In a preface to his 1981 Swarthmore Lecture, Adam Curle observes that if we recognise there is in each of us a holy potential, our behaviour towards others must surely be deeply biased towards healing relationships fractured by anger, fear and incomprehension: making use of the universal capacity for peacemaking that flows from ‘that of God’ To do so effectively involves understanding the nature of unpeaceful relations and recognising that there are different types depending on the power balance of the protagonists.

Adam Curle began his professional career as a staff member of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. Subsequently he was a university lecturer in social psychology at Oxford and later held professorships in psychology, education and peace studies at several other Universities including Exeter, Ghana, Harvard and Bradford. Since 1966 he has been concerned with the study of conflict. The fruits of his insights are embedded here in this lecture.

Reprinted 1987.

Christian organization, social work, worship > Church > Church and Social Issues > Religion

Christian organization, social work, worship > Church > Church and Social Issues > Religion

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