WAR AND PEACE

 War and peace are not

easy terms to define.
Usually by WAR we
mean a violent conflict
between groups of
people or nations. By
PEACE we normally
mean the absence of
war – but ‘peace’
means far more than
that!

 Hepworth 2005
 Peaceful situations 1?
Gemma has a row
with her mum and
storms out of the
house. After an hour
walking she returns
home but isn’t going
to apologise because
in her mind her mum
is wrong.
Peaceful situations 2?

Steve is a soldier in
Iraq. He patrols the
streets everyday
carrying a semi –
automatic weapon.
He has never fired his
gun or been fired at.
 Peaceful situations 3?
Mr North has a
reputation amongst the
other teachers for
having a quiet
classroom. Pupils say
that he often shouts at
them using hostile or
abusive language.
Everyone agrees he
would never hit a
student.
 Peace is about more than an
absence of war!

 Peace is about being happy

and contended within.
 People speak about finding
inner peace.
 Many religious people say
that their faith brings them
inner peace.
 Religious people wish for
world peace.
 CAUSES OF WAR
TERRITORY

POWER TRADE

CAUSES
DEFENDING
HUMAN ECONOMICS
RIGHTS

RELIGIOUS SELF-
DIFFERENCE DEFENCE
 Can war ever be justified?
 Augustine (a Christian leader in the Middle
Ages) came up with the JUST WAR theory.
 This outlines the conditions under which
Christians could justify gong to war.
 The Christian thinker St. Thomas Aquinas added
to this list.
 The United Nations added to this and produced
a list of reasons to justify going to war.
 The Just War Theory
1. The war must be started and controlled by a
competent and legal authority.
2. You should only use enough force to achieve your aim
& if possible, civilians shouldn’t be involved.
3. War must be the last resort. All other ways to try and
solve the problem must have been tried.
4. There must be a reason. Those attacked must have
committed some fault.
5. Outcome: There must be a reasonable chance of
success to promote the cause of good and avoid evil.
Devastation at Hiroshima
Captain Robert Lewis, the co-pilot, stated,
"Where we had seen a clear city two minutes
before, we could no longer see the city. We
could see smoke and fires creeping up the sides
of the mountains.“
Two-thirds of Hiroshima was destroyed. Within
three miles of the explosion, 60,000 of the
90,000 buildings were demolished. Clay roof tiles
had melted together. Shadows had imprinted on
buildings and other hard surfaces. Metal and
stone had melted. People reduced to dust.
 So let’s look at nuclear war …
 Few Christians would support this type of
war because atom bombs cannot be
controlled and hundreds of thousands of
innocent people are murdered.

 They may support having

nuclear weapons as a
DETERRENT but not to use!
The Ten Commandments

“THOU
SHALT
NOT
MURDER.”
 JESUS’ teachings

“He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.”

 JESUS’ teachings
“If a man hits you on your right cheek,
offer him the left cheek.”

“Love your
enemies.”
 JESUS’ teachings

“Blessed are the

peacemakers.”
The message of Christianity
 Christians preached a message
of peace based on Jesus’
teachings.
 Even today, the Church of
England says that war goes
against the teachings and
example of Jesus.
 Pope john Paul II said that all
people should commit
themselves to pursuing peace.
 The Quakers
 This Christian group follow the teachings of Saint Paul
who said, “Live peaceably with all.”
 “Never take revenge – leave it to God’s anger.”
 Quakers have always made a stand against war and
do not join the armed forces.
 They do help in times of
war, working as medics, but
will not murder another
human being.
 For Quakers – war can
NEVER be justified.
But Christians have been in wars?
 Christian wars include the CRUSADES –
to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims.
 Soldiers are blessed by vicars before
going into battle.
 So, somewhere along the line, Christians
must have decided that sometimes you
just HAVE to go to war!
 Saint Paul
 Told people to obey their leaders – who
had been given that power by God.
 Christians had to make a choice that
sometimes war was a necessary evil!
 Sometimes it is WRONG to remain
peaceful because of the suffering and evil.
 Few Christians would disagree with
fighting Nazi Germany!
 “There is a time for war and a time for
peace” Ecclesiastes 3:8

 “Love your neighbour” – Jesus – how can

it be loving to allow evil to continue