Religion, Peace and Conflict- Reasons For War Flashcards
What are the three main reasons for war?
Greed, Self-defence and Retaliation.
What is greed?
A war started to gain more land/power/resources.
What is self-defence?
Military action or war that is being fought as a defensive measure against another attacking force.
What is retaliation?
A war started in response to a previous action.
Do religious believers support wars started from greed?
No - Greed comes from selfishness and is not worth the cost of human life or suffering.
What does Buddhism teach about greed?
Greed is one of the three poisons. War could be an example of suffering.
Do religious believers support wars started from self-defence?
Some do - This cause of war is seen as more acceptable as many believe we have the right to defend ourselves. However, pacifists do not think any type of war is justified.
Do religious believers support wars started from retaliation?
No - Christianity and Buddhism is generally against retaliation as they believe it escalates the problem. Jesus taught to ‘turn the other cheek’ whilst the Buddha encouraged forgiveness and compassion.
What quote shows Christianity warns against greed?
“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” - Timothy 6:10
What is a real-life example of a war started from self-defence?
WW2- the UK (and many other countries) fought to defend itself from Nazi invasion and helped to defeat what they saw was an evil threat to Europe.
