OCR GCSE Religious Studies B Philosophy and Applied Ethics Revision Book J121 (Short Course) J621 (Full Course) Ethics 2 Module B604

Transcription

1 Name:. OCR GCSE Religious Studies B Philosophy and Applied Ethics Revision Book J121 (Short Course) J621 (Full Course) Ethics 2 Module B604 Religion, Peace and Justice

2 In this topic you studied: Christian attitudes to war The Just War Christian attitudes towards the use of violence and towards pacifism Christian beliefs about the treatment of criminals Christian responses to social injustice DICTIONARY CRIMINALS CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR HOLY WAR JUSTICE JUST WAR PACIFISM SOCIAL INJUSTICE These are people who have committed a crime and can be put in prison for it This is when someone follows their conscience (the inner voice of God) and does not go to a specific war. He/she may use violence on another occasion if they felt it was necessary. This is a war fought in to protect a religion; for example when Christians fought against the Muslims in the Crusades. The Christians were trying to free Jerusalem. This means that people are treated fairly in all ways. This refers to the terms/rules under which a war is allowed. There are six rules which say going to war can happen. This term refers to no violence at all. Someone who was a pacifist would not fight back under any circumstances. This refers to unfair treatment of a person or groups of people; such as: sexism; racism; poverty and ageism. 2

3 Religion, Peace and Justice War is Wrong because: The Old Testament teaches that the prophet Micah said one day all the world would be at peace and all weapons would be made into farming tools nor will they train for war any more (Micah 4:3). The 6 th commandment says do not murder Proverbs teach that God hates hands that shed innocent blood Jesus was a pacifist he would not follow Satan & he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The message of Christmas is peace and goodwill to all men When he was about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and violence was being used, Jesus taught those who live by the sword die by the sword (meaning that if you live by violence you will probably die in a violent way) Jesus taught turn the other cheek Jesus taught love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) St. Paul taught overcome evil with good WAR War is Correct because: The Old Testament teaches the Lord is a warrior God told Sault to go and kill all of the Amalekites God helped Joshua win the battle of Jericho Prepare for war (Joel 3:9) and Beat your ploughshares into swords (Note this is in contrast to Micah 4:3) Christians believe that sometimes you can have a Holy War to defend the religion The Just War theory (St Thomas Aquinas and modern philosophers) says it is all right to fight if: The government says to go to war so started by a proper authority The reasons for starting the war are just (in other words very good reasons) If the aim or the end result of the war means that good will correct evil If all peaceful ways have been tried first the war must be the last resort Only the right amount of force can be used There must be a reasonable chance of success 3

4 Religion, Peace and Justice Christians who used nonviolence: Martin Luther King (against racism) used methods such as sit-ins; boycotts, freedom marches, speeches Archbishop Oscar Romero (against poverty in South America) who spent the three years of his time as Archbishop protesting publicly (but nonviolently) against the corrupt rulers of El Salvador. He was murdered whilst celebrating Holy Mass (Communion) service. Christians who used violence Father Camillo Torres (against poverty in South America) who left the priesthood to join guerrillas to fight the government in an attempt to get better conditions for the poor Dietrich Bonhoeffer although he was a pacifist he felt that it was better to use violence in order to defeat the evils of Hitler and so became involved in a plot to kill him (although he was not himself going to do the killing). Conscientious objector some who won t find in a particular war because their conscience says it is wrong Pacifist someone who will never fight whatever the circumstances (e.g. Quakers because they see something of God within everyone and therefore it would be wrong to harm that person) Peace organisations The United Nations (not a Christian organisation) Tries to stop countries fighting Clears up land mines UN soldiers are not allowed to fight except in self defence Pax Christi (Christian Organisation) Work for disarmament tries to stop the Arms Trade Education tells people/schools about uncleared landmines and other issues 4

