HRT 3M World Religions

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HRT 3M World Religions

• War

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War

• Catholic Church Buddhism Judaism

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Catholic Church

• The Catholic Church sees war as unnecessary, and
  only should be fought when the Just War rules are
  met. There are three statements that the Just War
  theory uses. One states that it is very wrong to
  take a human life. Number two says that states
  have a duty to defend their population. And three
  declares that protecting innocent human life and
  defending moral values sometimes calls for force
  and violence.
•  
• The idea of the Just War theory is to guide
  groups of people in the correct way to act in a
  potential argument. The theory is used to try to
  prevent war, by showing that it could be wrong to
  resort to violence, which can force groups to
  find better way of solving conflicts. The Just
  War theory has two parts, conditions where
  military force is permitted, and how to carry out
  a Just War. The war will only be a Just War if it
  is carried out well, and if it is justified.

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Buddhism

• Buddhism has been looked upon as a very peaceful
  religion. Their precepts include Avoid killing,
  or harming any living thing. Nothing would be
  found that supported violence if you looked
  through their entire scripture. It never stated
  violence as a way to solve disagreements. Many
  Buddhists refuse to use any weapon no matter what
  the cost. Even if their lives would be lost as a
  result, they would remain peaceful. Part of the
  Buddhism code states that monks can defend
  themselves, but may not kill, even in defence.
•  
• Since Buddhists cannot kill, they must find
  other ways of defending themselves. Therefore,
  they have developed many forms of martial arts.
  Even though martial arts seem very separate from
  non-violence, Buddhists still have extremely
  severe rules about how the arts may be used.
  Buddhists may only use the minimum defensive
  force possible, and may never be the assailant.
•  
• A Buddhist view of history sees that during the
  last 3,000 years, 15,000 major wars have been
  fought. Throughout history, man has been trying
  to advance their technology. Technology has
  developed so much, that the world could be
  destroy within seconds. Millions of Treaties have
  been produced, and millions of things said by
  world leaders, but there is always a threat to
  man.

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Buddhism

• Buddhism sees that all religions teach people
  not to kill however that precept is ignored many
  times. Today, millions can be killed within
  seconds. In the past, it could take years,
  decades or even centuries to kill that many
  people. Many religions do not place enough
  importance on the fact of non-violence, and as a
  result it becomes a problem that can lead to war.
•  
• Buddhism does not believe in war, or any acts of
  violence toward any living thing. Because of
  their way of seeing all life as precious, they
  are not permitted to harm a single animal. Its
  rules are strict concerning killing in any forms.
  Self-defence does not give an excuse to kill a
  person. Buddhists rarely become soldiers, and
  when they do, they are usually being forced
  against their will.

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Judaism

• Judaism has a much different look upon war and
  violence. It doesnt see all violence as always
  wrong. It accepts that some wars can be ethically
  justified, and it is sometimes morally acceptable
  to kill people. They do, however, have to attempt
  peace or avoiding conflict before starting a war
  or battle. There must be some form of compromise
  that is tried before conflict.
•  
• Jewish law only allows combatants to be
  deliberately killed in a war. Innocent people
  must be given as much time as possible to leave
  the field of combat before a war starts. This
  means that you should only fight the people who
  are fighting you, innocent people must be allowed
  to escape and may not lose there lives by a
  deliberate attack.
•  
• In the Old Testament, you see God as a fighter
  he leads Jews into conflicts, protects them, and
  brings them to victory. However, the Old
  Testament also has longing for peace. God kills
  many people, whether it is combatants, or on few
  occasions, innocent lives.

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Judaism

• Peace to Jews is something that comes from God
  and will only fully be comprehended when there is
  justice among the world, and its individuals. For
  self-defence, the Talmud says that a person is
  allowed to kill an aggressor to save his or her
  own life.
•  
• Ancient Rabbis of the Jewish Tradition thought
  there were three types of war that Jews could
  consider. One such war was an Obligatory War. And
  Obligatory war is where God commanded Jews to
  fight. These are wars in the bible. Another type
  of war was a Defensive War. This type of war
  occurs when the Jewish people are attacked. It
  means they are allowed to defend themselves. The
  last war is an Optional War. This is when a war
  is undertaken for a good reason, and no other
  form of negotiation remains possible.
•  
• Judaism does not put as much emphasis on
  non-violence as most other religions. It does
  have some rules about preventing war, however,
  they are merely to save innocent lives, not to
  prevent wars altogether. There is nothing to
  guide you on which war is a moral war.

8
Conclusion

• In conclusion, all religions have ways of saying
  which wars are allowed and which arent, and some
  religions guide you on how to stop wars. Buddhism
  was by far the most peaceful religion, because
  their teachings held so much respect for every
  living thing. The Catholic Church uses the Just
  War theory, which is a good way of seeing whether
  a war is moral or not. Judaism stresses some
  importance on non-violence, though not as much as
  The Catholic Church or Buddhism.