Is Violence Inevitable?
One of the surprising things that happens when our faith starts to take new shape is realizing just how deeply our old theology has influenced us—often in areas we didn’t even realize were connected to faith. We explored this in our Wisdom-Based Parenting series, too. The truth is, very little in life is compartmentalized. Theology doesn’t stay neatly packaged in a Sunday morning box—it weaves its way through how we parent, vote, argue, and even how we respond to conflict.
Take violence, for example.
Most of us would agree that violence is disturbing. But how we understand it—what we believe about its causes, its inevitability, and our relationship to it—is often shaped by our theology, especially our beliefs about human nature.
If you grew up believing humans are fundamentally bad—born into sin, deeply flawed at our core—then violence, as upsetting as it might be, can start to feel expected. Even inevitable. You might think, This is just how the world is. It’s how it’s always been. People are broken. Violence is part of the deal. And if we believe we’re inherently bad, it doesn’t take much to project that same badness onto others. Before long, we’re living in an “us versus them” world—good guys and bad guys, the familiar and the other. We become disconnected not just from one another, but from the idea that peace is even possible.
But what if there’s another way?
What if, instead of starting with sin, we began with something deeper—something more original? What if the truest thing about us isn’t our capacity for harm, but our reflection of the image of God?
This shift may seem small, but it’s significant. If we believe the image of God is primary—stronger than sin, more enduring than fear—then violence isn’t hardwired into who we are. It may be familiar, but it’s not our destiny. Connection, not conflict, becomes our starting point. Suddenly, violent conflict isn’t just unfortunate—it’s unnatural. Peace isn’t just a dream—it’s a return to who we really are.
This change in perspective matters. It affects how we see others, how we raise our children, how we interpret Scripture, and how we imagine solutions to real-world conflict. We don’t have to get used to violence. We don’t have to shrug and say, That’s just the way the world is. We can choose to see more. To believe more.
Because if every person carries the image of Creator God, then it’s not us versus them—it’s us versus us. And when we harm each other, we’re not just breaking community; we’re forgetting who we are.
But when we remember?
When we truly believe in the goodness at the core of humanity?
We become people who live less from fear and more from hope.
Less from separation, more from connection.
Less from violence, more from peace.
