Church of the Nazarene

Official website: http://www.nazarene.org/

Position Statements are taken from the "Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013"

Beginning of Life

Abortion

Official Statement: (from "The Covenant of Christian Conduct, C.36)

"The Church of the Nazarene believes in the sanctity of human life and strives to protect against abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and the withholding of reasonable medical care to handicapped or elderly."

“The Church of the Nazarene affirms the sanctity of human life as established by God the Creator and believes that such sanctity extends to the child not yet born. Life is a gift from God. All human life, including life developing in the womb, is created by God in His image and is, therefore, to be nurtured, supported, and protected. From the moment of conception, a child is a human being with all of the developing characteristics of human life, and this life is dependent on the mother for its continued development. Therefore, we believe that human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception. We oppose induced abortion by any means, when used for either personal convenience or population control. We oppose laws that allow abortion. Realizing that there are rare, but real medical conditions wherein the mother or the unborn child, or both, could not survive the pregnancy, termination of the pregnancy should only be made after sound medical and Christian counseling.”

“The Church of the Nazarene recognizes that consideration of abortion as a means of ending an unwanted pregnancy often occurs because Christian standards of sexual responsibility have been ignored. Therefore the church calls for persons to practice the ethic of the New Testament as it bears upon human sexuality and to deal with the issue of abortion by placing it within the larger framework of biblical principles that provide guidance for moral decision making.”

("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 53-54")

Infertility & Reproduction

Reproductive Technology

Official Statement:

Healthcare & Medicine

Organ Donation & Transplantation

Official Statement: (from "Appendix, Current Moral and Social Issues" 903.1)

"The Church of the Nazarene encourages its members who do not object personally to support donor/recipient anatomical organs through living wills and trusts."

"Further, we appeal for a morally and ethically fair distribution of organs to those qualified to receive them. (2001)" ("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 369")

Science & Technology

Biotechnology

Human Cloning

Official Position: (from "The Covenant of Christian Conduct, C.36)

"We oppose the cloning of an individual human being. Humankind is valued by God, who created us in His image, and the cloning of an individual human being treats that being as an object, thus denying the personal dignity and worth bestowed on us by our Creator."("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 55")

Stem Cell Research

Official Statement: (from "The Covenant of Christian Conduct, C.36)

"The Church of the Nazarene strongly encourages the scientific community to aggressively pursue advances in stem cell technology obtained from sources such as adult human tissues, placenta, umbilical cord blood, animal sources, and other non-human embryonic sources. This has the righteous end of attempting to bring healing to many, without violating the sanctity of humanlife. Our stand on human embryonic stem cell research flows from our affirmation that the human embryo is a person made in the image of God. Therefore, we oppose the use of stem cells produced from human embryos for research, therapeutic interventions, or any other purpose."

"As future scientific advances make new technologies available, we strongly support this research when it does not violate the sanctity of human life or other moral, biblical laws. However, we oppose the destruction of human embryos for any purpose and any type of research that takes the life of a human after conception. Consistent with this view, we oppose the use, for any purpose, of tissue derived from aborted human fetuses." ("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 54-55")

Genetic Ethics

Gene Therapy/Genetic Engineering

Official Statement: (from "The Covenant of Christian Conduct, C.36)

“The Churchof the Nazarene supports the use of genetic engineering to achieve gene therapy. We recognize that gene therapy can lead to preventing and curing disease, and preventing and curing anatomical and mental disorders. We oppose any use of genetic engineering that promotes social injustice, disregards the dignity of persons, or that attempts to achieve racial, intellectual, or social superiority over others. We oppose initiation of DNA studies whose results might encourage or support human abortion as an alternative to term live birth. In all cases, humility, a respect for the inviolable dignity of human life, human equality before God, and a commitment to mercy and justice should govern genetic engineering and gene therapy.” ("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 54")

Human Enhancement

See the position on Eugenics

End of Life

Extraordinary Measures

Official Statements:

Physician-Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia

Official Statement:

Issues of Human Dignity & Discrimination

Eugenics

See the statement on Genetic Therapy/Genetic Engineering

Official Statement: (from "The Covenant of Christian Conduct, C.36)

“We oppose any use of genetic engineering that promotes social injustice, disregards the dignity of persons, or that attempts to achieve racial, intellectual, or social superiority over others. We oppose initiation of DNA studies whose results might encourage or support human abortion as an alternative to term live birth. In all cases, humility, a respect for the inviolable dignity of human life, human equality before God, and a commitment to mercy and justice should govern genetic engineering and gene therapy."("Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2009-2013, 54")