The four main area topics that appear in the theme of social harmony are the role of men and women, multi-faith societies, multi-ethnic societies and war and peace. It is clear that men and women have different appearances but this does not mean that they are unable to fulfill exactly the same roles in society. Although they have different strengths and weaknesses, the Christian view is that they are equal. “God created men and women in the image of himself, in the image of God he created them.”(Genesis 1:27)However the Catholic Church believes that women are unable to fulfill the role of deacon, priest or bishop, due to the fact that part of mass involves representing Jesus, he was a male and thus it would be unacceptable for a woman to represent him. “The Lord Jesus chose men… to form the college of the twelve apostles…”(Catechism of the Catholic Church 1577)
One of the main problems that social harmony faces concerning the role of men and women is the rigid view that society has adopted. It is the responsibility of the younger generation to break this false belief through their actions and achievements. Britain is a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society, many people are able to accept this. However there is a small minority that are unable to accept this obvious fact. Through their actions they commit acts of racism which is against civil law and the law of God. Thus condemning themselves to a life of misery. In is the role of any Christian or any decent human being to exchange ideas, beliefs and culture with another human being despite of their religion, culture or race. All of God’s children are equal and God loves them with the same outstanding love that a mother and father show for their child. “Created in the image of one God and equally endowed…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1934-35) The ultimate source of teaching on racial harmony is the parable of the Good Samaritan; we learn the optimum response to a situation through Jesus the son of God. If we are able to apply this to our everyday lives we will be following the direct teachings of Christ.
War and peace is becoming a major issue of our time and is a controversial discussion topic, yet we should honor and appreciate everybody’s unique stance on the interesting yet morbid topic. The Christian teachings on war are extremely rigid and all of the following must be applicable. The cause of war is just, the war is being thought by a recognized and respected body, it is done in order to return peace to an area, it is a last resort, a reasonable chance of success exists, civilian casualties must be avoided and the means are proportional to the cause. If the above points are relevant then it is deemed acceptable for Christians to fight in that particular war. However when they have completed their aim they must return and not inflict a continuing presence.
It is the responsibility of all Christians to insure that social harmony exists within the area they live and they should not take any action that may jeopardize peace. Social harmony is an essential part of modern day life it is all of us co-existing in the fashion that Jesus taught us it is an integral part of society and involves accepting everybody for how they are and not trying to alter their character or beliefs.
