The Culture of Violence

“Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?
and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.
And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”
Genesis 4:6-7

We worry for the world that our children are being brought up in. The mass shooting at Virginia Tech last month spawned several similar incidents in its aftermath, the latest being the stabbing rampage by a 17-year-old Guangdong student that resulted in 6 victims just last Tuesday.

As we ‘progress’ in technological advancement and material gain, perhaps more so in affluent, developed countries, we are also increasingly made to grapple with acts of unspeakable violence committed by students who seem to be getting younger and younger. It can only be a matter of time before these disturbing trends hit our shores, and more frightening than our children being victims of violence of this nature, is the possibility of themselves being the perpetrators of it. Are we prepared to face these fearsome truths? How can such acts be explained, and as Christians how can we respond, if at all?

Explanations for Violence
The world is quick to single out various factors that explain such occurrences of violence from psychosis and emotional turmoil, to gun access and cultural norms; the current most prominent one being ‘clinical narcissism’ – the condition defined by “disablingly low self-esteem, requiring the sufferer to seek almost constant recognition and reward” (TIME Magazine, 30 April 2007). Perhaps in not so many words, this is also known not so foreignly to us as the nature of loneliness and disappointment that has plagued us since our sinful condition came into being.

For youth especially in their awkward years, the sense of disconnectedness and not-belonging can be painful and in some cases, destructive personally or to others. Furthermore, young people today have experienced so much, so soon, that promised to deliver the ultimate, and it has let them down. The nature of loneliness and disappointment, leave an entrenched emptiness in lives. An emptiness that is definitely not unique to youths, but as we can affirm, is something that can be experienced by all alike.

Ravi Zacharias contends that there is one of two responses to make – either come to God on His terms and find our perfect peace in His acceptance of us, or "play God" with self-defining morality and kill. We see this being played out in the first murder committed in human history – the murder of Abel by Cain. Cain shed his brother’s blood because he wilfully refused to heed God’s advice to gain acceptance by doing what is right, and instead chose by violence to seek to lift himself up by getting rid of the competition in the form of Abel.

Responses to Violence
If we are to ever find a real answer to the problem of violence, it will not be in the form of gun control or preemptive counseling of troubled youth, but intrinsically in the knowledge and belief that there is a Creator God who not only defines us and infuses meaning into life, but also meets us in our greatest need and gives us the confidence and comfort that we are beloved and not orphaned in this world. At the end of the day, the choice is between turning to God or playing God. Our youth need to know this truth and be assured of their value and worth in Christ, as defined by Him and not the world in terms of looks, popularity, intelligence, or wealth.

Secondly, the importance of community cannot be undermined – the importance of having friends and being a friend. Rightly put by John Donne, “no man is an island”. Many of the young killers have been described as remote or disengaged. The truth is that we cannot live apart from relationships with others. Our relational God made us in His image this way, and time and effort need to be invested into building and sustaining friendships, especially with fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ. This is not any less important for those engaged in the modern, competitive, individualistic workplace. Likewise, we as Christians also ought to be the first to reach out to those who do not ‘fit in’ and take the first step in offering friendship and showing compassion, as a reflection of Christ’s love and acceptance of us.

Only then will we know the life-giving nurture of relationships, and the sense of belonging that will enable us to anticipate the hope of heaven – the place where every experience of belonging in this life is but an echo and foretaste.