Violence?

As a Christian how should we respond to violence in books, movies and real life?

Is playing video games with violence acceptable?

What about books?

What about little boys (and girls) running around shooting each other with imaginary guns?

Here are my thoughts: I am okay with violence as a general rule. I watched LoTR and Hobbit, that didn't bother me. I guess it didn't bother me because it was right vs. wrong. Books are a lot like the movies for me. But what about two boys who are shooting each other with imaginary guns? They can learn bad habits from this, thinking they can go around and shot everyone. A little boy was shot in a Wal-Mart by pretending to shot a gun!!!! Now mind you, I am not saying to outlaw guns! Guns are important to our family. We put a lot of dependence on them. Because we have snakes…

We've discussed this in-depth at these two threads:

https://www.memverse.com/forum/theology-discussions/discussion-video-games-and-culture

https://www.memverse.com/forum/theology-discussions/media

Have fun reading. :)

haha. Thanks I will, I've read thorough some but not all…

I'm not sure exactly what I think about violence in movies and stuff, Mama and Daddy don't let us watch movies with a whole lot of violence, though we do watch some, especially us older ones, Courageous is the one on the top of my mind. Mostly ones similar to that.

I don't really think much about it in books - I guess 'cause I pretty much only read books that if they have any violence, it's like self defense or something like that.

We don't play video games at all, just a few computer games, but I don't really like video games anyways, so I'm not sure.

We try to get our boys not to "shoot" each other, but it's really hard to stop them, + they like the wrestle a lot (I used to too). I think with that it's a lot just that God made men to want to defend and protect. It's their nature.

We have snakes too, but we don't shoot them…we use a shovel or a hoe or something. ;P

This is a really good topic to discuss! Thanks for starting it!

Thank you Brianna! I like you insight! I agree with what you say about boys wanting to defend and protect. We have some very poisonous snakes that we rather not get close enough to get with a shovel, but if we need to we can.
Just curious how old are you?

Okay - we don't have too many poisonous snakes, though we do have a few.

I'm 14. :)

I'm 16. 8D
Yeah, we have WAY too many snakes, I don't like snakes… I can't say I'm scared of them, but I just don't like snakes.

I don't like snakes either. :P They are kind of neat, though, I think. :)

As I have some downtime in-between studying, I figured that as Former High King-Priest of these hallowed Memverse Temple Halls, it was my sacred duty to provide my insight. So.

Violence is one of the many ways that we as humans solve conflicts. Conflicts are a part of daily life, but violence is not. As Christians, we are called to take the higher path (I believe it's somewhere in Matthew 5 or 6 where Jesus tells us to 'turn the other cheek'), to pray for our enemies, and not to seek out conflict. Indeed, many Christians were and are still slaughtered for their beliefs without fighting back at all.

However, martyrdom is a special case, and in light of the fact that we are all part of a community, we do have a duty to protect those around us. Especially family. Self-defense can be necessary and while it is a last resort, it isn't condemned by Scripture or the law. In most cases, at least. If I or those I love are assaulted by criminals, it is my duty to protect them as best I can, in the most Christlike way possible. If it means disabling them or saving them from a hotter Hell by sending them to a slightly cooler one, so be it.

But that's talking about real-life violence. What about fictional violence?

This is where things get somewhat hairy, so I'll do my best to sort it all out.

First off, violence in and of itself is not evil. While is certainly is a product of the Fall and not ideal, God Himself commanded the children of Israel to wipe out the heathen nations that surrounded the Promised Land during the Old Testament. Sometimes, violence is necessary. Thus, it is the context of the violent actions that determines their merit.

Secondly, the medium in which violence is depicted does not color the violence itself: context does. People rail on and on about violent movies or violent video games, while they ignore violent books, as if they're somehow better. While the medium may have a different way of presenting it, that does not make it any more or less good. Again, context is key.

Thirdly, while personal maturity does play a part in one's response to violence, you cannot say that violent stories or movies or games or whatever just instantly transform a person into a murdering sociopath. That is a fallacy. There have been studies that supposedly show a correlation between violent games/movies and violent thoughts, but most of these tests only looked at short-term information. In the same vein, it could be said that sad movies/books/games make one more likely to think sad thoughts, and it would be true. In the long term, however, everything balances out.

When it comes to children, let's just be real here: kids will be kids. I watched a lot of Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, The Batman, and countless other shows that had violence in them. And yet I'm not going around murdering people for the fun of it, even though I'm black. Parenting plays a large part in this, but on the whole I don't like the idea of treating kids as if they're completely stupid. The majority of children can differentiate between real life and fantasy and can understand why fantasy is what it is. Parents also help to guide this process, and I don't believe that demonizing specific media or aspects of it simply because there is violence and younger children consume it is the proper response.

Now, of course parents need to be discerning concerning what types of media they allow children of different ages to consume. I wouldn't show The Last Samurai to an 8-year-old, for good reason. Personal maturity is a big factor, and kids should be exposed to stories and ideas when they are ready.

In the end, my personal view is this: violence as a narrative tool can be used to great effect. The efficacy of it depends on how it is used, the context of it, and why it is used in that particular context. The term "violent" in and of itself is quite broad, so rather than shoving everything under a blanket I believe that as Christians we have a duty to take EVERY piece of media we consume under careful consideration. While easy, it's unfair to simply throw labels on media due to medium, presentation, or the fact that they contain a certain type of content. Discernment grows as one looks to God for answers concerning what one imbibes, thus we all grow more mature as we consider the things we enjoy more carefully under the light of the convictions of Scripture.

I would rather foster spiritual maturity and discernment among my children than a vague spirit of "we don't watch this because it has violence in it".

