Peace and Conflict

Question 1

Causes of conflict and war

Answer 1

Economic reasons (e.g. the Opium Wars - Britain tried to force the Chinese government to permit Britain to sell drugs to the Chinese population)
Religious reasons (e.g. the Crusades - Christian Europeans tried to force the middle-eastern Muslims out of Palestine as it was the ‘Holy Land’)
Social reasons (e.g. the US Civil War - the confederate states wished to maintain the institution of slavery and the Yankee states wanted to abolish it.)

Question 2

Christian attitudes against war

Answer 2

Some Catholics believe that war is wrong because it is a mortal sin. Since humans were made ‘imago dei’ (in God’s image), taking a human life is desecrating the image of God. War inevitably involves killing humans and so is sacrilege, which is considered a mortal sin in the Catholic church.

Others who believe in situation ethics would argue that war is wrong because you are not treating your enemy with ‘agape’ (unconditional love)

Question 3

Christian attitude for war

Answer 3

Some believe war is the right thing when in the face of perceived wrongs. In Luke, Jesus instructs his disciples to buy swords for self-defence. This shows how in certain situations, such as when you are attacked, it is morally permissible to fight back, and it is even encouraged.

Some believe that war can be justified in cases where one is defending their religion. Holy wars often offer those who take part a spiritual reward and so are seen as the morally correct thing to do.

Question 4

Just war theory

Answer 4

‘jus ad bellum’ (justification for going to war):
just cause (response to aggression),
right authority (fought by an entity with authority),
emergent peace (must be a reasonable chance of lasting peace being generated),
last resort (non violent approaches must be tried first),
right intention (must be to bring about peace),
proportionality (the suffering caused by the war must be outweighed by the peace it brings)

‘jus in bellum’ (moral guidelines for conduct in war): discrimination (non-combatants must be immune from the attack),
double effect (the injury/death of civilians can be excused if it was only collateral damage),
proportionality (each specific act taken within the war must be proportional - the evil of an act must be offset by the likely good)

Question 5

What is a holy war?

Answer 5

Religion must be the driving force of a holy war. Holy wars usually include these elements: the achievement of a religious goal, authorised by a religious leader, a spiritual reward for those who take part.

An example of a holy war is the Crusades (1095 - 1291) where the Christian aim was to capture the sacred places in the Holy Land (Israel/Palestine) from the Muslims who lived there.

Question 6

Countries that possess nuclear weapons

Answer 6

United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China

Question 7

Arguments for weapons of mass destruction

Answer 7

The threat of mutually assured destruction (MAD) acts as a deterrent between nuclear powers, ensuring peace.

Question 8

Arguments against weapons of mass destruction

Answer 8

Humans are fallible and so there is a chance that in the future, nuclear weapons will be launched as a result of human error. This would lead to retaliation or pre-emptive strikes.
Even if the risk of an accident is low, the consequences would be so catastrophic that the existence of WMDs is intolerable.

Question 9

Current areas of conflict

Answer 9

Yemen, Ukraine, Israel/Palestine

Question 10

Names and beliefs of pacifists

Answer 10

Martin Luther King Jr - commitment to non-violence requires overcoming the ‘internal violence’ of hatred and anger by cultivating love and passion,
Mahatma Gandhi - non-violence can be used to gain peace and freedom
Leo Tolstoy - advocates nonresistance

Question 11

What is justice?

Answer 11

Ensuring everyone receives what they ought to receive (e.g. punishment, wealth, praise)

Question 12

What is forgiveness?

Answer 12

Giving up certain negative emotions (e.g. resentment) toward a wrongdoer in order to try and reach reconciliation

Question 13

What is reconciliation?

Answer 13

An improvement in the relationship between two or more parties who were previously in conflict

Question 14

What are the basic principles of the United Nations?

Answer 14

Uses consent of the parties,
Is always impartial,
Never uses force except in cases of self-defence or defence of the mandate

Question 15

How does the United Nations keep peace?

