Peace And Conflict (Y10 - Spring 1) Flashcards
What is in the Cain and Abel Story
- Cain was angry and jealous of his brother, Abel
- Cain’s angry thoughts led to violence … he killed his brother in a fit of envy
- Cain rejects what God wants for the world … God says ‘What have you done?’
What does the Cain and Abel story show us about Teachings on Violence
- Anger is an integral part of human nature, and if it is not controlled, then it will lead to violence
- Anger and violence are corrupted by sin, but is also human nature
- Anger and violence should nearly always be avoided
- Jesus sais that seeds of bitterness that aren’t controlled from the start will increase and end up destroying relationships
- A destructive form of violence is bullying, when a person or group intimidates another person or group
Bible Quotes for Teachings on Violence
- In the Bible, James said, Although the tongue is only a small part of the body, the power of speech can do great damage to other people
- God is on the side of the defenceless - “Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his Holy Habitation”
- Jesus said to his disciples - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)
- James also said - “No one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, fully of deadly poison.”
- “Righteousness gives life, but violence takes it away” (Proverbs)
What are the Effect of Bullying
- The recipient of negative behaviour and comments can detsroy a person’s self-esteem
- The victim may be reduced to living in a state of fear with a sense of powerlessness
- The victim can be attacked with comments on social media, meaning this can be played out in the public eye and global eye
- They can be made to feel small and weak by the bullies.
What does the Unforgiving Servant teach us about Forgiveness (+ Forgiveness Definition)
Forgiveness: Pardoning someone for something they have done wrong.
The Unforgiving Servant teaches us that:
- We should forgive 70x7 times (this could mean you could see this being to forgive infinitly, or to forgive lots but with a limit).
- God forgives us, so out of gratitude, we should forgive others as a result.
Positives and Negatives of Forgiving ‘70x7’
Positives:
- It has been taught by Jesus
- It lifts stress and a weight off your shoulders - like unloading a suitcase of your bitterness (this is to help you deal with the affect the crimical/perpetrator has had on you)
- Allows you to move on and live your life in a positive manner
- You can leave the law to punish the wrongdoers
- If you are forgiven by God, you should forgive others as you have been
- Being forgiven possibly enables things to be able to be put right again
- Suppressing anger can lead to health problems
Negatives:
- Forgiveness needs to be earned properly
- Forgiveness could have a limit (70x7 is lots, but not forever or unlimited)
- Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to find the forgiveness inside of you
- It can feel like you can’t forgive, like in a suicide bombing, where the person to forgive is already dead
- It can feel like your betraying the person that has been affect, which can be especially hard it’s a person you love that has been badly injured or killed as a result
- Being too forgiving could make it more likely to get hurt again
- Only God is actually able to forgive an unlimited number of times
What is Reconciliation and what does it bring?
Reconciliation: Reconciliation is the restoring of harmony after relationships have broken down.
Reconciliation Brings:
- The ability to learn from the past
- Acceptance of each other (respect)
- Peace
- A stronger relationship
Justice Definition and Why is Justice Important for Christians (+Justice Quote from the Bible)
Justice: Fairness for all people.
Quote: “Let Justice roll down like water” (Amos 5:24)
Injustice Definition and a List of Examples of Injustice
Injustice: A lack of Justice/Fairness
Examples:
- Poverty
- Corruption
- Child Labour
- Bullying
- Genocide
- Discrimination
What is Apartheid?
Apartheid is a system of government that allwed segregation (separation) of black and white people. It was the system in South Africa from 1948 - 1990 (nearly 50 years)
How did Apartheid affect Black people in South Africa?
- Non-white South Africans were forced to live in crowded areas called ‘homelands’ with poor housing, poor education and poor medical care
- They had to use separate public facilities
- They could not vote
- Marriages between people of different races were banned
- Black people were not allowed into white people’s areas unless they carried a special ‘passbook’
- If they were found in white areas without a passbook they could be arrested and held in police cells - without trial - for up to three months
- Many black people were known to have been beaten and killed by the police
What did Mandela do to get Justice? - What protests did he run (+ When he joined ANC)
In 1952 Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) whose main goal was to overthrow the racist apartheid government.
- Initially Mandela’s policies were peaceful and non-violent - he encouraged people to break the pass book laws and use whites only entrances
- However, after the Sharpeville Massacre he took part in bombing campaigns that targeted government infrastructure such as railway tracks, power lines and government buildings.
- Although the intention was never to kill, lives were lost in the bombings.
- In 1962, Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason and conspiracy against the state.
What did Mandela do to get Justice? - What did he do and say once he was sent to prison (Include Quote)
Mandela did not protest his innocence, instead he stated that he was prepared to die for his ideal of equal rights.
