Protesters and Democrat leaders like US Representative Maxine Waters claim that destruction of property as witnessed in the recent ICE riots is not violence.
In recent years, particularly during the widespread riots of 2020 and beyond, the American Left—represented chiefly by Democrat leaders, activists, and their media allies—has promoted the troubling idea that property destruction is not violence. When businesses were burned, public monuments defaced, police stations torched, and entire neighborhoods looted, these actions were frequently justified as understandable or even noble responses to “systemic injustice.” Prominent news outlets infamously described these events as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests,” downplaying the physical, economic, and emotional harm inflicted on communities, often minority-owned, that had nothing to do with the alleged injustices.
Yet, in stunning inconsistency, many of the same voices declaring that smashing windows and looting stores isn’t violence have turned around and claimed that speech—particularly speech that challenges progressive narratives on race, gender, or sexuality—is violence. In this inverted logic, to express disagreement with transgender ideology, to support traditional marriage, or to critique affirmative action is to “harm” marginalized groups. Thus, words become weapons, and debate becomes oppression.
This isn’t a quirk of rhetoric. It’s a deliberate redefinition of moral categories that reveals a deeper ideological rot—a rejection of objective truth and the God-given distinctions between right and wrong, harm and healing, speech and assault.
The Ideological Roots of the Redefinition
The philosophical root of this redefinition lies in the adoption of postmodernism and critical theory—particularly the strain of Neo-Marxism that views society not in terms of moral law and individual responsibility, but in terms of power dynamics. In this worldview, truth is not objective; it is created and imposed by the dominant class. Therefore, any structure—language, religion, property, law—that maintains the status quo is seen as inherently oppressive.
Under this framework, traditional speech that upholds biblical morality, property rights, or law and order is not neutral or informative—it is violence. Because power is viewed as systemic and invisible, the enforcement of borders, the preaching of biblical truth, or the prosecution of crime are seen as forms of domination.
This line of thinking is deeply influenced by thinkers like Michel Foucault, who argued that power is exercised through knowledge and language, and Herbert Marcuse, who famously endorsed “liberating tolerance”—the idea that tolerance should only be extended to left-wing ideas, while right-wing speech should be suppressed in the name of social liberation. These thinkers have permeated progressive institutions, especially in academia, and their logic has trickled into the broader culture.
The result is a society where vandalizing property during a protest is framed as a moral cry for justice, while misgendering someone—even accidentally—is labeled as hate-fueled “violence.” This perverse moral equation flips good and evil, truth and falsehood, and it does so by obscuring the biblical concept of sin.
The Christian Perspective: Violence, Truth, and the Human Heart
From a biblical standpoint, violence is not merely the act of bodily harm. The Bible clearly identifies destruction of property as a sin against one’s neighbor. In Exodus 22, laws are given about restitution for stolen or damaged property. Property was regarded as an extension of a person’s labor and stewardship. To destroy it unjustly was to sin against the image-bearer of God who owned it. Jesus Himself acknowledged distinctions in wrongdoing, yet all forms of theft and destruction were treated as violations of God’s moral law.
Furthermore, God does not confuse speech and violence. Christ, the apostles, and the prophets routinely spoke offensive truth to power—yet none committed violence. Jesus, in His public ministry, openly denounced hypocrisy, warned of hell, called sinners to repentance, and offended every corrupt authority He encountered. The apostle Paul reasoned in the synagogues and marketplaces, challenging worldviews and idols, never once raising a fist. Yet these men were called violent, dangerous, and even criminal—not because of what they did, but because of what they said.
To say that words are violence is to erase the very concept of peaceful dissent. It is to give license to censor any inconvenient truth under the guise of protecting people from “harm.” But Scripture teaches that the truth is what sets men free (John 8:32), not safe spaces, censorship, or the suppression of biblical morality.
The real problem is not what people say or even what they burn. The problem lies in the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9 declares, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This is not merely a poetic flourish—it is a diagnosis of our moral condition. When men and women reject the law of God, they must justify their rebellion. And so they rename evil as good and good as evil, darkness as light and light as darkness (Isaiah 5:20).
What we are seeing is not just political strategy—it is the evidence of spiritual depravity. The left justifies destruction of property because it no longer sees individuals as responsible moral agents made in the image of God. Instead, people are cast as products of group identity, and justice is redefined as the redistribution of pain. Riots become “speech,” while speech that calls for righteousness becomes “violence.”
Jesus explained that from the heart come “evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19). The root of the problem is not inequality, whiteness, capitalism, or “cis-heteronormativity”—the root problem is sin. And this sin is not corrected by slogans or riots, but by repentance and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion: Truth Must Be Restored
The Christian worldview holds that words matter and actions matter, but they are not the same thing. To blur these distinctions is to destroy not just moral reasoning but human liberty. When violence is excused and truth is silenced, society is plunged into confusion and tyranny.
God’s people must expose this deceit and reassert the clarity of His Word. Proverbs 24:24-25 warns, “Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.” This is not a time for retreat. It is a time to speak the truth in love—and to expose the lies that masquerade as compassion.
If we do not hold the line, the redefining of violence will only accelerate. The result will not be justice. It will be license for the wicked to destroy, and justification for tyrants to silence the just. But we are not without hope. As long as the Word of God stands, and the gospel is preached, there remains light in the darkness.
Regarding US Representative Maxine Waters and ICE protesters, I suspect if their property was damaged by rioters, they would sing a different tune.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
rob@christiannewsjunkie.com
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Nate Friedman is a young investigative reporter in the NYC area. His content is very good. The remarks of one of the protesters he interviewed inspired me to write this blog post.
Maxine Waters made similar remarks justifying the destruction of property in Los Angeles. She said that there was no violence and that Trump had no basis for activating the National Guard, despite protesters hurling bricks at stationary and moving police vehicles, as well as destroying buildings and stealing massive amounts of property.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage everyone to evaluate the content carefully.
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Realize that I sometimes use phrases like “trans man”, “trans woman”, “transgender” or similar language for ease of communication. Obviously, as a conservative Christian, I don’t believe anyone has ever become the opposite sex.
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