Police have identified the man responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting, but many have fixed their blame on someone else.......God.
The Virginia Tech shooting this week has left our nation stunned. It is not only the worst campus shooting in US history, but also the worst single act of civilian gun violence in the nation's history. The bodies have not even been buried, but already people are pointing fingers of blame in many directions.
It's the fault of the Virginia Tech officials and/or the police for not alerting the campus after the first shooting incident. Or....it's the fault of President Bush for perpetuating a "culture of violence." Or...it's the fault of gun manufacturers. Or...it's the fault of....violent video games. Or....and on and on and on it goes. The finger-pointing will continue for some time, but the leading culprit in the minds of millions will be God. How could God allow this to happen?
“Having traveled to disaster and war areas around the world, I am often asked why God would allow such acts of destruction or violence upon innocent people,” said Franklin Graham, now the head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. ." While I can't know the whole mind of God I do know two things. First, God created us. Second, God loves us and desires that all would come to Him.”
These are empty words for many people. If God is sovereign (meaning in complete control) and is all-powerful, then He either orchestrated this tragedy - or He (or She or It) allowed it to happen. If God is all-loving, then how could He cause or condone such a senseless act of violence?
This is, of course, a question that comes up at every tragedy. The fact that churches and Christian organizations (and, I'm sure, religious groups from other faiths as well) are tripping over themselves to offer aid and comfort to the students and families at Virginia Tech will do little to stop this question from being asked. Jerry Falwell, for example, who pastors a church and heads a Christian university not far from Virginia Tech, has offered pastors, counselors, and other resources to the Blacksburg, Virginia community - but couldn't Falwell's God have prevented this in the first place?
This short blog post won't satisfy all those asking these questions, but I would politely offer these three comments:
1) The Bible does not present an image of a God who will prevent all violence, heal all sickness, alleviate all pain, and deliver from all evil - in this life. Consider the pain, suffering, and anguish that took place throughout the Bible - including in the lives of the very people who were sold out to God! Consider the birth of Jesus. What a wonderful "nativity" story, but did God prevent Herod's soldiers from slaughtering the innocent children in Bethlehem - toddlers and babies that were killed on Jesus' account? What about the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11? These, according to the author of Hebrews, were tortured and killed - some even sawed in half!! - for their faith. The biblical image of God and His provision for the human race is CONSISTENT with what we see today. Thus, violence, suffering, disease, and tragedy does not disprove the biblical God.
2) Think the above point is a little "uninspiring"? Well, according to James, our present life in this earth is but a "vapor." Our reward is NOT here on this planet. That's why the psalmists tell us not to "fret" over "evildoers" who seem to prosper here on this earth, while the good suffer. Our reward is not in this life or on this earth (though we may and can experience some measure of good fortune and/or divine blessing), but rather our final reward is in the NEXT life. Our focus then should not be HERE and NOW, but rather LATER. Jesus warned that we are not to "lay up treasures here on this earth," but rather "lay up treasures in heaven." This doesn't just mean monetary treasures. It refers to all that you hold dear and that you cherish. Your focus should be preparing for the next life, not enjoying this one. And you must realize that you won't get all the answers you wish in this life. Some will remain UNanswered until the next.
3) If you write a letter to George W. Bush and he doesn't respond, does this mean that George W. Bush doesn't exist? (I realize there are a few here who wish he didn't, but be that as it may). Does your inability to communicate with President Bush mean that President Bush is unreal? Does your inability to get an answer from God (or answers from God) mean that God is unreal or that God is a "fairy tale"? If God doesn't make sense to you, does that make God unreal? If Bush doesn't make sense to you (and, judging by the comments here - that's the case with a lot of you), does this mean Bush is no longer real?
I can't explain why all this happened at Virginia Tech. Nor should I feel pressured to do so anymore than any other Christian - or Jew or Muslim or Buddhist or what have you. We are ALL still trying to digest and figure out this tragedy, and none more so than those who were there. But I am not going to take the easy way out - and just blame God. I think we all need to take some time to deal with the grief and the pain, to empathize and to pray. And then to learn whatever lessons we can, as we learn more about what happened. And...one more thing...
Let's take the wisdom and eloquence of Abraham Lincoln's finale to his Second Inaugural Address and apply it to this week's tragedy. Let its wisdom and profundity be our guide.
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
