We have all been made keenly aware of a tremendous amount of violence in our societies around the world. Whether it is terrorist bombing in the skies over Scotland, a terrorist attack on homes, businesses or transportation systems in Ireland or England, whether embassies are under siege in the Middle East or savage attacks upon students in high schools in America. Violence is violence and condemned by every system of laws conceived by thinking and moral people. So prevalent are these attacks in our day that we have some basic and foundational questions to ask concerning the remedy.

Before we can accurately assess the remedy, however, we must accurately assess the root cause. True, there may be more than one cause or stimulus to the events we are witnessing in our world, but there is one foundational, root and basic cause to all of it; no matter where, no matter how it is carried out, no matter what level it is on and no matter who it may involve; whether it may be ethnic or national, racial, political or personal. All violence stems from the same root.

So what is it that makes people violent? Why did the students in the high school in Littleton, Colorado begin shooting down their classmates and instructors? Was it the availability of guns? I really don’t believe the responsibility can be placed upon an inanimate article such as a gun. This makes no more sense than blaming other terrorist activities upon dynamite or other explosives, or, blaming the production of fertilizer or fuel oil for the destruction of the building in Oklahoma which killed and maimed so many. The tool is not to be blamed for the use for which its user uses it. Whether it is a tool of destruction or good rests squarely in the mind and intent of the user of the tool.

So, where does the violent intent and violent thinking and perverted ideas come? Is it the movies, the television programs, the violent, gruesome videos and the overly aggressive video games, the rap, punk rock and rock music industry ? My answer to this is both yes and no. Certainly these media are somewhat to blame, but, they are not totally at fault. But we are in no wise legitimizing their activities or their product. Though no one has said to the audiences and patrons of these forms of modern entertainment that they should go out and perform the gratuitous acts pictured and simulated in these media, there seems to be no concern that these things may spark this kind of behavior in a young, immature mind that is easily persuaded, or, in the mind already contemplating doing wrong somehow.

If there was a legitimate concern for the reactions of the patrons of this kind of entertainment (I use that term loosely), there would be a noticeable toning down or elimination of the violence, especially the graphics, altogether. Of course, to make such changes, small or large would expect the producers of it to be interested in the audiences they cater to so as to create art that inspires strong emotional behavior that embraces and enhances good rather than dwelling upon and glorifying evil and violence. I perceive the purveyors and producers of this material as fundamentally violent, maladjusted people who have a strong bent upon creating the same thoughts in the minds of others, especially the impressionable youth of our culture.

However, what seems to be more obvious is the conscious desire of some to promote a philosophy of selfish, ego-centric and perverse morality. And the mimicry of such is far from accidental or incidental, since it is the apparent basic philosophy of those who create, produce and promote such gratuitous materials for others, especially our young people, to see. Hollywoood seems to see nothing wrong in such graphic imagery and gross content in place of a story-line and in the message it sends to the impressionable and immature youth of our society which seems to be the greater bulk of its audience.

These are the evidences of the predominant current secular philosophy which is totally humanistic, vaunting the will of the individual as supreme above all else and everyone else in the world. This can only produce a deceptive self-love which is everywhere visible in our present culture and society today. This philosophy is increasingly hedonistic which exalts the baser sensual pleasures of man as a purely physical being above all else in his experience. It totally denies, dismisses and denounces any possibility that man - human-kind - is or is dependent upon anything or anyone else beyond or transcendent to this present physical plain in which we all live. It feeds upon its own lusts and pleasure with no thought of a spiritual dimension in the makeup or character of humanity at all. This is not only dangerous ground because it denies God and His existence, but, since it denies the recognition of all spiritual involvement in man’s experience, it leaves itself open to demonic spiritual influences which are contrary and contradictory to God’s existence and will in the first place.

The (so-called) music extant today fares no better than the motion picture and video industry. The same preoccupation with violence and free sexual expression is evident in its lyrics, along with a driving, sensually stimulating beat or rhythm which speaks forcibly to the emotions producing lude and lascivious behavior. Feelings of failure, guilt, self-destruction, murder and mayhem seem to be pervading themes one hears, bombarding his senses from one performer after another. No wonder we see such negativism, despair and depravity in our country and our world today.

This present philosophy isn’t anything new, though its adherents, thinking themselves more intelligent than everyone else in either present, past or future, take credit for its inception. This philosophy is also highly existentialistic which ignores the spiritual and any and all responsibility of anyone to anyone, let alone a holy and righteous God, the God of the Bible, especially. Whatever one senses through his natural senses is all that exists and so there can be no God, at least, in the thinking of this philosophy of life. There is no such thing as an absolute of any kind in their thinking, so, naturally there is no accountability.

This leaves the door open to paganism at its worst, anarchy, a well-defined egoism and the distrust, repudiation and tolerance for all that it disagrees with or disagrees with it, especially all that is Christian. This replacement philosophy will be the basic philosophy of the future anti (false)-christ, “the man of sin” who preaches and acquires world domination and the position of universal supremacy (globalism), the singlemost desire and goal of many in power as leaders from the universities and on up today.

