{"id":4505,"date":"2016-06-18T04:45:35","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T09:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?p=4505"},"modified":"2016-06-18T04:46:35","modified_gmt":"2016-06-18T09:46:35","slug":"the-myth-of-redemptive-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/spiritual-reflections\/the-myth-of-redemptive-violence","title":{"rendered":"The myth of redemptive violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
A reflection by Fr. Dave Warren, S.F.M., for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. First Reading: Zechariah 12.10-11; Second Reading: Galatians 3.26-29; Gospel: Luke 9.18-24.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As of June 15, the death toll from last Sunday\u2019s shooting in Orlando, Florida, stands at 49. Fifty-three people are wounded, some of them seriously.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the civil war continues in Syria. According to some estimates, more than 400,000 people have lost their lives since the conflict began five years ago. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes.<\/p>\n We live in a violent world. We also live in a world that believes the only response to violence is counter-violence. We live in a world that believes you have to fight fire with fire.<\/p>\n Walter Wink, the American Bible scholar, calls it \u201cThe Myth of Redemptive Violence.\u201d<\/p>\n We all know The Myth of Redemptive Violence. It\u2019s the theme of many movies and\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 television dramas. Think of Johnny Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, or Arnold Schwarzenegger. They play the part of the good guys who are oppressed by the bad guys. At first the bad guys have the upper hand. But then the good guys decide to fight fire with fire. They resort to violence and eliminate the bad guys. Good triumphs over evil and balance is restored to the world.<\/p>\n From a very young age we are exposed to The Myth of Redemptive Violence. It\u2019s the theme of children\u2019s cartoons. Have you ever noticed how violent cartoons are?<\/p>\n The Myth of Redemptive Violence says that violence saves, that war brings peace. The Myth of Redemptive Violence teaches us that the only response to violence is violence. Everybody believes The Myth of Redemptive Violence\u2014or almost everybody.<\/p>\n One of the best movies I have ever seen is the movie entitled Gandhi.<\/em> It\u2019s the story of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who led India to freedom from British rule in 1947. Mahatma<\/em> means \u201cgreat soul\u201d and Mahatma Gandhi was an extraordinary man.<\/p>\n\n