by Themisticlos A. Adamopoulo |
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The Ancient World : War and Peace
The unprecedented contribution of the ancient Greeks in the history of ideas and the development of western culture are well known. 1 Despite the awesome attainment of such a level of civilization and intellectual sophistication, ancient Greek society in its diversified cultural expression was also built, established and perpetuated essentially upon a military ethos. This is the Greek paradox. War appears as one of the most powerful and abiding realities of the Greeks. Indeed for Plato's Socrates, the patriarch of western philosophy, it was considered as "honourable" or "good". Pacifism as an intellectual and moral idea, was not an invention of the Greeks (and indeed the Romans) - though Homer came close with his nostalgic portrayal of a peaceful utopian Phaeacian society. Even Athens, at the period of its cultural zenith, on the average enjoyed peace in only one out of three years. It is therefore the warrior rather than the philosopher who is the more typical icon of the ancient Greek. This is also modern man and woman's paradox.
The modern World: War and Peace
Despite its spectacular technological and intellectual achievements, the twentieth century can nevertheless be simultaneously characterized, in terms of human toll, as the most militaristic and aggressively destructive century in the entire history of humanity, thus far. This is our formidable and puzzling paradox. From World War I to World War II, from the Korean to the Vietnam War, from the Afghanistan to the Bosnian Wars, millions of innocent people have been sacrificed upon the altar of Ares.
Africa: War and Peace
Africa in the modern age has not escaped this apparently inherent yet deadly human predisposition towards violence and belligerent solutions to the tragedy of apparently irreconcilable human conflict. From the colonial wars to inter-tribal conflict (the most recent being the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda) is a stark reminder of man's intolerance to his fellow men.
It would seem that man has not yet learnt the bitter lesson of history. It would seem that our global education systems have also failed. We teach children mathematics, physics, computer science and perhaps eventually nuclear physics, but we have failed to teach them how to forgive one another. Consequently the art of hatred becomes the natural condition. Apparently the human species still refuses to listen to the wisdom of Jesus the Pacifist.
Jesus the Pacifist
Non-violence as a response to human conflict precedes the time of Jesus' ministry. Buddha and Confucius had already taught the idea of pacifism. Yet, in the ancient world be Jesus who .would formulate and express the idea of absolute pacifism in its most coherent and systematic manner. Perhaps the most eleoquent expression is found in the Sermon on the Mountain (Matthew 5-7) Thus one already finds in the prologue of the sermon, that is the so-called Beatitudes, Jesus announcing: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons fo God" (Matthew 5:9). According to this principle fo Jesus, the person who actively pursues the goal of establishing peace is in a sense god-like. Likewise in one of the celebrated antitheses in the same sermon, Jesus not only places an absolute prohibiton on the taking of human life but even warns against the expression of anger: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall ne liable to judgement.' But I say to you that every one that is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother shall be lialbe to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool! shall be liable to the hell of fire." (Matthew 5:21-22)
In a subsequent antithesis, Jesus exhorts His disciples not to strike back if physically attacked: "You have heard it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But if any one strikes you on the rights cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:38-39) The sublime principle of love and hence non-violence reaches its natural and inevitable conclusion within the same sermon with its stunningly briliant synoptic statement: "Love your enemies." (Matthew 5:44)
The Impact of the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Moumt has inspired many, but few have been able to apply it. However, those who have sought to apply it have in some way altered the course fo hum events whether on a small or large scale. On a socio-political level two examples from the twentieth century who have altered the course of history are: Manhatma Gandhi, 'the soldier of peace' who successfully ousted colonialism from India by the method of non-violent resistanceand Rev. Dr. Martin LutherKing, whose non-violent demonstrations in the cause of civil rights succeeded in bringing world attention to the injustices suffered by African Americans.
Africa also also awaits the implementation of the sermon on the Mount.
NOTE:
1. The late and eminent British classicists H.D.F. Kitto goes as far as to make the claim that one particular aspect of ancient Greek civilization, namely classical Athenian culture, ought to be viewed as the loftiest pinnacle of human civilization: "Athens from ... 480 to 380 BC was clearly the most civilian society that ever existed." H.D. F. Kitto. The Greeks. Hammondsworth, Penguin, 1981 reprint, p.96
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