Peace and Conflict | Christianity + SOA Flashcards
Define Peace
- an absence of conflict which leads to happiness and harmony
Define Reconciliation
- restoring friendship after conflict
Define Forgiveness
- showing grace and mercy by pardoning someone
Give 3 SOA that show Jesus as a peacemaker
Luke 6:31- ‘ Do to others as you would have them done to you’
Matthew 12:31- ‘love your neighbour as yourself’
Matthew 5:9 - ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God
Give three different views of Jesus arrest ( include SOA)
’ No more of this ‘ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him’
- this teaches to not engage in conflict but to trust in God instead.
- It shows to not engage in petty incidents of violence
- Jesus did not want his disciples to defend him because he knew he needed to be crucified.
Give three key teachings against peace and for violence and what they suggest ( include SOA)
- Some Christians believe that it is sometimes necessary to fight as it is the lesser of two evils
- Romans 13:1 - ‘ Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities:
this means that people have to obey an order to fight in war - Exodus: ‘ An eye for an eye ‘:
this suggests that violence may be appropriate and conflicts with Jesus’ later teachings
Give one Church teaching for and against peace ( include SOA)
- Churches have tried to encourage all Christians to seek peace and not war
against:
The Methodists Church view demonstrates that sometimes force needs to be used but not unnecessarily for personal gains
Give three Christian views on why they should show justice and forgiveness
- They do not believe in taking revenge when they have been wronged
- They should forgive the sins of others the same way that God forgives them for sins , particularly through sending Jesus to forgive sins of humanity
- God will judge everyone in the afterlife and bring people to justice
Give a SOA that shows forgiveness and what it demonstrates
When asked about forgiveness Jesus said that one should forgive ‘ not seven times, but seventy- seven times’
- this demonstrates the importance of forgiveness in christianity as Jesus taught that we should continue to forgive others
Give a SOA that demonstrates justice and what it shows- Exodus- include counter
’ An eye for an eye’
This could be seen to show that people should fight for justice and punish those that have wronged them.
- Jesus, however later adds to this and tells people to turn the other cheek and as Jesus is our ultimate example we should follow his teachings and forgive
Pax Christi
- what it is
- what it does
- why does it do it
- Give two ways it does it
- An International Catholic peace movement
- It gets governments to solve disputes through talking and economic and social justice
- To bring about a culture of peace to God’s creation and oppose violence
- encourage peace talks to end conflict, take part in protests against war or injustice
Give 4 causes of conflict (war)
- religion
- economical reasons
- fighting for natural resources
- self- defence
Give 3 Christian responses to conflict
- some believe in pacifism and would never get involved in war or violence - Quakers
- some believe in Just War where it may be right to fight in certain circumstances
- They believe we should deal with the causes of conflict eg injustice and inequality
Give a SOA that responds to conflict and what it shows
’ for all those who draw the sword will die by the sword’
- This demonstrates that one should not engage in conflict for improper purposes as it will just cause more fighting
Give 2 conflicting situation ethicists views on war
- situation ethics is subjective and influenced by personal feelings
- War can be the most loving thing if innocent people were being harmed.
- it is not the most loving thing to do as war involves killing and inflicting suffering
Give a non religious attitudes towards the role of religion in conflict and a Christian responses to them
- religion is at the root of many conflicts and causes wars
response 2- . it is not religion to blame but extremist religious views caused by misinterpretation.
Define Pacifism
violence and war cannot be justified
Give the SOA for Quakers not engaging in conflict - pacifism
In 1660 its members made a commitment to never fight not serve in the army.
- The spirit will never move us to fight’
Give the SOA that supports pacifism and Quaker views- John 14:27 ( also used when evaluating convincing points)
’ anyone who loves me will obey my teaching’
- Jesus taught a message of peace and Quakers believe they should follow this by being pacifists and not fighting in war
Give three Christian arguments for pacifism
- Christians must follow Jesus teachings against violence - Jesus did not fight against his arrest therefore we should not too
- It prevents suffering and protects innocent people
- issues and conflicts can be ended through discussion and other peaceful methods
Give three Christian arguments against pacifism
- the commandment ‘ do not kill’ refers to murder not to killing in a just war
- A pacifist nation would be very vulnerable and seen as weak
- It fails to resist aggression and tyranny due to lack of defence
Define passive resistance and give an example of how Jesus practiced it
- Non-violent opposition to something
- Jesus taught to love your enemies and that you can create change without violence
Give an example of an activist who used passive resistance and how
- Martin Luther King fought for change
- He brought about change with peaceful protests, speeches and going to prison without violence
Define ‘Just War’’
- a war that is fought for the right reasons and in the right way
Who developed the Just War Theory?
- Thomas Aquinas developed the theory on the ideas of St Augustine
Give the SOA given by ST Augustine about Just War theory
’ by no means violated the 6th commandment’
- This means that those who go to war for the right reasons, have not gone against the commandment as it is fair and just to kill for those reasons .
