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GCSE RS > Christianity: Peace and Conflict > Flashcards

Christianity: Peace and Conflict Flashcards

1
Q

Peace

A

The absence of conflict and violence, and everyone in the world living in harmony.

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2
Q

QUOTE: Jesus prompted forgiveness and peace when he encouraged people to love and pray for their enemies instead of hating them.

A

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” -Jesus

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3
Q

Why might Jesus be known as the ‘Prince of Peace’?

A
  • He strongly promotes forgiveness and peace between people

- When he was sent to hang on the cross he didn’t fight the Romans, and when he was resurrected he didn’t retaliate

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4
Q

Should Christians ever resort to violence?

YES

A
  • Jesus never mentioned war itself
  • Sometimes conflict is necessary to prevent the suffering of lots of people and keep the peace by fighting against evil and injustice
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5
Q

Should Christians ever resort to violence?

NO

A

-All teachings suggest that Christians should never retaliate with violence and should always keep the peace, ensuring that punishment is only handed out by God

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6
Q

What is justice?

A

-Fairness in the way that people are dealt with

E.g. God is just and therefore Christians should follow his example

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7
Q

QUOTE: Justice

A

“The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

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8
Q

What is reconciliation?

A

-The restoration of friendly relations

E.g. Jesus made reconciliation possible through his death on the cross so God could have a relationship with us again

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9
Q

QUOTE: Reconciliation

A

“Blessed are the peacemakers”

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10
Q

What is forgiveness?

A

-Pardoning a person for a wrong committed against you

E.g. Only God has the right to judge and punish people

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11
Q

QUOTE: Forgiveness

A

“Forgive us our trespasses”

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12
Q

How and why do Christian groups work for peace?

A

•Jesus taught that his followers must seek and work for peace

  • Encouraging opposing sides to talk to achieve reconciliation
  • Campaigning against oppressors
  • Educating people on injustices around the world
  • Encouraging non-violent protests

E.g. Pax Christi

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13
Q

Why is justice and reconciliation important to Christians?

A
  • They believe that peace can’t be achieved without justice first
  • Jesus modelled reconciliation when he died to restore our relationship with God
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14
Q

Causes of conflict

A 
Fear
National pride
Economics
Self defence
Religion
Natural resources
Long-standing racial/ethnic hatred
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15
Q

How do Christians respond to conflict?

A

They believe in working towards world peace through belief in:
—>Pacifism
—>Just War
—>Dealing with the cause

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16
Q

Pacifism

A

The belief that war can never be justified and conflicts should be settled peacefully (E.g. the Quakers)

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17
Q

Just War

A

The belief that it may be right to fight in some circumstances

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18
Q

Dealing with the cause

A

The belief that the cause of the conflict is something which needs to be fixed before the conflict can end (e.g. inequality)

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19
Q

QUOTE: When Jesus was arrested he stopped his own followers from using violence because fighting simply creates more problems rather than solving anything.

A

“All those who draw the sword will die by the sword.” -Jesus

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20
Q

Why is Jesus’ attitude towards conflict important to some Christians?

A

They believe that they should follow Jesus’ example of trusting that everything is in God’s control and there is no need for violence

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21
Q

How do some Christians interpret Jesus’ attitude towards conflict differently?

A

They interpret his teaching as a specific situation as Jesus knew he had to go to the cross so he was not discouraging violence in other circumstances

Or the teaching is referring to only small-scale personal conflicts, not war

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22
Q

Situation ethics

A

Moral decisions should be based on what is the most loving thing to do, depending on the situation

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23
Q

How may some people argue against the theory of situation ethics?

A

The most loving thing to do is very subjective and fixed rules offer a more consistent and fair solution

24
Q

What are the non-religious viewpoints about the role of religion in conflict?

A

—>Some non-religious people believe that religion is a major factor of war as it has been the cause of many wars throughout history (e.g. the Crusades).
—>They believe that if religion was abolished there would be less conflict.

25
Q

How do Christians respond to non-religious viewpoints about the role of religion in conflict?

A

They argue that:
—>Often what seems to be a religious dispute is actually about culture and social belief

—>All religions call for peace

—>Christianity teaches people to love their enemies

—>Some people misinterpret religious teachings

26
Q

QUOTE: Religion is almost never the sole reason for a war, however most wars have a religious aspect to them as it is often an intensifier of war.

A

“Religion isn’t usually the cause of the conflict, but it’s an added factor.” -Archbishop of Canterbury

27
Q

Atrocity

A

An extremely cruel or barbaric attack, usually involving violence

28
Q

Conflict

A

A serious disagreement

29
Q

Looting

A

Stealing goods from shops and houses, usually during a war or riot

30
Q

Terrorist

A

A person who uses unlawful violence or threats to harm or injure people

31
Q

There are key biblical teachings that might lead a Christian to choose Pacifism:

A

—>The Ten Commandments forbid killing
—>Jesus taught that people should love their enemies
—>Jesus stopped his own followers from using violence

*quotes for all of these

32
Q

QUOTE: The Ten Commandments forbid killing which is another reason for Christians to avoid conflict.

A

“You shall not murder.”

33
Q

Aggressor

A

A person, group or country that is the first to attack another

34
Q

Mediator

A

A person who tried to help those in conflict reach an agreement

35
Q

Passive resistance

A

Non-violent opposition to something (e.g. Martin Luther’s King Jr’s bus boycott)

36
Q

QUOTE: The Quakers are a Pacifist Christian group who act as mediators for peace. They made a commitment to King Charles II never to fight or serve in the army.

