Nadine Tappouni
R.E Coursework
How might a Christian apply these beliefs in situation of conflict today?
Through out Jesus’ teaching we see that justice, forgiveness and reconciliation are all the most important features of keeping the peace of the world. However war and conflict are two of the most significant issues in today’s world and will be for many years to come therefore it is hard for a Christian to ignore this and know what is right or wrong. A current example of this is the international conflict in Iraq between many of the western countries.
“Blessed are peacemakers for they will be called the children of God. (Mt 5:9)” This quotation is showing that a person who forgives and makes peace with any enemies will be rewarded by God although Christians have to live in a world where people often make war against each other. Therefore they have to develop an attitude to war campaigning against war and violence in various ways, using different examples from the scriptures to explain their position and different church teachings to help them through. Christians recognise that war is not compatible with the teachings of Jesus, as they believe in peace, and peace is essential for forgiveness to work. Jesus taught his follower to always love and respect, no matter how hard it may be they should forgive their enemies, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” The principle being that although good does not come from evil, destroying evil allows us to repair the damage and do well. For example, the catastrophic bombs were dropped on Japan and killed thousands, the disaster will never be forgotten but we see that Japan is now one of the most powerful countries in the world and there is peace.