Answer 15

Protects civilians,
Assists in the disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of former combatants,
Supports the organisation of elections,
Protects and promotes human rights,
Assists in restoring the rule of law

Question 16

How does Christian Aid aim to work towards peace?

Answer 16

Addressing socio-economic inequalities, gender inequalities, and unequal power dynamics

Question 17

Types of bullying

Answer 17

Physical bullying (e.g. hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, pushing, damaging property)
Verbal bullying (e.g. name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobia, racism, verbal abuse)
Social bullying (e.g. lying/spreading rumours, negative facial/physical gestures, menacing looks, playing nasty jokes, mimicking, encouraging social exclusion, damaging someone’s social reputation)
Cyber bullying (e.g. abusive/hurtful texts/emails/posts/images/videos, online exclusion, nasty gossip, imitating others online)

Question 18

People who are vulnerable to bullying

Answer 18

Lacking close friends, being shy, coming from an over-protective family environment, being from a different racial/ethnic group to the majority, having special educational needs

Question 19

Why does bullying occur?

Answer 19

Nietzsche believed that humans are all driven by a will to power (a need to dominate and control)

Rousseau believed that bullying is a human attempt to overcome envy that is caused by ‘amour-propre’ (self-love) that makes people aggressive and competitive.

Marx believed that the inequality and power imbalances in our society creates an environment which allows bullying to happen.

Some Christian, such as Augustine, believe that the Fall and Original Sin has corrupted our pure nature and replaced principles of love and fellowship with envy, competition, and hatred. This is what causes bullying.

Question 20

Reasons for punishment

Answer 20

Protection - society should be protected from criminals
Deterrent - gives people a strong incentive to follow the law
Retribution - a criminal should pay for their wrongdoings
Reform and rehabilitation - helps a criminal move away from their criminal tendencies
Reparation - victims of a crime should be compensated

Question 21

Types of punishment

Answer 21

Imprisonment
Fines
Community service (e.g. removing graffiti, clearing wasteland, decorating public places/buildings)

Question 22

Rules for prison life

Answer 22

You are allowed to bathe/shower at least weekly,
The minimum requirements for physical exercise stands at one hour per week for over 21s,
You get a minimum of 30 minutes in the open air daily (although this is subject to weather conditions),
A prisoner who breaks prisoner rules can be kept in their cell for up to 21 days,
Convicted prisoners detained in custody do not have the right to vote

Question 23

Christian attitudes to punishment

Answer 23

Christians who follow the Old Testament may believe that punishment is mostly for retribution.
‘the one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury’ - Leviticus

Christians who follow the New Testament more closely may believe that we shouldn’t punish people. Punishment encompasses judgment when deciding if the criminal is guilty or not and what punishment they should receive. Jesus believed that no human should judge because it would be hypocritical as no human is perfect themselves. Only God, a perfect being has the right to judge.
‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone’ - John 8:7

Question 24

Arguments in favour of capital punishment

Answer 24

A Utilitarianist would take a situational approach that would look at each case and decide whether capital punishment would maximise happiness for the greatest number of people. This would mean that in most cases, capital punishment would be allowed as it would deter future crimes, reducing the net amount of suffering and would provide a sense of justice for the victim’s families, reducing their suffering as well.

Some Christians who follow the Old Testament may believe that capital punishment is morally permissible in murder cases. This is because someone who is a murderer should receive that same punishment as they conflicted on someone else.
‘the one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury’ - Leviticus

Question 25

Arguments against capital punishment

Answer 25

Human beings are fallible and are not omniscient. This means that there is a likely chance that mistakes will be made and people will be wrongfully killed via capital punishment. This is unjust.

Some Christians believe that capital punishment is a sin. Humans were created ‘imago dei’ (in the image of God) and so have intrinsic value. Capital punishment encompasses the destruction of human life which is defacing God’s image. This is an example of sacrilege which is a mortal sin in Catholicism.