theme D notes
peace, justice, forgiveness and reconciliation
peace - the opposite of war, harmony between all in society
→ Jesus taught “blessed are the peacemakers”
→ “say the words of peace”
justice - bringing fairness to a situation
→ Jesus taught to seek justice
→ the Qur’an states “stand firmly for justice”
forgiveness - letting go of blame
→ Jesus said “forgive not seven but seventy seven times”
→ the Hadith states “forgive others and god will forgive you”
reconciliation - making up and rebuilding relationships after disagreement
→ St Paul said “God reconciled himself to us through Christ”
→ the Hadith states “whoever makes reconciliation is rewarded by God”
violence
violence - behaviour involving physical force which intends to hurt/damage
protest - a statement or action to express disagreement
oppose violence | support violence |
“turn the other cheek” - never use violence, even in retaliation because violence causes further harm | “fight in the way of God those who fight you” - this is from the Qur’an and shows that violence can be used in self defence or in defence of the religion |
“we must use the weapon of love” - MLK was a Christian pacifist and believed that even in protests Christian’s should never use violence | “seek justice” - shows that fighting against injustice can be ok → the ends justify the means and maybe violence can be used in order to achieve justice |
“whoever has killed a soul has killed all mankind” - this is from the Qur’an, it shows that human life is sacred and violence should be avoided | “an eye for an eye” - this is from the Old Testament Bible and shows that you can take revenge on someone who has harmed you |
terrorism
terrorism - use of violence and threats to intimidate others (used for political purposes)
all religions disagree with terrorism
→ the Bible says “do not kill”, human life is sacred and holy, we are all made in the image of God → therefore terrorism is always wrong
→ “whoever has killed a soul, it is as though he had killed all mankind”, taking life is wrong and against the will of God
war
war - armed conflict between two or more sides
victims of war - those who are harmed in any way during a war
Christianity | Islam | |
against war | “do not kill” “blessed are the peacemakers” quakers are a pacific denomination who believe all violence is always wrong | "whoever has killed a soul, it is as though he had killed all mankind” |
for war | just war theory - set of rules for fighting a war in a way justified and acceptable to God which included jus ad bellum and jus in bello
some including Catholics believe that under these circumstances war can be justified | “fight in the war of God those who fight you” lesser Jihad is the struggle to defend God and Islam from external threat rules for this include civilians not being targeted and ceasing fire as soon as the war ends |
responses to war:
death
homelessness
health issues
trauma
malnutrition
religious believers might donate to charities, volunteer, house refugees or raise awareness
they would be doing this because Jesus taught “treat others how you would like to be treated”
the Qur’an teaches “God is well aware of whatever good you do”
holy war
Christians | Islam | |
for holy war | Bible OLD TESTAMENT states “you must destroy them totally” God will help you to defeat your enemies | “fight in the war of God those who fight you, but do not overstep the limits” Muslims can fight to protect themselves and their religion but there are limits |
against holy war | “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Christians should never use violence even against those who harm them, instead they should work for reconciliation | Muhammed said “we have finished the lesser jihad, now we are starting the greater jihad” this suggests that in modern society we now have religious freedom and we are protected, therefore holy war is no longer necessary |
pacifism
pacifist - all violence is wrong
Christianity | Islam | |
oppose pacifism | “eye for an eye” Saint Paul said to “submit to the governing authority” therefore if a war is declared you should accept that and submit | “fight in the way of God those who fight you” |
support pacifism | “turn the other cheek” “we must use the weapon of love” |
weapons of mass destruction
weapons of mass destruction - weapons which cause widespread and indiscriminate damage, including nuclear, chemical and biological
Christianity | Islam | |
oppose WMDs | “do not kill” do not meet all just war criteria | do not meet all criteria of lesser jihad “God has appointed you his stewards” - WMDs would damage not only people but also animals and the environment |
support WMDs | mutually assured destruction - use the WMDs as a deterrent “an eye for an eye” and this is also done to protect our own people “submit to the governing authorities” | “fight in the war of God those who fight you” - Muslims can keep WMDs because they could be used in retaliation and they also act as a deterrent |
religion and peace making
peace making - working to bring about peace and reconciliation
Jesus taught “blessed are the peacemaker” which inspires Christians to work for peace in society today. Christianity should also forgive and work to bring reconciliation and peace
the Qur’an teaches to “say words of peace” which encourages Muslims who work for peace around the world