On another note, I wrote a blog post about this issue a little while back, I think you may find it interesting:

http://unsheathedblog.com/killing-intent-finding-truth-in-violent-stories/

Woah, thank you your Royal Majesty! You have my eternal gratitude again. I agree with pretty much all of what you just said. Especially the age factor, I've got a very active imagination, so I can go anywhere or be anything I want to be but something has to spark it. My little bother who is 11 is not allowed to watch LoTR and that irks him. Because he is the baby he has done a lot of things before us other kids were allowed to. So he thinks when I was allowed he gets allowed too.

I Suspect that you just entered college? I respect all your views, and I am very pleased with such a LONG response, and I honestly enjoyed reading it. I'm not very good at expressing myself in words so I typically don't get that much written. 8D

@Rosie ~ Yes, I am just about to enter college (next week Monday, to be precise), and I'm glad you were able to make sense of my ramblings. It's a subject that a lot of people have mixed feelings towards, but I feel that careful examination of Scripture and a willing spirit can go a long way in discerning what media is right for you as a Christian. I'm always happy to be of service. :)

I ramble so other people ramblings I understand too.

@His Royal Majesty, Sam- You said, "Self-defense can be necessary and while it is a last resort, it isn't condemned by Scripture or the law. In most cases, at least."
As a matter of fact, Self-defense and defense of others is commanded. "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause." Isaiah 1:17 (ESV) In this world today, we cannot succeed in doing some of these things without people being against us. (Even Christians can be against some of these things. "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." Romans 1:28-32 (ESV), these people claim to be Christians, they knew God's law.) Yet we must not just give up, we have a duty to "uphold the dignity of every woman" (Pope John Paul II) and orphan. The PRICELESS Movement is seeking to correct the fact that 27 MILLION women and children are slaves to men. We are called to do something. "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 (ESV) We are called to fight the fight of faith. This day and age we have to fight for our faith. Many "Christians" are sitting around doing nothing, many young "Christians" are sitting around not preparing for the fight. To fight we must train and have proper armor. The Israelites had to fight for their promised land. Every thing will not be put into our laps. “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon; This is one of my favorite quotes. If we are sitting around doing nothing then maybe we aren't Christians. Some people say, "Oh, but others can see Christ in me." Umm… Yeah right. Can they? Or more importantly, Will they? We all will not be martyred though, I know this because of this verse in Revelations. "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne." Revelations 6:9 (ESV). And it was obvious that there were people in Heaven who were not under that altar.

Just some more gibberish.

And more…

As America has entered war after war, was there a war America should not have entered?
Naturally American Revolution could have been avoided, I think, but we will never know. But I don't think it was wrong.
War of 1812 is one I don't know as much about, so I won't display my ignorance.
Civil War was a right vs. wrong war, it was pretty necessary, we now have a 'more perfect union.'
Korean War and Vietnamese War was a war to defend the weak.
World War II we were attacked and we defended the weak.
The others I'm not as sure about, so I won't say anything more about them.

Take World War II (I believe), America did not actually enter the war until something provoked her. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Should she have taken action sooner or was she right in waiting until she had an issue?

Also, what about Nuclear wars? I understand why Nuclear bombs were sent to Hiroshima and the other one I can't spell. But now that people know what we can do, and have a fear of us, should we do it again if World War III happens?

@Rosie C. (Rosalina Cassandra III) You have some interesting thoughts about defending others! Thank you. Just to add to that, we are commanded not to fight to defend ourselves in Scripture (Matthew 5:39 for example). It would seem to me then that while the American Revolution may be justifiable from a human standpoint, it is not justifiable for Christians to fight for their own rights.

But then you get caught in a vicious circle of, I'm not fighting for my rights. I'm fighting for yours.
29 "yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Was this the verse you meant? Cause I don't see how it applies.

Oh sorry, I meant Matthew 5:39. I'll fix that.

I think you might still have the wrong reference… Matthew 5:39, perhaps? ;)

For the record, I too believe that Scripture nowhere supports the idea of Christian self-defense. If someone fights us, we don't fight back. We endure persecution and grow through it, but we don't revolt against it. Protecting others is of course a different issue; but Christians should be people who are willing to have their own rights be wronged for Christ's sake.

@Nicolas- Thank you, I was going to point that out but I've been a bit busy the last few days. LOL

@SavedByGrace @JOSHUA Swaim By "self-defense" do you mean defense of one's life or defense of one's pride?
Neither one of the situations Jesus mentions in Mathew 5:39 involves anything near attempted murder, just insults and petty theft But in Luke at the last supper Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. “Now, however, He told them, “the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one." some would say this was just an underhanded way of recording the fact that they already had two swords with them, but that makes no sense. Swords have one purpose. Destruction.

@"Rosalina Cassandra III" I don't know If you've ever read the declaration of independence but the King George was moving troops and killing people well before "the shot heard round the world". Whether they declared it or not, war was already upon them.
As for the rest of the wars, fallow the money.

@"Peter B." I believe Jesus also told the disciples to bring a sword to Gethsemane, but when Peter tried to use it to defend Jesus, He said, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Mat. 26:52).

read it again, He didn't tell them to bring the swords (plural). But they had swords anyway…So obviously they would have taken the swords with them. Jesus merely said it was "enough" (which would make sense if it was for general defence/offence) and yet the other gospels just skip that whole chunk of dialing. Why? if he was telling them to bring weapons (to not use) that's like skipping the fact that God told Noah to build the ark.

Defend against who? the government right? In other words cop killing is bad even if they are being unjust. Look at the whole context of the situation, Fighting would not have gotten them anywhere other then freshly dug graves. Humility is not using power that you have, and Jesus is the prime example of it. As his disciples we should do our best to act like him in slimier situations.

As for "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" Have you ever looked at other translations for that passage? People have fought in wars, killed may people, and lived to rip old ages. So that translation cant be taken literally.