You can't exactly "refresh" the content I don't think, I've never heard of that. (however, I'm not an expert) However, I have heard of switching out the content with javascript, try something link this:
here's your button & div with content:
Some Stuff!
Here's the js underlying, you've got a function which is used above in the link.
function divrefresh() {
document.getElementById('content').innerHTML = "Some new stuff!"
}
ETA: Oops, I see the rest of your post now. I'm not sure why that would freeze the browser. Try jQuery, it's really easy to use, that's why everyone loves it. If you've found a jQuery solution, I wouldn't hesitate to try it out! Post it and I can help you.
If you REALLY don't want to use jQuery or Ajax, then I think the only other solution is to put the lines in their own HTML document, have an iframe, and refresh the iframe.