What Christianity teaches about peace

Aug 06, 2015

By Percy D’Cruz
The question raised was: “What is distinct about the concept of peace in your religion?” to which Deacon Anthony Chua replied, “Peace is not only the absence of conflict or war. Peace for Christianity is a gift which comes from Jesus Christ Himself, who is the Prince of Peace. We look to Christ as our guiding light and way of life. Jesus says ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.’ (Jn 14:27).

“Jesus also says, ‘Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God.’ So, it is more than a concept. A peacemaker is one who takes steps to build peace in our society and community.

“Peace is also a daily endeavour. We need to be courageous and make the effort to work towards reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to serve the weakest and the marginalised, for justice. For Christians and all humanity, the peacemaker is guided and moved by love in all their doings. Love thy neighbour is the centrality of Christian teaching, taking the form of service to the poor and the marginalised. These works of charity include justice, human rights and peace.”

Deacon Chua, a lawyer in private practice since 1992 and ordained a deacon four years ago, was participating at a question and answer dialogue with fellow Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim legal counterparts, organised by the Malacca Bar Council for publication in its in-house magazine.

On the question, “Does religion cause war and disharmony?” Deacon Chua gave an emphatic “NO”. He said, “The teachings of Jesus Christ are very clear. Love God and love thy neighbour, which includes your enemy. On the contrary, a non-religious entity, like a communist state, may cause wars and violence.

“Part of their ideology is the absence of religion to enable them to create an ideal state. Devoid of religious belief, communism, as in North Korea, has its fair share of violence and war. To achieve their goals, they disregard human dignity and lives.”

On the question: “How is your religion responding to recent events linked with the IS and Boko Haram?” Deacon Chua remarked that Pope Francis condemns Boko Haram and IS on the continuing persecution of Christians. To their violence and murders, the Pope said, “Believers, both Christians and Muslims, have experienced a common tragic outcome at the hands of people who claim to be religious. However, they instead abuse religion to make it an ideology for their own distorted interests of exploitation and murder. Religion is being used as a vehicle for their ideology.”

On religious tensions in Malaysia, Deacon Chua said, “There are many people of goodwill, regardless of their respective religious backgrounds, in this country of ours. The process of pursuing peace is not an easy task. It has always been a struggle. Peace builders are faced with obstacles in this arduous journey where they are confronted with prejudices, bias and suspicion from various groups and institutions, both in and out of religion.

“The Church continues to have dialogue with people of different faiths, creed and religion.”

For the final question Deacon Chua was asked, “What would you say to your fellow legal practitioners of different faiths and to outsiders, who may read about it subsequently, on how we can live in peace with one another?”

Deacon Chua replied,“In Malaysia, especially following the recent spate of racial tensions in Kuala Lumpur, I will say that we should be courageous. Here I quote what Pope Francis said when addressing the Israeli and Palestinian presidents and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople sometime in June at the Vatican Gardens:

‘Peace-making calls for courage, much more than warfare. It requires the courage to say “yes” to encounter and “no” to conflict, “yes” to dialogue and “no” to acts of provocation, “yes” to sincerity and “no” to duplicity. All of these take courage, it takes strength and tenacity.

‘History teaches that our own powers do not suffice. More than once, we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in blocking it. That is why we are here, because we know and we believe that we need the help of God.’”