Exploring the Value of Human Life and Authentic Freedom in Theology

This essay from a Theology and Religious Studies course explores the profound connection between the value of human life and authentic freedom, emphasizing the sacredness of human life as a foundation for moral principles. It examines how authentic freedom, divinely inspired and rooted in self-discovery, contrasts with societal attacks on life and the influence of selfish desires. The essay delves into the importance of redemption, the role of the church, and the Christian responsibility to protect human life as a gift from God. Furthermore, it discusses how justice at every level is only truly present when personal freedom is assured, highlighting the importance of economic and social justice, participation, and global solidarity. The assignment concludes by illustrating that peace and happiness are obtainable when the dignity of human life is truly valued, and that addressing inequalities is crucial for a just society.

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THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
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Theology and Religious Studies
Explain the connection between the value of human life and authentic freedom
Human life is considered sacred and hence the dignity of a person is the foundations of
his or her morals compass. Technically, the belief lays the foundation for the principles of
various social teachings. In the contemporary society, human life is constantly under attack from
euthanasia and abortion. Authentic freedom on the other hand is considered a way of life that is
described by consistent experiences of inner reflection and peace. Authentic freedom also
reflects the way God wants us to live. In relation, this section will analyze the connection
between the value of human life and authentic freedom while making reference to important
concepts related to the topic of study. The process of authentic freedom is divinely inspired and
as well a journey of self-discovery and transformation. Technically, the process leads an
individual to an awareness of our false perceptions and illusions which block us from realizing
the freedom that is authentically ours already. Redemption can be considered as the ultimate
reason behind the sacredness of the human life. In relation it is only God who has a total claim of
any form of life (Bauman, 2013). God expects us to treat live in accordance to His divine
intervention of human destiny that was reflected when Jesus died on cross (Melzer 2016). Life
should remain venerable just as reflected in the authentic freedom perceptive. The fate of many
people is controlled by whims, passion and the pleasures directed by the selfish human heart as
well as the desires of the human flesh.
In relation, when the belief in God as the creator is deem, as well as no concept of His
image reflected in humanity, there exists no hopes of a hopeful future for human life and hence
human life loses its respect. In connection, the church is compelled to be on the front line in
asserting the purity of human life in order to ease the suffering that are rooted in disregarding

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Christian teachings (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2014). Christians have the responsibility to
treat and value human life as a gift from God given to the first man, Adam. Protection comes in
as an extension of the original act of the concept of creation. In relation, this places a heavy
responsibility on the shoulders of men as well as women who may need to live in accordance to
the value of human life and authentic freedom. The death of Jesus on the cross signified
redemption for all of us, an inclusive of individuals who do not accept His death according to 1
Tim 2:6; 1 John 2:2. Subsequently, the death of Christ on the cross extended the value of new
human life to everyone (Zhang 2016). Through this act, one significant food of thought is
expressed, it is the cross and not an individual’s capacity, maturity or usefulness that should be
used to determine the value of the human soul. Once everyone acknowledges that they have
indeed reached the age of accountability, one keeps the faith and lives in a way that reflected that
he or she is indeed faithful and aims at keeping the faith. God also expects us to live in terms of
the human nature that reflects his position as the creator. In a way, this is also reflected in the
value of human life (Ujomu and Olatunji 2017). Human creativity is a partial reflection of the
creativity of God’s: organized, peaceful and productive. The reproductive aspect of human life is
also very important. God’s image is reflected by the procreative act as well as the proactive
power that He granted to human beings in form of sexual polarity which is influenced by will
and reason (Erk 2017). Simply put, sexual powers as well as male-female polarity creative
abilities are a reflection of God’s creatorship ontologically.
Describe how justice at every level is only truly present when personal freedom is
assured
Justice is an important moral virtue and hence is a desired character for ordering
interpersonal relations and establishing as well as maintaining a stable political society. As

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Christians and believers of Christ, it is vital to measure the economy, not by any form of what is
produced but by how it influences the human life and whether it protects or undermines the
dignity of human life. Some of the economic decisions we make have disastrous consequences as
well as moral implications; they can either help or hurt people, weaken or strengthen family life,
diminish or advance the quality of justice in our lives.
There are different levels of life where justice can be applied to enhance that personal
freedom is not interfered with. The dignity of humanity is part of the moral vision for the society,
whereby human life is considered sacred since Christians believe that they are created in the
image of God. In our society, we have the preferential option of how it treats the vulnerable
members. For us to achieve a healthy community, we are supposed to pay particular attention to
those with special needs and also the poor members of the society. Everyone has a basic right to
life as well as the right to things required for human decency. To achieve this, we need to protect
human rights and meet up to the standard of our responsibilities (Cooney 2015). Economic
justice can be achieved by ensuring that people are served by it and not the other way round
which is technically the case. All employees also have a fundamental right to productive work,
fair wages and good working conditions. They should also have the right to join unions and
organize them. In the economic system competition just as the free markets are useful economic
elements. However, the market system cannot satisfy the many needs unless markets are kept
within limits (Sherwin and Cohen 2015). The society and the state should take the initiative to
mediate and ensure these needs are provided. As Christians, we have a responsibility to take care
of the earth since it is a gift from God. We should act as stewards and trustees not just users and
consumers. Catholic teachings indicate a close relationship between peace and justice. In
inference to Pope John Paul II, ‘'Peace is not the absence of war but a mutual respect and

