Even if conventional war is acceptable in Catholic teaching, the possession and use of nuclear weapons could never be

"Even if conventional war is acceptable in Catholic teaching, the possession and use of nuclear weapons could never be" There are two obvious stances on this question. The first is that nuclear war with its potential for continuing destruction and damage to future generations can never be acceptable. The second is that which prevailed at the end of the second World War which was that it was acceptable in order to prevent further and prolonged mass destruction of both Japanese and European civilians and Army personnel in particular prisoners of war. To some degree I tend to agree that it was acceptable at that time because the prolonged effects were unknown and they were unpredictable at that time. However, in my opinion, as today we are aware of the consequences it is not acceptable. There are criteria for a 'just 'war which I think certainly should be applied in any context. A 'just' war requires that the causes must be serious enough to justify the amount of killing and suffering which a war causes. In 1945 the prospect of the Japanese army fighting to the last man, slaughtering the POW's they held, both Army and civilian, and creating the possibility of their own civilian population being exposed to the type of saturation bombing which had been experienced in Germany seemed to the Allies a sufficient justification for the use of nuclear weapons. However the

  • Word count: 627
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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What does Christianity teach about human responsibility for the world?

Religion, Poverty and Wealth Rachel Stevens Religious Studies Coursework a.) What does Christianity teach about human responsibility for the world? All Christians believe that the world and everything in it have been created by God. They believe that the world is holy, special, divine, worthy of respect and honour. 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.' Psalm 24:1-2 Because 'the earth is the Lord's', Christians believe they are stewards or caretakers. They should be committed to the proper management of the world and its resources. Since the earth has been delegated to people by God they have to manage it responsibly and productively for the sake of both their own and subsequent generations. The following bible quotes tell us that everything belongs to God. God made the mountains, the sea, dry land and the skies. They also show that God's creation reveals his greatness: 'For the Lord is the great God... In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands form the dry land' Psalm 95:3-6 Christianity teaches us that God is the God of nature, as well as of religion. God made the physical universe, sustains it, and still pronounces it good.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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"Blessed are the peace-makers" is a theme we have heard through the ages. Is peace possible? Discuss

"Blessed are the peace-makers" is a theme we have heard through the ages. Is peace possible? Discuss. Since the biblical era, there have been wars and rivalries between men for the most trivial of reasons to the most valid of excuses. It is an evident fact that different organizations in the world strive for peace, but the leaders of various countries and their citizens' do not rise up and march towards a peaceful society. Even in there home land, violence is the norm, and even in some instances glorified. Until peace is whole hearted sought after and yearned for by all, peace is entirely impossible. The plain honest truth is that there is too much ignorance for us to live in a peaceful world. There is insufficient knowledge of people and there beliefs, and lack of the desire to know. Had people been driven to educate themselves about the cultural differences between different groups, I feel there would be a reduction in the amount of hate crimes towards. There is a clash of civilizations between the Christian west, Orthodox east, Latin America, Africa, Islam, Hindu and China/Japan. The situation between the Islam culture and America is a great representation of this. There is a great degree of hate and ignorance fueling the fighting that is happening in that region. With all this hate and animosity one would assume that they would know more about each others cultures and

  • Word count: 936
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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For a Christian, Nuclear War Can Never Be Justified

'FOR A CHRISTIAN, NUCLEAR WAR CAN NEVER BE JUSTIFIED' I disagree totally because there are many different types of Christians, even if we split them into the three main groups (pacifists, just war believers and crusaders). So it is virtually impossible that all these Christians to have the same point of view. Obviously pacifists are always against the nuclear war due to their beliefs, they believe to never resort to violence what ever the cases may be. Just War believers; can't agree with it either because they only believe in a war that is 'Just' and nuclear war can never be 'Just' because it breaks one of the main rules of Just War, a Just War must be waged with all moderation possible (without massacres, excessive violence, etc). Crusaders could believe in Just War in some cases, if it is carried out as a last resort in the best intention to avoid more violence. Some Christians believe that to use nuclear weapons, could be justified. Because if a country is in the possession of such weapons, it prevents other countries form attacking them, due to a fear of a nuclear war to take place. That is probably a reason why no major European war has broken out since 1945. Another reason for them to justify the keeping and using these weapons, is that if they did not keep or use these weapons, and a group of fundamentalists from that country got hold of such weapons. This group

  • Word count: 720
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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War, Peace and Violence - Teachings of Jesus

War, Peace and Violence Teachings of Jesus Jesus is frequently described as a pacifist or anti-violent. He taught: 'Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God'. However even his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane wanted to defend him when he was being arrested: 'When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" And one of them stuck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.' (Luke 22:49-51) The Salvation Army, the Mennonites and the Quakers follow this teaching today. I have studied the Quakers. The Quakers otherwise known as, the Society of Friends is non-Liturgical (Waiting on the Sprit) they believe actions are not necessary and everything comes from the heart. In the Quakers Meeting House they had no ministers or priests as they believe in equal rights and the meetings were held simply for the community and worship to a higher power or God. As the Quakers are pacifists they do not believe in violence and do not fight. They have no sacraments as their main belief to worship God. This group follow the words of Jesus. However there are two occasions in the gospels when Jesus is angry. Here is a quote of one of the incidents in the Temple of Jerusalem: 'Jesus entered

  • Word count: 498
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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By comparing 'The Homecoming' with at least one other appropriate play, discuss the importance of violence in post 1945 drama.

