In an attempt to stimulate reflection and action around the Decade to Overcome Violence, the WCC has identified four themes on which to focus its own contribution to the next four years of the Decade . A study document explaining the meaning and implications of these themes for use by churches and others will be ready by July 2002.

The spirit and logic of violence

Violence is often legitimized by the prevailing norms, values, belief systems, cultures and structures of relationships in our societies. For example, the assumption that human beings are by nature evil and have the propensity to be violent has justified the creation and continuation of highly repressive regimes and traditions. Another assumption that some human beings are inferior to others has justified and continues to justify violence against certain sections of the people in every place all over the world. There is also the assumption that violence is a divine attribute, and this has justified acts of human aggression in the name of God and "justice". The doctrines of redemptive violence, the theories of just war and the recent holy war, and the legacies of the crusades and colonisation, have their roots in these assumptions.

Any discourse on violence must acknowledge the role of power in all manifestations of violence. Violence, after all, is an irresponsible exercise of power over the powerless or retaliation to such power. Sometimes it is the fear and glorification of power that encourages violence and inhibits the oppressed from resisting violence. By and large, the abuse of power has become an accepted way of exercising power. Power concentrated in the hands of one or a few - whether political, economic, social or spiritual - "corrupts, and corrupts absolutely", dehumanising people and destroying relationships. Power in the hands of the socially and economically privileged has the propensity to become a force of death and dehumanisation.

One cannot hope for a lasting peace without striving for justice. The general trend of many peace initiatives has been to focus on peacemaking and neglecting the need to uphold justice. It is the unjust desires of the powerful and the denial of justice that makes the victims resort to violence. Peace and justice cannot be pursued separately because violence is rooted in injustice.

Furthermore, exclusion and oppression, in whichever form they exist, are both injustice and violence. The economic structures and policies, which cause enormous human suffering, depravation, poverty, homelessness, unemployment; and the social structures and values which nurture inhuman practices, are also forces and forms of violence. The greed of a few which destroys the environment is also a form of violence of the powerful.

In an increasingly pluralistic world characterised further by processes of economic polarisation at the micro- and macro- levels, the assertion of identities - religious, ethnic, linguistic, social - has become a cause of conflict and violence between and among communities. Conflicts arising out of such assertions are going to turn violent in many parts of the world. Identities do not only evoke sentiments and loyalties but also operate as instruments in the pursuit of power and justice. Political, social, and religious hegemonic powers often manipulate the sentiments around identities. Even the much-dreaded terrorism, as a form of violence is committed for reasons that are centred around identities, whether patriotic, ideological, revolutionary, or reactionary. Religious fanaticism, which thrives on the sentiments that religious identities nurture, is threatening to divide communities and cause large-scale violence of sorts.

In such a situation, how do churches witness to their faith in God who heals, reconciles and unites? How can the churches provide a trans-denominational and trans-religious presence and witness in a divided world? The DOV provides an opportunity to the churches to rethink the realities of their denominational presence, ambiguous positions, and exclusivist claims. Interfaith dialogue has been identified as an important means towards this end. But the challenge for us is to explore further to identify possibilities that are people-based and effective in healing and building communities.