NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion - Volume 62, Issue 4, 2008

Being a necessary element of group formation, conflicts between competing positions stand at the cradle of Christianity. Identities take form through pointing out differences and defending them. But group conflicts need to be limited and balanced out in order to keep their creative impetus and not turn destructive. Inspired by Kees Schuyt’s 2007 Cleveringa Lecture, the article discusses how Paul tried to regulate group conflicts in his communities. It quickly becomes evident how frequently and skillfully Paul takes recourse to fundamental theological traditions and formative practices and experiences common to him and his addressees. Christology and Paul’s role as apostle play a particularly important part. But not always Paul seems to have succeeded.

Although the social sciences have gained their place in the theological faculties, a sociological approach of New Testament problems is not yet granted. This especially concerns the separation of Christianity from Judaism. The popular model of ‘the parting of the ways’ suggests a separation of friends because of differing views. Rather, referring to a sociological study about the correlation between social polarisation and violence, this article presents the hypothesis, elsewhere to be tested in detail, that it was the social polarisation process generated by the Jewish wars against Rome which triggered the separation of Jews and Christians.

This article explores the conflict potential in the relation between Sunnis and Alevis in Turkey. Using the theoretical framework that Schuyt proposes to analyze conflicts, the author argues that the risk of a violent confrontation between the two groups is relatively low. This argument is based, among other, on the complexity of the individual and collective identities of the members of both groups. There is, however, a risk that attempts of the Turkish religious authorities to assimilate the Alevis and to deny them the right to develop a separate religious identity will increase the existing tensions between the two groups.

Violence is a critical problem for the future of human societies. Following the work of René Girard, it is clear that it emerges in the context of human relationship and desires escalating beyond a point of control. Escalating rivalries produce all of the rivalries described in Kees Schuyt’s important article. At the same time, these phenomena are symptoms of a deeper reality. Peace cannot be bought by simply re-arranging the instruments of power, but now demands a deeper recognition of the nature of the underlying relationship. The importance of Northern Ireland is not in its scale. Paradoxically, because it is so unimportant in geo-strategic concerns the logic of conflict has been allowed to extend to a point where its internal dynamics have become visible. Northern Ireland’s local conflict is examined as a story of the exposure of violence and the impossibility of violence remaining secret. The cycle of revenge has been exposed, but huge efforts continue to go in to refusing to acknowledge the consequences. As a consequence Northern Ireland has reduced the symptoms of violence but finds it enormously difficult to face the responsibilities of moving from a relationship in which we sought to eliminate one another, to a fully inclusive relationship in which there can be trust.