5 Religion, Peace and Justice continued JUSTICE (fair treatment) Criminals Christians believe in forgiveness & are taught to love their enemies. Jesus taught that God will judge people for their sins and that people should forgive 70 x 7 times (this means you go on forgiving people) Jesus said when the woman was about to be stoned for adultery those without sin cast the first stone first (John 8:7) Jesus taught look to your own faults first before criticising others (don t look for sawdust in someone s eye when you have a plank in your own) Yet Christians believe in Punishment: 1. Deterrence (stop crime happening) 2. Protection of the innocent 3. Retribution (for the criminal to pay for the crime committed) 4. To reform criminals 5. Vindication to show that justice is being done Elizabeth Fry (Quaker) worked in the 19 th Century to reform prisons/make them useful and better conditions Some Christians become prison visitors to try to help the prisoners (Sheep & Goats) Social Injustice (when some people treated unfairly e.g. Third World poverty, or inequality such as racism, ageism, and sexism) Christians believe everyone equally valuable to God (he created everyone) and so even refugees should be treated in the same way When an alien lives with you in your land, do not illtreat him (Leviticus 19:33). God has no favourites so everyone should be treated the same Bible teaches it is wrong to mistreat the poor because everyone is made in the image of God When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord and the Lord will pay you back" (Proverbs 19:17). If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship (Proverbs 14:31). Christians will support such organisations such as MENCAP and Christian charities such as Christian Aid/CAFOD. Amnesty International (not a Christian organisation) works against social injustice. They are against torture and wrongful imprisonment. They get people to write letters to people who are wrongfully imprisoned. They send petitions to unjust Governments. They organise demonstrations to get people aware of what is going on. 5

6 Liberation Theology Some Christians believe that because Jesus came to earth to help the poor that they should follow his example. Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is on me he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed (Luke 4: 18). They believe Jesus came to set the poor free to liberate them. In the Third World a movement called Liberation Theology began in the middle of the last century. This movement involved people such as Oscar Romero, who practised non-violence, following the example of Jesus, and Camillo Torres who used violence and who also believed he was following the example of Jesus. Oscar Romero was a supporter of Liberation Theology. He was the Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador but was murdered on 24th March 1980 by people working for the government. He had spent his three years as Archbishop criticising those who made El Salvador a dangerous, violent and unfair place to live. He called for land reform and a fairer distribution of wealth. He used the Church s radio station to speak out about all the torture and murder which was going on. He set up a place where people could go for advice. He mentioned the names of those who had suffered or died in his sermons and also named those who had been responsible for their suffering. He allowed people fleeing from the brutal treatment to shelter in his churches. He dared to write an open letter to the US President to plead with him to stop sending arms and supplies to the military regime of his country. He lived his life according to the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. In 1980 he was shot dead whilst he was celebrating mass at the altar of a hospital chapel. 6

7 ACTIVITY: Christian attitudes to war Explain Christian attitudes to war and peace. If this was the question you would need to give Christian teachings on why War is good or bad. Use the Chart below and give at least TWO teachings to show war is good (use the Old Testament) and TWO teachings to show that war is bad (use the teachings of Jesus). War is Good because.. War is wrong because.. 7

8 ACTIVITY: Pacifism What is Pacifism?.. What did Jesus teach to show he was a Pacifist? (Give TWO teachings). When did Jesus use violence?... What happened in the Garden of Gethsemane? Who are the Quakers? What do they believe about Pacifism?. 8

9 ACTIVITY: Just War Theory Christians believe you can go to war if you follow the rules of the Just War theory. Join up the sentences to the correct halves: If The government says to go to war then you can do so because this means - In other words this means there are good reasons for going to war. It is okay to go to war if it is the Reasonable chance of success War is allowed if it is a Just Cause it has been started by a proper authority Only the right amount of force can be used - if it means that evil will be overcome then you can go to war You can only go to war if there is a When you go to war (no excessive bombing or targeting of civilians) If good will be the end result of the war Last resort this means that all other methods have been tried Choose THREE of the rules of a Just War write them down and try to learn them so you can use them as reasons for Christians believing that it is okay to go to war:.. 9

10 ACTIVITY: Christian attitudes towards violence Below are Four Christians: TWO who believed violence does not work and TWO who believed violence should be used. In the boxes beside them write down the reasons for their actions: Martin Luther King Oscar Romero Camillo Torres Dietrich Bonhoeffer 10

11 ACTIVITY: Working for Peace How does Pax Christi work for Peace?. What work does Amnesty International do? WHY would a Christian work for peace? (Use specific teachings) How would an ordinary Christian work for peace? 11

12 ACTIVITY: Aims of Punishment What are the aims of Punishment? There is also Vindication which means there has to be punishment so that people can see that justice has been done. Why do you think this is important?..... How would a Christian treat criminals?