A

“The Spirit of Christ (…) will never move us to fight” -Quakers

37
Q

Many Christians may oppose pacifism because they could argue that:

A

—>Aggressors always win
—>No one’s prepared to fight for others or protect the innocent
—>Evil can flourish over good
—>It is legitimate for countries to go to war if there’s a good reason

38
Q

What does Christianity teach against passive resistance?

A
  • Christians are required by the bible to work towards peace.
  • Therefore passive resistance is a good way to do this because it is working towards what is right without the use of violence.
39
Q

QUOTE: A war fought within the laws of God could be more justifiable, therefore religious believers could fight in conflicts if certain conditions were met.

A

“War in obedience to the divine command (…) have by no means violated the commandment: ‘you shall not kill’.” -St. Augustine

40
Q

The conditions of a Just War:

A

1•Just cause (strong reason)

2•Legitimate authority (approval of the gov or UN)

3•Good intention (positive outcome intended)

4•Last resort (all other ways tried first)

5•Reasonable chance of success (good chance of a peaceful outcome)

6•Care + avoidance of civilians (cautious approach, never target innocents)

7•Proportionate force (method in proportion to injustice)

41
Q

Does the Just War criteria really work?

YES

A
  • Ensures that innocent lives aren’t targeted and may be saved in the long-run
  • If they have a good chance of winning it is likely to be a short war with minimal casualties
42
Q

Does the Just War criteria really work?

NO

A
  • Some governments are corrupt so they might give permission to go to war but with bad intentions
  • Some argue that in no circumstances is war a solution to a problem
  • Innocents are bound to get hurt even if they’re not directly targeted
43
Q

QUOTE: If you are fighting to save your loved ones and not for your own selfish gain then that is an honourable and just enough reason to fight without going against the Commandments.

A

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” -Jesus

44
Q

QUOTE: Rulers are chosen by God and so will not go to war without a just cause and will fight within the laws of God.

A

“Rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants.” -St. Paul

*St. Paul is known for contradicting his previous teachings in other arguments

45
Q

Why may supporters of situation ethics not accept the Just War theory?

A

—>It is only right to fight in a war if it the most loving thing to do
—>A war is so complex that it may be impossible to know what the most loving thing to do is
—>Both sides may claim that they are doing the most loving thing

46
Q

Holy war

A

A war in which religion is the driving force; it will aim to achieve a religious outcome, be authorised by a religious leader and there is a spiritual reward for those who take part

47
Q

Why may some people believe that holy wars are encouraged in the Old Testament?

A

The Bible justifies the Canaan War by identifying Canaan with the Promised Land (land promised to the Israelites by God)

48
Q

QUOTE: It may be argued that the Old Testament encourages conflict and revenge as in the Canaan War, God encouraged violence in order to take over the Promised Land.

A

“Completely destroy them (…) as the Lord your God has commanded you.”

49
Q

Aims of holy wars:

A

To spread the faith

To rescue religious believers from non-believing countries

The convert countries to a different religious faith

To save + restore sacred religious places that the enemy are destroying

To take revenge against the blasphemies and cruelties against believers

50
Q

QUOTE: Jesus said that he didn’t come to bring peace but spiritual struggle for those who don’t believe in him above all and are not willing to lose their life to prove their faith in him.

A

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (…) whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” -Jesus

*Shows that Jesus may actually promote violence and conflict

51
Q

QUOTE: Holy war is not important to Christians as they should not fight physically, but spiritually against the devil by believing in God.

A

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” -Bible, New Testament

52
Q

QUOTE: Holy war is important to Christians as fighting against evil is a religious duty and to not fight would be yielding to evil.

A

“Resistance of evil may be and often is a positive duty.” -CofE

53
Q

What are the issues surrounding conflicts?

A

If a conflict remains unresolved, there are several key issues that can arise:

  • War is one way some nations and groups choose to resolve conflict. WMD mean that violence carried out in war is very extreme.
  • Terrorism can be carried out, including against innocent civilians in order to achieve a political or religious goal.
  • Conflict often leads to violence, which can devastate families and communities.
54
Q

What are non-religious and Christian views on the issues around conflict?

A
  • Non-religious people mainly oppose violence and terrorism, but might support the idea of war if it is the lesser evil in a given situation. Some non-religious people would blame religions for violence and extremism.
  • Christians believe that Jesus is a peacemaker, and therefore violence, war and terrorism is not part of God’s plan for the world. Christians would agree with many of these non-religious views, but argue that ignorance and misinterpretation of religious teachings cause some acts of violence or terrorism.
55
Q

Jesus’ advice to those who experience conflict is: “Love your enemies.”
Some people would oppose this teaching because…

A
  • It could allow the strong to trample on the weak.
  • It may keep the poor oppressed.
  • It allows the aggressor to always ‘win’.
56
Q

Jesus’ advice to those who experience conflict is: “Love your enemies.”
Many Christians would support this teaching because…

A

+It stops people from responding aggressively.
+It encourages people to display love and forgiveness.
+A loving response could lead to peace and avoid conflict.

57
Q

How have Christians worked to overcome issues surrounding conflict?

A

The Corrymeela Community:
•A Christian community in Northern Ireland which aims to bring about healing and reconciliation between the Catholics and Protestants.

•They have a village where people from different communities come together to learn the skills of reconciliation and peace-building which they can then take back to their own communities.

GCSE RS (5 decks)

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