fullness the beauty of human life by living in this world and with other people
in love and peace. (Diaz, 2019)
“The fifth commandment enjoins respect for bodily and spiritual life in ourselves
and in our neighbor. But this can be seen and practiced in a proper way only
from the point of view of charity. Life material and especially spiritual life – is the
greatest of all gifts. One of the most fundamental expressions of the love we
have for ourselves is the preservation of life, and we as Christians, are
concerned above all with preserving and gaining secure possession of eternal
life in God, through the proper use of bodily life.” (Sr. Ma. Veritas Grau) (Diaz,
2019)

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The fifth commandment obliges us to conserve the existing life.

The greatest personal possession of the natural order is life itself. Life is the
necessary condition for the enjoyment of all blessings, even those that are spiritual. To
deprive someone of life is to inflict upon him the greatest harm of the natural order…
a sin that is obviously all the more serious because it is irreparable. When someone is
murdered, he stays murdered; a murderer cannot restore life.
Only God is the absolute owner of human life, and one must try to live his life
to the best of his abilities according to the design of the Potter and that is God.
Therefore, everyone is seriously obliged to take care of life as a good steward whose
life is lending from God. To protect one’s own life, each person is permitted to defend
himself/herself when under attack, even if the consequence is the unintended death
of an unjust aggressor. Self-defense permits only the force necessary to repel an unjust
attacker. Legitimate self-defense is morally acceptable (CCC 2263-67)

C. Threats to Human Life

1. AUGUSTINE ON ABORTION (Fritzgerald, 1999)

Augustine vigorously condemned the practice of induced abortion. Procreation
was one of the goods of marriage; abortion along with drugs- cause sterility frustrating
this good. It lay along a continuum which induced infanticide as an instance of
“lustful cruelty” or “cruel lust” (nupt. Et conc.1.15.17). Augustine called the use of
means to avoid the birth of a child an “evil work”: a reference to either abortion and
contraception (b.conjug.5.5). Augustine accepted the distinction between “formed”
and “unformed” fetuses found in the Septuagint version of Exodus 21:22-23. The
Hebrew text provided for compensation in the case of a man striking a woman to
cause a miscarriage, and for the penalty to be exacted if further harm were done,
the Septuagint translated the word “harm” as “form,” introducing a distinction
between a “formed” and an “unformed” fetus. The mistranslation was rooted in an
Aristotelian distinction between the fetus before and after its supposed “vivification”
(in forty days for males, ninety days for females). According to the Septuagint, the
miscarriage of an unvivified fetus resulted in a fine for the attacker; but if the fetus
were vivified, the punishment was a capital one. Augustine disapproved the abortion
of both the vivified and unvivified fetus but distinguished between the two. The
unvivified fetus died before it was born (nupt.en conv.1.15.17). In referring back to
Exodus 21:22-23, Augustine observed that the abortion of an unformed fetus was not
considered murder, since it could not be said whether the soul was yet present
(qu.2.80). The question of the resurrection of the fetus sheds some light of Augustine’s
views on abortion. Augustine referred to the distinction between the formed and

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unformed fetus. Augustine acknowledged that it was possible that the unformed fetus
might perish like a seed, it was also possible that in the resurrection, God would supply
all that was lacking in the unformed fetus just as God would renew all that was
defective in an adult. Augustine remarked that few would dare to deny, though few
would venture to affirm it (ench.33.85). Augustine would neither affirm nor deny
whether the aborted fetus would rise again though if it should be excluded from the
number of the dead. Augustine did not see how it could be excluded from the
resurrection (civ. Dei 22.13).

