THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT / VIOLENCE

                                                                       VIOLENCE

Human history is filled with violence. Will this tragic record continue indefinitely? 

How does God view violence?

WHAT PEOPLE SAY Many, including religious people, feel that violence is a justifiable response to provocation. And millions consider media violence to be  an acceptable form of entertainment. 

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS Near the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, lie the ruins of a once great city-Nineveh, the capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire.  While the city was still a thriving metropolis, the Bible foretold that God would "make Nineveh desolate." (Zephaniah 2:13)  "I will make a spectacle of you," God said.   The reason?  Nineveh was a "city of bloodshed." (Nahum 1:1; 3:1, 6) And "Jehovah detests violence l. . .people," states  Psalm 5:6. As Nineveh's ruins testify, God ached on his words. 

Violence originated with the archenemy of both God and man-Satan the Devil, whom Jesus Christ  called "a murderer." (John 8:44) Moreover, because  "the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one," his traits are reflected in popular attitudes toward violence, including the world's infatuation with media violence. ( 1 John 5:19)  To please God, we must cultivate  a hatred  for violence and a love for what God loves. Is that possible? 

Next time: THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT/ VIOLENCE - Can violent people change? 

From the AWAKE! magazine, 2015