This philosophy which is humanistic, existentialistic and hedonistic, which is seen everywhere throughout Europe and the United States today and daily gaining ground, is not a new phenomenon, as we have stated above. It is the Modernism of the mid-twentieth century and the Post-Modernism of the latter twentieth century which is the driving force of what is also called “The New Age Movement” with all its many and varied facets.

Alright, now that we have identified it, and we believe we have pointed out some way in which it may be precipitated today upon our society, from the universities, entertainment and even news reporting agencies what is the root cause that allows these sources to be so effective? The evidences include the discreditation of God and the Bible, true Christian believers, the denial of moral absolutes, downplaying and deletion of prayer and religious expression in schools, public gathering places and federal properties. It is seen in wilful attempts to devaluate human life through abortion, genocide against the very old or the very ill, claiming a loss of “quality of life” or for financial reasons declaring these to be burdens on family or society. The disrespect for laws, for authority, for God, for parents, for public officials, for property and for anything except one’s own personal rights is all a part of this mentality. Where does it begin? What is the single root cause?

Let us begin with the general and work around to the specific in our answer to this question or set of questions. In going to the beginning of the problem we must go back, quite literally, to “the beginning” of everything, of all of creation, of the beginning of mankind or humankind, if you prefer. It is only human nature to accept and adopt this kind of philosophy and corresponding behavior. It is man’s basic nature to sin.

After having the earth and all the vegetation and animal life on it, God sets His thought to the creation of His crowning accomplishment in His creation man. In Genesis 1: 26-31 we discover the following narrative:

“And God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping that creepeth upon the earth.

So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male
and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
[fill up] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, whish is upon
the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb
for meat” and it was so.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

God had made a place for man, the man and the woman, Adam and Eve to dwell that would be there’s. This place had everything that they would need for sustenance and enjoyment. Everything was free for the taking with the exception of the fruit of one particular tree, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. God gave Adam these instructions in 2: 15-17, before He created the man’s greatest glory -- his wife.

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the
garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Through Adam mankind had it pretty well made. To remain in the physical state of pleasure, he had only to remain in the place of favor with God by obedience to His divine will. This Adam did and so did his wife, Eve. Then, Satan through subtle trickery through the form of a creature of the garden, a serpent, he posed a problem for this pair whom God had pronounced “very good” in their creation. Through the means of suggestion he presented an half-truth to bring them to the conclusion that God had somehow cheated them of a pleasant and desirable experience.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall no surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3: 4-5).

Through innuendo Satan created the impression to their minds that they could be “as gods, knowing good and evil”. Up until this time they had known only good and were living in the promise of an eternal existence with God being in perpetual accord with His will and blessing. Their eyes would indeed be open as never before, to SIN, to JUDGMENT, and to DEATH which they had not known until now. This was the nakedness they became grossly aware of . They were immediately hit with the naked truth of their depravity and the loss of fellowship with God through disobedience and the fear of judgment which caused them to fear God and try to hide themselves from Him and the consequences. Man has been trying to hide from God ever since. No one can hide from Him or His judgment upon sin. We can only succeed in hiding from His blessing and forgiveness. A And denying God only reinforces this separation from Him and the sureness of that judgment.

In verse 6 the woman saw that the fruit of the tree looked pleasant and desirable and took from the tree enough for herself and her husband. Both ate the fruit and both came under the judgment of God and the penalty of death at that moment. Therein mankind in its entirety was condemned and in need of a solution for sin and a Savior. Man’s problem is his innate desire and predisposition to sin. Since sin is his nature, then, sins are the natural outgrowth of his predilection, guilt and depression are constant companions and self-destruction seems his only avenue of escape. A deplorable state to be in, to say the least. A helpless and a hopeless condition to be in, to be sure. He is hopeless because he knows his condition is beyond his own remedy and yet, refuses the one and only remedy there is. The remedy was provided free of charge to all who will receive it from Him through the Person of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and His personal sacrifice for sin.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1: 17).

To remain in the natural state as a natural man is to reject the truth of God and therefore, God Himself. No man, woman or child naturally seeks after God because of the sin that impregnates their conscious will.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness
unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2: 14).

However through the preaching of the gospel of Christ one can and must come to faith in Jesus Christ and find forgiveness of his sin (nature), his sins (actions) and find acceptance in God through Christ by faith in Him and the efficaciousness of His blood on the cross of sacrifice. The offer of God is open to all -- no matter who -- no matter where -- no matter what race or creed -- no matter how sinful and no matter how good one thinks he is. All are sinful and no one matches up to God’s standard of holiness without His help.

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3: 22- 25).

To find peace of heart and mind one must allow God to remedy the broken relationship between them and to come into the place where each becomes set free by becoming the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6: 23).

In John 8 Jesus spoke to those who followed Him having believed on His name.

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (verse 32);

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (verse 36).

For all who will trust Christ for salvation there is immediate peace in mind and an amazing satisfaction and optimism that only He can give. If we will them continue to trust Him in everything there is a continual building of His divine peace that passes all human understanding and comprehension. The hatred and violence is done away continually, progressively as it is displaced by the faith of yielding to His holy will.

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes [or, in past time] were far off are made nigh
by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, who hath make both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us;

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so
making peace” (Ephesians 2: 13-15).

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do:
and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4: 7-9).

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