Just Practices

How is just peace expected to be practiced and lived out? What are the things that needed to be done towards ensuring just peace and by whom? “Just Peace Practices” is taken directly from the Just Peace Companion and answering the above questions, it is pertinent to refer back to the United Church of Christ in the USA which is later named The Just Peace Church from whom we got the term, consult other scholars who have worked on Just peace, look at other available materials that had addressed this subject. Then look at the Just Peace Companion which is a comprehensive work on this concept.

Just peace is expected to be practiced and lived out by all people. All human beings are also expected to do quite a lot of things towards ensuring just peace and we shall soon discuss how all people are expected to get involved. The practice of Just Peace is neither left to the leaders alone nor to the followership alone, neither is it left to the parents alone nor to children alone.

233 Just Peace Companion, p. 18.

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Although the emphasis is on the Church, however, what needs to be done is not limited to the Church. The reason is simply that it was from the Church that this concept emerged. All religions, faith organizations and even those who do not belong to any faith organizations are expected to key in.

The United Church of Christ calls on her local churches to practice Just Peace in four different ways, first spiritual development which involves prayers for just Peace, studying the scriptures, theological reflections upon the work of the Holy Spirit etc.

second Just Peace Education-Just peace be taught through the life of the congregation. Peace Education be integrated into the programmes of the church, such as confirmation classes, Sunday school classes, and membership instructional programmes. “Do not leave Just Peace concerns only to adults, either young children and youth educational programs, both in terms of content and leadership style, are a forum for beginning peace education at an early age.”²³⁴ Third through political advocacy,

We call upon all churches to the outward journey of political witness, enabling all members to join the search for the politics of Just Peace. Just Peace is both a religious concept and a political concept, and participation in the political arena is essential. We call for each church to appoint a contact person for the UCC Peace Advocacy and Hunger/Economic Justice Networks to follow closely those political issues most critical to the development of a Just Peace and to alert members of the local church when it is most appropriate to write or contact their Senators and Representatives.²³⁵

The fourth is through outward journey of community witness. This could be done much more through the media.

There is also a comprehensive document which is a product of twenty-three scholars, Christian ethicists, biblical and moral theologians, international relations scholars, peace activists, and conflict resolution practitioners from different Church Denominational backgrounds and confessional faith families which is titled, “Just

234 Thistlethwhite, p. 99.

235 Ibid., p. 145-6.

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Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War.” This group of scholars worked together and collaborated for a period of five years since 1992 and came out with the above document. The ten practices are not just wishful list but empirical practices in our times that are spreading peace. Five historical events gave birth to the vision of Just Peacemaking. First is the devastation of war and threat of nuclear weapons after the World War II. What are the things that need to be done to avert another war? Second is the confusion after the Cold War as to what is to be done for peace and peace building and by whom? The third is the growing inadequacy of the theory of Just War and Pacifism. Then the fourth is the violence in the 1980s, Guatemala, Latin America, Rwanda, Liberia, Zaire, Sudan, Burma, Cambodia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, or Iraq propelled most major denominations to issue statements on peace and challenging one another towards developing theology of peace. The fifth historical incident was the contacts and interaction of the worldwide peacemaking movements linking many groups with different emphasis.

The Vision of these scholars is grounded in three theological convictions:

1. Initiatives: A biblically informed concept of discipleship and peacemaking initiatives grounded in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

2. Justice: A church committees to seek the peace of the city where its people dwell (Jer. 29:7); to further God’s reign, not by withdrawal or quietism or by uncritical support of or reliance on the government, but by engaging the issues of peace and justice-especially justice-actively within the brokenness of the world.

3. Love and Community: The church community as the eschatological sign of God’s love and reign in the world, embodied in a concrete gathering of persons who seek to discern together what just peacemaking means and to model peace making practices in our corporate and individual lives.²³⁶

As to who are then to implement the ten practices of just peacemaking, they share the same with those of the ecumenical movement that all and sundry though it requires courage. Schroeder says, “This makes just peacemaking into a task for action-a process in which ordinary citizens individually and in groups work to sustain, criticize, goad, influence, reform, and lead the many kinds of voluntary

236 Duane K. Friesen, John Langan, S.J. and Glen Stassen, “Introduction: Just Peacemaking as a New Ethic” in Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War, (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press), 1998:1-27:6.

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governmental and private-that can contribute to transcending the contradictions and managing and overcoming the conflicts of an anarchic international society.”²³⁷

The ten practices of Just Peacemaking support nonviolence direct action, taking independent initiatives to reduce threats, using cooperative conflict resolution, acknowledging responsibility for conflict and injustice and seeking repentance and forgiveness, advancing democracy, human rights and religious liberty, fostering just and sustainable economic development, working with emerging cooperative forces in the international system, strengthening the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights, reducing offensive weapons and weapons trade and the tenth practice is encouraging grassroots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.²³⁸

The first of the ten practices of Just peacemaking which is supporting nonviolence direct action borrowed a leaf from the works of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi through his satyagraha campaign for Indian Independence and that of Martin Luther King Jr during his civil rights movement which he learnt also from Gandhi. Nonviolence direct action is designed to deal and challenge injustice and can transform situations from greater to lesser violence and from greater to lesser injustice. Some among the nonviolent direct actions include among others boycotts, strikes, marches, civil disobedience, public disclosure, accompaniment, safe spaces and interventions and defensive strategies. We may not discuss each of the ten here for space.

