theme d

Judiasm peace and forgiveness belief

Micah 6:  what does the lord require of you, to act justly

Forgiveness, reconciliation Mtt: reconcile yourself with your brother before you make your gift.

judaism conflict belief

6th commandment, 'you shall not murder'

Used to justify war 'but if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth...'

The words are intended to limit revenge but encourage vengeance. But revenge is not consistent with the later teaching of Jesus.

christianity peace belief

“peace i leave with you peace i give to you justice, forgiveness reconciliation” (reffering to the holy spirit)

Jesus is often described as a pacifist. He taught:

“Blessed are the peacemakers”

When he was arrested in Gethsemane his disciples wanted to defend him, 'no more of this' said Jesus saying that they should not 'strike their swords'

judaism beliefs in social justice

''Guard your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech'' Psalm 34:1

''by three things is the world sustained: law, truth and peace.'' Mishnah, Pirkei Avot (ethics of Fathers) 1:18

''let every person be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.'' Rom 13:1

‘‘let justice well up like water and righteousness like an unfailign stream’’

christianity beliefs social justice

Romans 12:21 - do not repay evil with evil

Leviticus 19:18 - love thy neighbour as yourself + do not seek revenge

deterrence - aims of punishment

put people off comitting crimes e.g. being pulled over for speeding and getting a ticket

retribution

making someone pay for what they did ‘‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’’

reformation

make a person realise what they did wrong e.g. a supervised meeting between the criminal and the victim

protection

protect the general public from criminals e.g. inprisonment

sin

actions that seperate humans from God e.g. murder, adultery, worshipping idols

crime - illegal action that can be punished by the law

Against the state - tax fraud / terrorism / treason

Against the person - murder / assault

Against property - theft / arson / vandalism

reasons for war

religion - fighting over religious differences

economucs - fighting over natral resources

greed - war to gain land

self-defence - if a country is under attack, they fight back

retailation - revenge after another country does

law

Civil law -  sets out the rights & duties of individual

Criminal law - sets out the definitions of criminal offences and the rules and procedures that apply when the

    police investigate an offence they allege you have committed

christian beliefs on crime

Romans 13:1 - follow the law

''But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.'' Amos 5:24

hope of another life for the clones

you were kept away from the worst of those horrors

We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.

Christian peaceful protest

peaceful protests

• Isabel VS (christian) was arrested for silent prayer outside an abortion clinic in Kings Norton for breaking a buffer zone policy that prohibits protests near abortion clinics.

• CHristians may feel the need to protest in the name of stweardship e.g. Protesting against global warming/the use of fossil fuels ot worhsip and protect Gods gift to be stewards of the land

• ‘‘blessed are the peacemakers’’ - Jesus

• turn the cheek in the face of violence

• told to love their enemies and love each other

Muslims protesting

• it is believed that Muslims have a duty to protest about anything unfair e.g. Protests over problems in the Middle East.

• Amongst the rights that Islam has conferred on human beings is the right to protest against government's tyranny.

• Referring to it the Quran says: "God does not love evil talk in public unless it is by some- one who has been injured thereby" (4:148).

   

Judaism for war

• In the Old Testament it states on a few occasions that God enocurages poeple to go to war to defend themslesves, this suggests that war is justified if it is to defend youself ‘‘You shall destroy them!’’

• Exo: ‘‘‘but if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life’’

• ‘‘there is a time for killing… a time for war and a time for peace’’

• ‘if a person intends to kill you, be the first to kill him’ - Talmud

Christians against war

• Jesus was very clear in his teachings about Love (Agape) and PEACE

• Jesus taught that people who followed peace would be rewarded in Heaven ‘‘blessed are the peacemakers’’

• do not kill is one of the 10 commandments

nuclear weapons

weapons that work by a nuclear reactiom they devastate huge areas and kill large numbers of people

weapons of mass destruction

weapons that can kill large numbers of people and/or cause great damage

chemical weapons

weapons that use lethal chemicals to poison, burn or paralyse humans and destroy the natural environment

biological weapons

weapons that contain living organisms or infective material that can lead to disease or death

just war theory

Plate and Cicero’s theory added to by Christian theologians. attempting to reconcile:

• the war must be started and controlled by the state

• there must be a just case, those who attacked are attacked because they deserve it

• minimum force should be used and peace and justice must be restored afterward

its aim is to provide a guide to the right way for states to act in potential conflict situations

pacifist

a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable

e.g. Christians such as Quakers and Ghandi (Hindu)

Holy war - example

Holy war - fighting for a religious cause / God (e.g. The Crusades) when Turks in the 11th and 12 centuries to liberate the Holy Place of Palestine from the Muslims, the Church identified Muslims with Satan and the crusades with God.

holy war (Jihad)

Jihad (struggle) - fighting for Allah, a duty if Islam or Muslims are under threat.

If they decide to engage in lesser jihad this may justify going to war, this is described as Harb al-Muqadis: a Holy War. Jihad should rule out weapons of mass destruction in most cases, terrorism or any use of violence to create fear or which leads to the targeting of many civilians is unacceptable. When engaging lesser Jihad, there are criteria:

• Fought for God

• A last resort

• Conducted fairly

• for the protection of civilians and the restoration of peace

• must be declared by religious leader in defence

Qu’ran ‘‘fight only when necessary, and only with the needed force’’

Hadith ‘‘those who fight for Allah are serving his cause’’

pacifism

Some Christians have always held that armed conflict is wrong and can never be justified

They take Jesus' words literally when he said:

• 'if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap you left cheek too'

• Matthew 5:9 - blessed are the peacemakers

• Matthew 26:52 - pacifism -- those who live by the sword die by the sword

• John 18 - Jesus didn't let Peter fight back when he was arrested

Christian non-pacifist e.g. liberal

• Christians can fight in just wars (JWT - St Thomas Aquinas)

• Because: Jesus did not condemn soldiers; Christians have to obey conscription (Romans 13:1)

• St Paul said (Rom 13 and Titus 3) that Christians have to obey the orders of the government.

asylum seekers

a person, especially a political fugitive, who applies for refuge or asylum in a foreign country or its embassy

christianity - victims of war

john - ‘‘let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth’’

Mark 12:42-43 - give as much as you can

jewish - victims of ear

Matthew 6:2 - do not boast about helping other

Proverbs 21:13 - if you do not help others you will not be helped