Pacifism

• Jesus: '"If anyone slaps you on your right cheek let him slap your left cheek too." [Matthew 5:39.]'
• Jesus: '"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." [Matthew 5: 44.]'
• Jesus' teachings


  • They seem to oppose violence
  • They can be interpreted in a way that would imply violence is never justifiable
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pacifist at the beginning of WWII
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer tried to help Jewish people suffering during the Holocaust by smuggling them out of Germany with fake documents
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer then believed that pacifism was not going to work against Hitler
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer became involved in a plot to kill Hitler
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer's plot was discovered and he was executed by the Nazis
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer: '"There is no way to peace along the way of safety."'
• Mairead Corrigan grew up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles
• In 1976, Mairead Corrigan's sister lost three children in a traumatic incident during The Troubles
• Betty Williams, who saw the incident, contacted Mairead Corrigan and they agreed to start a peace movement
• Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams worked to find peaceful resolutions to The Troubles, and founded Women for Peace
• Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
• After Muhammad fled Mecca he, and his followers, settled in Yathrib (Medina)
• The threat from the Meccans did not subside
• Eventually, Muhammad had to use force to defend himself, his followers, and the faith
• Muhammad took his followers to Badr for a battle with the Meccans
• Muhammad and his army won the battle at Badr
• Muhammad and his army were very careful to only use proportional force
• The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship

  • It has 1400 members in 40 countries, mostly in the UK
  • It believes peace and justice should be brought about through non-violent means
  • It believes Jesus' teachings do not support violence
  • It believes the Christian Church should never support war
  • It believes living the Christian faith should include opposing the waging or justification of war
• The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship founded the Week of Prayer for World Peace in 1974
• The Muslim Peace Fellowship

  • It is a gathering of Muslims dedicated to the practice of Islamic nonviolence
  • It works against injustice and for peace
  • It affirms the commitment to peace on behalf of all Muslims
  • It helps people understand Islamic teachings on peace and non-violence
  • It develops non-violent strategies to maintain peace and justice
• The Muslim Peace Fellowship holds lots of conferences and publishes materials to try to achieve its aims
• The quotation "if they incline to peace, then incline to it" demonstrates that peace is the ideal within Islam
• If peace is the ideal within Islam, then it should be pursued above all other options and should never be deviated from