War
With the Iraq (and Afghan) wars having caused a lot of conflict, this looks at the theme of war.
1. A VOTE
Ask for hands up who agrees with the forces being in Iraq or the fact that we went to war (now that the troops have left). Or ask about troops in Afghanistan. Who disagrees, hands up. To be more interactive, with smaller groups get people to stand against one wall or the other etc. Depends on the group and behaviour!
2. A VOTE
Who agrees that sometimes we need to go to war to defend, protect and take action.
Who thinks we should never go to war?
3. VIDEO CLIP
If you can, video a news report from Iraq or Afghanistan. Try to get footage of UK, US soldiers, of war scenes, of civilians, and of good stories. This is all to make it balanced so you can't be accused of bias! Not longer than 2-5 mins so editing may be necessary.
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk may have some useful information.
Obviously, this kind of footage is much more sensitive in certain UK communities than in others.
4. GET VOLUNTEERS UP
They are given 3 scenarios. They have to decide if they would go to war in any of the scenarios. This is a quick, hands up challenge. All volunteers get a prize, chocolate or similar. If you can get Hersheys chocolate (US choc) give this out as this is often what US troops have given out to young people and children in various conflicts in the past.
- Scenario 1:
If people in country A are starving to death and those in country B have loads of food and refuse to give any to country A, is country A justified in going to war with country B when all other diplomatic efforts have failed? What if country A has no other source of food?
- Scenario 2:
If country X wants to take over country Y, is war justified against country X if it will stop them being an aggressor and possibly stop a wider conflict?
- Scenario 3:
Country 1 has been attacked by extremist terrorists. However, Country 2 is well known to welcome and give home to many extremist terrorists. Is Country 1 justified in going to war with Country 2 to stop further terrorist incidents?
5. BIBLICAL POINT
As Christians, we believe the Bible has a lot to say about what happens today. Why? Because things haven't really changed. From Cain killing Abel, to Israel fighting wars against its enemies, there have been many battles through history.
As Christians we believe that God has a solution. That one day, there will be a world without suffering and pain. Sounds a bit stupid but if you look around the world, you'll find Christians working to bring hope. There are Christians in the military, even the Iraqi military. There are Christians giving out aid in Iraq, Afghanistan and all over the world.
The Christian message is a message of hope. In times when we're worried about the world and can feel helpless and fearful, the Bible is there to provide hope and answers. The word 'Gospel' which means the stories about Jesus, really means the Good News.
Plus Jesus was very real and spoke some hard stuff. He even predicted than in the last days nations would rise against others and there would be many troubles. However, Jesus also had a name which meant 'Prince of Peace ' which was like him saying one day there will be peace. Not like the United Nations or United States try to get, but something deeper that will last for all time..
6. A BIBLE READING
(If you want to have visuals/VCR playing in the background or do a Bible verse over visuals and use a laptop, Powerpoint, video editing programme etc, then this is a great idea).
'I know the plans I've got for you says God.. good plans not bad plans. I will give you a hope and a future. But you have to call out to me, to look for me. If you really look for me with everything you've got, you willl find me - I promise you.' (Jeremiah 29.11-13)
7. THE END!