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confidence between people and nations”. Peace involves collaborations and binding agreement.
Participation is a fundamental demand that all people should participate in cultural, political and
economic activities in the society. It's also an obligation of human dignity that all people be
equally and involved in a minimum level of participation in the community (Chickering, Dalton
and Stamm, 2015). Global solidarity calls upon us all to work globally for justice as one human
family. Authentic development must promote and respect social, personal, economic and
political rights of humans.
Peace and happiness are obtainable when the dignity of human life is truly valued
Peace and happiness are only properly obtainable when the concept of the dignity of
human life is valued. Human beings are willed by God and hence imprinted with the image of
God (Yamin 2015). It is hence important to point out that the dignity of human beings does not
come from the work conducted by them but rather from their inner person as pointed out by St.
John Paul II on the Hundredth Year. The dignity of the human value can be argued out on the
basis that the church argues that the moral dimensions of economic life through its vision on
sacredness and transcendent of human beings (Arendt, 2013). Human life must be respected in
terms of religious as well as through the use of a moral compass. While dealing with each other,
it is important to do it with caution and a sense of awe. The sense of awe only arises in the
presence of sacredness and holiness. Such a relationship defines what God intends us to be, just
as in His image. Peace and happiness in connection to human value rest on one principle,
individual human beings are the foundation and in the end the cause of the end of every social
institution (Wadell 2016). Technically, the relationships among men is controlled by the fact that
they are by nature social beings. Also, it is important to acknowledge that there are sinful
inequalities that affect thousands of women and men who are in contradiction with the Gospel.

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When there is consideration for human value, individuals will strive for fair as well as more
human conditions for everyone. The nature of imbalance between excessive economic and social
disparity between the races as well as other sources of economic stratification has been a central
source of scandal as well as influences against equity, human dignity, social justice and social as
well as international peace. Subsequently, the things that insults human dignity include
subhuman living conditions, slavery, and prostitution, and deportation, arbitrary imprisonment,
selling of women and children and disgraceful working conditions. In cases of disgraceful
working condition, employees are treated as objects or instruments that generate profit rather
than free and responsible persons. The mentioned things poison the peace and happiness of the
human society (Bratosin et al 2016). The irony in this is that the epidemics poison the
perpetrators more than it does to the people who are subjected to the suffering. In summary,
peace and happiness can be obtained only if the roots of darkness and inequality is address.
Subsequently, this will be achieved through first addressing the concept of inequality in all the
social levels of life such like: political, economic and social dimensions.

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References
Arendt, H., 2013. The human condition. University of Chicago Press.
Bauman, Z., 2013. Consuming life. John Wiley & Sons.
Bratosin, S., Rotaru, I.G., Ivascu, L., Wagner, A., Simion, M.G. and Burcea, N., 2016. Scientia
Moralitas (Human Dignity-Contemporary Perspectives).
Chickering, A.W., Dalton, J.C. and Stamm, L., 2015. Encouraging authenticity and spirituality
in higher education. John Wiley & Sons.
Cooney, W., 2015. The Wild Longing of the Human Heart: The Search for Happiness and
Something More. Rowman & Littlefield.
Erk, C., 2017. Health, rights and dignity: Philosophical reflections on an alleged human right.
De Gruyter.
Melzer, A.M., 2016. The natural goodness of man: On the system of Rousseau's thought.
University of Chicago Press.
Seligman, M.E. and Csikszentmihalyi, M., 2014. Positive psychology: An introduction. In Flow
and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 279-298). Springer Netherlands.
Sherwin, B.L. and Cohen, S.J., 2015. Jewish Ethical Values: A Sourcebook of Classic Texts and
Their Practical Uses for Our Lives. Jewish Lights Publishing.
Ujomu, P.O. and Olatunji, F.O., 2017. Security as Freedom in the Quest for the Value of Human
Life: A Conceptual Analysis. Tattva-Journal of Philosophy, 9(1), pp.45-70.
Wadell, P.J., 2016. Happiness and the Christian moral life: An introduction to Christian ethics.
Rowman & Littlefield.

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Yamin, A.E., 2015. Power, suffering, and the struggle for dignity: Human rights frameworks for
health and why they matter. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Zhang, Q., 2016. Humanity or benevolence? The interpretation of Confucian ren and its modern
implications. In Human Dignity in Classical Chinese Philosophy (pp. 45-99). Palgrave
Macmillan US.