Christianity is the biggest religion in the world based on the number of members, with 2.2 billion (32% of world population) people globally claiming to follow the religion.[1] However, as this is the case it Christianity should be analysed to make sure that it is peaceful; if a third of the world’s population believe it, it is important that they are not violent or unjust because of their religion.
There are many reasons to think that Christianity is a peaceful religion. Jesus himself said to his disciples: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God".[2] Throughout the stories of the Bible Jesus is often seen to promote peace, saving the life of a woman who would have been stoned to death[3], encouraging people to not live a life of violence[4], and discouraged violence, even when it was being used by others to defend him.[5] These features from the new testament seem to clearly state that Christianity does support peace and does not support violence. The Quaker and Mennonite branches of Christianity are complete pacifists, believing completely in Jesus’ quote of: “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”[6][7] Although these are a minority of Christians[8], it still shows that the holy book that Christians believe in teaches peace.
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He is seen to be hypocritical at several times in the Bible and it therefore could be argued that Christians may follow Jesus’ example (as he is supposedly a form of God) than his word. If Jesus does not do what he says and is hypocritical, people may be led to a less peaceful way of lie, contrary to Jesus’ teachings at a glance. One example of Jesus’ hypocrisy is when he said that his enemies would be condemned (to hell) despite saying earlier to love enemies[9]. Telling someone that they are going to be suffering for the rest of eternity as they are your enemy cannot be classed as loving
Christians refuse to fight at war, they can still be part of war in a
When it comes to making judgements on the merits of others, it seems as though Jesus is quite set on relaying to his disciples the dangers of hypocrisy. One’s own actions must be accounted for before trying to account for the actions of others. Lessons of this kind would have helped to empower early Christians to better apply some sort of objective consistency to their lives. Jesus conveyed such concepts
Many conflicts have arisen over the years about the topic of religions. Some of these disputes have come because of the conflicts between the Muslim, Christian and Jewish peoples. Since these religions are based on the God of Abraham, are monotheistic, and all believe God created the universe, many disagreements and fights have come from the idea that one religion is more superior than the others. So the question has come: Can the Muslim, Christian and Jewish peoples peacefully coexist together in a diverse society? Although the Islam, Judaism, and Christian religions are all Abrahamic based and very similar, they cannot really coexist together in a diverse society because of their ideas of praying, lifestyle beliefs and saviors/holy books.
Tartuffe is the perfect example of such a person. Jesus never attacks the unbeliever, but many times criticizes the Pharisees and Sadducees (holy leaders of the time that are extremely hypocritical) The main two messages of Tartuffe is to let reason and common sense rule your life and to be careful of wolves in sheep's clothing. Throughout the Bible, the writers warn of disorder, degradation, and destruction that is in store for the fanatics and hypocrites.
Should wars can be avoided, the peace is always a satisfactory result. Some ancient but enlightening religious pacifism upheld the peace under any circumstance. According to the New Testament, it’s advocated to “love” your “enemies” so that you can be decent “peacemakers”; and
Throughout history many different secs of Christianity have fought over whose theology was sounder then the other. In many places often resorting to violence to try and establish their views as the most dominant. However, there is one theological belief
This peace can lead to nonviolence with others. In the article, No longer Legitimating War: Christians and Just Peace, Rose Berger talks about how peace is given to everyone and if that can be done we will have peace in our world. Berger says, “Christian school of thought and set of practices for building peace at all stages of acute conflict— before, during, and after” (1). If we use peace while dealing with conflict, we will have better outcomes. The Quakers used these strategies with all aspects of life.
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt its provided comfort, in times of pleasure it has given thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need. The rise of Christianity more than 2000 years ago provided necessary building blocks for the future. Without Christianity there would be no cathedrals, no monasteries, no music from one Johann Sebastian Bach, no paintings from Michelangelo, nor no philosophy from Saint Augustine (Backman 205). There are countless times in history, whether good or bad, that can be credited to
Many people would not believe that worldview would be involved in the topic of work, but it certainly is. Worldview stretches throughout almost every facet of our lives and is even an intricate part of work. Christian and secular viewpoints differ immensely when it comes to work. Many Christians believe that work is an intricate part of God’s plan for mankind while the secular viewpoint sees it as more of a personal, everyday activity the serves no more of a purpose that that of personal success. The secular worldview has distorted the context of work and only the Christian worldview can redeem it to its original context.
In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on love of God rather than on obeying his will. People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive their enemies.
Christianity is the world’s most prominent religion, with more than six billion people practicing worldwide. Although Christianity has come to dominate the world of religion, it began as a small and mysterious cult in Ancient Rome. Small, and poorly understood, Christianity soon became an enemy of Rome, marked with persecution, martyrdom, and murder. By the end of the third century CE, tens of thousands of Christians had been arrested and killed for their beliefs.
What is Christianity all about? What are the basic beliefs of Christianity and how did it begin? According to (AllAboutReligion, 2010),” Christianity began about 2000 years ago in Judea, [presently known today as Israel] with Jesus Christ and His faithful group of disciples”. This paper will address the viewpoint of the Christian faith and its outcome. The central message of Christianity is based upon the teachings of Jesus and his promises. Christianity teaches that there is merely one God in all existence and that God created the universe. It also teaches that Jesus is the only way to be set free from the coming judgment of God and that Jesus desires his values and his standards to abound. Moreover, Christianity is the only religion that offers a savior. Religion has been in every culture since the beginning of human society and there are many religions competing for the heart of humanity throughout the world at large.The following characterizations are based on the Christian faith: redemption, covenant and grace. Although Christianity is a matter of choice for the human race, what type of influence did it have on the China, Africa, and Rome inhabitants?
Pacifism covers an array of views and there are many subcategories of pacifism, some of which I will cover, but the main definition of the word pacifism is the opposition to war and/or violence. Perhaps the most famous use of the word pacifism is found in the “Sermon on the Mount”, where Jesus claims the “peacemakers” are blessed. In this passage, the Greek word eirenopoios is translated into Latin as pacifici, which means those who work for peace. One common and simple argument for pacifism among religious groups or god fearing people is the argument that god’s revealed words says, through the bible, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Initially, I thought that even though Jainism is one of, if not, the most peaceful religion in the world, there would not be many difficulties to practice it. However, as I learned more about the religion, I realized there were so many restrictions involved and a significant amount of discipline required to follow this religion. For instance, filtering water multiple times to prevent harm from reaching microorganisms, sweeping the ground considerately, pulling out every strand of hair on one’s head, renouncing family members and sexual pleasures, having little to no belongings or simply having a limited diet. These strict practices seemed a bit ridiculous to me at first, but as I realized all of the above and more have to take place to achieve moksha, it seemed less ridiculous and more logical to me.
Another similar religion which includes the belief of non violence is called Buddhism which originated from India and has know made it way throughout the Asia. This is consider very highly by outsiders generalisations that it is a non- violent, peaceful religion. However scholarly work shows that medieval Buddhism did have elements of violent acts and justification for these acts. In Japanese Buddhism there are aspects of violent acts. Buddhist monks have trained warriors in martial arts for war.