Christian Tradition And Its Effect On Violence Essay

How does this program differ from the types of punishment that are typically used for violent criminals?

“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.

war is a Holy War. When people fight a Holy War they believe that they

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

Beginning with the urban drug wars and the Rodney King riot all the way up the spectacular lynchings in Texas and Wyoming, and now the mass murder/terrorist strike by teenagers in their own high school, the 90s is a decade made numb by civil disorder.

Violence is preventable and extremely imperative for us to detect the early signs of it. We need to take all prevention strategies for an account. For example, primary, secondary, and tertiary preventions are an appropriate approach for this matter. Dating violence is the topic that is going to be discussed in this reading. I decided to write about this topic because many people are in the dark when it comes to dating violence, and the substantial effects of it. Allow me the opportunity to expand your horizon on this particular topic. There have been quite a few cases where women press charges on their significant other after being battered in unhealthy relationships. I always hear about situations like this through the media never in real life. It’s sad to say that a very close friend of mind was one of those women in a vicious relationship.

In the 11th Century, Pope Urban II called the Christians to battle, stating that they should go “carry aid promptly” to their “brethren who live in the east” as they were being attacked by the Turks and Arabs (Pope Urban II). Pope Urban II went on to say that they must “destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends” or else the Christians would be more “widely attacked.” He ended his speech by declaring that “Christ commands” (Pope Urban II) that the people go and assist their Christian brothers. If they did not go and take up this call to arms, they risked the disapproval of the Lord. After the Pope’s speech calling the Christian people to action, many went to the aid of their fellow Christians.

When is it justifiable to engage in war? This question has plagued humanity for centuries and continues to do so. The theory of just war addresses three important questions when considering and dealing with war. These components are when is it justifiable to go to war, the right ways to conduct proceedings during war, and the justification of terminating war. The first part of the theory, originally written in Latin as jus ad bellum, is an important idea within Pope Urban II’s, “Speech at Clermont.” In the 11th century Pope Urban II gave this speech as a call for crusade with the hope of freeing Jerusalem from Muslim control. They eventually succeeded in this mission and took the city of Jerusalem. The “Speech at Clermont,” is now an important source for understanding the justifications of going to war within the medieval just war theory. Throughout the speech Pope Urban II justified the crusade by claiming it was the responsibility of the Christian people to regain the Holy Land, to protect their fellow Christians in the East, and their duty to stop the “disgraceful” and “demon worshipping” Muslim people.

Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to love him as you love yourself and part of the ten commandments says; do not murder. ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’, for instance Desmond T Doss. Doss was part of the American army who refused to use any weapons and kill anyone during World War I; he saved approximately seventy-five people’s lives, without the use of violence. Desmond is an example of a Christian pacifist. But in the Bible sometimes violence is the last option and you have to resort to it to find peace. ‘They will beat their swords into plough shares and their spares into pruning hooks’. Therefore not all Christians should be pacifists.

The first crusade started in autumn of 1095. Pope Urban II initiated the first crusade by calling upon his Christians to reclaim the city of Jerusalem. The Crusade was also meant to seek revenge on the followers of Islam. The followers were accused of committing crimes against “Christendom”. Pope Urbans crusade was made possible by the work of St. Augustine on Christian Violence in the past. Many Christians joined the crusade because the Pope promised rewards for the afterlife. After the fourth century, Christianity underwent a transformation when it fused with the Roman state for which warfare was essential. St. Augustine and Pope Urban enabled violence to be an option for Christians and it can be described in this quote, “For the first time in Christian history, violence was defined as a religious act, a source of grace.” After the Pope’s Christian tour, many Christians were ready to destroy everything that stood in their way.

St. Augustine provided comments on morality of war from the Christian point of view (railing against the love of violence that war can engender) as did several critics in the intellectual flourishing from the 9th to 12th centuries. Just war theorists remind warriors and politicians alike that the principles of justice following war should be universalizable and morally ordered and that winning should not provide a license for imposing unduly harsh or punitive measures or that state or commercial interests should not dictate the form of new peace. “The attraction for jus post bellum thinkers is to return to the initial justice of the war”. This means that war is considered as self-defense.

According to traditional just war theory, a just cause must serve peace and not simply protect an unjust status quo. War must be used as a last resort and all pacifistic approaches must be

The theory is not intended to justify wars but to prevent them, by showing that going to war except in certain limited circumstances is wrong, and thus motivate states to find other ways of resolving conflicts. A war is only a Just War if it is both justified, and carried out in the right way. The circumstances of Just-War Theory must be of: Last Resort, Legitimate Authority, Just Cause, Probability of Success, Right Intention, Proportionality, and Civilian Casualties.

The books Child of the Dark by Carolina Maria de Jesus and Testimony by Victor Montejo describes the lives of two individuals from different societies. In both of these societies there was much hardship and violence. The two main characters who wrote these books describe life through their point of view and explains the hardship and challenges they had living in a society filled with violence.

In the year 2000 there are many problems with society. One of the biggest and most controllable is the issue of violence. Although we are subjected to violence everyday by simply turning on the news, other forms of violence for entertainment can be censored.