Synopsis
If the holy potential is in each of us, and we recognize it, our behavior towards others must be deeply affected. How could we abuse or treat them as enemies? Must we not try to heal relationships fractured by anger, fear, and incomprehension, making use of the universal capacity for peace making that flows from “that of God”? To do so effectively involves understanding the nature of non-peaceful relations and recognizing that there are different types depending on the power balance of the protagonists. But some methods are always appropriate: recognizing and responding to the good in the other, establishing and maintaining a relationship of trust, listening, perseverance. There is no box of magic peace making tricks. All depends on love and concern informed by experience and understanding.
Author Adam Curle poses these questions – and attempts to answer some of them – in his 1981 Swarthmore Lecture.
