Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

May 6, 2007

 

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

 

Introduction: (April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 students and faculty. Cho was a South Korean senior, 23 years of age, who killed himself after the rampage. United States campuses have suffered 19 fatal school shootings in the past decade. On Tuesday after the massacre at VA Tech, ten High School and College Campuses had to close due to copycat threats.)

 

My purpose is not to repeat the news of the event that occurred three weeks ago, but to touch on some of the important human, spiritual and biblical issues raised by the shooting. I appreciate the special Wednesday night prayer service that we had after the shooting. It was fitting that we pray for the families who suffered loses. In-between songs our men voluntarily came forward and offered prayers. The things that were said were sincerely offered; we all were trying to make sense of what had happened. What better thing could we have done than to draw near to God in worship? When King David’s child died, he arose, washed his face and went into the temple to worship God.

 

One innocent person murdered should raise the same questions, but mass murder brings issues more quickly to the forefront. Thirty-two students and faculty at Blacksburg, five innocent Amish school girls were executed by a milkman, about 3000 killed by vicious attacks by Islamic extremists on 9/11/01, and ironically 128 Americans were ruthlessly attacked by Mormon fanatics on the western frontier, September 11, 1857. A movie depicting this last episode, September Dawn, is scheduled for released next month. All of these tragedies cause us to ask certain questions about man, faith, and God’s involvement (or lack thereof) in our world. The “why questions” are inevitable. Before addressing “the greatest why question,” I would like to present some other matters that I believe help lay the foundation for considering such a tragedy.

 

The Violence of Man against Man. One of the great tragedies of our existence is the readiness of man to harm his fellow man. How easily we hate and despise one another. Love is the greatest challenge of human existence. In the first family, one brother murdered another. Ever since the days of Cain and Abel, we have been dismayed at such acts of senseless violence. The story of the Bible can be told from the standpoint of violence. Someone said that Jesus’ death, an innocent substitutionary death, demanded an end to all violence. It was God’s way of saying, Enough. Jesus died for our redemption; now that God has so loved us, we ought to love one another. But, alas, even his innocent death has not dissuaded us from other acts of violence. If man can kill the Son of God, he can kill anyone. Wars never cease; men continue to find excuses to harm one another.

 

In 2005 in the United States, out of a population of almost 300 million, there were 16,692 murders, 93,934 rapes, 417,122 robberies, and 862,947 assaults. In Virginia, there were 461 murders, 1721 rapes, 7,730 robberies, and 11,711 assaults. Obviously, we live in a violent world. God has not intervened to stop these acts of violence, even against innocent children.

 

The Loss of Will to Punish Evil Doers. As violence has increased, there has been a corresponding loss of will to punish evil doers. Our society is permissive even in the face of such astonishing crimes against innocent people. You will more likely be punished and fined for harm against animals than against human beings. Evolutionists have argued that man is not responsible because the evolutionary process is not finished. Clarence Darrow, an unbeliever, advocated the release of all prisoners. Most countries around the world have abolished the death penalty for any crime.

 

Loud voices demand the release of terrorists brought to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Even terrorists should not be punished, according to many socialists. They have civil rights, they argue. Nothing is said about the rights of those killed.  Crime will continue to increase as the demand for lighter punishment increases. The common argument for not punishing law breakers is that it does not deter crime. I find it interesting that as we have removed physical discipline in schools more students are bringing guns to school. When we had strict discipline in schools and colleges, no one ever heard of such foolish things happening. Discipline and punishment do deter crime, at least for the one being punished.

May I suggest that maybe one of the reasons that we do not want to punish evil is likely because we do not want to be punished for our evil deeds. The philosophy of our modern enlightened society is to “live and let live.”

 

Individual Rights vs. Group Rights. It has not gone unnoticed that most of these shootings have occurred in American High Schools and Universities. One occurred in Canada in 1999. What is there about our society that has produced this phenomenon? This is something for social scientists and researchers to work on, but it also has religious overtones.

 

One of the principles of the West and American society is strong individual rights, even over the group’s rights. But in eastern and biblical communities, the rights of the group took precedent over the individual. Even our court system will honor the rights of the individual over the destruction of the larger society. Religiously, there are groups who constantly talk about Jesus being their “personal Savior.” The Bible does not use such language; it speaks of Jesus being the Savior of the Body (Eph. 5:23) and the Savior of the world (John 4:42). Paul used the analogy of the human body with many members. (Rom. 12 & 1 Cor. 12.) You are the body of Christ and members in particular. (1 Cor. 12:27.) The Body as a group is more important than any one member and Christ is the Head of the Body. He is more important than all.

