Introduction: Peace, Justice & Reconciliation
Derek Poole

Comment
Lesley Macaulay

From the Director
David Porter

Now and Not Yet
Stephen Williams

Grace: An Attribute of Reconciliation
Graham Cheesman

Reflections on ECONI
Ken Wilson & Brian Moore

Stanley Who?
Alwyn Thomson

Justice
Billy Mitchell

Peace
Ethel White

Reconciliation
Brian Cruise

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DOING JUSTICE ... A Biblical Model for Peacebuilding
Peace building is an imperative for those of us who profess to serve the Prince of Peace. It is not an optional extra but an integral part of our Christian service. Peace building is not a technique; it is a process through which we seek to move from violent responses to conflict through non-violent activism to a position of peace and reconciliation. Activism is about doing things that impact upon others. But it must first of all have an impact upon our own lives. If we are going to be serious about peace building we must live it out in our daily lives.

The terms 'peace' and 'peace-building' mean different things to different people. For many, peace is simply an end to violent responses to conflict by the 'other side'. This was the peace imposed by imperial Rome under the Pax Romana, and would appear to be the most popular view of peace held by many on both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland today. People who adhere to this concept of peace will be satisfied with any process that leads to an ending of violence, whether structural or paramilitary, against their side. Such a negative peace may be achieved either through an imposed solution in their favour or by way of an overwhelming military victory for their side over the other. Concerns about social justice, equality and pluralism are secondary to establishing and maintaining a negative peace.

The Biblical view of peace is somewhat different to that of the Pax Romana. The Scripture concept of peace is a state of being, where not only is there an absence of violence but also an absence of social structural oppression. Christian peace-builders will be satisfied with nothing short of 'shalom', where every citizen is enabled and empowered to 'live a holistic life of material, social and spiritual well-being'. (1)

The guiding principle for me as an individual seeking to bring about a transformation of the conflict in Northern Ireland is summed up in the words of Micah, the Hebrew Prophet: 'He has showed you, O man what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God '. (Micah 6:8) Restorative Justice lies at the heart of Christian peace building. 'Two duties toward man are specified justice, or strict equity; and mercy, or a kindly abatement of what we might justly demand, and a hearty desire to do good to others' (2).

To act justly is to pursue equity and fairness. This is something that each of us must do for ourselves. No matter what people around us do, we are to act justly in all our dealings with our fellow citizens. If we as individuals do not act justly as we interact with others we will never see justice, and if we never see justice we will never achieve the restoration and reconciliation that lays the foundations for 'shalom'. Acting justly cannot right the wrongs of the past, but it can help to bind up and heal those hurts. More importantly, acting justly can make things right for the future.

Far too many evangelicals regard justice in purely legal terms. All too often it is regarded simply as punishment for wrongdoing. However the biblical concept of justice reaches far beyond the imposition of penal sanctions. It seeks to address and tackle the conflicts of everyday life. Micah exhorts us to act justly, whereas we often talk about getting justice. Sadly however, getting justice often means getting own pound of flesh. When we act justly, we take steps personally to do what is right or to make things right. Justice is never complete until just relationships are fostered, developed and maintained between individuals within community. Acting justly is the pursuit of mutuality.

Acting justly is about developing just relationships between our fellow human beings and ourselves. It is about doing unto others what we would have them do unto us (Matt 7:12; Luke 6:31). It is about acknowledging that wrongs and injustices have taken place in our name as well as having been perpetrated against us, and it is about taking positive actions to ensure that such wrongs and injustices are never repeated by either side. These are things that we as individuals can and should do in our daily lives. They are not things that we should wait for others to do for us. The Lord calls upon us, as individuals, to act justly and to love mercy. While we wait passively for others to act we live in a state of personal disobedience to the divine command.

Acting justly will involve a measure of punishment or retribution for wrongdoing, but in all such circumstances punishment should be tempered with mercy. When people respond violently to conflict and cause harm and injury, justice must focus on meeting the needs of every one involved. Those of us who have suffered violence and injustice have the right to tell our story, to receive support from others, to experience justice, to seek restitution and to grant forgiveness. Those of us who have inflicted violence and injustice need to be brought to justice, to accept responsibility for our actions, to acknowledge the hurt that we have caused, to make restitution, to seek forgiveness and to forsake violent and unjust responses to conflict. Society must also work to create the conditions in which the conflicting parties can respond to each other non-violently, reach agreement, seek healing, and work for restoration and wholeness.

Acting justly and loving mercy go together. Acting justly is not about settling the score. Nor is it about demanding our pound of flesh or about insisting on the full measure of the law. It is about working for the healing of all parties in any conflict, whether familial, civil, criminal, racial, or international. It is based on unconditional love and forgiveness, love of compatriots and love of enemies alike, love of victims and love offenders equally, because both our compatriots and our enemies, our victims and our offenders are the objects of God's love, and hence the legitimate objects of our love and mercy (Luke 6:31-36).

The ultimate goal of justice is not meting out punishment to the other side, rather it is about seeking to effectuate restoration and reconciliation with the other side. It is, therefore, a firm basis for constructive peace building. In offering equity and fairness to all it undermines the structural injustices that foster alienation, conflict and violence. In tempering punishment with mercy it excludes no one from the process of building a lasting peace, of reducing violence and of restoring broken relationships. Unlike conflict resolution and conflict management, the restorative justice model of peace building does not suggest that we simply eliminate or control conflict, but rather it calls upon us to transform the nature of the conflict.

Those of us who embrace the restorative justice model of peace building must endeavour to relate to all protagonists in the conflict, not merely to those whom we perceive to be on our side. Our objectives should be to increase mutual understanding, to reduce the spirit of adversarialness, to achieve political accommodation, to deliver social change and increase justice. To this end we must be open to hearing the truth as others see it as well as being quick speak the truth as we see it. That is not to say that there are two truths, but there are often two (and more) perceptions of truth and perceptions are real for those whose attitudes and actions are influenced by them. It is only when we genuinely bring together and unpack different perceptions of truth that we can come to an objective knowledge of the truth. The restorative justice model of peace building seeks first of all to transform the nature of the conflict, then to work at healing broken relationships, building trust and confidence and finally to lay the groundwork for finding solutions to our problems. It responds on the basis of human need for present healing and for future relationships. Both current and former participants in the conflict are regarded as a key resource in the peace building process. They are not mere recipients of imposed solutions but an essential part of the transforming, healing and restorative process. The building of 'shalom' is an inclusive process. Finally, the restorative justice model of peace building demands personal involvement. It is not a process for others. It is a process for us, for me as an individual. It is the process that I am committed to, and which has become a part of my way of life.

Billy Mitchell was restored to a saving faith in Jesus Christ while serving a life sentence for activities carried out in connection with the UVF. He worships with the Church of the Nazarene in Carrickfergus and is involved, along with his wife Mena, in a variety of social transformation and peace building initiatives with LINC(Local Initiatives for Needy Communities), an ex-prisoner project supported by the Church. Billy is a member of the Executive Council of the Progressive Unionist Party and serves on the Management Committee of both E.P.I.C. (Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre) and the Mediation Resource Centre (Carrickfergus).

Notes
1. Duane K Friesen - Christian Peacemaking and International Conflict (pp. 111-112)
2 Jamison, Fawcett and Brown - commentary on Micah 6:8