Howdy-dowdy dear bloggers! I had first 2 classes: Intro to Linguistics and Intro to Conflict studies. Hurray! Now writing homework on CS. The list of questions was quite thought-provoking on the Seville Statement of Violence, Spain, 1986/
1. What is the purpose of the Seville Document? Peace
2. Main Idea / Peace. War is not in our genes.
3. Media. What does is tell us? / It tells us what we want to hear as sin-grieved and for the most part sin-controlled society.
4. What does it take for a better/perfect society? (Movie Equilibrium)
5. What stroke you most as you read the Seville statement?/ Everything – stress on science: It is scientifically incorrect. Emphasized 5 times. They want to say that science doesn’t prove that there is violence programmed in our genes.
And especially the last sentence amazed me. It gave me the humanistic smell, that we as people are in control. Not God. God is left out of the picture, but we as people, or as they state “human species” are put an a pedestal. So the last 3 sentences are as follows:
Just as ‘wars begin in the minds of men’, peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us.
You get the idea? It is us, us, US which is emphasized. Away with all the “God-centered” Christ-exalting ideas, they say. It is ‘us’ that matters and nothing else.
As I thought on the Question 4, I came to the conclusion that there have to be at least 4 things done in order to create a perfect society were peace and justice rule and there are no more wars.
1. There has to be a Perfect Leader.
2. There has to be a Perfect Environment.
3. There have to be Perfect people who pledge full allegiance to that Perfect Leader.
4. There has to be either a restraint or a total removal of all the Sin, Stumbling blocks, and all that lead to Wars and Conflicts.
The short answers to all of those from my Christian perspective are:
Jesus Christ, New Heaven and New Earth, Saints of God, and Final Judgment and Eternal damnation of sin and Sinners together with the Devil and his Angels in a literla place called the lake of fire.
The exhaustive answers I think will never be found this side of eternity. Some of them can be found here. Or here. But I also can deduce from those 4 answers, or rather speculate, that places where there are more perfect leaders, more educated people, who live in a less stressful and militaristic environment, where people are well-nutritioned, where people obey their king, where they by the grace of God have more just justice system and Law – they TEND to have more abilities to maintain peace, than others devoid of all those privileges.
Those more economically powerful countries however tend to use their resources for evil purposes than for good. They tend to give other less superior countries less money, resources, economic justice, rights, favours and all other graces. In other words they like to exploit other countries in order to boost up their own economic status and build a name for themselves. Those burning desires and passions for power and money are main engines on which human hearts run, till they meet their doom.
As a conclusion I want to bring a large quote from the Epistle of James which deals with the very same issue but inside the community of believers. It has got in itself both the issue, the problem and the solution. To be short: lust is the problem, humble prayer is the solution. Amen.
” 1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. “
(James 4:1-10)