2. AUGUSTINE ON SUICIDE (Fritzgerald, 1999)

Augustine considered suicide to be self-murder and a sin, challenging the
notion of its honorable quality in some circumstances(civ. Dei 1.23). Part of the unique
seriousness of this sin lay in its exclusion of the possibility of repentance- through the
death of the sinner as in the case of Judas gave in to despair (civ. Dei 1.17).
The sack of Rome raised the issue of suicide committed to avoid rape.
Augustine noted that no one with any human feeling could refuse to forgive those
who killed themselves in this situation; yet he also insisted that those who killed
themselves were guilty of murder. Taking the law into one’s own hands, even to kill the
wicked, was forbidden, how much more would be the killing of one’s innocent self
(civ.Dei 1.17)? Scripture contained no precept and gave no permission for taking
one’s own life, either for the sake of enjoying immortality sooner or for avoiding evil in
this life (civ.Dei 1.20). For Augustine the example of Cato, who committed suicide
rather than live under Caesar, was outweighed by Job, who endured suffering rather
than take his own life (civ.Dei 1.24). The bodily defilement involved in rape could not
cause sin; even if it could, the sin of suicide was far more serious (civ.Dei 1.25;1.27).
One exception to the prohibition mentioned by Augustine was Samson, who had
received a divine command to destroy himself and his enemies which took
precedence over the more general law (civ. Dei 1.17). Augustine specifically denied
the Donatist claim to martyrdom for those who destroyed themselves in resisting the
Catholic Church, implying that they were suicides instead (Io.ev.tr.11.15).

3. SUBSTANCE ABUSE (Pirlo, 2016)

Substance abuse is the addictive consumption of any stuff harmful for the
individual and the society, such as alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
a. Alcohol. Medicine tells us that a small amount of alcohol is needed by our
body. However, when drinking liquor containing alcohol is abused, this
becomes sinful and dangerous. Some of its effects are: 1) weakening of the
reasoning power and self-control, 2) boisterous and aggressive behavior, 3) loss

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of coordination and sense of perception, 4) violent emotional behavior, and 5)

complete unconsciousness. Some of the crimes happen either because the
criminal or the victim is drunk. (Diaz, 2019)Alcohol addiction causes
cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis, and brings about family violence
and road accidents(Pirlo, 2016)
b. Tobacco. “Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health”.We can find this
reminder on every pack of cigarettes. Yet, many are still smoking. We know
that smoking causes lung cancer, vascular diseases, and heart attacks causing
millions of deaths a year. Some reasons that we can guard ourselves so that
we do not get caught into its menace are: 1) peer pressure, 2) false sense of
belongingness, 3) macho image, 4) trend, 5) association with people from the
upper class, and 6) curiosity. These are illusions that temporarily make us feel
good but slowly weaken our health. (Diaz, 2019)
c. Illicit drugs. The addiction to forbidden drugs is extremely dangerous for health
and destructive for society. (Pirlo, 2016) Their ordinary victims are youths who
are adventurous and desirous for new experience. And their clients are people
who want to temporarily escape from pains and sufferings. Our Church
reminds us that the use of drugs “inflicts very grave damage on human health
and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is grave offense”
(CCC 2291)

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Exemplary Competent Developing

Rubric Categories
5 3 1

Content

Graphics- Relevance

Visual Clarity and Appeal

Punctuality

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● Life comes from God; thus it is a gift, sacred, mysterious and inviolable.
● The fifth commandment, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) does not only
command us not to violate human life. It obliges us to “protect God’s gift of life
and promote practical care and respect for the life and dignity of all persons”
● Human Life is a gift because it is freely given by God.
● Human life is a mystery because life is full of inexhaustible richness and beauty.
● Human life is sacred because we are created in God’s image and likeness,
being sustained by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the precious blood of
Christ.

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· Alvarez, Czar Emmanuel & Cabahug, Reo. “ASF 3: Augustinian

Ethics”. Unpublished.2021

· Diaz, Jade. “Signs of the Times, Obey My Commandments”.Rex Book

Store, 2019

. Pirlo,Paolo. “The Ten Commandments”. Sons of Holy MAry

Immaculate Quality CAtholic Publications, 2016

· Holy Bible. The New American Bible (2006). Philippine Bible Society

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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

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