Religion and State

• We are all equal as God made us all equal and we are all made in the image of God.
• Jesus taught us to help others- he told the story of the good samaritan (Love Your Neighbour)
• He also helped Christians follow his examples

Quotes:

• 'Treat others the way you want to be treated yourself'.
• 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ'
• 'A new commandment i gove to you, that you love one another - even as i have loved you, so you also love one another.'

Oscar Romero:

• Was Archbishop of San Salvador and leader of the church in El Salvador in 1977.
• El Salvador had many poor peasants and the army/government were ruthless. Many people were killed or locked up for speaking their own minds. 
• As Archbishop, Romero was expected to save lives, but stay out of politics, however when his good friend Father Grande was shot for supporting the poor, he could not stay quiet any longer.
• Romero saw that inequality between the rich and poor were the main sources of violence. He became increasingly outspoken, condemning murder, torture, denial of human rights- and believed God wanted a just and free society for all men and women.
• He led his people by preaching and teaching- with many of his services being broadcast. 
• In March 1980, he was shot in te stomach and killed. He had been killed for his actions. 

Shimon Peres:

• He tried to bring peace to the middle east.

• For several decades, conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was amongst the most irreconciliable and menacing in international politics. 

• He helped write the Oslo Accords, which made a substantial contribution towards the replacement of war and hate with peace and cooperation.

• This called for great courage on both sides, and opened up opportunities for a new movement towards a fraternity in the middle east.

Justice is seen as :

• Helping poor people and speaking out against oppressors.

• Caring about others, whatever their race, religion or colour.

• Ensuring everyone has equal oppertunities and provisions. 

• Being a peacemaker and showing the way of forgiveness.

• Acting on behalf of others and not being scared of the consequences. 

Duty To God:

• This is summarised in the Great Commandment, which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, sould, body and strength. 

Duty To Your Neighbour:

• This is to love your neighbour as yourself. In the parable of the good samaritan, Jesus taught that anyone who needs a person's love or help is that person's neighbour. 
• Christian duty is to treat others as you would want them to treat you. 

Duty to Yourself:

• To keep your body and mind healthy
• To use your talents fully
• To obey the laws of the state in which you are living. 

Duty to God:

• The central teaching of duty is obedience to God, and upholding the religious laws laid down in the talmud.

Duty To Your Neighbour:

• Duty towards society is shown by acting benevolently towards others, and treating them as they themselves would wish to be treated. 

Duty To Yourself:

• Life is highly valued
• Make the best use of time and intellect to promote the general interest of all mankind, and to glorify God

• To protect society and the offender from each other, and make sure everyone in society is unlikely to suffer the same crime being committed again by the criminal.

• To deter others from committing a similar or the same offence again. 

• To reform the offender. 

• To exact retribution or revenge on the offender, or to get society's own back on the criminal. However, many christians disagree with this - "Never pay eveil back with evil".

• To gain reperation for the victim- the criminal should compensate for the victims suffering.

• To Vindicate society. This shows that law has authority over criminals, and that laws are being upheld and justified.

• To ensure a fair and just society.

• To protect society and the offender from each other, and make sure everyone in society is unlikely to suffer the same crime being committed again by the criminal.

• To deter others from committing a similar or the same offence again. 

• To reform the offender. 

• To exact retribution or revenge on the offender, or to get society's own back on the criminal. However, many christians disagree with this - "Never pay eveil back with evil".

• To gain reperation for the victim- the criminal should compensate for the victims suffering.

• To Vindicate society. This shows that law has authority over criminals, and that laws are being upheld and justified.

• To ensure a fair and just society.

• Jesus' teachings sre based on forgiveness and compassion, however, many Christians believe that these teachings set out an ideal as opposed to a realistic world.

• They believe reforming the criminal is important.

• Many Christians do not accept retribution or revenge because of the Biblical Teachings "Never pay back evil with evil."

• Jews believe there are two aims in punishment - Prevention and Rehabilitation.

• "As I live," Says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but the wicked turn from their ways in live..."

• A wrongdoer who sincerley repents to God will be forgiven. This is remembered between Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement.

• If somebody commits a crime such as murder, surely they should lose their life too - "Punishment shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." (Exodus 21:24-25)

• It will make society safer as the criminal can never commit the crime again

• It will teach other criminals a lesson

• It helps ease suffering for the victims family

• Prison system is too 'soft'

• If somebody commits a crime such as murder, surely they should lose their life too - "Punishment shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." (Exodus 21:24-25)

• It will make society safer as the criminal can never commit the crime again

• It will teach other criminals a lesson

• It helps ease suffering for the victims family

• Prison system is too 'soft'

• Only God can give life, so surely God is the only one who can take it

• "Never pay back evil for evil" (Romans 12:17)

• The ten commandments say "do not murder"

• Someone may have mental health issues and not understand their actions 

• Its final- if they are later found innocent, then it's too late to bring them back

• It is expensive

• It is unethical

• It makes the executioner a murderer

• It does not deter crime

Holy books and Sacred Texts are a sense of authority and help believers better understand their religion and provide help when they need it:

• Sacred Texts have different degrees of influence on different people. For some, they provide absolute guidance, and offer advice and answers to difficult questions. 
• Sacred Texts can be seen to influence how a religious believer may act or behave in a particular situation. 
• A person may look for inspiration and guidance from a sacred text to ensure they are following the correct path.
• Devout religious believers will base their entire lives around the teachings of their Sacred Text.

Christian And Jews:

• For both religions, The Ten Commandments are very important and form part of a moral code for them to follow.
• They provide guidance and structure aroud which Christians and Jews can base their lives and actions. 

Christianity:

• The Bible - A key source of authority when Christians are looking for guidance and support.

• Religious Leaders - In the Roman Catholic Church, this is the pope, who is believed to be Jesus' representative on earth. He is thought to be infallible, in matters of spiritual interpretation. Other Church leaders such as Bishops, Archbishops, Priests, Vicars and Ministers are all surces of authority. They can help religious believers to understand their faiths better.

Jewish:

• The Torrah or Tanakh- a key source of authority. Jews return to Sacred Text for Guidance and Support.

• Religious Leaders- Rabbis are a further source of authority of Judaism. The Bet Din is the Jewish court where Jews can go for guidance.

• There are occassions when the authority of a religion may conflict with the individual beliefs or  personal convictions of Religious Believers.

• For example, if someone accepts the religious ideas for sanctity of life, but also does not agree with suffering, they may struggle the reconcile their thoughts towards euthanasia.

• There is no right or wrong answer to these situations. It is simply up to the individual involved to try and take the action they feel most comfortable with and follow their personal convictions. They will want to stay true to their faith, but they also would not want to go against personal beliefs that they feel strongly about. They may feel that it is down to their conscience.