Violence in Christianity
Violence, it has been a main tool in the Christian arsenal since the middle ages. From the Crusades to the Inquisitions of Spain, violence is ever prevalent. Even in this day and age, intolerance and violence continue to be preached. But is this violence an instrument of God or man? Is violence an inherent part of this religion? Some would say that it is indeed built in to the very fabric of its being. The Old Testament is full of the smiting of infidels and those who defy God. The Book of Revelations tells of the violent and fiery demise of this entire planet. There are instances of mass genocide, the killing of innocent children, holy wars, you name a violent act and God has called for it. The story of
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Ethics defines violence as follows: ?Violence consists of a violation of another person?s or a group of people?s freedom, dignity, integrity, sense of self worth, or well being; it may be physical, psychological, or emotional (Candelaria 907).? Acts of violence can be further defined by legal and illegal employment of methods of coercion for personal or group gain. This is where things become fuzzy. Who defines legal and illegal? ?The instigator of violence might claim that acts of legitimate violence might include military defense, crusades, just wars, acts of purification, acts of faith, and heroic exploits.? (Klausner 268) These same acts would probably be viewed as illegitimate, illegal acts by the victims. So can violence ever be legitimized?
If violence can never be legitimized, then why does it exist with such prominence? Thomas Hobbs believed that humans live in a perpetual state of war, ?a Bellum ominium contra omnes, a ?war of all against all? (Candelaria 907).? Humans are naturally violent. Freud agreed with Hobbes, believing that aggression is a natural human instinct. Fear and desire motivate mankind to violence. Freud also believed that violence would naturally beget violence. Because all humans fear death, when threatened they will turn to aggression to protect themselves. These dim views of the human condition show violence to be intrinsic in our
“The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” (Arendt pg 80). Violence is contagious, like a disease, which will destroy nations and our morals as human beings. Each individual has his or her own definition of violence and when it is acceptable or ethical to use it. Martin Luther King Jr., Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt are among the many that wrote about the different facets of violence, in what cases it is ethical, the role we as individuals play in this violent society and the political aspects behind our violence.
My operational definition of violence is any kind of physical action where the intention is to hurt, damage or kill someone or something. There is the question of whether violence is a part of human nature or simply some people way of interacting with the world around us, were we always violent or is it a more pronounced feature of the modern era? I believe that violence is a key part of human nature and has contributed to our survival and evolution on many occasions, however it can also a major drawback and has led to some of humanities most devastating mortality rates, wars and atrocities. It is widely accepted that violence is present in at least some humans, and so where does this violence originate from? The nature vs nurture debate explores whether people are born with this violent gene or are raised by their parents or guardians to act in a violent way but are not born with it. The nature vs nurture debate is a key part of violences origins in humanity and so will be explored in this essay.
war is a Holy War. When people fight a Holy War they believe that they
If human beings are a part of nature, it can be assumed that they too have violent tendencies; in that respect, violence is a natural and innate response. Though we pride ourselves on being able to control these urges, they are always lurking somewhere beneath the surface of our most serene and civilized moments.
What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present, at the streets, at work, at school, and even at home. Every day in the news we see reports about shootings, wars, thefts, drugs, rapes, and deaths. The worse part of seen this in the news is that all way do it’s complain about it and sit back. We do not even attempt an explanation or a resolution. Violence is among one of the most malignant act that has been increasing day by day. And why is it that we complain about other people being violent, but when we are asked if we are violent or if we have ever responded with violence, everyone says they are not violent. But if among ourselves we are not violent then who is it that makes our society a violent society?
