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B604-Ethics; Religion, peace and justice (Christians attitudes towards…
B604-Ethics; Religion, peace and justice
Christians attitudes to war: Holy war: Many Christians are pacifists but many wars have been thought in the name of Christianity.
Key words; Crusades: military expeditions fought from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries when Christians gathered together under a Holy banner to fight to regain Jerusalem and the Holy land., Holy war: war which is fought over religious issues by people who believe that this is what God wants.
Christians attitudes to war: the 'just war' theory: The idea of a 'just war' which is fought according to particular conditions developed from the idea of Cicero (106-43BCE), Thomas Aquinas (1224-74) and Hugo Grotius (1583-1645). There are three criteria:Jus as bellum, jus in bello, jus post bellum.
Key words; Jus ad bellum: rules which states whether it is right to go to war., Jus in bello: rules which define the correct conduct of war., Jus post bellum: rules which state how peace must be established after a war.
Key people; Cicero - a Roman philosopher who put forward rules on how and why to fight war., Thomas Aquinas - a Christian theologian who proposed a version of the 'just war' theory so that Christians could fight in wars., Hugo Grotius - a Dutch philosopher who laid down conditions for war.
Christians attitudes towards violence an pacifism: Christianity teaches that people should work towards a peaceful world and that fighting is always essentially evil. While some may feel that there are occasions when a war is just, others, such as a member of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), are pacifists and may become conscientious objectors.
Key texts; Joel 3:9-11 - the prophet tells Israel to 'prepare for war'., Micah 4:2-5 - the prophet speaks of a time of peace., Matthew 5:43-45 - Jesus taught the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount and said that people should not only love their neighbour but also their enemy., 1 John 4:7 - this epistle teaches that people should love one another because love comes from God
Key people; Jesus - God, in his incarnation of Jesus, demonstrating through some of his own actions how he came as a man of peace., Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45) - a German theologian who was a pacifist yet became involved in the plot to kill Hitler because he knew the evil had to be stopped. He said God would judge him on his actions
Key words; Agape: selfless love, taught by Jesus and felt by Christians for their fellow human beings., Conscientious objectors: people who refuse to join the armed forces because of their beliefs., Pacifism: belief that all fighting is wrong.
Christians teachings on justice and the aims of punishment: The Christian concept of justice is based on teachings from both the Old and New Testaments and this concept affects their attitudes to punishment which they believe has four main aims.
Key words; Deterrence: when a punishment is designed to persuade other people not to do the same thing., Four Cardinal Virtues: the four most important virtues or good actions which are prudence (carefulness); temperance(restraint or self-control); fortitude (courage or resilience) and justice (fair treatment)., Protection: when a criminal is put in jail so that the public is kept safe., Reformation: punishment which will allow the criminal to become a better person., Retribution: when the criminal is punished so as to bring a sense of justice to the injured party.
Key texts; Jeremiah 32:19b - the prophet teaching that God rewards people for good deeds and punishes the ones who do bad deeds., Colossians 3:25 - no matter who it is, is someone does wrong they should be punished.
Christians responses to the treatment of criminals: Although Christians believe people should be punished appropriately for the crimes they have committed, they also think criminals should be forgiven for their wrongdoings and be restored to society after they have been punished. They think criminals should not be mistreated in prison as Jesus taught that everyone should be treated humanely.
Key text: John 8:3-11 - Jesus protects the women accused of adultery by reminding people that everyone sins and people should look to their own sins first before rushing to condemn others.
Key people; Jesus - taught that to sin is wrong but that God would forgive those who truly repent., John Howard (1726-90) - a man who helped to reform prisons., Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) - a Quaker who devoted her life to making prisons a better place where people could have dignity and learn a trade.
Christians beliefs and responses to social injustice: The phrase 'social injustice' is often used when some people are seen to be discriminated against in a society and have fewer rights or benefits that others.
Key texts; Leviticus 19;33-34 - people should be kind to everyone, including foreigners, because the Israelites themselves had to go to Egypt in times of famine., Amos 2:6-7a - the prophet teaches that God will punish those who mistreat the poor., James 2:1-9 - God has no favourites and people should not treat a poor person any differently to a rich person.
Key people; Óscar Romero (1917-80) - a Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador who spoke out against how the government treated the poor, and organised Christians and the poor to speak out against the oppression in their country. He was shot in March 1980 while saying mass., *Camillo Torres (1929-66) - a Roman Catholic priest in Colombia who took part in armed uprisings against the government to fight for justice for the poor. He left the Church because it did not support him. He was shot dead in 1966.
Key words; Liberation theology: the movement, the principally in South America, which tries to help the poor who are oppressed by social injustice., Social injustice: unfair treatment to people in society.