Each weekly resource guide offers biblical
reflections, prayer, educational resources, advocacy tools and non-violent
responses to the particular theme highlighted for that given week. The
weekly Lenten Fast resource guides are available from the DOV website at:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org.
The Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches
seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-2010), is an initiative of the World
Council of Churches (WCC). It calls churches and ecumenical organizations to
work together with communities, secular movements, and people of all faiths
for peace, justice and reconciliation. It also highlights efforts to
overcome violence in its different forms, and provides a space for
networking and sharing.
For Further information, please contact
Juan Michel -- E-mail: media@wcc-coe.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lenten Fast From Violence -- Week One
FASTING FROM THE
CONSUMPTION OF MEDIA VIOLENCE, ESPECIALLY GEARED TOWARDS YOUNG PEOPLE
Our children now live in a society where
homicide, suicide and trauma are leading causes of death for children,
adolescents and young adults up to age 21. Interpersonal violence -
experienced from the perspective of being the victim or the perpetrator - is
now a more prevalent health risk than infectious disease, cancer or
congenital disorders for these same young people. A study by the American
Academy of Pediatrics in 2001 found that American children between the ages
of 2 and 18 years spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using
media (television, videos, movies, video and computer games, music, Internet
and print media). This is more time than they spend on any other activity,
including school, except for the hours they sleep.
It is clear that violence has become a
commodity to be sold in all forms of media and entertainment venues. And,
not unlike tobacco and alcohol, the video game industry is specifically
targeting children and young teens in their marketing practices. Is media
violence a toxin in a child's environment, not unlike lead poisoning,
tobacco, alcohol, or drugs? A look at the statistics and studies done on
video violence provides compelling evidence that the answer is "yes."
The connection between viewing violence and
increased aggressive behaviour Three major national studies, the first
conducted more than 30 years ago, have confirmed a connection between
viewing violence and increased aggressive behavior. The Surgeon General's
Commission Report (1972), along with studies conducted by the National
Institute of Mental Health (1982) and the American Psychological Association
(1992) have been collected in a joint statement issued in 2000, "The Impact
of Entertainment Violence on Children."
Viewing entertainment violence can lead to
increase in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, particularly in
children. Its effects are measurable and long-lasting. Moreover, prolonged
viewing of media violence can lead to emotional desensitization toward
violence in real life. [Excerpt from the Joint Statement]
In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics
issued its "Media Violence Policy Statement" which found that "the strength
of the correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior is greater
than the correlation between calcium intake and bone mass or the correlation
between lead ingestion and lower IQ."
Perhaps the most sobering observation comes
from a retired military officer. In his book, On Killing, Lt. Col. Dave
Grossman, U.S. Army, writes: "Violent video games hardwire young people for
shooting at humans. The entertainment industry conditions the young in
exactly the same way the military does."
Another sobering fact: American women and
girls are five times more likely to be murdered than women in other
industrialised nations. [Journal of the Medical Women's Association, Spring
2002]
Follow the money
Video and computer games have become a
highly profitable segment of the entertainment industry. Annual sales in
1995 were $3 billion. In 2002, annual sales of video and computer games
totaled $10 billion.
Who's playing?
Forty-five per cent (45%) of the 126
million video game players are children and teens with twenty million of
those aged 12 and under. A Federal Trade Commission report [September 2000]
found that 40% of those who play Mature-rated games (rated for age 17 and
older) are under 18. The best-selling game of 2002 was the M-rated Grand
Theft Auto III. In this game, sexist and racist violence predominates.
A fasting from the consumption of
violence
Our culture is saturated with violent
images and games which pass as entertainment. It is not a coincidence that
the United States is a leader in the world in murders and other forms of
violence done to persons (rape, battery, hate crimes, bullying, etc.). If
Micah or Jeremiah were alive today, their prophetic words would fall on ears
dulled by violent sensations received over a long period of time. But we
worship a God who sent to us the Prince of Peace, who said to his disciples
shortly before his crucifixion, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to
you." (John 14:27) This is the same Jesus who cried out in anguish when he
approached Jerusalem for the last time, "If you, even you, had only
recognized on this day the things that make for peace!" (Luke 19:41)
Jesus gave us the Great Commandment, to
love God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The
kind of violence in many video games, on TV, or in the movies is not just
fast paced, action packed drama to get the heart beating. It is too often,
based on someone killing or beating up someone else based on their race,
national origin, sex or gender or sexual orientation, what side of the
railroad tracks they live on, or what side of the street they inhabit. It
perpetuates stereotypes and prejudice. Violence in this world becomes the
normative way of settling disputes and handling misunderstandings.
The prophet Isaiah brought God's word and
judgment to those who went through the motions of religiosity yet whose
hearts remained hardened: Yet day after day they seek me [the Lord] and
delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced
righteousness. (Isaiah 58:2)
These same people wondered why God didn't
notice them:
"Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why do we humble ourselves, but you do not notice?"
The fasting which God requires leads to
true transformation and awareness.
During the first week of Lent, consider
engaging your congregation, your family, and/or yourself in the following:
