Christian Beliefs about Peace and Conflict » Christian Peacemaking, Forgiveness and Pax Christi
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 3.2 (Christianity)
- What Christians teach about making peace
- Why justice, forgiveness and reconciliation matter in peacemaking
- How the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 18 and the cross teach forgiveness
- What Pax Christi does, and why it does it
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Unlock This CourseChristian teachings about peacemaking
In the last lesson you met Jesus as a peacemaker. Now we look at the job Christians believe they are called to do: to be peacemakers themselves. A peacemaker is someone who actively works to bring peace, not someone who just wants to be left alone. You have already met the ideas of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation in Peace, Pacifism, Forgiveness and Reconciliation. This lesson shows how Christians use them.
Key terms:
- Peacemaking: taking active steps to end a conflict and build lasting peace.
- Pax Christi: Latin for "the peace of Christ". It is the name of an international Catholic peace movement.
Christians point to several teachings. Jesus said that the peacemakers are blessed (Matthew 5:9). Paul, an early Christian leader who wrote many letters in the New Testament, wrote that, as far as it depends on you, you should live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). Paul also wrote that God has given Christians "the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18), which means a job of helping people to be reconciled to God and to one another. Many Christians believe that peacemaking is therefore not extra. It is part of following Jesus.
Justice, forgiveness and reconciliation
Christians say that lasting peace needs all three ideas working together.
⚖️ Justice
Peace without fairness does not last. The prophet Amos (a messenger of God in the Old Testament) called for justice to flow like a river (Amos 5:24), and the prophet Micah said that God asks people to act justly (Micah 6:8). Christians therefore work to put right the wrongs that cause conflict.
💖 Forgiveness
Letting go of anger and the wish for revenge, so that the cycle of hurt can stop. Christians believe they are forgiven by God, so they should forgive others.
🤝 Reconciliation
Bringing people who were enemies back into a good relationship. Forgiveness is often the first step, but reconciliation needs both sides to take part.
Without justice, forgiveness can sound like "forget what was done to me". Without forgiveness, justice can turn into revenge. Without reconciliation, people may only live side by side in silence. Christians say real peacemaking needs all three.
What the Bible says about forgiveness
Three texts are especially important.
🙏 The Lord's Prayer
This is the prayer Jesus taught his followers. It asks God to forgive us as we forgive others (Matthew 6:12). Many Christians say it every week. Each time, they link God's forgiveness of them to their own forgiveness of other people.
🔢 Seventy-seven times
In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples, asks whether he should forgive someone seven times. Jesus replies seventy-seven times (some Bibles say seventy times seven). Christians take this to mean that forgiveness should have no limit.
✝️ From the cross
In Luke 23:34, Jesus is nailed to the cross. He prays for the people responsible: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Christians see this as the greatest example of forgiving enemies.
Notice what these teach together. Forgiveness comes from God, is needed again and again, and is shown even when the other person has not said sorry. Christians do not always find it easy. Some say forgiving takes time, and that it does not mean pretending a wrong did not matter.
Pax Christi: a Christian group working for peace
The spec asks you to know about one Christian group working for peace today. Here it is Pax Christi International, the international Catholic peace movement. A Catholic is a Christian who belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, led by the Pope.
Key facts
- It began in France in 1945, near the end of the Second World War. Its founders were Marthe Dortel-Claudot and Bishop Pierre-Marie Théas.
- Its first actions were pilgrimages of reconciliation, which helped French and German Catholics to meet after the war.
- In 1952 Pope Pius XII recognised it as the official international Catholic peace movement.
- Today it is a network of about 120 member organisations in more than 50 countries.
What it does
Pax Christi promotes peace, human rights, justice and reconciliation. It practises and promotes active nonviolence, campaigns for disarmament (for example against nuclear weapons), supports unarmed civilian peacekeeping to protect people in conflict zones, and speaks up for human rights. It works with local groups around the world, and since 1988 it has given a Pax Christi International Peace Award to peace organisations or activists. For its latest projects, check its website, because its campaigns change over time.
Why it does it
- Members believe Jesus told Christians to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
- The movement began with reconciliation, so it puts forgiveness and justice at the heart of its work.
- Members see peace as a gift from God that people must work for, not something that just happens.
Common mistakes
- Saying all Christians are pacifists. Pax Christi works for peace, but Christians differ on war. You met these views in the last lesson.
- Listing what a group does but not why. In the exam, always link the work to a Christian belief.
- Saying forgiveness means there is no justice. Christians say you need both.
Exam-style question
Paper 1, Peace and Conflict.
(a) Identify three Christian teachings or ideas that link to peacemaking. [3 marks] (AO1)
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings about forgiveness in this religion. [4 marks] (AO1)
(c) Explain why Pax Christi works for peace. [6 marks] (AO1, AO2)
(d) "Forgiveness is the most important part of making peace." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks] (AO1, AO2)
Model answer
(a) 1. Justice (1) 2. Forgiveness (1) 3. Reconciliation (1)
(b) Christianity. Jesus taught his followers to forgive without limit (1), telling Peter to forgive seventy-seven times (1). The Lord's Prayer links God's forgiveness to forgiving others (1), so Christians ask to be forgiven as they forgive (1).
(c) Pax Christi is a Catholic movement, so its members follow Jesus, who said that the peacemakers are blessed (Matthew 5:9). They believe Christians are called to be peacemakers, so they work to bring peace. It began in 1945 with pilgrimages of reconciliation between French and German Catholics, so reconciliation is part of why it exists. It also works for justice and human rights, because it believes peace cannot last if people are treated unfairly. Its members see peace as God's gift that people must work for, so they act through local groups in many countries. (Level 2: correct terms, full explanation of why.)
(d) Plan. For: Christians are taught to forgive without limit, and Jesus forgave from the cross; Pax Christi began with reconciliation; without forgiveness revenge keeps the conflict going. Against: justice is also essential, because forgiveness without fairness can leave victims ignored (Amos 5:24); reconciliation needs both sides; sometimes the UN or a government must stop violence first; non-religious people may rely on negotiation and law instead. Conclusion (one possible): forgiveness is the key that opens the door, but it only lasts when justice follows, so it is the most important starting point but not the only part.
Exam tip
In (c), give each reason its own short paragraph and use "because" to link Pax Christi's work to a Christian belief. Describing what it does earns far fewer marks than explaining why.
Recap
- Christians believe they are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:18).
- Peacemaking needs justice, forgiveness and reconciliation together.
- Forgiveness is taught in the Lord's Prayer, the seventy-seven times teaching and Jesus on the cross.
- Pax Christi began in France in 1945 and works for peace, justice and reconciliation in many countries.