The Roots of Violence

We are living in an era whose atmosphere is saturated with the flames of hatred. It is an age of violence whose tempo of disruption is so rapidly escalating that there is scarcely a city anywhere in the world where humans can be assured of normal, physical security. Nietzsche is the prophet who foresaw and foretold the coming of the beast of violence. Indeed, he proclaimed its greatest commandment whose faithful practice would create a society of savages. "The time has come," he wrote, "to oppose morality with immorality, to call what priests call good, evil and what they call evil, good. The time has come for the transvaluation of all values."3 In these pages, Fr. Vincent Miceli unveils the philosophical roots of violence from a Christian perspective. What is the taproot, which is causing such growth in the delirium for violence, which is rampant today? It is the attack against God. It is hatred of the truth. Fr. Miceli explains that behind the metaphysic of murder lies the metaphysic of hatred of the created order. Refusal to serve God was the cry under which Satan brought violence and rebellion among the angels as they stood trial in the vestibule of heaven. Miceli explains that Christ himself testified that this "father of lies was a murderer from the beginning," thus making the connection between hatred of the truth and the lust for violence. He warned the Pharisees that men who reject God's plan for their salvation will imitate Satan's deeds.