Part Four
Peace-Making In An Imperfect World
This section deals with the tensions between the Kingdom and the Terrorists and seeks solution-focused alternatives to Christians and Muslims killing each other - while acknowledging that real and permanent divisions will always exist. The section draws on some previous material I have written on urban peace-making and starts with the powerful parable of St. Francis and the Wolf.
The discussion of peace-making comes after the previous section on justice because people are much more inclined to sit down at a negotiating table with those who they can see are treating them fairly, doing their fair share of correcting injustice and who seem to have a genuine interest in their welfare and prosperity. Thus peace is established on justice. Fair trade and accessible prosperity will be major contributors to world peace. The hope for a just prosperity is a key to the hope for peace.
Much of the material is as applicable to inter-denominational rivalry as between Christian-Muslim rivalry. The problem of dealing with irreconcilable religious and cultural differences is thus not new to us. We will see the parable of the Good Samaritan is a key to serving and loving those outside our religious boundaries. We will look at what the New Testament says about peace-making and some biblical material on conflict resolution. With all this established we shall turn to consider the topic “When Your Enemy Is Hungry..”