Heart Of Violence

Violence is the plague of our civilization. Its many tentacles – domestic violence, criminal violence, sexual abuse, terrorism, state violence, revolution, war and genocide tentacles – threaten us. The new discipline of traumatology amply describes the consequences of violence. But there is as yet no corresponding discipline of violentology to explain why violence occurs in the first place. Inexorably, Paul Valent was drawn professionally to take the leap from healing the minds of victims to trying to understand the minds of perpetrators. Valent unpicks the minds of perpetrators in each field of violence. He develops a lens for illuminating violence, whether individual or international, primitive or spiritual. We come to understand how aggressions that helped our species to survive now threaten it with extinction. Valent explains his thesis by recounting many stories. One story interwoven throughout is his own. A child who survived the Holocaust, he examines the minds of his perpetrators in his quest to prevent future violence. Violence, for Valent, is not an isolated feature of the human condition. Surprisingly close to violence are struggles for love. Readers also learn about that aspect of humanity.

Domestic abuse and violence are on the rise in our culture today, and just as prevalent in the church. With an estimated one-fourth of women in the church living with abuse and violence, pastors and biblical counselors need to have the resources to offer hope and help. It is time for godly men in the church to call abusive men to repentance and accountability. Here is a valuable resource for every church leader and Christian man.

Terror in the Heart of Freedom: Citizenship, Sexual Violence, and the Meaning of Race in the Postemancipation South

UNGUARDED HEART... ...is the account of one young woman's challenge to overcome one abusive relationship after another. Struggling to find herself once again after losing her identity and self-worth at the hands of her abuser. Men she trusted. Loved. And Married. This book is in no way meant to condemn. All has been forgiven. This is a story of God's forgiveness, mercy and grace. Not just to one, but to everyone. This inspirational true story was written by a young woman who was used to living her life with her heart unguarded, but is now known as the woman with the Guarded Heart.

Adolescent Violence in the Home examines a form of violence that has a profound impact on families but is often overlooked and frequently misunderstood: teen aggression and violence toward members of their family—especially parents. Violence in adolescents is often seen as the result of a mental-health diagnosis, delinquency, or as a response to dysfunctional parenting, and though understanding a youth’s mental-health status or a parenting style can be helpful, complete focus on either is misplaced. Adolescent Violence in the Home uses a restorative framework, developed by the authors and in use in court systems and organizations around the world, to situate violent behaviors in the context of power and the intergenerational cycle of violence. Readers will come away from this book with a profound understanding of the social and individual factors that lead youth to use violence and how adolescent violence affects parents, and they’ll also learn about a variety of interventions that specifically address teen violence against parents.

Conceived at a time when biological research on aggression and violence was drawn into controversy because of sociopolitical questions about its study, this volume provides an up-to-date account of recent biological studies performed -- mostly on humans. A group of scientists recognized the importance of freedom of inquiry and deemed it vital to address the most promising biological research in the field. The focus on biological mechanisms is not meant to imply that biological variables are paramount as a determinant of violence. Rather, biological variables operate in conjunction with other variables contributing to aggression or violence, and a complete understanding of this phenomenon requires consideration of all influences bearing on it. This book will familiarize readers with the rapidly growing and increasingly significant body of knowledge on the biological bases of human antisocial, aggressive, and violent behaviors. The editors concentrated on biological influences that support the basic physiological and biochemical processes of the brain and did not cover those biological influences that impact on the health of the individual such as head injury, pregnancy and birth complications, diet, and exposure to lead and other toxins. They focused on biological influences to illuminate their role in the complex behavioral phenomenon of violence. Three different approaches to the biological study of human antisocial, aggressive, and violent behaviors are represented -- genetic, neurobiological, and biosocial. Representing each of these three approaches, individual chapters from investigators in psychobiology, biological psychiatry, and basic-clinical neurosciences address the most recent experimental findings, methods, theory, and common misconceptions in the biological study of aggression and violence. The areas of primary focus are behavior and molecular genetics, neurochemistry and hormones, neuroimaging, psychophysiology and developmental psychobiology. Generally speaking, investigators following these different approaches have experience in different scientific backgrounds, select different methods, generate different analyses, employ different conceptual definitions for some of the same terms, and assume a different philosophical stance in attempting to explain violence. Nevertheless, all are united in their efforts to understand the biological underpinnings of violence. This book then assumes a comprehensive approach wherein different levels of analysis and different approaches inform each other. It is clear from the studies reported that aggression and violence are multidetermined phenomena and understanding them requires an interdisciplinary approach spanning economic, sociopolitical, psychological, sociological, and criminological as well as biomedical considerations. Nature (biology) and nurture (experience, context) are fundamentally inseparable in explaining aggression and violence; biology may affect experience or context, but experience or context also influences biology. Both need to be studied in a search for explanations of this phenomena.

This compilation of original essays does more than just illuminate the serious problem of teen violence and victimization; it also provides resources that parents and teachers can use to address issues of violence with their teens and make a difference. While it's widely known that hate crimes represent a serious issue among today's adolescent population, most parents—and perhaps even some educators—may be unaware that gender-based violence is the most prevalent type of hate crime committed by and experienced by teens, and that adolescent girls are exposed to more violence than boys. A complete understanding of the nature of the problem is fundamental to curtailing problems like cyberbullying and sexual harrassment. The Psychology of Teen Violence and Victimization is a two-volume set that fills a gap in the current literature on teen violence by addressing the incidence, psychological explanations, and impact of all forms of teen violence. The author—a psychologist who has focused upon interpersonal problems centered on violence, harassment, and gender—provides in-depth discussion of the various types of violence committed by and against teens. The set offers actionable prevention strategies for parents and teachers as well as individuals involved in community programs. Special attention is given to the impact of violence on adolescents' emotional and physical health, interpersonal relationships, career development, and self-concept.

Journalist Stephen Singular, a New York Times bestselling author, has written books about some of the most high-profile crimes in recent American history: the O.J. Simpson case, the JonBenet Ramsey case, and the saga of the BTK serial killer. Until now, he's probed human violence from the outside, documenting other people's stories. In The Heart of Violence, he turns the lens inward, combining true crime with a personal spiritual journey that examines the roots of violence from a radically different perspective. He explores the long-term effects of the war that shaped his father's life (and helped shape his own), while venturing far beyond the boundaries of conventional journalism. Neither he nor the reader could have imagined where this quest would lead him.