The Homecoming By comparing 'The Homecoming' with at least one other appropriate play, discuss the importance of violence in post 1945 drama Up until 1945, the world has endured decades of war and violence which affected the lives of everyone through the duration of it. It affected the way people lived, the way people worked and even how plays were written. Since the war, violence has subsequently become one of the key themes in post 1945 plays such as Pinter's 'The Homecoming' and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' by Edward Albee. Although both plays include the theme of violence, they contrast with one another. This is because Harold Pinter expresses violence to the audience in a subtle, unusual way which is dissimilar to Albee's play. In The Homecoming, there are no scenes of physical violence. It consists of a house filled with male characters where hostility is an accepted constituent of their lifestyle through the use of verbal warfare so to speak. This reflects the situation in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. In Albee's play, George and Martha find themselves in the same situation as violence is an accepted part of their lifestyle too. This play however, demonstrates more direct acts of violence such as the incident where Martha is consistently teasing George about his novel and, despite numerous warnings from George, he lashes out and strangles her Martha by the

  • Word count: 676
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Is America Violent?

Is America Violent? America is a violent nation. Many people think that America is full of freedom and democracy. Do these people actually see what happens in America? Do they see the violence in schools, the crime in our society? Most likely, no, these people have loosely seen our society, the violence and the frauds that plague America's history as well as the present. The short essay Violence in America demonstrates all violence in this country. Teddy Bears show how the public feels about guns and how they are used. In the Teddy Bears poster, guns are displayed as objects that are not regulated by laws. The toys are tested for hazardous parts, sharp edges, and anything else that would harm the consumer. With a gun as the weapon, the majority of crime and violence often results in death to the victim. Most guns used for these purposes are unregistered. The public as well as the government wants gun owners to have background checks before they buy a new gun. These safety inspections help to keep guns out of the hands of ex-criminals, psychotic patients, and other people with questionable backgrounds. The government believes that this will work for solving gun problems; in actuality, it does not help that much at all. Violence in America with guns has increased dramatically. In fact, the homicide rate is the highest in the world. In Violence of America, the

  • Word count: 813
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Religious Views on Peace and Conflict Assessment

- Peace and Conflict Assessment: A. What is conflict resolution? A conflict resolution is when you have to stop a conflict. B. Religious people should not fight. Do you agree? Give two reasons for your point of view. Yes I agree, because for example in Islam they have the Holy Quran, Allah has stated that the Muslim people shouldn't fight since Islam is about peace and love, so they will have to follow that rule since Allah has said not to, if they do it will be counted as a sin. If there's a disagreement just solve it by discussion and forgiveness just like Mohammed forgave Josephs brothers Same goes for Christianity, it states in the Holy Bible not to fight, it's not the right thing to do, so mostly no religion accepts fighting so why do it? Also I think they shouldn't because they would be setting a bad example to their younger followers in their religion, as they see what they do eventually they will think its right and do the same. C. Explain how the United Nations try to bring about world peace. The United Nations try to bring world peace by letting people bring their problems and let them get heard by every other participating UN country, so it lets people get help from other nations such as the diseases, famine, political instability, etc. The UN provides relief in the form on food, clothing, money, medical expertise, or military presence. Also if two

  • Word count: 1063
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Violence in the South of Thailand

Violence in the South of Thailand By: Akashay Agarwal 11D Booklet on Problems, Causes, Effects and Solutions Contents Pages . Location 3 2. History 3 3. Problem 3 4. Causes/Reasons 4 5. Effects 4 6. Solutions 4 7. Opinion 5 8. Bibliography 5 Location The Violence in the South of Thailand has been reported in four provinces that are located at the extreme South Tip of Thailand, bordering the neighbouring country Malaysia. The names of these provinces are Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Satun. These are the provinces where the majorities are Muslims and where civil unrest has erupted once again since January 2004, including attacks on civilians and Army Camps. History Violence in Southern of Thailand has been a long problem, stretching over 500 years. Thailand is a Buddhist Nation with over 90% of the population being Buddhist. The next majorities are 4% Muslims that live mostly in the Southern Thailand provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Most of these Muslims are of Malyan origin and always wanted a Country of their own, which they wanted to call, "Greater Pattani". Since then, Muslim separatists have been fighting with security forces and have caused loss to life and property. For a brief period, violence had subsided and there was peace around. However, recently in the past few years violence has erupted again in the South due to

  • Word count: 1756
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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War in the modern world includes terrorism and the threat of nuclear war. Explain how the Bible, the church and the teachings of Jesus may guide Christians in these matters.

R1) War in the modern world includes terrorism and the threat of nuclear war. Explain how the Bible, the church and the teachings of Jesus may guide Christians in these matters. Christians may be guided by these things in different ways. What I mean is, all Christians have slightly different forms of authority. For example, an evangelical Christian will take the authority of the Bible a lot more than the tradition of the church. To expand on this point I have listed the mainstream denominations sources of authority. So these different sources of authority give a Christian slightly different viewpoints on war. So depending on what denomination you are a member of, you will be guided differently. The Bible The Bible does seem very clear in its teachings about war. All through the Bible it talks about not fighting and being at peace with your neighbour. In Romans 12:17-21 the teaching is simple. The first verse, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody "This is very clear. The next verse "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." "Live at peace" it is all very anti-war. The emphasis is always on peace. It also says that we should not take revenge, but leave it to God, "It is mine to avenge; I will re-pay" In Micah 4:1-4, it talks about the coming of peace on the Earth, "In

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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