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The search for a scapegoat has begun.

Now that the initial shock of the Newtown massacre has worn off, our society is looking for something to do and someone to blame.

Something to do? Many are lobbying for stricter gun control laws and bans on assault weapons. Others are recommending teachers and school officials be armed and ready to fight back.

Someone to blame? The talking heads on television have begun a conversation about mental illness that they are woefully ill-prepared for. I shudder to consider what lies ahead for autistic children and adults with Asberger’s Syndrome if hearsay and ignorance win the day.

Pointing Fingers

While the tendency in the coming days will be to point our fingers in multiple directions, I recommend we point the finger right back at ourselves. Could it be that we are a violent people? Consider…

  • We are horrified by the slaughter of innocent children in Newtown, but we are entertained by children killing children in The Hunger Games.
  • We react with disbelief at the gruesomeness of the news reports, but then plug in our video game consoles so we can shoot, stab, and decapitate lifelike people on the screen.
  • We weep and mourn the stolen innocence of our children, but the bestselling books in our country involve violent sexual fantasies and sadism/masochism.
  • We sing carols and hymns in remembrance of the victims of violence, but our iPods are filled with explicit lyrics of rage that are particularly degrading to women.

Should we be surprised when reality eventually mirrors our fantasies?

Talk to Christian believers in other parts of the world and you will quickly discover that we have a reputation for consuming movies, music, and video games that promote a mindset of violence. Whenever I have brought up these concerns with my fellow American friends, I have gotten blank stares and then a quick denial that violence in any way represents us.

I remember when I took my son to see Wall-E, only to find kids in kindergarten going to see Hulk with their parents. I know church kids who sat in the front row of The Dark Knight.

Let me be clear. Even the Bible includes narratives of violence. I’m not opposed to violence as a means of representing evil in books and movies. My concern is that the proliferation of violent depictions has desensitized us to the point that the association of violence with evil is lost within violence itself.

Deadly Desensitization

Too often, Christians are so focused on the sexual perversity we see on television or in movies that we forget how a constant stream of media violence is also deadly to our souls.

The latest way for youth groups to attract young men is by setting up video game consoles with violent games like Halo 4. Ask evangelical youth pastors if they would ever consider using pornography as a way of attracting young people to church. “Of course not!” would be the answer. But why is it we never give a second thought to the video games that bid us into a world of graphic violence?

“It’s not real. It’s just fantasy,” we say, shrugging aside the violence. But could we not use that line of reasoning for pornography as well?

Of course it’s fantasy. That’s not the point. The truth is… even fantasy shapes who we are and what we believe. We would never allow pornographic fantasy into our youth groups, but the gory bloodiness of video games sneaks in under the mask of “harmlessness.”

The Gospel of Peace

We cannot point fingers. We all share in the guilt of allowing ourselves to be desensitized to violent behavior. We need the transformation of the gospel to reach into this tender area and change our hearts.

As heralds of the coming kingdom of peace, we as Christians should be naturally resistant to the inherent violence of our culture. We must practice non-retaliation in our personal lives, seek to be at peace in the church, and decry the thirst for violence that so often marks our entertainment choices.

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