The Just Peace Companion gives areas of Just Peace practices. First is the emphasis on Peace Education. The call is that the family, the school and the church to develop the process of peace education though it requires long effort but the result is rewarding. At all levels of the church, peace education be made as part of religious instruction. The first target be children but it is to be extended to include adolescents and adults as well. “The formation to be agents of peace begins by looking to models of those already engaged in peace building. For children, parents must be the first agents of peace they encounter, who serve as signs of peace not only in what they

237 Paul W. Schroeder, “Work with Emerging Cooperative Forces in the International System” in Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War, (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press), 1998:133-145:141.

238 For details see Glen Stassen, ed., Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War, (Cleveland:

The Pilgrims Press), 1998:29-188.

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say, but in what they do. As children grow and mature into themselves being agents of peace, and churches must provide space, encouragement, and active support in this formation.”²³⁹The challenge is for the churches to take up the issue of peace education for children right at an early age. Worship services should educate for peace.

The next practice of Just Peace is through interchurch and interreligious peace works. This aspect of the call is inviting the church to address the issue of unity love and respect amongst churches and to work together towards the establishment of the will of God here on earth for all of creation, this is on the first part. On the second part however, is for world’s religions to be a force for peace and not strife and warfare because the great religions of the world carry within them a powerful potential for peace and good will. As much as on the negative part, world religions have played a divisive and destructive roles in the world’s order, there is however great hope of tolerance and cooperation for justice and peace emanating over the years. Worthy of mention is the 1970 World Conference of Religions for Peace also known as “Religions for Peace-International” founded at its first assembly in Kyoto.

The third aspect of Just Peace Practice is Gender, Peace and Security, this is against the background that peace needs to be tackled at all levels; home, school, community as well as sociopolitical set-ups. It was discovered that military spending does not only create an economic injustice for women, it supports an ‘ethic’ of violence against women. The call on churches and by extension all peoples is to reflect on our gender structures, gender mentality and focus on constructive behaviour. The companion calls on churches to address Gender Based Violence and to support women peace programmes and campaigns.

The last aspect but of course not the least is indigenous matters. There are two ways to understanding this section on indigenous matters. First, is for people all over to affirm the significance of indigenous people, their rich cultures, values etc while the second is what concerns the interests of indigenous people. “To travel the way of Just Peace without attending to indigenous matters would be like passing a victim on

239 Just Peace Companion, p. 114.

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the side of the road without stopping to give a hand. Who will be the neighbour for that person? Who will be the neighbour for indigenous peoples?”²⁴⁰

In his reflections on the 50^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, C. Dale White writes, “Making A Just Peace: Human Rights and Domination Systems.” In that document, he points out areas in the declaration that emphasizes the equality, dignity and rights of all peoples. He looks at the role of the church and theological mandate. He has this to say, “The Church of Jesus Christ, in the power and unity of the Holy Spirit, is called to serve as an alternative community to an alienated and fractured world-a loving and peaceable international company of disciples transcending all governments, races, and ideologies; reaching out to all ‘enemies’; and ministering to all the victims of poverty and oppression.”²⁴¹

He also paid attention to Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation discussing intensively the Pastoral Letter of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church titled, “In Defense of Creation.” He is of the view that Making a Just Peace is the collective responsibility of all people. Christians specially are to be evangelists of God’s shalom.

3.9 Conclusion

As this chapter is concluded, the researcher looked at different theories in dealing with or confronting violence. But at first, an overview on the interdisciplinary research on violence is analyzed. This helps to better understand how complex the issue of violence is. The approaches proposed by scholars as to how violence research be carried out is presented.

This is done because of the impact it will have on the fourth chapter where some of the proposed approaches are analyzed in depth. The causes of violence in the Nigerian context studied. The various theories for overcoming violence are discussed. There would hardly be any compromise amongst the advocates of the different theories. It was evident that all these theories were not postulated to sanction wars, but to overcome or limit war.

Some of the theories have recorded tangible results. Granted that the controversy is more

240 Just Peace Companion, p. 138.

241 C. Dale White, Making a Just Peace: Human Rights and Domination Systems, (Nashville: Abingdon Press), 1998:25.

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on who has the appropriate interpretation of Christianity in the field of violence, but an interpretation which falls short of result is but loosing touch with reality. Minority voice as is pacifism and conscientious objection; many pacifists and conscientious objectors are committed to breaking the circle of violence through nonviolence. In other words, even though the concept and ethics of nonviolence comes from a minority denomination in Nigeria, it is an impact in maintaining the commitment to the nonviolent teaching of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. This is because seemingly at the societal level, several people have reached a point of questioning the continuous adherence to this tenet. But for being committed to this teaching of nonviolence without which, the ethos and attitude of the people meeting this situation will call for other reactions.

169 CHAPTER FOUR