13 ACTIVITY: Forgiveness What do these pictures say about forgiveness? What is repentance?. Why is it important to Christians that forgiveness happens? Give TWO reasons..... Who was Elizabeth Fry and why was she important to prison reform?

14 Social Injustice There are many types of social injustice: prejudice (leading to racism, ageism and sexism) and discrimination because of how people look or act. People with learning difficulties often face injustice (unfair treatment). The charity MENCAP tries to help such people. MENAP is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers. They try to get equal rights and greater opportunities. They challenge people s attitudes and prejudice towards people with learning difficulties. They provide advice and support. Within the organisation there are lots of different groups with different needs. They support their members by: Housing they help people with learning disabilities live their lives in ways that they choose and in a home that they choose. Education and employment they provided education services which help people get a job Advice - They help by advising people of support groups within their area They promote opportunities in sport at all levels for people who have a learning disability Christians will support MENCAP because of the belief that God has no favourites, everyone is made in the image of God and because the prophet Amos teaches in the Old Testament that God will be angry if people deny justice to the oppressed (unfairly treated) [Amos 1: 2:7). Other charities they would support are: Show Racism the Red Card CRISIS at Christmas Shaw Trust What local charities do you know about which are against social injustice? 14

15 Full mark answer (a) Describe Christian attitudes towards the punishment [or treatment] of criminals. [6 marks] Christians believe that people committing crimes should be punished but it should be done in a fair way. The criminal should not be tortured or be put to death because this is against the sixth commandment. However it is important to punish the criminal because this will allow them to repent (turn away from their crime and make sure it is not done again). So a Christian would follow the aims of punishment which are: reform, (to make sure the criminal changes his/her ways), protection (to make sure people are safe from the criminal especially if he is a murderer), deterrence (to make sure others do not do the same thing) and retribution (making sure that the victims of the crime get justice an eye for an eye ). However, some Christians believe in forgiveness because this is what Jesus taught (70 times 7), which means that whatever the person has done you should keep on forgiving them because this is what Jesus died for on the cross he died to take all our sins. Jesus also forgave them woman who committed adultery and told her not to commit that sin again. Other Christians will follow the teachings in the parable of the sheep and the goats and will visit the criminal in prison in order to tell them about Jesus and how their sins can be forgiven if they turn to Jesus. The candidate has answered the question well and has not just listed the different Christian views but has written about them in detail. He/she has seen the key word attitudes which means that different Christians have different ideas on what to do with criminals. The candidate has also supported his/her statement with Christian teachings. 15

16 (b) Explain how Christians might respond if they see people being treated badly by a government. [6 marks] Christians would not like to see people being treated badly by a government because they feel that everyone has been created in the image of God and therefore everyone should be treated nicely. Some Christians would pray for the people being treated badly to ask God to help those people because they believe that prayer is important because this is what Jesus taught. Some Christians might support the charity Amnesty International because this organisation sends petitions to governments who they feel are doing wrong. The organisation also encourages people to write letters to people who have been wrongly imprisoned because this alerts the government to the fact that other countries are aware of what is going on. Some Christians might write a letter to their own government and ask them to intervene or they might boycott a product from the country where the government is treating the people badly because this is what many people did when South Africa encouraged apartheid. They would do this because it is a nonviolent way of protesting and they would be following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and also the teaching of Jesus turn the other cheek. Although some Christians may feel that it would be their duty to fight that unfair government and so follow in the footsteps of Camillo Torres. Some Christians felt it was their duty to go to war in Iraq because of what Saddam was doing to his people. The candidate has given several ideas on what a Christian would do and why. He/she has supported them with reference to Christian teachings or Christian examples. 16

17 Exam Practice (a) Describe what Christians believe about Pacifism? [6 marks]

18 (b) Explain Christian attitudes to violence. [6 marks]

19 (c) Killing is always wrong. Discuss this statement. You should include different supported points of view and a personal viewpoint. You must refer to Christianity in your answer. [12 marks] 19