Quote:
“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic, free society in which all have equal opportunities … it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die
Speech from the Dock by Nelson Mandela 1964.
What did Mandela do to get Justice? - What did have have to go through in prison and what did he do next (+Quote from him when he ended Apartheid)
- Mandela remained in prison for 27 years – hidden away and banned from speaking to the outside world
- He endured long periods of solitary confinement, often going without sleeping or toilet facilities – all designed to reinforce his sense of powerlessness.
- Yet, Mandela became the focal point for a global campaign against apartheid
- In 1990, Mandela was released from prison
- Over the next three years, Mandela took part in
negotiations that ended the racist apartheid system in South Africa - He became South Africa’s first democratically elected President
- He inspired the world, he did not seek revenge for his brutal treatment – he insisted it was in the past and only
the future matters - In doing so, he probably prevented a civil war
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Mandela’s Quote on Education
“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”
What did Martin Luther King believe, in terms of how he was going to bring Justice
Martin Luther King believed that God created everyone in his own image, and the fact that Jesus showed care for all people. The he saw how his family and other black people (such as Rosa Parks) were being treated as inferior, and realised this wasn’t right.
He also believed that he could get what he wanted whilst being peaceful, and not turning to violence. Even though his house was bombed and his family threatened to get killed, he stayed peaceful and organised campaigns, boycotts, marches, demonstrations and gave speeches of his vision to huge crowds in America.
Why and How were Black people discriminated in the USA in the 1900’s
One probable cause of discrimination was the fact that after the Slave Trade had ended, black people were still seen as worse and inferior, compared to white people.
Black people were faced with a lot of discrimination like not being employed as equal, being able to send their children to the same schools, eat in the same restaurants, allowed to vote, and neither to be paid equally (or sit on buses unlike white people).
Christian Teachings in Prejudice (What did the Bible say? e.g On Immigrants)
In the Old Testament, the laws given to the people include the proper treatment of foreigners, or ‘aliens’. The Bible says: “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born.”
This shows the people are told that they must treat immigrants in the same way they would treat a native. They should think how they and their ancestors felt when they were foreigners, and that they should give new foreigners the same love that they were given themselves.
They are also told that if they employ people, they should not treat immigrants differently from anyone else, so they should not exploit them, or try to cheat them out of recieving fair wages.
In the New Testament, the best known teaching that can be used in the discussion of racism, is the Good Samaritan from Luke’s Gospel.
Jesus’s Teachings on Righteous Anger (+Example of Jesus showing Righteous Anger)
- Jesus taught that anger should be avoided wherever possible, but some Christians belive righteous anger can be effective to get justice. (It is acceptable because it is directed against something God would not agree with.)
- Righteous Anger must be controlled and actually used positively to change a situation. Here, this Righteous Anger should be channelled into postive action that will improve a situation.
- Jesus once showed Righteous Anger, when he drove the sellers away from the Temple (John 2: 13-17)
What is the Black Lives Matter Movement, their Main Mission, and How they Protest
The #BlackLivesMatter was founded back in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murder and has recently gathered substantial momentum after the death of George Floyd in the USA in 2020, with the movement becoming especially popular in the US, UK and Canada.
The main mission is to eradiacte white and police supremacy and to build awareness and power in terms of protect Black communities against all forms of discrimination, especially Systematic Racism. Ways that this is comabted is mainly through peaceful protests where thousands of people meet up in public places to march, sing, dance and to make speeches and e.c.t. In addition is had become common for elite sporting athletes to ‘take the knee’ as a silent protest and acknowledgment of this injustice.
However, not wll protests have been peaceful, with some taking protesting to a violent level, resulting in people getting injured in clashes, along with statues being defaced and destroyed. As a result, there has been questions raised whether these violent protests are not the right way to go forwards with in the future.
What is the Me Too Movement, their Main Mission, and How they Protest
The Me Too movement is a conscious effort to have an effect on a social level, especially on social media, in order to change the public attitudes towards sexual harrassment against women, as well supporting women affected by it as well.
The movement was originally founded in 2006, but has only really caught the attention of the mainstream public in late 2017, when prominent and high-profile actresses opened up on their experiences of sexual harrassment in the film industry, with the main goal now being to provide soldarity and comfort for all women who have experienced sexual harrassment to go and share their experiences with with those who have went through similar circumstances.
Ways of protesting that are used are mainly through sharing the hashtag on social media platforms, as well as just talking about previous experiences, while getting the perpetrator convicted of such a crime. However, the movement also want to change society on a wider basis, so that there can be a world where men speak up for women who are being harrassed, and for all people of all backgrounds to be protected and helped always and without hesitation.
