Violence in America (Luke 6:43-45)
Gary McManus, 06/09/2019Part of the New Life series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
June 9, 2019 Pentecost Sunday, Luke 6:43-45
Violence in America. . .
even in Muncie, Indiana.
Whether we ever DID agree or did not agree that
there was too much violence in our media: film,
television, video games, even toys. . .
Pastor is certain that most Christians, even most
Americans of whatever religious faith, if any—
most Americans would agree that there is too much
violence today on our streets, in our schools and in our towns.
SO, the problem of too much violence is THE problem.
What we cannot agree on is WHAT, if anything, can be done to reduce the violence. . and any agreement quickly breaks down as to what measures, if any, would be most effective/most efficient/least disruptive in a free society.
One complaint about the Bible (by those like to complain about the Bible) is that the Bible is a very violent book. The Bible is violent because we, human beings, are violent.
The Bible does not believe in a peace-loving people.
[None are written of or spoken of in the Bible.]
The first murder in the Bible, everyone here knows;
Genesis 4:8.
It has been downhill ever since.
We are all children of Adam.
(1 Corinthians 15:47, 1 Corinthians 15:49).
And, through Jesus, children of God.
Pastor is open to any counter arguments from
the Bible on humanity’s violent nature. Anyone?
[The only exception mentioned in the Bible are
Jesus and His followers: Romans 12:17-18,
2 Timothy 2:22, James, 3:17-18, Titus 3:2.
Remember, Jesus’ people are a new creation.]
Of interest is the work of Professor Steven Pinkard,
Harvard College Professor of Psychology at
Harvard University.
His book: The Better Angels of Our Nature.
(The title is taken from Abraham Lincoln.)
Professor Pinkard’s book is subtitled:
Why Violence Has Declined. (!)
Assuming Professor Pinkard is correct,
does anyone care that he is correct?
Are things worse than ever? No.
Does it matter? No. We have the same problems.
There is good news and bad news. The good news
is that God has been working on this problem
directly , hands on, for 2,000 years.
The bad news—human beings as a species
are NOT working on this problem.
. The most fruitful area for our human efforts
is Mental Health. But “involuntary treatment”
is something Americans don’t want to talk about.
Remember when state mental hospitals existed?
Jesus summed up the real problem 2,000 years ago.
(See Matthew 15:19-20 and Matthew 26:52.)
Here the plea of Sue Klebold, wrote a memoir:
A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath
of Tragedy [Columbine], published in 2016.
Since we are human, a change of heart is a real
possibility.
See Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 9:9, 1 Timothy 4:6,
1 Peter 2:21, Luke 8:35, Isaiah 61:1.
Amen.
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