Much of history, including Biblical history, is the history of violence and war. The first event recorded in Genesis after the Fall is Cain's murder of Abel, and the violence continues until the last few chapters of Revelation. Not only does the tendency towards violence appear early in human history, it also appears early in human development. No-one has to teach a toddler to hit and push another. A large part of childhood is spent learning how to keep aggressive feelings from spilling over into physical violence.
Aggressiveness is not bad in itself, in fact it's a God-given attribute. Without it we would never achieve anything. However, in order for people to live together in communities, violent aggression must be controlled somehow. This is done through laws and sanctions, as well as by training children to control their violent impulses in situations where they are considered inappropriate.
Different societies tolerate differing degrees of violence. With two world wars and Vietnam still within living memory, our own society has become sensitive to, and intolerant of, many forms of overt violence. Bullying, domestic violence, blood sports and caning in schools are no longer accepted as "normal". Even what might be termed "judicial violence", such as capital and corporal punishment, has been abolished. Yet the human lust for violence expresses itself in other ways. We no longer have public floggings, but the criminal who is sent to gaol may be (illegally) beaten and abused repeatedly before he is released.
Violence has become identified with entertainment in a way not seen since Roman times, through TV, film, videos and games. Because it is "virtual" rather than real, it is widely accepted. Concern about the dangers of children being exposed to such violent material is common, but the question of what effect it has on adults is asked less often. The few studies which have been done with adults suggest that after viewing even fictitious violence, people become more fearful and anxious about the real world, less sympathetic to victims and less likely to go to their aid. More controversial is the question of whether some people are more likely to commit violent crimes after watching violent acts.
Undoubtedly we become desensitized by what we watch. Television news services now routinely broadcast footage which would once have been rated too shocking for the general public to see. Horrendous incidents such as the beating to death of Rodney King by two policemen in the USA, or the massacre of people at a funeral in East Timor, are shown all around the world and replayed over and over again.
Video games which allow players to maim and kill opponents have been compared by one military psychologist to the desensitization methods used to prepare soldiers for combat. Television game shows in which contestants are encouraged to humiliate and exclude others, rather than simply compete against them, are a more subtle form of violence. (The film "Series 7" takes this to its extreme and explores what would happen if contestants literally had to eliminate each other).
Add to this diet of virtual violence the stress and frustration felt by many people, the lack of parenting experienced by some children, and the loss of normal inhibitions caused by drug abuse, and we have a society in which violence is publicly decried yet increasingly prevalent.
Violence arises from an attitude that says "My desires are more important to me than yours, and must be met". Our society doesn't condone meeting personal desires through violence, but it certainly encourages people to believe that every wish can and should be fulfilled. We are encouraged to see other people as objects, who can be manipulated to provide us with what we want. We are also led to believe that emotions are powerful forces which cannot be ignored.
Violence also arises from a belief that if we are hurt, we have a right to seek revenge. Most people exercise this right through social means (such as seeking to ruin another person's reputation,) or by legal means, (by suing). But others resort to violence - the "road rage" phenomenon and the rising number of aggrieved people who use violence to punish their ex-spouses are examples.
"Might is right" is another attitude partly accepted by our society. Victims of crime are often taken to task for not protecting themselves better. Those with money and power are able to loot and plunder, figuratively if not literally, with impunity. The powerless then feel free to do the same in a more physical fashion.
Finally, a belief that those who are different are either threatening or inferior can also lead to violence. Discrimination on racial or other grounds is illegal in Australia, but the "Letters to the Editor" page of any newspaper makes clear that suspicion, even hatred, of those who are different is common. Events elsewhere show that it takes very little for such hatred to be expressed more violently.
Legal sanctions and education can only restrain but not eradicate our human urge towards violence. Jesus took the legal requirement "Do not murder" as a starting point for discussing violence in a way which got to the heart of the problem. (See Matthew 5).
The Old Testament injunction against murder was based on the truth that human beings are created in God's image, and their life belongs to God. Anyone who spills another's blood is answerable not just to their victim and the community, but to God himself. (See for instance Genesis 9:5-6).
Since life belongs to God, only he has the right to take it. This explains why the God who said "Do not murder" could then tell the Israelites to utterly destroy the people of Canaan. The Israelites were commanded to carry out God's judgment against the Canaanites. Their task was clearly defined and limited, and they were not to take any plunder or slaves for themselves.
But it's not just our bodily life that is created in God's image. Our mental, emotional and spiritual life are also part of that image. To injure any aspect of another's life is to offend the God who created them. Therefore, said Jesus, you are not to harbour anger against them, or slander them, or insult them, or gossip about them. To do so is to violate them, just as if you shed their blood.
Nor are we to seek revenge against those who hurt us, since it is God's role to judge and avenge. Instead we are to turn the other cheek, forgive those who hurt us, love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This isn't something we are to do from a position of weakness. It's a positive statement: "I will not enter into a cycle of violence with you, but will fight violence with love".
How can any normal human being live this way? If laws, sanctions and education can't overcome our urge to violence, how will expanding the definition of violence and adding more commandments help? The answer is, it can't. Our hope is in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
During his ministry, trial and crucifixion, Jesus put up no resistance, sought no revenge, but prayed for his enemies and forgave them. However his death was much more than an example to us. By Christ's death God brought us deliverance from our violent, sinful nature and his judgment against us. He also made possible a new life, lived in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This new life is one in which we are enabled by God himself to love those whom we would otherwise hate. Having the certainty of salvation, and the joy of being in a right relationship to the God who loves us, we no longer need to seek our own rights and fulfill our own desires at others expense. We are content to leave revenge to God. The urge to satisfy our lust for violence vicariously through entertainment is also gone. The differences which once divided us disappear as we recognize each other as forgiven sinners and children of God.
Stella Budrikis