- This challenges pacifism
Give 3 of Aquinas’ conditions for Just War
- it must have a just cause
- it should be the last resort eg talks and sanctions must take place first
- it must correct evil and bring about good
Give 3 issues with the Just War Theory
- both sides may claim their cause is just as it is subjective
- there are many different ways to prevent war so it is not possible to argue it is the last resort
- waiting for the last resort causes more damage and killing then going to war earlier
Give 3 SOA that agree with Just War theory and what it demonstrates
- Romans 13:17- Let everyone be subject to government authorities
- John 15:13- Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends
- This shows that one should protect others
- These demonstrate that going to war may be the right thing to do according to Christian teachings
Give a Pacifist’s view on Just War
- They disagree with war and believe that a war can never be fair or just as it inflicts harm and suffering to everyone
Give a situation ethicist’s view on Just War
- it is subjective and dependent on one’s own interpretation
Define ‘ Holy War ‘
- Fighting for a religious cause or God, usually controlled by a religious leader
Give 3 Aims of Holy War
- To convert countries and spread their religion
- to save and restore religious and sacred places that the enemy are destroying
- to defend their religion or their followers who are being persecuted
Give 2 reasons why Holy war were fought in ancient times
- they believed God was on their side and had called them to fight his enemies
- In the Old Testament there are many accounts of battles fought under God’s protection
The Crusades:
- What were they?
- When did they take place
- Why did they take place
- How many were there
- seen as Holy Wars by Muslims and Christians defending places sacred to their faith
- 11th-13 centuries
- Crusaders wanted to recover the Holy Land of Palestine from Muslim infidels
- There were 8
Give 2 features of a Holy War
- authorised by God or a spiritual leader
- Those who take part will receive a reward such as going to heaven when they die
Give an SOA for Holy wars and 2 different views regarding it
Matthew 10- ‘ I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.’
- Some believe it means one should fight in Holy Wars as it states that whoever loses their life for his sake will find it meaning they will reach heaven.
- Some believe this passage suggests that Jesus was talking about a spiritual sword allowing one to follow Jesus and fight against evil and injustice
Give 3 different views on a Holy War
- Quakers are against any form of war
- The Church of England believes war can be justified
- Most Christians would not believe in it as god would not command a war
Give 2 non religious views on a Holy War ( atheist and humanist)
- God’s name is used to justify unlawful actions
- they believe using force to convert others is wrong as it takes away religious freedom
Give a Christian response to non religious views on Holy War ( agree)
- They agree that God’s name is used to justify unlawful actions and that spreading the gospel should be an invitation rather than forceful
Define a ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ (WMD) and a Christian’s view on it
- nuclear, biological or chemical weapons that are intended and able to cause widespread devastation and loss of life
- Christians are generally against their use
Give a Christian’s view on a potential benefit to using WMD
- it can act as a deterrent and that having them is enough to secure peace
Give 4 problems of using WMD
- they are impossible, to control
- they do not comply with the Just War Theory as they cause disproportionate destruction
- They go against the Christian belief of sanctity of life and stewardship due to effects of using WMD
- they kill and injure innocent people
Give the Catholic Church’s view on using WMD - give SOA- link to just war
’ in a nuclear war there would be no victors only victims’
- they are opposed as they can never be used in a Just War as they involve killing innocent civilians. It is never justified
Give the Church of England’s view on using WMD
- they have no opposition to the possession of nuclear weapons for defence but are against the use.
Give the SOA given in the Old Testament about WMD and 2 interpretations of it
’ do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them.’ - Deuteronomy 20
- Some believe this supports the use of nuclear weapons as it says to destroy everything
- Some believe that it shows the victory of God’s people and that the idea of destruction was the understanding of war at the time and so WMD are not allowed
Give one utilitarian views for and against WMD
for:
- having a deterrent keeps people safe and maintains the principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest number
against:
- they cause destruction that is not in the best interest of the majority
Give a Situation ethicist’s view on WMD - include Joseph Fletcher’s view on the Hiroshima Bombing
- many would argue that killing people in a nuclear attack could never be the most loving thing to do but this is subjective and so there are different views
- Joseph Fletcher supported the Hiroshima bombing as he argued the greater good of ending the war was worth more than the lives lost in the bombing
Give three issues surrounding and define them
- violence: a physical , emotional, psychological act harming others
- war: modern weapons means violence carried out in tie of war is extreme
- terrorism: unlawful use of violence to achieve a political or religious goal
Give three Christian responses to problem involved in conflict
- Christians believe that Jesus was a peacemaker so they are against violence and terrorism
- war can be seen as necessary under Just War theory
- Quakers and Christian pacifists groups would disagree with war under any circumstance
Give 2 reasons why people support Luke 6 and 32reasons against it
’ love your enemies, do good to those who hate you’
- it encourages people to display love and forgiveness
- a loving response could lead to peace and avoid conflict
against:
- it may keep the poor oppressed
- it allows the aggressor to always win
Corrymela:
What is it?
What is their aim?
Give one way they do this
- it is a reconciliation centre in Northern Ireland
- they aim to bring people together and get them to reconcile their differences
- provide safe spaces to talk and resolve conflict
Give two ways christians overcome conflict
- by forgiving others : they do this as god has forgiven us by sending his son Jesus to die so that our sins can be forgiven
- God shows us grace so we should grace to others
Give 2 non religious views on issues surrounding conflict and a Christian response to it
- war may be the lesser of two evils
- religion calls for violence and extremism
Christian response: they believe all religions call for peace and that it is a misinterpretation of religion
