RE GCSE AQA - conflict

Causes of crime?

 unstable families, social issues, economic factors

Effects of crime?

family (of victim and criminal) affected, economic effects (resources,medication, prison), emotional disorders may be a result e.g. anxiety, and loss of lives

"If anyone injures his neighbour, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for an eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured, so he is to be injured".
Leviticus 24:19-20

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
 John 8:7

Aims of punishment:

• PROTECTION - protecting the society e.g. imprisonment
• RETRIBUTION - revenge, an eye for an eye
• DETERRENCE - warning to discourage others from crime
• REFORM - help change criminal behaviour (through education)
• VINDICATION - clearly laying down law

Impact of punishment:

• FINES - deterrent, protection, money raised for government
• IMPRISONMENT - protection, takes away freedom and rights e.g. vote, given chance to reform
• CAPITAL PUNISHMENT - deterrent, protection and retribution - punishment fits crime, not wasting resources in prison, BUT contradicts basic right to life, innocent may be punished by mistake, may cause life to be devalued and brutalise society

Causes of war:

greed, lust for power, corrupted governments, ideology, religion, nationalism, revenge, injustice, fear, economical problems

Effects of war:

deaths, diseases, enviromental damage, refugee crisis, orphaned children, weakened country, care needed for soldiers, lack of resources
 

“Jesus entered the Temple Area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changes and the benches of those selling doves.”

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” --Matthew 10v34

Peter: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? seven times?" Jesus: “Not seven times, but seventy times seven times."

In the 4th Century, St. Augustine set out two conditions for a Just War (later added to by St. Thomas Acquinas and others) – ALL these conditions must hold if a war is to be considered JUST.

1. PROPER AUTHORITY - war should be declared by a proper and lawful authority e.g. a government or king
2. JUST CAUSE – the war must be started for a good reason – e.g. self-defense, and not because of greed, etc..
3. RIGHT INTENTION – the war must be fought to establish good, or fight evil
4. LAST RESORT – it must be a last resort, when everything else has been tried, e.g. diplomacy
5. PROPORTIONALITY – the amount of force used must be only enough to succeed, no more
6. WIN POSSIBLE – it should be possible to win the war
7. JUST METHOD – no civilians should be involved, and no deliberate unnecessary cruelty.

•Conscientious Objector: Person who refuses, on the basis of conscience, to fight in a war, but can serve in non-combatant roles. A Conscientious Objector does not need to be a pacifist – he may just object to a particular war.

•Pacifism: Refusal to use violence or to fight in wars.

•Quakers: The only branch of the Christian Church to be openly pacifist and against the possession and use of nuclear weapons.

“Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  --Matthew 5:39

“Blessed are the peacemakers” --Matthew 5:9

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.” --John 14v27

Jesus’ companion struck servant of high priest, cutting off ear.JESUS: ‘Put your sword back in its place, for all who live by the sword will die it.'  --Luke 22:49-51

•Terrorism - the use of extreme violence or the threat of violence to achieve an aim

Causes of terrorism:

economic, unemployment, inequality, religious extremists, difference in scripture interpretation, political disagreement, sense of not having any political influence

Christian response: 

address causes of terrorism and promote respect for every human being 

currently held by France, Russia, China, Isreal, India, Pakistan, North Korea and UK

Reasons for keeping nuclear weapons:

• protection, safety, deterrent to other countries
• demilitarising makes country vulnerable and open to attack 
• unstable countries like Iran currently developing nuclear weapons
• weapons can be used for nuclear energy development

Reasons to get rid of nuclear weapons:

• waste of money and resources
• every sub in Britain's trident fleet carries up to 48 nuclear waterheads, each of which is eight times more powerful than Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• as long as they remain there's a risk that they'll be used
• others will want to 'protect' with nuclear weapons too, have to set example
• catastrophic results destroying earth and lives

"You cannot continue to have a cigarette dangling from your mouth and ask everybody else not to smoke." - head of International Atomic Energy Agency (Mohamed EL Baradei)