Peace And Conflict Flashcards
Violence
God made the world very good as a paradise of harmony. If I get is not controlled it would lead to violence. Anger leads to violence. The violence is a rejection of gods ideal world and that it should be avoided. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”.
Cain and Abel
Cain was angry, jealous of his brother Abel. His angry throughts led to violence so he killed him in a fit of envy. God replies saying “What have you done?” - rejecting what God wants for the world.
Why bullying is wrong
Destroys person’s self esteem, make person scared and powerless.
Forgiveness quotes
- “70x7 times”
- “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”
Strengths and weaknesses of forgiveness
S - shows you are a strong person, allows you to move on and live an easier life, revenge bad for mental health
W - person ‘getting away with it’, not everyone deserves forgiveness, can be hard to forgive, only Jesus can forgive infinitely
Reconciliation brings…
peace, acceptance (respect) of each other, stronger relationship, opportunity to learn from past
Justice
Justice is fairness for all people and is what God wants on Earth. Injstice leads to lack of self worth.
“Let justice roll down like water”
Nelson Mandela helped defeat apartheid in South Africa. He restorted to violence after peaceful methods, bombing government infrastructure
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King campaigned against racism using peaceful methods such as boycotts, speeches and marches
Righteous anger (anger against an injustice)
Jesus taught that anger should be avoided but acceptable to injustice. Jesus showed righteous anger when he drove the sellers from the temple. Righteous anger should be controlled and change the situation positively.
Christian view - violent protests
(Against)
- its against the law, only peacful legal
- innocent people die and get injured
- peaceful can be effective - MLK
Contrasting view - violent protests
(For)
- Suffragette movement
- BLM movement
- goverment abusing their power
- government refuses to pay attention
Bible quotes that support war (OT)
“Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” - revenge is ok
“God will destroy the nations before you” - war and fighting is ok
“The lord is on your side” - he is on the side of war with you
Bible quotes against war (NT)
“love your neighbour as yourself” - we should all have peace
“Blessed are the peacemakers” - those who bring peace are good
“love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” - should be the bigger person, do the opposite of war
Reasons for going to war
Religion, money, land, revenge, political disagreement, injustice, depose dictator, seld defence
Conditions in Just War Theory
1 be started by proper authorities
2 have a just cause e.g. protect innocent
3 be for right intention - to do good, right a wrong
4 be a last resort
5 in proportion (benefits>harm)
6 reasonable chance of success e.g. Jersey vs US - unjust
Consequences of war
Civilian casualties - innocents shouldn’t be harmed and should be protected as they aren’t fighting
Refugees - countries should be welcoming to them and aid them ad there is always destruction so they need to flee
Environmental damage - land destroyed, chemcials from weapons impact. We are stewards of earth so we should protect it
Reasons for the UK accepting refugees
- haven’t taken in as many as other countries
- “love thy neighbour”
- big economy but barely take refugees in
- can be used for jobs where there is lack of employment
- saves their lives
- justice - everyone equal - what God wants
Reasons why UK shouldn’t accept refugees
- might not have enough resources (e.g. housing)
- security - don’t really know who we are letting in
- NHS may not have enough capacity
Weapons of mass destruction (cause widespread devastation and loss of life)
Nuclear - creates huge nuclear reactions, very violent and explosive and can kill many people and harm big areas
Chemical - Using toxic chemicals with intention to injure or kill enemy e.g. posion gas
Biological - weapons that use disease e.g. bacteria or viruses causing disease or death
Catholic view - nuclear war
(Against)
- Can kill anyone, any age
- Possessing WMD increases tension between countries
- cause more damage than success
“No such thing as a just war in the nuclear age”
Contrasting view - nuclear war
(For)
- necessary for defence
- can deter attacks
- atomic bombs swiftly ended WW2
Aims of terrorism
To frighten people, to force governments to give way to demands
Catholic view - terrorism
They oppose as:
“Terrorism threatens wounds and kills indiscriminately. It is gravely against justice and charity.” - CCC
Bible teachings on terrorism
“Everyone should obey the authorities as they have been put in charge by God”
“Never take vengeance”
- St Paul
Contrasting view - terrorism
The Jewish Maccabees resorted to Terrorist methods against authorities trying to force them to give up Judaism. If they didn’t, Judaism might not have survived
Why do people commit acts of terrorism?
- political change
- fight oppression
- uneducated
- religious reasons
- born into groups
- revenge
Radicalistaion
(Causing someone to adopt extreme views on religious/political issues, unwilling to see alternate views)
Why might it happen?
- people live in poverty so eneducated
- people feel rejected by peers and society
- witnessing traumatic events
Its wrong as it leads to terrorism and threatens society’s stability so CC teaches to prevent it by ensuring no one feels rejected by tackling inequality and through education
Martyrdom
Someone who dies for refusing to give up their faith - highly valued by CC
CC staes that suicide bombers aren’t accpeted as martyrs as they harm innocent people
Catholic teaching on torture
(Against)
“using torture is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity” - CCC
Reasons for torture
- info for incidents
- prevent something worse (e.g. terrorist attacks)
- deterent - less likely to commit crime
Reasons against torture
- it’s illegal
- CC believes it goes against human dignity
- cause a lot of pain and suffering
- damages moral reputation of inflictor
- violates human rights
- can cause trauma
- goes against sanctity of life
- “love thy neighbour”
- they lie or don’t talk anyway
Why are some Christians pacifists?
- Jesus was a pacifist
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” - The Quakers - believe war can never be justified so fight war with the weapons of spirit (love,truth,peace)
Does pacifism work? (Example)
Bonhoeffer - Hitler didn’t listen to peaceful protests so he joined plot to assassinate him. He came to believe that violence is the only thinh that can be used in worse situations.
Reasons for pacifism
- Jesus taught that violence was wrong
- Pacifism works in cases of MLK and Ghandi
- war demoralizes people
- nuclear weapons can wipe out human race
- killing in war goes against sanctity of life
Reasons against pacifism
- Jesus used violence in The Temple on the traders
- War can remove dictators e.g. WW2
- A country must defend if being attacked
- ‘do not kill’ refers to murder and not killing in a just war
Catholic teaching on pacifism
- countries to use non-violent methods to resolve conflict where possible
- force may be necessary in some situations e.g. to protect innocent (JWT)
- CC strive for peace but don’t preach complete pacifism
Holy war
- fought for a religious goal
- approved by religious leader
- believed that God is on your side
- believed that fighters will go to heaven
Reasons for religion causing war
- Crusades - Pope Urban II raged due to saced places in Jerusalem being captured by Muslims so ordered a war to restore Christianity
- In the OT, Jews fought in a war to establish their land that God promised for them.
- religious beliefs are different for each religion. In extreme cases, it may lead to terrorism
Reasons for religion not causing war
- may be for land gain
- may be to depose dictator
Etc…
Efforts of pope for peace
- prays for peace each week in the Vatican
- organised a meeting of prayer between Israel and Palestine’s presidents
- international football match to help children in need
Catholic organisations for peace
- Pax Christi help those is Palestine and Israel to bring peace
- CAFOD established orphanages for rescued children
- Aid To The Church In Need spent money for supplies and shelter for refugees
- Caritas International aided victims of the fighting in Niger
Individual help for peace
- donating money or goods to charity
- volunteering in charities that help those in need
- provide support through prayer
