Change is inevitable. It is something that must be lived with, for if the biblical understanding of reality is correct, change cannot be prevented. Revolution is not a new thing. Every ruling class in history that has insisted that its rule was destined to last forever has been shown to be wrong. The rule of an elite is never permitted to last very long. Every oppressor and tyrant will be overthrown. The Bible calls this the judgment of God. Reality is not static; therefore, we cannot preserve what is.
Since a static society is impossible, the conservative attempt to maintain the status quo is both naive and dangerous. The most dangerous approach of all to revolution is to try to stifle it. How is it possible to mummify an old society that is pregnant with the new? If reality is not static, then we can see that violence is the result of the frustration of change. Change is inevitable; the question is whether that change will come violently or nonviolently. But that question can be answered only by those in control. Change will come, and if it cannot come nonviolently, then it will come violently. The amount of violence involved in this process depends on the determination of the oppressors to hold on to their privileged position in the world. Basically, violence comes not from those seeking change, but from those preventing change.
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