To what extent do we tolerate violence in our own lives? It’s easy to point fingers at the gun culture in the United States and the problem of gangs in Toronto. But how willing are we to own our part of the terrible problem that everyone is discussing again since the latest tragic shooting spree?
As Christians, we should be troubled by anything that deliberately stirs up violent feelings in us towards other human beings, real or imagined. Unfortunately, many of us are among the insatiable consumers who support the industries that glorify violence.
As Christians, we should be troubled by anything that deliberately stirs up violent feelings in us towards other human beings, real or imagined. Unfortunately, many of us are among the insatiable consumers who support the industries that glorify violence.
The Lord certainly has a problem with violence. God was “grieved” in the days of Noah when “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and full of violence.” God’s prophets promoted a peaceful kingdom in which people “beat their swords into plowshares.” And God’s Word makes special mention of the fact that the Messiah was slaughtered even though “he had done no violence.”
Where does violence start? Not in a weapon, but in the human heart. Jesus clearly said that anyone who is angry with his brother is a murderer, while the Heidelberg Catechism identified envy, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness as the root of murder.
A recent date at the movies highlighted the prevalence and acceptability of violence. Marja and I went to see the latest James Bond movie, expecting to see some incredible stunts and a memorable villain. Unfortunately, we had forgotten how much killing there is in a 007 flick!
The worst part of our night out, however, was the trailers preceding the movie, especially the one promoting Django Unchained, a remake of a bloody western starring Jamie Foxx as a slave turned bounty hunter who rescues his wife from a brutal plantation owner. In the span of one minute and twenty-five seconds we were battered by nineteen separate killings, a vicious fistfight and the shocking image of crimson blood splattering on white cotton balls. At one point, the lead character growled, “I like the way you die, boy.” As Marja pushed her face into my shoulder, the trailer announced that this ultra violent film was set to premiere on Christmas Day! The Newtown massacre prompted the studio to delay its release, but the movie’s director and cast insist that there’s no connection between violence in film and violence in real life.
While that debate continues, thoughtful followers of Jesus understand that a violent spirit must not be welcomed into our hearts since all evil thoughts come from there. When a video game or movie inspires you to think, “Kill him,” or a sporting event makes you scream, “Hit him again. He’s still breathing,” your heart is being turned from plowshares to swords, from peacemaking to war. Isn't this “anti-Christ?”
The most unsettling ad I have seen in recent years was a print ad by Henry Repeating Arms. It featured a man wearing a specially designed holster carrying a Bible on the one side and a gun on the other. The ad proclaimed, “There is nothing wrong with clinging to your guns and religion.”
As offensive as this ad is, it doesn't offend God as much as a heart that smoothly shifts between worshiping the Prince of Peace and participating in mental bloodbaths. If our hearts shift too easily between “no violence” and “violence” and we comfortably go from worshiping Christ on Christmas Eve to playing Grand Theft Auto on Christmas Day, we have a serious problem: a divided heart!
The problem of gun violence needs more than a ban on assault weapons. It needs a wholehearted commitment to Christ’s “peace on earth.”
Starting with us.
- Pastor Peter
Where does violence start? Not in a weapon, but in the human heart. Jesus clearly said that anyone who is angry with his brother is a murderer, while the Heidelberg Catechism identified envy, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness as the root of murder.
A recent date at the movies highlighted the prevalence and acceptability of violence. Marja and I went to see the latest James Bond movie, expecting to see some incredible stunts and a memorable villain. Unfortunately, we had forgotten how much killing there is in a 007 flick!
The worst part of our night out, however, was the trailers preceding the movie, especially the one promoting Django Unchained, a remake of a bloody western starring Jamie Foxx as a slave turned bounty hunter who rescues his wife from a brutal plantation owner. In the span of one minute and twenty-five seconds we were battered by nineteen separate killings, a vicious fistfight and the shocking image of crimson blood splattering on white cotton balls. At one point, the lead character growled, “I like the way you die, boy.” As Marja pushed her face into my shoulder, the trailer announced that this ultra violent film was set to premiere on Christmas Day! The Newtown massacre prompted the studio to delay its release, but the movie’s director and cast insist that there’s no connection between violence in film and violence in real life.
While that debate continues, thoughtful followers of Jesus understand that a violent spirit must not be welcomed into our hearts since all evil thoughts come from there. When a video game or movie inspires you to think, “Kill him,” or a sporting event makes you scream, “Hit him again. He’s still breathing,” your heart is being turned from plowshares to swords, from peacemaking to war. Isn't this “anti-Christ?”
The most unsettling ad I have seen in recent years was a print ad by Henry Repeating Arms. It featured a man wearing a specially designed holster carrying a Bible on the one side and a gun on the other. The ad proclaimed, “There is nothing wrong with clinging to your guns and religion.”
As offensive as this ad is, it doesn't offend God as much as a heart that smoothly shifts between worshiping the Prince of Peace and participating in mental bloodbaths. If our hearts shift too easily between “no violence” and “violence” and we comfortably go from worshiping Christ on Christmas Eve to playing Grand Theft Auto on Christmas Day, we have a serious problem: a divided heart!
The problem of gun violence needs more than a ban on assault weapons. It needs a wholehearted commitment to Christ’s “peace on earth.”
Starting with us.
- Pastor Peter
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