theme d: religion, peace, & conflict

Question 1

“if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God” surah 42:40

Answer 1

reconciliation good

Question 2

“take not life - which God has made sacred - except for just cause” Surah 17:33

Answer 2

life is sacred and God created it specially & with love, so you shouldn’t kill people for no reason or you are killing something holy

Question 3

“the Greatest Jihad is to battle your own soul, to fight the evil within yourself” Hadith, Prophet Muhammad

Answer 3

the spiritual battles are more important than physical ones, and you should try to improve yourself first before judging/attacking anyone else

Question 4

“and fight for the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not be aggressive, for surely God does not like the aggressors” Qur’an

Answer 4

only fight to defend, not to attack, and only for God

Question 5

“none of you is a believer until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself” Hadith, Prophet Muhammad

Answer 5

treat others how you’d like to be treated, defend those under attack & don’t be greedy in war

Question 6

“blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God” Matthew 5:9 - the sermon on the mount

Answer 6

you should try to make peace, God loves peace over violence

Question 7

“proclaim this among the nations, Prepare for War! Rouse the warriors, let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Turn your plough shares into swords & your pruning hooks into spears.” Joel 3:9-11

Answer 7

be prepared to fight & drop everything to do so

Question 8

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” john 15:13

Answer 8

you should sacrifice yourselves for others/the greater good, should be willing to die for what is right

Question 9

“blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” psalm 144:1

Answer 9

if somebody trains you for fighting, aren’t they permitting it by helping you prepare?

Question 10

“the Lord tests the righteousness but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence” psalm 11:5

Answer 10

the Lord hates any kind of violence or violent people, so although the Lord with test you and you will struggle in life, you should not turn to violence

Question 11

“but i tell you, do not resist an evil person. if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Matthew 5:39

Answer 11

do not do violent things in retaliation, instead try to forgive & reconcile

Question 12

“if there is a serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” exodus 21:23-24

Answer 12

this originally intended to introduce sense of proportion into way people respond to each other - can’t be used to justify nuclear weapons/WMD

Question 13

the story of the good samaritan (bible)

Answer 13

• shows Jesus thinks people should be kind to others regardless of if they’re similar to you - people at the time would’ve only helped others similar to them e.g. same religion/culture/etc
• priest & levite don’t help the person beaten & instead walk past - levite tribe of Judaism, elevated to be God’s favourite one
• Samaritans hated by Jews, having him do the right thing would’ve been very confronting