The entire biblical narrative tells the story of conflict resolution. Genesis one and two describes God’s good creation. Unfortunately, God’s good creation was distorted by the fall of humanity into sin (Genesis 3). From Genesis chapter three through Revelation twenty-two, we read the story of how God intervenes by entering into humanity’s world through Jesus Christ in order to bring about reconciliation. As those reconciled by God, those who claim to belong to Jesus Christ seek “to live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18, ESV). This does not mean that we retreat from the world so as to avoid conflict. Rather, we enter into this world filled with chaos and conflict in order to carry out the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21).
As Christians who care about people living in this world, we need to formulate our own understanding what the Scriptures have to say about conflict and how to resolve it. Christian leaders have sought to articulate their own perspective on conflict management and resolution. Something that we learn from watching these videos is that conflict management does not stay at the level of theory but it gets played out in real-life circumstances. One thing that we as Christian learners cannot ignore is the role that Scripture plays in understanding conflict management.
Watch the following videos: PICK ONE TO WATCH
Francis Chan: The Reconciliation
Mack Stiles: Ambassadors for Christ-The Ministry of Reconciliation
Mercy Hill Church: The Ministry of Reconciliation
Rick Warren: A Pastoral Perspective on Conflict Resolution and Relationship Restoration
Read Matthew 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5; Philippians 4:2-9
Answer the following questions that describe your understanding of conflict from a biblical perspective. Be sure to include other passages of Scripture to inform your response (e.g. Proverbs has much to say about conflict and resolving conflict).
What it is the biblical idea of conflict resolution?
Why should a person want to manage conflict?
How should a person resolve conflict?
What does the Bible say about the benefits of reconciliation?
Support your work with scholarly academic resources, textbooks, or other sources provided. Use of APA format is required.