Theme F
Define prejudice
Pre-judging someone or something usually without any real evidence to base that judgment on. Prejudice is about what we think rather than what we do.
What is 'reconciliation'?
- Most religious people will be involved in reconciliation after war.
- The opposing sides of the war are brought together to resolve their conflict and live in peace
define stewardship.
How does it differ to dominion?
humans have a responsibility to look after God's creation; we are stewards of God's property.
'God made the world and gave the duty of stewardship to humans.' - (Genesis 1:28)
dominion - the idea that humans have the right to control all of creation
Name three rules of Christian Just War
There must be a just cause that is not motivated by aggression; the war must have a clear aim to promote good; it must be a last resort; there must be a good chance of success; civilian risk must be minimised; peace must be restored
What is 'Freedom of religious expression'?
Name two religious charities
Cafod (Christianity), Muslim Aid, World Jewish relief , the salvation army (a registered church and charity)
What is 'holy war'? What can it also be called in Islam?
- Believing it is right to fight a war in the name of God
- Lesser Jihad
Which book of the Bible teaches the Christians about the creation of the universe? What are two interpretations of it?
- Genesis
- Literalist interpretation: Genesis explains a historical account of the beginning of the universe
- Metaphorical account: A liberal approach, genesis is metaphorical and teaches deeper truths about God and the human condition
Name two rules of Holy War in Islam
It may only begin if the enemy attacks; war ends when people regain their rights; civilians must not be harmed; holy buildings should not be damaged; zakat should be used to treat prisoners of war well
Our upbringing - what we are told by parents and authority figures - can lead us to think negatively about certain groups before having contact with them; ignorance - lack of understanding; scapegoating - a group can be singled out and blamed for a problem in society; reading or listening to heavily biased media; having a bad experience with one person and generalizing to a whole community
What is the different between negative and positive discrimination?
Negative: When we put prejudiced ideas into action. We treat people differently based on certain characteristics.
Positive: The promotion of opportunities for minority groups in society.
Give a Biblical teaching that guides Christian attitudes toward peace and conflict.
- 'Put away your sword. Those who live by the sword die by the sword' (Mathew 26:52)
- 'Blessed are the peacemakers' (Jesus - Sermon on the Mount)
- 'Love your enemies, and pray for them' (Sermon on the Mount)
the islamic term for stewardship
Khalifah
What is 'pacifism'? What is a 'conscientious objector'?
Believing all war and killing is wrong. A person who refuses to participate in war on the grounds of conscience.
Which Pillar of Islam teaches Muslims to support the poor and respond to wealth inequality?
Zakat
Islamic views about the freedom of other religious groups to express their faith
- It is acceptable to be a Christian or a Jew because both are 'people of the book'. However, converting to either from Islam is apostasy.
- The eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhi) are seen as blasphemy and are not accepted
Give two teachings that influence Muslim attitudes toward peace and conflict.
- 'Hate your enemy mildly; for he may become your friend one day' (Hadith)
- 'Those who die in the name of Allah will be rewarded with paradise' (Qur'an)
- Greet others salaam alaikum, which means 'peace upon you'.
- One meaning of the word Islam is 'peace'.
What are two arguments to say that abortion is acceptable? What are two argument to say that it is unacceptable?
For:
- The quality of life for the pregnant woman should be considered. Having a baby could cause physical and emotional distress
- If we banned abortions, women would still have them - but not in a safe way. we need to protect women.
- A child should not be born to parents who lack the resources to support it
- the foetus should only have moral status if it can survive independently from the mother
Against:
- (A Roman Catholic response) - we should respect the sanctity of life. We are stewards to creation. life begins at conception.
- The foetus has a right to life, it has a full moral status
Who are the Quakers? How do they support peace?
- A pacifist group within Christianity
- As a Church they believe they believe they follow the true teaching of Jesus by maintaining a completely pacifist stance
- They take on peacemaking roles
- Act as medics for any side
- Do charity work for refugees and victims of war
- The five pillars apply to all equally
- Muhammad allowed everyone to do the call to prayer, regardless of wealth, race, culture, or creed
- On hajj, everyone is in equal dress - white robes called 'Ihram'. When you enter a state of Ihram, you are reminded that all are equal before God
- Zakat seeks to uphold equality
A Biblical teaching about discrimination
- 'There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free man, male or female. We are all equal in Christ' (Galatians)
- 'Do unto others what you would have done to you' (Mathew 7:12)
- The Good Samaritan story - a man is helped for his need, not because of who he is. (Luke 10:25-37)
Which historical religious leaders or figures could be used to explain religious beliefs about peace and war?
MLK, Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jesus of Nazareth, Desmond Tutu, Augustine of Hippo/ Aquinas,
2 arguments for euthanasia, 2 arguments against
p284
What examples could someone use to say that religious belief causes war and violence? How could someone criticise this view?
- following the death of Muhammed, there was a violent struggle for power that resulted in the Sunni-Shia split
- The Bosnian crisis saw the Christian ethnic cleansing of Muslims
- Syrian civil war (Shia and Sunni)
- criticism: Many religious people actively work to bring peace; religious teachings support peace; many 'religious' conflicts are the result of political and regional division, rather than religion itself
Biblical teachings about wealth
- 'Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven' (Mark 10:21)
- Jesus cautions people against greed. wealth should be used to benefit others (Luke 12:15)
- "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24)
- Story of Lazarus (Luke 16:19-30)