In the book, The Peacemaker, Ken Sande meticulously elaborates from a biblical standpoint on the peacemaking process as it relates to conflict resolution between individuals in their personal and/or material disputes. Furthermore, the author suggests that there are three primary responses to conflict: escape, attack, and peacemaking. Moreover, as the title suggests, Sande advocates on behalf of a peacemaking process when dealing with conflict, which centers on obedience to scripture while striving for peace and unity through the application of biblical precepts as a means of bringing glory to God. According to Sande, conflict is “a difference in opinion or purpose that frustrates someone’s goals or desires.” Peace is both vertical (with God) …show more content…
Sande notes, “If a dispute cannot be resolved in private, Jesus tells us to ask other people to get involved.” Oftentimes, conflict happens because of sin, selfish desires, idolatry, and wrong motives, which reflect the condition of the heart. Taking responsibility for one's part in the conflict, while being considerate of the other party (treating them as one would want to be treated) opens the door for repentance, forgiveness, and restoration. One of the greatest strengths of Sande’s book is the vast reliance on God’s Word and biblically sound approach to conflict resolution. The author unequivocally states the overarching goal of the book early on by stating, “The primary focus of this book, however, will be on how God can help you as an individual Christian throw off worldly ideas about resolving conflict and become a true peacemaker.” Two areas of enlightenment were the authors thoughts on results and prayer in relation to conflict
Should wars can be avoided, the peace is always a satisfactory result. Some ancient but enlightening religious pacifism upheld the peace under any circumstance. According to the New Testament, it’s advocated to “love” your “enemies” so that you can be decent “peacemakers”; and
Peacemaking and forgiveness are closely associated as we read in Ken Sande's The Peacemaker. Forgiveness encourages personal growth and allows us to experience more meaningful relationships with others, and most importantly a deeper connection with God (Sande, 2004). The heart of the book is divided into four steps of resolving conflict; glorifying God, getting the log out of your eye, gently restoring, and reconciliation (Sande, 2004).
The purpose of this paper is to explore conflict and ways to manage it. I chose to explore this topic in depth because conflict touches all of our lives. Whether it is at work or in our personal lives. Like most people when you have a bad day at work; I have a tendency to bring the frustration home. Frustration at work causes me to be in a bad mood; hence that makes me argue with my spouse.
Conflicts within relationships are inevitable and some conflict can help strengthen a relationship; however, in marriages and families, many people fail to work through their conflict, which results in unhealthy patterns of behavior. Over time, if left unresolved, these patterns of behavior can lead to a breaking of the relationship. Furthermore, most people do not set out seeking conflict within relationships, but rather they lack the emotional maturity to move through conflict. In fact, it is not the differences between the two parties that create the conflict, but rather the emotional reaction to their differences. Therefore, an intervention is required to begin the healing process of working through conflict. Often a pastor or counselor
The way someone manages a difference can make conflict turn into a sphere of harm or a sphere of value. The sphere of harm is when differences are managed in destructive and damaging ways. Littlejohn states (2014) states, “Conflicts are managed so badly that damage is done to people, relationships, and, indeed, entire social worlds” (p. 188). If a party were to react to an indifference by using physical or verbal violence the conflict would move into the sphere of harm. On the other hand, the sphere of value is when differences are significant, but not controversial. Instead, parties value the difference, appreciate it and view it as a positive asset. The goal of conflict is to move from the sphere of harm to the sphere of
Abolishing War? An appeal to Christian Leaders and Theologians is on the pro side of the abolishing war argument. The document argues that we need to find a non-violent alternative to war. It uses the “teaching of Jesus Christ which summons Christians to renounce war and to seek with the wider and religious and human communities to develop alternatives to protect the innocent, to restrain, to restrain aggressors and to overcome injustice”. This specific article
Human conflict is among the most complex topics in the world. It has always occurred alongside the existence of humanity, and often it escalates to violence and warfare. This has been a cycle throughout history, and there has not been much evidence pointing to the end of it. With no foreseen end to this cycle combined with a population that has an ever expanding curiosity, humans have had to justify going to war. Individuals tend to be very passionate and emotionally connected to their beliefs and thus they enjoy being right. They have justified violence and war with this innate desire to be right, and for this reason they have become the most common method for resolving human conflict; but at what cost? Life. Unity. Respect. These are concepts
Greg Mortenson is a truly influential person. He has built over 120 schools in central Asia. Mortenson believes that the real long term answer to terrorism “lies in education rather than fighting” (402). He has won multiple Pakistani humanitarian awards and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize two years in a row (Mortenson and Relin, 127). Mortenson built his first school in 1994 in a Pakistani village called Korphe. Korphe is situated at the base of K2, the world’s second highest mountain. Mortenson stumbled upon this tiny village after a failed attempt to climb the peak in honor of his late sister Christa. (Mortenson and Relin, 136). Since building the school in Korphe, Mortenson has built multiple schools around Pakistan and Afghanistan. His focus is on educating girls about the world around them. By building schools in third world countries, Greg Mortenson is impeding terrorism.
Abigail, R. A., & Cahn, D. D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication. 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Interpersonal conflict is very common with many relationships. It occurs when two people can not meet in the middle or agree on a discussion. Cooperation is key to maintaining a healthy debate. More frequently; when dealing with members of your own family, issues arise that include conflict and resolution. During this process our true conflict management style appears “out of thin air”. (Steve A. Beebe, 2008, p. 191).
The New Testament (NT) strongly urges people to work at peace, even when it is difficult. In the famous Sermon on the Mount, which appears in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his followers, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Making peace with others is part of making peace with God. This contributes to world peace as world leaders have the power to prevent war for example the World Council of Churches in 2001 participated in the Decade to Overcome Violence in hope to achieve world peace. Jesus taught people not to escalate quarrels by taking revenge for wrongs. “Turn the other cheek” and “go the second mile” are both teachings about peace from the Sermon on the Mount. Other words of Jesus in relation to peace between people include, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Political leaders and others who heed to this scripture have prayed for Osama and members of Al Queda to help bring peace to the world. The reason he gave for this teaching is that “God...
Weeks, D. (1992) The eight essential steps to conflict resolution: preserving relationships at work, at home, and in the community. New York: Tarcher/Putnam.
Based on the three-step Law of Nature, people would generate peace from the conflict desires. By the Law of Nature, everyone should endeavor peace, laying down their Right of Nature when other people do so too, and most importantly, keep the covenants that they made. Firstly, people ought to pursue peace, as far as he or she has hope of obtaining it. It brings out a question that why people should make peace and quiet war. Although reason can make the human law of nature, which is preserve ourselves end up with war, it is also reason that tells people to keep themselves away from war and to make peace.
What of religion and what of faith and practice becomes a part of the process of peacemaking?
Conflict is unavoidable and connected to a world where different ideas and opinions are challenged. Negative conflict occurs when voices are not expressed appropriately, discussions are not in control or different parties reject moving forward with a solution. There is difficulty resolving disagreements because there are multiple reactions to disputes. However, a positive conflict supports debates without a destructive outcome. They improve communication, introduce principles that are important to others, and reduce chaos. On the other hand, the approach that a person uses to address conflict dictates the outcome they receive. Methods for resolving conflict include avoiding the problem, smoothing out a situation, competing against the ideas