Debates surrounding pacifism and attitudes to war have occurred throughout history. The earliest records of pacifist teachings come from ancient Indian sources. '[...] around two and a half millennia ago ahimsa (a Sanskrit word meaning non-injury) became a central teaching of the Buddhist and Jaina religions [...]'. Following on from the Indian practice of ahimsa, Jesus preached nonviolence, which led early Christians to become predominantly pacifist. This essay will explore the journey of Christian pacifism from Jesus' ministry through the early church up to the modern day to prove that pacifism was and still is a credible position in Christian thought. One of Jesus' most profound teachings is that of nonviolence. It is clear that he …show more content…
This is known through the teachings of early Christian teachers. Paul's letter to the Romans has a similar message to Jesus' teaching of nonretaliation. 'Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.' Love for enemies, then, rather than violence, is as important for Paul as it was for Jesus. Eusebius of Caesarea also promoted pacifism, claiming that it is '[...] justified by a high way of life [...]', meaning that a pacifist life was a morally correct way of living. From these sources, it is known that the early Church considered pacifism to be the way of following Jesus. 'The first church fathers are thus held to have been the best commentators, and if the early Church was pacifist then pacifism is the Christian tradition.' It is clear from this that nonviolence was considered to be a tradition of the Church that would be passed down through time as an identifiable feature of Christians. Christian soteriological beliefs have been used to argue against the motive for the early Church's pacifism. 'A reason more definitely assignable for their unwillingness to take up arms against their persecutors, though they could have done so, was their certainty of vindication in the life to come.' This suggests that early Christians chose to practise nonviolence out of concern for their placing in the afterlife rather than to promote love of enemies and the protection of life. While more God-fearing Christians may have been pacifist for this reason, Christians who were better acquainted with Jesus' ministry will have known that Jesus promoted self-sacrificial love - putting the welfare of the neighbour above that of the self - which would justify pacifism for the good of the other rather than for the good of the individual. Pacifism is therefore a reliable aspect of Christian thought as it promotes an elevated lifestyle through good behaviour
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
Believers of the Old and New Testaments claim that violence is a sin and can only lead to more brutality and death; poet Tony Barnstone firmly agrees. In his poem “Parable in Praise of Violence” Barnstone lambastes the American obsession with violence-- that it is often triggered by inevitable events which could be handled in different manners. The speaker in “Parable in Praise of Violence” reflects on all parts of his “sinful” culture and comes to the realization that people often use violence as a way to deal with emotions of grief and anger caused by events and concepts they cannot explain.
where I grew up, I rarely thought of pacifism as meaning that you didn't fight; I ...
In C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity, The Obstinate Toy Soldier is a chapter with good points. Lewis takes his reader step by step through this chapter. In paragraph one he talks about how humans are consumed with the here and now, so people do not really think about what would have happened if humans never fell. Paragraph two is about how natural life and spiritual life are not just separate, but opposing sides. Lewis says this because people are born one way and God wants them another way. If these two sides, natural and spiritual life, combined then the way people normally do things would be destroyed in the process. It is like the analogy about the people who were brought up dirty and are afraid to take a bath. Lewis states in paragraph three that if we were to try and make a toy soldier human, that the toy would not see it as helping it, but as trying to destroy it. In some ways people see God this way even though he is trying to save our souls. Paragraphs four and five shed some light on who Jesus was. According to C.S. Lewis he was a real man of particular attributes and ever...
BBC. "Christianity and the ethics of war." BBC - Religion. N.p., 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. .
...fists can be uneffective in a war minded society. If an aggressor is attacking with no opposition, one cannot rely on the morality of the aggressors to halt the attack. Intervention of the attacks would be impermissible by the standards of absolute pacifism, as it would contribute to the overall amount of violence. The absolute pacifist would become a martyr for their beliefs, and without opposing the aggressive force societies would be annihilated. I believe while pacifism is morally better than war in terms of the amount of violence projected, and diplomatic negotiation should be the main solution to world issues, it is a commonality of society that war can potentially be the quickest solution to stop an aggressor. Although the notion of a Just War is unattainable, the causes of war as described in the theory set a standard for global leaders to promote justice.
by God you will see that God was opposed to war, violence and any form
Being a non pacifist believer can result as a good thing. Being a non pacifist had a lot of political and military support, compared to believing in pacifism where violence and war in unnecessary, showed the two differences in both beliefs. Oddly enough being a non pacifist has led to the security of this country as well as its stableness. There have been so many historical events in history that have showed us the pros and cons about each belief. “You must not confound pacifism with opposition to a particular war, or even opposition to the whole thrust of American foreign policy. They are two separate issues.” stated in the article, describes how we are not the only ones who are non pacifism believer.
There is a considerable debate about the precise meaning of nonviolence. Some people believe that nonviolence is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of violence. In other words, nonviolence is a method for resolving a conflict without the use of physical power nor enmity towards opponents. Instead, it emphasizes you to look beyond convictions and one’s urge for victory, it is the motto behind the saying “hate the sin and not the sinner”. For others it is a way of living and an essential part of their values and norms, for those people, nonviolence is the road which will lead them towards attaining inner piece and moral satisfaction. “Learn and teach nonviolence as a way of life; reflect it in attitude, speech and action” say’s Gerber in his article The Road to Nonviolence. Thus making nonviolence the ultimate behavior towards achieving truthful, spiritual, loving life. Mahatma Gandhi, the nonviolence guru, defines nonviolence as “a power which can be wielded equally by all-children, young men and women or grown-up people, provided they have a living faith in the God of Love and have therefore equal love for all mankind”. (mkgandhi.org) Therefore we understand that nonviolence has some terms and conditions to be met; living faith in God, truthfulness, humility, tolerance, loving kindness, honesty and the willingness to sacrifice. ...
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 it provided comfort, in times of pleasure it gave thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need.
Moses, Paul. “Is religion about war -- or peace.” CNN. December 18, 2009. Web 14 April 2011.
Christianity is now in our modern world one of the five major religions. The other major religions include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism from which Christianity descended. Christianity was practiced before Christ, During his life, and after his life. After Christ¹s life Christianity spread to become a main world religion.
The earliest recorded text teaching Christianity has its roots buried deep within Judaism. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, created a new ideology of worship. The Messiah is the savior for all people and of all sins. Paul carried the message of the Messiah to the Gentiles. His missionary journeys and establishment of churches enabled the spreading of the message throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity grew in acceptance; those that believed in the Messiah separated and began to worship on their own. This marked the beginning of the split of Judaism and Christianity.
Universal pacifists are morally opposed to all violence, not just killing. And many universal pacifists derive their views from christian gospel. Immanuel Kant believed that morally proper action consists in choosing to act in such a way that your conduct could serve as an example for all mankind. Some universal pacifists appeal to this idea, arguing that if everyone were a pacifists then the world would be a much better place. Leo Tolstoy, who, in his early years, was a nihilist, and later in life became a fervent christian pacifist or anarcho-pacifist wrote this in his book My Religion or What I Believe, which is a comprehensive explanation of his faith, “Instead of regarding it as natural that our entire existence should be controlled by coercion; that every one of our amusements should be provided and maintained by force; that each of us from childhood to old age should be by turns victim and executioner instead of this I tried to picture the results if, by precept and example, we endeavored to inspire the world with the conviction that vengeance is a sentiment unworthy of humanity; that violence is not o...
Gandhi and King both agreed that nonviolence is accomplished by revolutionizing the relationship between adversaries, and that its strength lies in their commitment to justice. However, Gandhi puts emphasis on a need for personal suffering in the practice of nonviolence, a stance that is somewhat less aggressive than