Peace

1. Jesus´s teachings on forgiveness:

1.1. 1) Jesus tells people in the Beatitudes to love and pray for their enemies.

1.1.1. 2)The parable of the unforgiving servant in Mathew´s gospel Chapter 18. In this parable Jesus tells the story of a servant who was forgiven by the King but who refused to forgive his fellow servant. When the King heard about this he had the unforgiving servant put in prison to teach him how to forgive. The meaning of this parable is that God always forgives people people so we have to do the same.

1.1.1.1. 3) In Mathew´s gospel chapter 18, one of Jesus´ apostles asked Jesus how many times people should be forgiven. Jesus replied ´seventy times seven´ meaning that we must always forgive and never stop forgiving.

1.1.1.1.1. 4) In John´s Gospel chapter 8, Jesus saves a woman who had committed  adultery. In accordance with Jewish law she was about to be stoned to death but Jesus said tot he crowd ´if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.´ In other words, people needed to look at their own mistake before judging the woman.

2. The concept of forgiving

2.1. Is forgiveness possible.

2.1.1. Forgiveness is possible, if people are willing to overcome their natural instincts of disgust, hatred, revenge and letting go of the hurt that someone has done to them.

2.1.1.1. Obviously, in some cases this is far easier than others.

2.2. What does Buddhist teach about forgiveness?

2.2.1. Buddhism teaches that forgiveness is necessary to prevent a person continuing to have bad thoughts about what happened.

2.2.1.1. Bad thought create bad karma and have a negative effect on an individual´s wellbeing.

2.3. What do Christians teach about forgiveness?

2.3.1. Christians believe that God is all loving, merciful and full of forgiveness. Christians believe that there is nothing you can do to stop God from loving you, because God loves everyone unconditionally.

2.3.1.1. God is willing to forgive anyone as long as they are sorry.

2.3.1.1.1. Christians believe that the idea of forgiveness is a key belief in Christianity and that people have an obligation to forgive because they are following the example of Jesus that:

2.3.1.1.2. -constantly taught forgiveness

2.3.1.1.3. -sacrificed his life to bring God´s forgiveness to the world .

3. Meaning

3.1. Peace is when people´s rights are respected.

3.1.1. Where there is peace, there is true compassion and eagerness to understand oneself and other people.

3.2. People are valued, feel valued and there is a general sense of harmony.

3.2.1. Without peace in themselves, individuals do not do well when conflicts arise.

3.3. people´s needs are not respected and creates tension and unhappiness.

3.3.1. Harmony-  where different parts of something fit together perfectly to make a satisfying whole

3.3.2. When there is no harmony between countries there is civil unrest.

3.3.3. Civil Unrest-a feeling of disturbance and dissatisfaction within a civilization.

4. Christian Individual that worked for peace

4.1. One individual that worked for peace is Archbishop Desmond Tutu. he won the noble prize in 1984 for his efforts in bringing peace to South Africa.

4.1.1. This was because at the moment there was a massive separation between black and white people called ´apartheid´

4.2. Tutu worked for peace because he believed in non-violent protests. He believed that violence was no the way forward.

4.3. He therefore, used his position of Archbishop to appeal to Britain and other European countries not to buy South African produce.

4.3.1. When the market profit went down the government  began listening to black people. In 1994 free election were held and Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.

4.3.2. After his election, Nelson Mandela asked Tutu, to work for forgiveness and reconciliation  in South Africa.

4.3.2.1. Which means that people had to accept the past without seeking revenge.

5. What was meant by reconciliation and why it is the second step towards peace ?

5.1. Reconciliation happens after people have discussed their viewpoints with RESPECT and have accepted that the other has different views.

5.2. Reconciliation happens when people/ communities work out a possible solution.

5.3. The term to reconcile or reconciliation means to bring back in to friendship or harmony.

5.3.1. This is because without togetherness there is no possible hope for achieving peace. This applies to families, small and large communities and also nations.

5.3.2. Therefore, reconciliation means: bringing two sets of people back together again and restoring friendly relationships after a dispute.

6. Buddhist Individual that worked for peace

6.1. The Dali- Lama is the spokesperson for the Buddhist Charity called ´The Dali-Lama trust´ which works to alleviate (lessen) the physical and spiritual suffering of Tibetan people.

6.2. Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1950´s he has followed a peace path and non-violence in his struggle to free Tibetans

6.3. The Dali-Lama trust helps to promote the dignity of Tibetan culture that would otherwise be swallowed up by China.

6.3.1. it also travels around the world giving a message of peace and often speaks about the best way top tackle terrorism.

7. Christian Organisation that worked for peace

7.1. Quakers are absolute pacifists. They believe in absolute pacifism. (they are often called the religious society of friends)

7.2. The Quakers campaign in Britain is called the peace tax.

7.2.1. The peace tax campaign is calling for the government to use our taxes to promote the well-being rather then spending it on wars.

7.3. they also run courses teaching people how to resolve personal and community problems.

8. Buddhism Teachings

8.1. ´Ahimsa´ which means non-violence towards all living creatures.

8.1.1. There are 3 key ideas called:

8.1.2. Karuna- generosity

8.1.3. Dana-loving/kindness

8.1.4. Metta-compassion

8.2. Buddhists also teach that people should follow the 8-fold-path. Which are 8 steps that begin with the word ´right´

8.3. For example, one step would be right mindfulness, which would connect to peace.

9. Christian Teachings

9.1. Christians believe that Jesus taught peace as a gift from God.

9.1.1. For example, in John´s gospel,  Jesus says ´ My own peace I give you, a peace that the world can not give, this is my gift to you´

9.1.2. For Christians ´peace´ is a sign of God´s Kingdom on Earth.

9.1.2.1. Peace is so

9.2. Jesus key message was of ´agape´/´unconditional´ love for all.

9.2.1. He taught that forgiveness is an integral part of being a Christian.

9.2.1.1. Integral- an essential  part

9.2.2. Jesus said ´Blessed are the peace makers for they will be called children of God´

9.3. Christianity is based on uncondicional love and forgiveness.

9.3.1. KPI's

10. How can peace be made and good relationships develop between communities.

10.1. To create peaceful relations between communities there must be an exchange of dialogue/ ideas or the willingness to discuss issues.

10.2. Then you must have some sort of coming together/ reconciliation  process.

10.3. Finally communities need to find a resolution to their differences even if it is a compromise resolution.

11. What was meant by forgiveness, and why is it important for forgiveness

11.1. The world forgiveness means having a merciful and a kind approach to someone/ something who has done something wrong.

11.1.1. Forgiveness if important  in peace because without it peace will only be temporary or false

11.1.1.1. If there isn´t true forgiveness on the part of all the sides within a dispute the problem or conflict will only happen again.

11.1.1.1.1. Forgiveness starts when people and communities accept that something is wrong and people/ communities are able to LET GO of that wrong and overcome it.