Religion, Peace and Conflict

Religion, Peace and Conflict

Work Pack

Philosophy and Ethics Toot Hill School

Just War Theory

A just war is a war that is acceptable under certain circumstances. Colour code the boxes below to show the six just war rules that St. Aquinas came up with:

The war must be started… / …good instead of evil comes from the war.
There must be a good… / …of success.
Everything must be done to make sure… / ….by the sovereign authority, e.g. the government.
The war must be the last… / …more than is necessary to win – innocent civilians shouldn’t be targeted.
The force used must be no… / …reason to go to war e.g. to protect people.
There must be a reasonable chance… / …resort; every other way of resolving the situation must be tried.

Do you think it is ever acceptable to go to war…why?

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List some (just) acceptable reasons to go to war.

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Quotation from Bible / What does the quotation mean? / War/violence acceptable?
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid…Take the army with you, and go up and attack Ai’”
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers”
“…live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath…”
“Those who live by the sword, will die by the sword.”
“Thou shalt not kill”

Task: Create a mind map showing the key features of Christian and Muslim beliefs about holy war.

Pacifism

Forgiveness

Forgiveness and reconciliation are two of the most difficult challenges we have, both as individuals and nations, especially after a war or period of conflict.

We hear much about the horrors of war but what happens afterwards very rarely gets reported or seen.

Nations very rarely apologise for their actions (as this would seem to say they were wrong to act in the first place) or forgive other nations, but reconciliation appears to just happen despite that.

Why do people choose to forgive? Read the following examples of people who have chosen to forgive others for their actions in war. Underneath explain how the story of Corrie Ten Boom or Eric Lomax show forgiveness.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation - Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom was born on April 15, 1892, in Haarlem, Netherlands, near Amsterdam. After the death of her mother and a disappointing romance, Corrie trained to be a watchmaker and in 1922 became the first woman licensed as a watchmaker in Holland. Over the next decade, in addition to working in her father's shop, she established a youth club for teenage girls, which provided religious instruction as well as classes in the performing arts, sewing and handicrafts.

WWII changed everything and during 1940 the "Nazification" of the Dutch people began and the quiet life of the ten Boom family was changed forever. During the war, the Beje house became a refuge for Jews, students and intellectuals. The façade of the watch shop made the house an ideal front for these activities. The entire ten Boom family became active in the Dutch resistance, risking their lives harbouring those hunted by the Gestapo. Some fugitives would stay only a few hours, while others would stay several days until another "safe house" could be located. Corrie ten Boom became a leader in the "Beje" movement, overseeing a network of "safe houses" in the country. Through these activities, it was estimated that 800 Jews' lives were saved.

On February 28, 1944, a Dutch informant told the Nazis of the ten Booms' activities and the Gestapo raided the home. They kept the house under surveillance, and by the end of the day 35 people, including the entire ten Boom family, were arrested, Although German soldiers thoroughly searched the house, they didn't find the half-dozen Jews safely concealed in the hiding place. The six stayed in the cramped space for nearly three days before being rescued by the Dutch underground.

All ten Boom family members were incarcerated, including Corrie's 84-year-old father, who soon died in the Scheveningen prison. Corrie and her sister Betsie were remanded to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp, near Berlin. Betsie died there on December 16, 1944. Twelve days later, Corrie was released for reasons not completely known. It turns out a clerical error allowed her to be released from a Nazi concentration camp one week before all women prisoners her age were executed.

Corrie ten Boom returned to the Netherlands after the war and set up a rehabilitation centre for concentration camp survivors. In the Christian spirit to which she was so devoted, she also took in those who had cooperated with the Germans during the occupation.

Later, when giving talks about the Holocaust, Corrie met the SS man who had guarded her and her sister in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. As he held out his hand to shake hers, all her memories came flooding back. She kept her hand by her side, even though she had preached many times that we forgive those who have hurt us. She recalled the treatment in the camps and felt her anger growing alongside a desire for revenge. Then Corrie felt her emotional state was a sin and began to tell herself that she believed in Jesus and that he had died for all including this man. So she prayed to God to help her forgive him. As they shook hands she felt a current running through their hands and love for this man that had previously been her cruel guard. Corrie interpreted this to mean that the rifts in the world are healed by God’s love.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Eric Lomax

Eric Lomax was a British soldier who was tortured by the Japanese whilst he was a prisoner during the Second World War, but who was able to forgive one of his tormentors. Lomax also wrote The Railway Man about his experiences before, during and after WWII. This book was later made into a film starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.

Eric was one of the thousands of British soldiers who surrendered to the Japanese in Singapore in 1942. Many prisoners were relocated to Thailand and forced to build the Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway. After Eric’s captors found a radio receiver he had made he was repeatedly tortured; multiple bones were broken and water poured into his nose and mouth. One of his constant torturers stood out: Nagase Takashi, an interpreter.

When the war ended Lomax seemed normal enough. He returned to Scotland and found that nobody was interested in “the unpleasantness” experienced by prisoners of the Far East. But he found that his mental scars refused to fade: he was woken by nightmares, and his inability to talk about his experiences contributed to the break-up of his first marriage.

Eric told the New York Times in 1995, ‘at the end of the war I would have been happy to murder him’. Eric also searched for the man and his wife wrote a letter to arrange a meeting between the two in Thailand. He learned that after the war Nagase had become an interpreter for the Allies and helped locate thousands of graves and mass burial sites along the Burma Railway.

More than half a century after their previous meeting, the two men approached each other on the bridge on the river Kwai. After bowing formally, Nagase nervously acknowledged that the Japanese Imperial Army had treated the British appallingly. ‘When we met, Nagase greeted me with a formal bow. I then took his hand and said in Japanese, “Good morning Mr Nagase, how are you?” He was trembling and crying and he said over and over again, “I am so sorry, so very sorry”’

Eric had gone to the meeting with absolutely no sympathy for his former torturer but was turned around by the complete humility that Nagase showed. In the following days they spent a lot of time together, talking and laughing, and became good friends. That friendship remained until their deaths.

‘I haven’t forgiven Japan as a nation,’ Erin told The Times, ‘but I’ve forgiven one man, because he’s experienced such personal regret.

The Forgiveness Project website tells more of this stories (and others) as this British organisation seeks to bring together victims and perpetrators of crimes.

Bible teachings on forgiveness

Read the quotes below and fill in the sheet explaining what these tell us about Christian attitudes towards forgiveness.

Background / Bible Quote (Evidence) / Explanation
Jesus’ teaching / ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’
Jesus’ teaching / ‘Forgive, and you will be forgiven’
Jesus’ teaching / ‘If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer them the other cheek’’
Said by Jesus during his crucifixion / ‘Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing’
Jesus’ teaching when a women is due to be punished by stoning for adultery / ‘Those who have not sinned may cast the first stone’

Explain two religious beliefs from contemporary British society about forgiveness.

In your answer you must refer to the main religious tradition in Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions. (4 marks)
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Explain two religious beliefs from contemporary British society about use of violence. In your answer you must refer to the main religious tradition in Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions. (4 marks)
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Add pg 330, 329, 337, 338