Throughout history violence has plagued our human race. We have passed laws to protect society, but the
There are two sides to many things, one could argue that there are two sides to everything. Violence is not excluded from this argument. The two possible sides, or viewpoints, that are a result of violence can easily be seen as extremes of either side. One side could argue that violence is something that is necessary and the other argue that violence is only a tool for destruction. People who insist that violence is necessary in order to move forward view it as a way to sway the outcome to their benefit. For those who see violence as a cowardly tactic to control people, violence is a useless display of power and dominance. Yet violence has also been a way to defend oneself from people who pose a threat. This can lead people who have good
History has told us that violence has never been the solution to more violence. Nowadays, actions of violence are everywhere, in movies, television serious, in our daily life. We live in a world where power is often established through violence. But for a truly Christian, the form of violence the world chooses is always surpassed by the truth of the Scriptures. Violence is never the solution to resolve conflicts, because violence generates more violence. For many years, violence has been the answer to conflicts in many Latin American countries. According to Jon Sobrino, “Latin America is an extremely violent continent.” The option for the poor has arisen in Latin America, a continent that is mostly poor and Christian. Latin America has always been characterized by the difference of social classes and by the oppression of the poor. The option for the poor has arisen in Latin America, a continent that is mostly poor and Christian. As a result of these characteristics of injustices, the oppressed raised their voice to ask for their rights to be respected. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that, “The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God.” Moreover, the demanding for basic respect for any individual no matter what social class someone belongs to, has always generated conflicts where violence seems to best the answer. As a better result, anyone could think that seeking dialogue would be the
Violence as a concept is highly controversial. Because violence is an ever-present force within the world, society as a whole is incessant upon finding situations in which it may be acceptable. The infatuation with the justification of violence is not a new concept, it spans generations and is constantly evolving. One way that society has approached this idea is the utilitarian rational. This idea was theorized early on by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (Anderson, 2004). Simply put, the idea of utilitarianism is the idea that the route that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people is the most ethical. This can be exemplified by the situation commonly presented during Marine training, the Trolley Dilemma. The scenario states: A trolley was on a set course to hit and kill 5 people on a track.
Just as Joe Rogan said, “No matter how civilized we are and how much society has curbed violent behavior. Human beings still have the same genes they had 10,000 years ago. Our bodies are designed to have a certain amount of physical stress and violence in them.” And when diplomacy does not make the trick, we usually draw upon guns. And after thorough analysis, I have come up that in American History, we can “divide” violence into two. International and National.
Why are we drawn to the many different facets of violence that we experience in our lives? Is violence a learned behavior or has it become a part of our evolutionary progression. As hunters and gatherers, we used violence for survival. Now, it seems that humans react with violence to resolve multiple types of conflict. Is it just primal instinct? Does our subconscious ‘fight or flight’ control the way
Just what is violence? Violence is explained as hostile emotions or feelings being acted upon. Also it means to be severe, adamant and many times hazardous by using one’s natural strength so as to create hurt or mistreatment (Webster, 2015,p.1). How many times have we seen or heard on the news of two individuals who engaged in an argument only to have it escalate to a full blown fist fight or end in a shooting death. My mother once told us of a story of a man named Leroy who had gotten into an argument with a male friend both men ended up slashing each other to death with a barber’s razor. Two young ladies had a beef in our own neighborhood while wrestling
As soon people start seeing the real meaning of the bible, violence, and harm to another person will soon come to an end. A quote from William Whipper’s speech, “Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression, “a “just and necessary war” or physical self-defense goes against the letter and spirit of the Bible.” Any harm to another person is going against the bible, even if it is self-defense. Being violent is the wrong way to go and it is an attack on Christianity.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines violent as: Ready and willing to fight, argue, etc.: feeling or showing aggression: using forceful methods to succeed or to do something. With this definition, I ask, are humans inherently violent? That is what we ask ourselves day to day as men, women and children as while watch our society and others repeatedly fall into chaos. When the government and military can no longer sufficiently defend or care for its people; when we are left to fend for ourselves; when we feel the fear and pain of another that is when we begin to question if and why are humans violent. I believe that even through social contracts, culture and human nature, we remain violent beyond our control despite the efforts against it.
Does violence seem to solve are problems? Or do we just turn to it in spite of the person we don’t like or have issues? We tend to turn to violence when we have just had enough of one person, or want to see them suffer. For example in the Iliad there is many different violence in it, to be specific 3 type’s linguistic, psychological, and physical. There are a lot of ways Iliad 1 expresses these violence’s.