 

In the home and society, the larger group is more important than the individual. One member of the family and society finds its importance because the family and society are so important. If the group is deemed not important, then the individual loses his importance also. Our churches, homes and the larger society are having problems because the individual is being exalted over the interests of the group. An individual’s rights end where the group’s rights begin. This will be a hard lesson for American society to accept. When we destroy the group’s interests and rights, the individual rights vanish as well.

 

Tragedies Easily Forgotten. One of the things that disturbs me about tragedies is how quickly we move on and do not correct the problems which led to the disaster. Yes, our Governor of Virginia, Mr. Kaine, made an executive order to close the loophole in an existing gun law so that no one like Mr. Chou can buy weapons. This is like putting a band aide over a broken arm or over a cancerous wound. It does not address the larger problem.

As a nation we have almost forgotten about 9/11 already. Why do defense lawyers delay trials until years after the incident? By the time the trial is held, people have nearly forgotten about the crime. I read about a community that was built at the foot of a large mountain; the mountain was an active volcano. It finally erupted and destroyed the homes and lives of many below. After the ash settled, guess what the living residents did? They rebuilt on the same land at the foot of the volcano. Humans forget tragedies easily and console themselves that it will not happen again. After the VA Tech tragedy, I read that the safest campus the next Monday would be at Blacksburg. What does that mean? It is simply an excuse to keep from working on the causes of the problem. With humans, tragedies are easily forgotten. This may be one of our ways of coping, but it is not a wise course of action.

 

Human Behavior: Why we do what we do?  Human behavior is very complex. There is no single answer that can be given for why we do what we do. There are often many reasons and causes. Here are some of them.

1)      Sin that dwells in us. Paul said, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not; the evil that which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Rom. 7:18-20.) Paul said that it was not just a matter of human will—the will to do what is right. Paul claimed that it was his will and desire to do right, but he often failed. It was not a lack of will on his part, but sin that dwelt in him.

2)    Another cause for evil is evil companions. To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “Evil companions corrupt good morals.” (15:33.) Solomon said that we should not make friends with an angry man, lest we learn his ways. (Prov. 22:24.)

3)    We do the things we do because of our own desires. James said that God does not tempt us to do evil, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed. (1:13-14.) James did not blame it on Satan; he said that God does not tempt us to do evil. We are drawn away by our own lusts.

4)    We do what we do because of what we have been taught at home and in our society. What has been planted and accepted into our thinking affects our actions directly. Why do Muslims strap bombs on their bodies and blow themselves and other up? Because of the constant barrage of false information that they hear from their teachers in the Mosques. They have been told that they will go directly to Paradise and enjoy endless sensuous pleasures if they die for their cause.

5)    The power of the conscience to bring the body into check. Paul wrote, “I buffet my body and bring into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor. 9:27.) Our bodies in the flesh often desire wrong things, but there is another voice advising against it. In the hearts of all men, there is a line drawn between good and evil. We must decide which voice we will hear.

6)    Jesus answered the question of why we kill others. He reminded them that they had heard of old time, Thou shalt not kill. But he said, I say unto you, Whosoever is angry with his brother. . . .  (Matt. 5:21-22.) Anger causes murder, as lusts cause fornication and adultery.

7)    The Fall of man explains the terrible state that we find ourselves in presently. We have been driven away from God’s presence. This also helps us explain why God does not intervene. Death is part of the penalty of separation from God. Both sin and death are solved in the redemption provided in Jesus Christ.

 

Why Doesn’t God Intervene? As far back as Job and David, this question has been asked. Why didn’t God intervene to save Job and stop Satan’s attack? In the end, God did intervene for Job and restored his loses. We can that God will intervene and give us more than we have lost. David often lamented that God was far away and had forsaken him. Jesus repeated those words of Psalm 22 while on the cross. But had God forsaken Jesus? No, God redeemed man by Jesus’ sacrifice and raised him the third day.

 

If God intervened every time man chose to do something evil against others, then the free will of man would be meaningless. To us death is the ultimate evil and end of life, but not to God. He has power over death; it is the last enemy that Jesus will destroy. (1 Cor. 15:26.)