Theology 151: Synthesis Group Project 2 Christian Morality against Oppressive Law

The Christmas Truce of 1914

Scene 1: Background Time Frame: 1:00 minutes [Narration with simultaneous videos or images] Europe. By the turn of the 20th century, imperialistic tensions over colonial territories have forged alliances among the political powers. The major focal point of the tension was in the Balkans where a number of overlapping territories existed among the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, France and Britain. Add to that was the growing nationalism among the independent Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania. War was inevitable that the region was called the Power keg of Europe. On the June 28 of 1914, a Bosnian-Serb student and a revolutionary assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Frank Ferdinand in Bosnia. This resulted in the eventual declaration of war of Austria-Hungary against Serbia, which provoked the other political powers such as Russia, France and Britain to wage war on Austria-Hungary on the basis of territorial protection and political allegiances and the three are called the Triple Entente. Siding with Austria-Hungary are the Ottoman Empire and Germany, who are known as the Central Powers. The war would escalate later into a global conflict that would involve the United States, colonies in Africa and the Middle East. The brutal war, as seen as a first in history to encompass the entire globe, utilized almost 70 million soldiers. Major advances in technology such as aerial warfare, tanks and machine guns have resulted in the deaths of at least 15 million people, the sixth deadliest in history. [No narration pure images/videos of warfare | Continue for at least 15 seconds] 1. 2. 3. 4. Maps of power alliances Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Images of aerial battles, tanks, machine guns, etc. Images of trench warfare. Scene 2: Deepening to the Human Level | Questioning Time Frame: 30 seconds [Narration with simultaneous videos or images] With the blood-shed spread across the globe, one has to ask the question: is this what it means to be human? Is it human to kill, destroy, ravage and plunder for a higher goal? How is it human a being born into this world with the capacity to love cause so much suffering to everyone? [No narration pure images/videos of warfare | Continue for at least 15 seconds] 1. Images/Videos of war, specifically images of individual soldiers

Theology 151: Synthesis Group Project 2 Christian Morality against Oppressive Law

Scene 3: The Christmas Truce Time Frame: 1:30 minutes [Narration with simultaneous videos or images] However, a miracle happened. As the Christmas of 1914 approached, songs and carols of soldiers from the German and the British side were heard across the vast zone of No Mans Land, the area between the trenches. Then, on the eve of Christmas, German soldiers began decorating their trenches with candles and Christmas trees. Songs were then sung by the German, which the British echoed back in their own version. Soon, shouts of greetings were heard from both sides. Then, few soldiers began to cross no mans land bearing small gifts to be exchanged to the other side. They ate food, exchanged gifts, held a joint burial service and even played football. The beautiful thing about the event was that it was done without any official orders the soldiers did their act independently from superior commands. It was an act that symbolized peace amidst bloodshed and chaos, love despite political and social differences and hope despite the seeming hopelessness that crippled their hearts that one cold and snowy winter night. [No narration pure images/videos of warfare | Continue for at least 15 seconds] 1. Bombard with images of the Truce 2. Add a segment (15-30 seconds) from Joyeux Noel Scene 4: Christian Understanding Time Frame: 2:00 minutes [Narration with simultaneous videos or images] Acts like these will take us back to our Christian morality. In the face of tantamount categorization of the human person as a statistic, as an entity to be shot in order to gain ground and power, as merely an idea, Christian morality pops out into our being and tells us to see beyond to see with the eyes of faith. We are told with two stories from the Wedding of Cana and the Samaritan Woman how empty we are without Christ how we do not fulfill the Law without the Spirit. Yet when we allow a personal interaction with Christ, the Law is fulfilled. We fulfill the Law when we allow Christ into our lives and when we imitate His image and likeness to be both human and divine. And therefore in seeing ourselves as one with God, we too are called to see God in others that each and everyone is a child of God. This seeing is a seeing through the lens of faith that the human person is not merely a mental object, nor a worth judged by material wealth, nor a statistic dictated by politics. No, the human being is a being created in Gods image and likeness a being that has the capacity to love and be loved. And therefore when we see that, we are all called to follow the sacred sacrament that Jesus taught us: Love one another as He has loved us. Through Love, through the genuine of act of forgoing the self for the Other can we fulfill the Law. Hence, in the story of the Christmas Truce, we see how individual soldiers, filled with the Holy Spirit, crossed the death zone because they saw that the soldier from the [No narration pure images/videos of warfare | Continue for at least 30 seconds]

Theology 151: Synthesis Group Project 2 Christian Morality against Oppressive Law

other side is not just an object to be targeted and killed. The soldier on the other side is a brother, a child of God, the subject of Love. And so through the simple act of exchanging gifts, sharing meals, singing songs and playing football can people see past the dictations of an oppressive and bureaucratic system so through the simple act of love can we fulfill what God has intended us to be. And in doing so, we gradually build the Kingdom of God here on Earth. [No narration pure images/videos| Add non-corny/non-cheesy Christian acts in war, acts of love | Continue for 15 seconds] 1. Christian images Scene 5: The Christmas Truce Time Frame: 1:00 minutes [Narration with simultaneous videos or images] And so, acts of love despite the dictations of the higher ups have not only happened in the Christmas of 1914. Several instances of Christian morality have emerged in the midst of oppression such as the EDSA Revolution when peaceful protests destroyed a 30 year dictatorship, when Oskar Schindler, a Nazi-party member, chose to save 1, 100 Jews despite bankruptcy and fear of death, when Mahatma Gandhi pushed for his movement of civil disobedience. And therefore we ask you the question that has been asked to those people who chose to love despite everything will you love despite it all? Will love your neighbor as God did in spite of death? Only you can decide. [No narration pure images/videos of warfare | Continue for at least 15 seconds] 1. Images from Schindlers List, EDSA Revolution, Gandhi, etc.