Peace and Conflict Revision

Peace and Conflict Revision

Keywords: write out the answers then click to double check them Other weapons of mass destructionNon-nuclear weapons which can destroy large areas/numbers of people eg chemical weapons

Pacifism Refusing to fight in wars

Just war A war which is fought for the right reasons and in a right way

World peace The basic aim of the United Nations to remove the causes of war

BullyingIntimidating/frightening people weaker than yourself

Forgiveness The act of stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what they have done wrong

Reconciliation Bringing together people who were opposed to each otherA recent conflict - IraqThis is an on going conflict which started in March 2003 with the US led invasion of Iraq. Other countries such as the UK, Australia and Poland supported this attack and also sent troops

Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003 and execute in 2006

The war was technically over very quickly however US and UK troops can not lead the area and now there is civil war over who is the new leader of Iraq.

Millions of people have died and the war has cost well over $500 billion

The main reasons given were:

President Bush said that there was evidence that Iraqs leader, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction which he was banned from having in 1991 and this was a threat to the US. To date none have been found

Another given reason was the it was thought that Iraq was supporting families of Palestinian Suicide bombers

Another was the Iraqi government Human rights abuses thousands of people were executed without trial

The US said that it was spreading democracy Saddam Hussein was a dictator who people did not have a choice about

Many people think the main reason was oil reserves Iraq had control over a lot which the West need.

Weapons of mass destruction = weapons which can destroy large areas/numbers of peopleNuclear weaponsChemical weapons

Biological weapons

The Middle East conflictThis has been an on going war for many years and is between Jews and Muslims over who owns some land. Both sides believe that it is theirs and that it has religious value to them

This war recently broke out again in December 2008

Reasons for the warThe land of Palestine was the homeland to Jews in the Bible. They were thrown out of it by the Romans in AD135

In the centuries which followed it was the home of Muslim Arabs who became known as Palestinians

In the 1890s there was a call for the Jews to return to Palestine and claim their homeland

After the 1st World War the land was controlled by Britain who said that the Jews could have the land and the Palestinians (Muslims) would have their own land. In 1922 the land was separated in to 2 which immediately led to conflict over who should control the government.

In 1948 the Jews declared their land independent and called it Israel

The Palestinians attacked the Jews but they were defeated which left a large number of Palestinians refugees with no land or home who have camped mainly on the Gaza strip

The war over the right to the land continuesChristianity and WarThe Bible does not clearly state whether Christians should go to war or not and so different Christians think different things.

There are 3 main attitudesSome think that war can be fought in some circumstancesSome think that war should never be foughtAll Christians agree that war for the sake of it and greed is wrongAttitude 1: Some Christians believe that going to war may be the right thing to do as long as it is a just war and the Bible supports this theory

Reasons for this attitude:Jesus said that people should obey their lawful government, so this must mean even if they say they should go to war Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is GodsSt Paul said that Christians have a duty to obey those in authority Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorityThe Church has said that Christians have a duty to protect the weak and those facing injustice

Just War = a war fought for the right reasons and in the right wayThis was first put forward by St Augustine and tells Christians when it is justified to fight

The cause is just e.g it resists injusticeIt is fought with the authority of the government or UNIt has the right intention, the aim is to bring peaceIt is a last resortThere is a chance of success and lives will not be lost in vainCivilians are not targetedThe methods are reasonable e.g nuclear weapons are not used against a non-nuclear countryAttitude 2: Some Christians are pacifists and think that war is never acceptable e.g. the Quakers think this

Reasons for this attitude:Jesus said Blessed are the peacemakersJesus said love your enemies and pray for your persecutorsThe Decalogue (10 Commandments) say Do not killJesus stopped his disciples from using violence when he was about to be arrestedIf people act peacefully to each other then eventually peace will be establishedNuclear weapons and other WMD can cause unimaginable suffering A religious organisation working for world peacePax Christi - This is Latin for the peace of Christ

This is an international organisation based on the principles of Jesus loveIt was set up in 1945 to work for reconciliation between the French and GermansIt is opposed to war and all forms of violenceIt campaigns for governments to solve their disputes through talking

Its 3 main objectives are: ReconciliationPeaceEducation and learning

Islam and warAttitudes:

Muslims believe that they can fight but only for a good reason e.g. their faith. War may be permitted to aid justice, freedom, to oppose oppression or if in self-defence. However, if there is any possibility of avoiding war then these steps must be taken first.

