Review: Sacred Matters-Chapter 7 Violence

Violence has been part of the human story from Cain killing his brother Abel to the daily violence we witness/experience in our lives, on TV, or in the news.  Laderman begins the chapter with an examination of the intrinsically sacred nature of war.  He makes the point that whether god is invoked or not war is necessarily religious because it invokes ultimate loyalties, it requires potentially making the ultimate sacrifice.  The death of soldiers is the closest thing we have today to ancient rituals of sacrifice, in which certain individuals or animals were sacrificed for the good of the greater majority.  We impart sacred significance on the death of fallen soldiers.

The next arena of violence examined by Laderman is one that will forever be tied to the American spirit, the life of the cowboy.  Whether or not the Hollywood versions of cowboys' lives are true to the lived experience of such men (and women) is not important since it is the Hollywood cowboy which comes to mind whenever ones talks about such things.  The violence often associated with such fictitious cowboys as those played by John Wayne is a justified violence.  Cowboy violence breathes this redemptive spirit because it functions to restore law and order or bring justice to oppressed peoples (unfortunately not usually the Native Americans).

With war and cowboys being part of American DNA it is inevitable that the gun would take on sacred significance.  Laderman turns next to guns and to that most hallowed of organizations (at least to those who belong to it) the NRA.  Just as in previous chapters the author shows how an organization like the NRA provides it members with community, ethical instructions, transcendent experiences (shooting guns) and quite possibly experience life change.  So real guns can be religious, but what about virtual ones?  Does virtual violence fulfill a religious function in the lives of gamers worldwide?  With the success of such games as World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, including the communities they create, the answer appears to be yes.  The troubling question becomes at what point should we worry about gamers being unable to distinguish between the virtual ethic taught by the game and a real life ethic practiced outside the game?  The conversation surrounding video game violence, while very interesting, left me with more questions than answers.

There is no question in my mind that violence involves sacred experience of many kinds and in many ways for many Americans.  My hope as a Christian is that people would come to see the lie behind the myth of redemptive violence; that somehow violence can set things right without perpetuating the cycle of violence we find ourselves trapped in.  As a Christian I think that one of the most powerful parts of our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ is that in his death and resurrection the justification for violence has been negated, and as the Church we should be a preview of the peaceable kingdom made available by the inauguration of the kingdom of God.