Starter: What does the artist mean?

Make 2 lists: who might benefit from war and who

doesn’t.
 Why does war happen?

(1) Understand why wars

are fought.
(2) Understand religious
attitudes towards the
reasons for war.
(3) Evaluate whether the
reasons for fighting are
justified.
What are the reasons for war?

There are three main reasons for war…

Greed Self-defence Retaliation
• About gaining land, power • Most religions would • Can happen, for example
or resources accept this as it is World War 1 started as
• Greed is linked with protecting innocent answer to an
selfishness which no people (e.g. wars are assassination
religion would support described in the Old • Problem is retaliation is
Testament) spontaneous and often
• Problem is if self-defence leads to an escalation of
turns into aggression and the situation
disproportionate force is • Religions would say that
used peaceful negotiations
resolve issues better as
they diffuse things
Can war ever be justified?
Watch the video and note down the important
points in this table:
Belief 1 Belief 2 My belief
I think that…

Reasons for this Reasons for this Reasons for this

belief… belief… belief…
 Christianity and Islam are both
religions of peace.
• You need to build an argument
in support of this statement.
• Use the resources given to
you.
• You must include at least 3 key
teachings from each religion to
support your argument.
• Some might say that
Christianity is a religion of
peace because…
• For example the Bible
teaches that…
• Jesus once said…
• Some might say that Islam is
a religion of peace because…
• …

Extension
Can you construct an
argument for the other side?
Again, support your
argument with evidence.
 What do Christianity and Islam teach about war and peace?
Christianity Islam
‘Those who live by the sword, die by the The word ‘Islam’ means peace.
sword.’ (Matthew 26) Allah has 99 names, one of which is As-
salaam, meaning ‘source of peace’.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ (Sermon
on the Mount) Muslims should greet each other with the
words salaam alaikum, or ‘peace be upon you.’
‘Love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you.’ (Sermon on the
Mount)

When the Prophet Muhammad was alive,

“Everyone one must commit themselves
to peace.” (Pope John Paul II)
Some parts of the Old Testament do call
for people to defend God’s kingdom and
to attack those who oppose God.
Muslims had to fight against those who were
attacking their faith. That is why holy war
(fighting to defend their faith) is seen as a
duty by some Muslims.
‘Hate your enemy wisely, for he may become
your friend one day.’ (Hadith – teaching of
the Prophet)
Good reasons to go to war?

Choose 1 of the reasons below and evaluate it. Find

points (at least 3) why it is a good reason to got to war
and 3 why it isn’t. You can include religious as well as
personal views.

Retaliation
Greed

Self-defence
• Selfish; not loving
so against most
religions (Golden
Rule); nothing
better afterwards
• If it’s those fighting
who don’t have
enough;
establishing social
justice; …
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you think these are good reasons to go to war

for? Rank the different reasons between the poles
and give reasons why.

Good Bad
reason reason
WHAT I THINK!
Got to protect the weak
(‘Love your neighbour’);
Can’t let anyone destroy my
country, have to stop them.
Good
reason
Just about me, selfish;
Does not achieve anything,
does not make situation
better, just hurts other
people;
Don’t need more, can be
happy with what I’ve got.
Bad
reason