Unit 3: Peace and peacemaking

Question 1

What are the benefits of peace?

Answer 1

• Helps to limit suffering
• Develop harmony
• Provides mutual respect between people

Question 2

Why do people choose to be pacifists?

Answer 2

• Believe that there’s always a way to solve a problem without the need to resort to violence
• Use peaceful methods to resolve conflicts instead of war
• E.g. sanctions, protests and boycotts
• God requires us to love one another and the Bible includes our enemies in this

Question 3

What is absolute pacifism?

Answer 3

Absolute or total pacifism is the belief that there should be no use of military force whatsoever - whether or not the cause is just.

Question 4

Biblical examples of pacifism

Answer 4

• When faced with his own enemies, the Romans, Jesus gave himself up to death
• When Peter sliced off the ear of the servant of the High Priest in the Garden of Gethsemane to try and prevent Jesus being arrested, Jesus healed the servant and criticised Peter for using violence
• In Romans 13, Paul teaches that governments should be respected as they carry God’s authority to rule

Question 5

What denominations teach that Jesus Himself was a pacifist?

Answer 5

• The Brethren
• Amish
• Quakers

Question 6

Why do these denominations believe that Jesus was a pacifist?

Answer 6

• Based on the way Jesus lived
• E.g. his choice to accept the violence put upon him before his crucifixion without fighting back
• Teaching regarding loving enemies and prayer for persecutors
• Promise that peacemakers would be blessed

Question 7

What is conditional pacifism?

Answer 7

• It is the negative consequences of war and violence that make them unacceptable
• There are times when the consequences of an act of war are less bad than the alternative
• The act of war is necessary, though ideally no one should be killed

Question 8

Do the RCC and COE believe that war is sometimes necessary to achieve peace?

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

Example of an organisation that works to bring peace

Answer 9

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Question 10

Give examples of Christians who have used violence in order to achieve peace

Answer 10

• Nelson Mandela in his struggle against apartheid
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer was firmly against the Nazi dictatorship and was involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but the Bible says in the 6th Commandment: ‘Do not murder.’

Question 11

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Answer 11

• Bonhoeffer believed God, in His grace, would judge him fairly
• Felt clear in his own conscience about what he was doing
• Committed to justice and believed that his actions demonstrated this

Question 12

Who is Desmond Tutu and what did he do?

Answer 12

• Desmond Tutu is the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa
• He was a pacifist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent work to help end apartheid
• Firm belief in ‘The Rainbow People of God.’
• Used this phrase to refer to his belief that all people are God’s children regardless of race, gender, age etc.
• People should treat one another with grace and compassion, just as Jesus did
• Wanted to create a world where everyone can receive an education, have healthcare, clean water, food and shelter.
• Diversity should be celebrated, not used as a reason for war.

Question 13

What is apartheid?

Answer 13

The racial segregation of black and white people.

Question 14

Should working for peace be the most important activity for Christians? - The Great Commission

Answer 14

• Peace is obviously a central teaching in Christianity.
• Before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus told his followers it was his peace that he left with them
• Forgiveness from sins brings a peace for Christians
• Peace achieved through personal salvation has an eternal effect as Christianity teaches that those who are in a relationship with God will spend eternity in heaven
• Christians should follow the commands of Jesus and He taught people peace

Question 15

Should working for peace be the most important activity for Christians? - The Great Commission continued…

Answer 15

• So some Christians say that the most important thing for a Christian to do is to follow the Great Commission
• Jesus’ FINAL WORDS before he ascended were ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19)
• This means that a Christian’s priority would be evangelism and spreading the gospel in order to bring people to faith
• They would say they’re working for peace in an indirect way

Question 16

What are the two greatest commandments?

Answer 16

Matthew 22:36-40
“'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself. '”

Question 17

Should working for peace be the most important activity for Christians? - Other Christians

Answer 17

• Other Christians may argue that Jesus’ teaching calls them to work for peace on a larger scale.
• Believe that in order to obey Jesus’ command to be peacemakers and love their enemies, they need to actively work and bring peace where there is none
• This is important as an act of service, continuing Jesus’ work
• It is through their actions to promote peace and end conflict that they believe God’s love for people is best shown
• Reflecting God’s omnibenevolence
• Responding to injustice and meeting the needs of those affected by war is seen as obeying the two greatest commandments
• Working for peace is the most important activity for Christians as if fulfils these two commandments