Christian Violence

Andrew Holder

Violence in Christianity

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 Noah recounts how God killed off everyone in the world save one family. This violence, some speculate, is a result of man’s own doing. Perhaps God’s word was miss-interpreted or those in power sought to legitimize their own violent acts through the involvement of religion. Regardless of whether it was God or man that made religion violent, it is now deeply a part of it. The very involvement of religion into a dispute can cause the dispute to escalate exponentionally. “Limited mundane conflict may escalate into violence when the issues at stake are imbued with religious ultimacy. (Klausner 268)”

Violence not only plays a strong role in both commandment and practice, it is part of the very core of this belief system. From the zeal and fervor of conversion to the conquest in the name of a deity, violence is ingrained into religion’s very being. “Religion… engenders an energy that may be experienced as despair or as enthusiasm… Despair can feed an urge to rid the world of pollution and sin (Klausner 268).” Violence in the religious realm may serve several purposes. It can be an end unto itself, a means to accomplish a religious or religious/economic/political goal. It can be done to invoke terror and awe, as in “witness the power of our God and tremble before his might.” However it is enacted and whatever its reasons, violence is now an inescapable inevitability in religion’s ongoing battle between Good and Evil. In attempting to prove this, I will be drawing on a body of information collected from the Bible; The Encyclopedia of Religion: Articles on: Violence, Crusades, Inquisition; Ethics: Violence; Dictionary of Middle Ages: Crusades, Inquisition; and Dictionary of Christian Ethics: Just War.

In order to see if violence does enter into religion, one first needs to know what, ethically speaking, violence is. Ethics defines violence as follows: “Violence consists of a violation of another person’s or a group of people’s freedom, dignity, integrity, sense of self worth, or well being; it may be physical, psychological, or emotional (Candelaria 907).” Acts of violence can be further defined by legal and illegal employment of methods of coercion for personal or group gain. This is where things become fuzzy. Who defines legal and illegal? “The instigator of violence might claim that acts of legitimate violence might include military defense, crusades, just wars, acts of purification, acts of faith, and heroic exploits.” (Klausner 268) These same acts would probably be viewed as illegitimate, illegal acts by the victims. So can violence ever be legitimized?

If violence can never be legitimized, then why does it exist with such prominence? Thomas Hobbs believed that humans live in a perpetual state of war, “a Bellum ominium contra omnes, a ‘war of all against all’ (Candelaria 907).” Humans are naturally violent. Freud agreed with Hobbes, believing that aggression is a natural human instinct. Fear and desire motivate mankind to violence. Freud also believed that violence would naturally beget violence. Because all humans fear death, when threatened they will turn to aggression to protect themselves. These dim views of the human condition show violence to be intrinsic in our human nature

If violence can be legitimized, what conditions make it so? According to the Christian Church, there are several stipulations. The most profound idea on violence made by the Church is the idea of the Just War Theory, or the Justum Bellum. The Christian Just War Tradition can forces a question to be asked: Can a Christian, whose faith in an all-loving and all-good God that implies goodwill toward men, ever justifiably participate in violence? If you answer no, then non-violent pacifism is the only viable option. If the answer is yes, then I feel another question needs to be answered. Is the Christian God truly all-loving and all-good? To answer this question, we turn to the bible.

One of the Ten Commandments handed down by God to Moses is “Thou shalt not Kill.” Every child is