There is a great article on Eureka Street by Andrew Hamilton about the Reasons for Violence. Hamilton starts off;
Violence is much in the news. Stabbings, bashings and glassings are recorded and deplored. And now the violent video game Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned. Premiers, columnists and correspondents all deplore violence and propose remedies. In such a heated atmosphere, it may be worthwhile to reflect more broadly on violence and on the strategies which societies, including our own, develop in order to deal with it.
The article is well worth a read and has some great observations about how we are changing our society’s values and acceptance of violence through the saturation of violence. Hamilton also goes on to say that this acceptance is linked to alcohol.
I have long believed that our acceptance of violence is changing, far more dramatically in the past decade than previously. While there are less wars, or global violence, what there is is glorified in the media and accessible for kids to join in with games based on these conflicts, not to mention the fact that each day these games, online or not, allow for the killing of others, whether real or not is not the argument, the fact that we play these games and by playing agree to the values of the game, that seems to grate against the Gospel.
Is it any wonder that the Gospel relates to the very basis of life and co-existance?
