| Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was in a state of innocence regarding sin and was endowed by The Creator with freedom of choice. It was through the exercise of this choice that man sinned against God in the garden of Eden thereby bringing sin into the world and death through sin. Through the willful transgression of God's command in response to the temptation of Satan the original state of innocence was lost to the posterity of Adam and Eve who now come into this world with an inherited sin nature. In such state man is cut off from fellowship with God and must be redeemed by the grace of Almighty God through the blood of Jesus Christ , the sacrificial Lamb of God. The sacredness of human life is evident in that mankind bears the image of the very God by whom he was created and by the fact that God sent His Son to die as the redeemer for mankind. It is therefore self evident that all men are endowed with dignity and on that basis are entitled to respect as persons and are to be the object of Christian compassion and love in obedience to the example and command of God Himself. |