Religion Peace And Conflict Flashcards
Reasons for war and
- Greed ~ for land or resources
- Stop ~ atrocities and dictators
- Defend ~ your own country from attack, protecting allies
- political conflict
- Religious conflict
Just War Theory
The right conditions to go to war under.
key figures : St Augustine + St Aquinueb
Conditions for just war theory
Before : just cause, just intention, last resort
During : distinction between civilians and military, no torture/ more force than necessary
After : peace must be restored, fair treatment of country that lost
Christian arguments for just war
- in Old Testament, god told hebrew army to destroy those who lived there
- Jesus never told people to leave the army and even healed a centurions servant
- Jesus overturning tables in the army
- ‘do not kill’ refers to unlawful killing and wartime murder is not unlawful
What are holy wars
- Aim at a religious goal
- Authorised by a religious leader
- Promise heavenly rewards
Are holy wars just
Yes - holy war fighters may expect a place in paradise or forgiveness, e.g. pope ordered Christian’s to fight for the holy land so they might want to gain something for the religion. May think god wants them to fight
No - they believe god wants peace also bible says no one can be forced into Christian belief
Causes of Terrorism
Political, social and economic inequality.
Economic problems and high unemployment.
Religious extremism
Christian response to terrorism
- prevents reconciliation
- aggravated problems
- leads to suffering and harm
- essential that if force is necessary to stop terrorism both sides must address the causes and promote respect for everyone
Arguments supporting pacifism
- violence breeds violence
- other effective alternatives ie negotiation
- life is sacred so killing is wrong
QUOTES
- mlk - darkness cannot drive out darkness
- Jesus’ arrest - ‘all who draw the sword will die by sword’ matt 26:52
- romans Paul - do not overcome evil by evil but overcome good with good rom 12:17-21
Arguments against pacifism
- save more lives if war takes place
- fight for freedom
- just war theory - morally good to defend against attack
- pacifism doesn’t stop evil people
- listen to government
QUOTES
- ‘the authorities that exist have been established by gods’ - romans 13:1
-‘ he overturned tables of the money changers’ mark 11:15
Key pacifists
Bert brocklesby - refused to fight even as a non combatant
Desmond doss - server as a medic and saved 79 men
- the quakers
- MLK
- Mohandis Ghandi
Key just war
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer - was a pacifist but plotted against hitler (drunk driver analogy)
- aquinus and Augustus
Weapons of mass destruction : for unilateral disarmament
- millions could die ( 140,000 died in Hiroshima bombing)
- Cold War is over so not needed as deterrent
- brinkmanship
- no real defence against nuclear attack
- other nations may also disarm
- waste of money could be used on public services
Weapons of mass destruction: against unilateral disarmament
- cannot uninvent nuclear weapons
- deterrence may be needed in future
- effective deterrent since 1945
- MAD
- others might not disarm
- treaties with countries
- could be vulnerable to attack
why do people use violence because of religion
- fight to establish a government of their religion
- religious people may fight to regain land they think is there’s
- differences in belief
- could be other reasons - desire for power