Views Against Violent Protest (Catholic View) and Views In Favour of Violent Protest (Contrasting View)
Against Violent Protest (Catholic View):
- The law in the UK allows people to peacefully protest, as long as it is verified by the police (6 days before)
- Violent Protests are illigal in the UK
- It is believed that it is an ineffective and damaging way to bring change
- Most of the BLM protests have been peaceful ones
- People can get killed in Violent Protests
- Peaceful protests can work (like how Martin Luther King made it)
In Favour of Violent Protest (Contrasting View)
- It is believed that it is the only to get the people in power’s notice (Peaceful is ineffective)
- The Suffragettes movement in the early 1900’s is an example of violent protest
- The Catholic Church supported Violent protesters to rally against their corrupt governements (+anti-apartheid protests, some BLM, and e.c.t).
How is Sexual Harrasment a form of Discrimination? (+ What it is and Examples)
Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. It is defined as unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which:
- Violates your dignity
- Makes you feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated
- Creates a hostile or offensive environment
Examples of what Sexual Harrassment can be:
- Gestures/Remarks
- Physical Behaviour (touching)
- Asking Questions about Sex Life
- Telling Sexual Jokes
- Emailing/Texting/Messaging Sexual Content
- Displaying Images of Sexual Nature
Defintion of War + The 3 Bible Viewponts on War
War: Armed Conflict between countries or between different groups within a country
The Bible gives multiple viewpoints of war:
- War is Right
- War is Sometimes Right
- War is Always Wrong
Old Testament Quotes on War
“Prepare For War”
“The Lord Is A Warrior”
“God Will Destroy These Nations Before You”
“When You Are Fighting Your Enemies, The Lord Is On Your Side”
“An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth”
New Testament Quotes on War
“If Someone Slaps You On The Right Cheek, Turn Your Face And Offer Him The Left”
“Love Your Neighbour As Yourself”
“Blessed Are The Peacemakers”
“Put Your Sword Away; For All Those Who Take Up The Sword Shall Die By The Sword”
“Love Your Enemies And Pray For Those Who Persecute You”
“You Shall Not Murder”
3 Bible Quotes that Support War, and 3 Bible Quotes that do Not Support War (+What They Mean)
3 Quotes that Support War:
- “An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth” - It’s OK to take revenge
- “The Lord Is A Warrior”- You should be a fighter like God is
- “When You Are Fighting Your Enemies, The Lord Is On Your Side” - Implies that God is backing you in what you’re doing
3 Quotes Against War:
- “Love Your Neighbour As Yourself” - You should love others, so why fight them
- “You Shall Not Murder” - You should never ever kill anyone for any reason
- “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” - The ones who make peace and do not fight are the ones who are looked after by God.
Why will there be differences in the Old and New Testaments Viewpoints on War
There will be differences between the Old and and New Testaments on the topic of war, as there were different viewpoints and ways to look at certain things, in certain times, which is why each quotes needs to be looked at in context.
Why does the Old Testement suggest God approves of War, and what does the Bible say overall (+Overall Quote)
The Old Testament suggests God approves of Violence and War because:
- Jesus, who brought teachings of peace, had not yet come
- God was helping and protecting his special ‘chosen people’ - who were the Israelites (the Jews).
But, many other passages show that peace is what God really wants:
“Nations will never again go to War” (Isaiah 2: 4)
Reasons why Countries will go to War
- To gain power
- To gain land
- To gain resources, e.g Oil
- To defend innocent people
- To retaliate (revenge)
- To depose or stop a Dictator (defend human rights)
- Defend our allies
- Political Differences
- Religious Differences
- Self-Defence
What do most Christains think about War
For some Christians (and others), taking human life is seriously wrong - it goes against the commandment ‘do not muder’ and against the Sanctity of Life.
Depite this, the Catholic Church teach that it is sometimes neccessary to go to war, e.g to protect innocent people. When making a decision, most Christians follow the Just War Theory.
What is the Just War Theory and what are it’s aims (+ Who Made It)
The Just War Theory is a set conditions (rules, principles) under which it is justified to go to war.
The Aims Are:
- To limit the use of war
- To remeber the humanity of the enemy
St. Thomas Aquinas created the Just War Theory. He was a Christian monk who devised this theory back in the 13th Century.
For a War to be considered Just, it must follow these Rules:
- Must be started and controlled by proper authorities (For example, the government, monarch, or United Nations)
- It must have a just cause/reason. (For example, to protect innocent people; not for greed)
- It must be for the right intention. (The war must intend to do good, e.g to right what is wrong)
- It must be a last resort. (Peaceful methods must have been tried first, such as U.N negotations/economic sanctions)
- It must be in proportion. (The benefits of going to war must be greater than the harm caused)
- There must be a reasonable chance of success. (Jersey going to war against the powerful US would be a waste of lives and resources)
