Peace And Conflict Points

Question 1

“bullying is the worst form of violence” (against)

Answer 1

• The Bible teaches that the power of the word and tongue can do great damage and affects our relationship with other people and God (James 3:8-10).
• War is worse since it has far reaching consequences and worsens our relationship with God (Role of Religion - Pope Francis),
• Terrorism is worse since although there is also psycoligical trauma, it directly kills and leaves fear within society (CCC on terrorism).

Question 2

“People should always forgive and reconcile with those who have wronged them” (for)

Answer 2

• Forgiveness is a central message in Jesus’ teachings (Parable of the Lost Son),
• Jesus asked those who crucified him (Luke 23:34).
• It is God’s responsibility to forgive – Jesus’ human nature struggled to forgive the people who crucified him and asked the Father to do it (‘father, forgive them’)

Question 3

“It is never right to use violent protests to end injustice”

Answer 3

• communication is the best way to resolve an issue (Pope Francis ‘that of dialogue’),
• Jesus praised and taught peace (told disciples to put away their swords/praised peacemakers/teaching of turning the other cheek).
• Jesus used violent protest once (cleansing the Temple).

Question 4

“Christians should never be angry” (against)

Answer 4

• The consequences of anger may be wrong (10 Commandments ‘thou shall not murder’).
• There was one time that Jesus was angry (the Temple),
• The Bible shows that God is angered by sin (Psalm 7:11).

Question 5

“No war can ever be just”

Answer 5

• Jesus taught peace (‘blessed are the peacemakers’).
• Jesus acknowledges that force is sometimes necessary (Luke 22:36),
• JWT.

Question 6

“It is acceptable for a country to own nuclear weapons” (against)

Answer 6

• WMD are necessary as a deterrent to prevent other countries from attacking (UK owns them partially for this reason),
• Possibility of sucess with WMD is low (Pope Benedict ‘no victors, only victims’),
• Catholic Church teaches that WMD should not be used since they do not discriminate against who they are used against (Pacem in Terris ‘nuclear weapons must be banned’)

Question 7

“Britain should be prepared to take more refugees” (for)

Answer 7

• Christians should be accepting and caring of everyone (love thy neighbour),
• refugees can make a significant contribution to society (filling jobs to boost the economy).
• Funding is already stretched (e.g the NHS, housing and education).

Question 8

“People should never use violence to defend religion” (for)

Answer 8

• Jesus taught and encouraged for issues to be resolved peacefully (‘blessed are the peacemakers’),
• the Bible clearly states to not kill (10 Commandments (‘thou shall not kill’).
• Examples in the Bible where war was waged to defend a religion (Israelites did this in Samuel 15:1).

Question 9

“There can never be a holy war in Christianity” (for)

Answer 9

• Those who fight for God are contradicting what Jesus taught (‘turn the other cheek’),
• holy wars are excuses for selfishness and hypocrisy (Crusades - Christians who fought stated that they were fighting for God though their actual aim was to take ‘holy land’ such as Jerusalem and previously owned Christian land).

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Question 10

“Christians should never use violence” (for)

Answer 10

• Jesus advocated for peace,
• protest does not have to be violent to be sucessful (Martin Luther).
• The Catholic Church teaches that violence is sometimes necessary (Pope Francis ‘radical pacifism’).

Question 11

“Christian leaders cannot stop wars”

Answer 11

• There are several Christian leaders who have failed to stop wars (Pope Francis could not stop conflict in Middle East and Ukraine),
• many world leaders do not care about the opinions of religious leaders and go to war to gain power (Russian Ukrainian war).
• Religious leaders can bring peoples attention against war (Pope Francis is heard by millions of people)

Question 12

“Terrorism is always wrong” (for)

Answer 12

• The Catholic Church have condemned the use of violence as an affront to God and human dignity (CCC),
• St Paul taught to obey the authorities.
• Some acts of terror have been sucessful at bringing positive change (Suffragettes).

Question 13

“The use of torture can never be justified” (for)

Answer 13

• Catholic Church teaches that torture goes against human dignity,
• problems and evidence should be resolved peacefully (‘love thy neighbour’).
• Torture may result in more positive over the long term (may be the only way to obtain important information in a situation such as terrorism. This can be used to prevent further attacks).