To Muslims the main war is with themselves trying to be a good Muslim. The word for this struggle is jihad

The Quran says that if Muslims use too much force against opponents then they will be judged badly by AllahReasons a Muslim can go to war to defend their faith:The Quran teaches that they can fight if they are attackedMuhammad himself fought in warsMany of the statement made by the Prophet allow Muslims to fight in just warsThe Quran teaches that anyone who dies in a just war will go to heavenTest yourselfGive 4 reasons why the Iraq war startedWho is involved in the Middle East war and what is it mainly over?What does just war mean?What does pacifism mean?What are the 2 Christian attitudes to war?Give 2 reasons why a Christian may think war might be acceptableGive 2 reasons why Christians may be pacifistsWhat does jihad mean?What conditions would a Muslim say means they can go to war?Give 4 reasons why Muslims think that they can go to warBullying one of the most common types of conflictBullyingIs often when someone or a group frighten and intimidate people who they see are weaker than themselvesOften happens at school leaving victims staying away from school, being upset and in extreme cases, committing suicideExamples include: name calling, physical harm, damaging property, telling lies about someonePeople bully for a number of reasons:Problems at homeThey have been a victim of bullyingWanting to look toughLow self-esteemMost people are against bullying and the law protects people from mental and physical harm. It can lead to prison sentencesSociety is based on respect and people have the right to live without the fear of others.Schools have anti-bullying policies, in the work place there are trade unions, ChildLine is a free service which offers guidance and supportReligion and BullyingAttitude: Both Christians and Muslims see bullying as wrong

Reasons:They see using violence without a just cause as sinful, and bullying always involves unjust violence.They see human beings as a creation of God-bullying is mistreating Gods creation.The Bible and Quran teach that it is the duty of religious people to protect the weak and innocent.The Bible and Quran teach that harming other people will bring bad results in your life after death.

The causes of conflict between friends and familyArguments between couples over moneyArguments between brothers and sisters over spaceDisagreement over choice of friendsArguments over religion wanting it or notArguments over time children are homeDisagreements over possessionsChristianity and Reconciliation and ForgivenessAttitudes:Christians believe that it is their duty to try to bring reconciliation between families and friends who are in conflict It is a Christians duty to forgive those who attack them. Nevertheless, Christians believe that a conflict about morality or religion would not be resolvable if, for example, the children were following Christian teachings and the parents were not. Reasons:Jesus died on the cross to bring reconciliation and forgiveness.Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother up to 77 times.Jesus said that if Christians do not forgive others, they will not be forgiven themselves.St Paul said that Christians should try to live in peace with everyoneThe Lords Prayer says Forgive those who sin against us Islam, Reconciliation and ForgivenessAttitudes: Islam teaches that Muslims should try to resolve conflicts They are taught that they should be forgiving to those who cause them offence. Nevertheless, Muslims believe that a conflict about morality or religion would not be resolvable if, for example, the children were following Islamic teachings and the parents were not. Reasons:God is compassionate and merciful to sinners, so Muslims should also be forgiving.How can Muslims ask Gods forgiveness on the Last Day if they are not prepared to forgive people?The Quran says that Muslims should forgive those who offend them.Muhammad said in many Hadiths that Muslims should be forgiving. Test yourselfGive 2 reasons why someone may bully someoneWhat is the Christians and Muslims attitude towards bullying?Give 2 reasons for this attitudeWhen may Muslims and Christians say it may not be possible to forgive?Give 2 reasons why Christians think forgiveness and reconciliation is importantGive 2 different reasons why Muslims think that forgiveness and reconciliation is important