Because of the tremendous influence that the Judeo-Christian ethic has had on it, Western civilization has generally accepted a different view: that there are evil actions and evil people, and that evil ultimately emanates from human nature. There are a number of implications of this understanding of human nature as well:

• Individuals are responsible for their actions, and a person's behavior is, for the most part, acted out volitionally.
• One can choose negative behavior without being influenced by negative outside forces at all. One can also choose "good" behavior even when exposed to evil social forces.
• Outside forces certainly have an influence on a person's behavior, but in the end, it is the individual who chooses whether to act upon an evil desire.
• One must be taught what is good behavior and what is not, and he must restrain evil behavior.

We may well see more juveniles acting out in ways that shock our sense.

This latter view seems to be most consistent with experience. Clearly, there are many people, young and old, who are exposed to "negative" social influences yet have "good" behavior, primarily as a result of a value system they have been taught. Simple observation of very young children shows that even before they are exposed to negative social forces, they can be selfish, challenge authority, be hurtful and sometimes even be harmful to those around them. It is up to adults to teach children good behavior.

As any parent will testify, bad behavior seems to come as naturally as the good in a young child. It goes without saying that outside forces play an important role in influencing one's behavior, as this paper will argue below. But a person's value system, or "inward" beliefs, primarily determines his or her behavior.

This helps explain why religion is such a powerful force in regulating behavior. Religion's focus on an individual's choosing a new or different moral value system, validates the view that "inward" change results in outward change, in spite of a negative social environment.

Garbarino says that even in the worst social environments, many of the violent juveniles whom he has interviewed have undergone dramatic inward, moral transformations; changes that have trumped both family instability and a socially toxic environment:

Many of the boys and men I know found the starting point for that path back from violence through spiritual exploration. Each replaced the ugliness in his life with spiritual beauty. Each of these individuals began seeking answers to the psychological challenges of traumatic experiences in human development. Their path led to and through the unconscious to the spiritual, and ultimately to the light of spiritual freedom … the success of spiritual exploration in the lives of lost boys is one reason why spiritual literacy should be a part of educational programs for boys at risk.¹

A world without meaning, a world composed only of fact and figures, is a world of despair to which some young people will react destructively - and as we have witnessed, sometimes violently. Until we recognize the essential role that spirituality plays in providing hope and purpose for young people, we may well see more juveniles acting out in ways that shock our senses, but confirm their outlook on life.

—John C. Thomas

Endnotes:
¹Dr. James Garbarino, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, (New York: The Free Press), 1999.

Adapted from "The Root Causes of Juvenile Violence."
Copyright © 1999 Focus on the Family.
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