We live in a world of armed conflict - Explain what differing Christian beliefs of armed conflict might be.

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We live in a world of armed conflict. Explain what differing Christian beliefs of armed conflict might be.

War is armed conflict between two opposing forces. There are many factors that contribute to wars taking place. A ‘good’ country can declare war on another country if it occupies and imposes its rules, religion and government on another state. On occasions a country is ruled by a totalitarian dictator who imposes himself as the leader of the country giving no democratic rights to the people. Religion has always been a source of conflict; many countries have different religious groups within it that will quarrel and fight over the religion of the state and its leaders as well as the land. There are many different types of warfare; conventional warfare is when large troops of soldiers face each other in battle using guns and tanks. This is the conception of war many people have. Terrorism is a war fought against a certain political or religious system or simply an idea the terrorists disagree with, such as apartheid and racism. Terrorists use what may seem inhumane tactics to prove their points such as sabotage of key buildings, kidnappings, hijackings, bombs and they also use guerrilla warfare. Nuclear warfare is probably the most feared of all. Nuclear warfare is achieved by putting radioactive substances in a warhead which on collision will cause mass destruction. Christians believe in Jesus Christ and they listen to his teachings and do there utmost to follow his example. Christians have different views on war and these views can be supported by the bible and teachings of the church.

 

In the bible there are passages that support war and violence if necessary. When Jesus was alive, Palestine was occupied by the Romans and the Jews were controlled by them and subjected to their laws. In ‘The Spirit of the Lord’ Jesus proclaims that he will

  ‘Bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, and set free the oppressed’

This is a passage that rebels against the Roman rule and has a violent tone. Jesus says that ‘the Lord will save his people’ and that Jesus’ mission is to liberate his people from the evils forced on them. The church fights for the people and this story shows how it is necessary to fight for human rights and many supporters of the Liberian theology use this passage to prove their points.

  Jesus was not known as a violent man but in the passage of ‘The Traders in the Temple’ he conveys a different aspect of his personality. Jesus found traders in the temple and was outraged that the house of the Lord had been ‘turned into a hideout for thieves’. He overturned tables to show his anger and how he thought that the temple was been used for the wrong reasons. This violent protests supports violent actions to show your views but Jesus did not harm anyone just threatened them.

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  Jesus preached that you must treat everyone equally and when he chose Simon the Zealot as a disciple it showed that he was not against violence. Zealots were people who thought that it was alright to fight for your religion and this thought has provoked many wars since then.

The bible and the teaching of the prophets also can oppose war. The prophet Micah dreamed

  ‘They will beat their swords into plough stores and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up arms against nation. Nor will they train for war anymore’.

This shows that ...

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