Biblical Answers for Contemporary Tragedies

Friday’s Grace to You, broadcast dealt specifically with the tragedy at Virginia Tech. You may download the broadcast of John MacArthur’s message here (free MP3).

In addition, the April edition of Table Talk, by Ligonier Ministries, dealt specifically with grief. Here is a quote from their promotional email along with the respective articles:

As we mourn with the students and families directly impacted by the tragic killings at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute on April 16, 2007, we who are believers in the one, true God turn to His promises for comfort (Psalm 119:50).

With the hope that we might assist those struggling with the questions and feelings raised by this horrific event, Ligonier Ministries humbly offers for your reading the feature articles and columns from the April 2007 issue of Tabletalk magazine, which, in God’s providence, discusses the subject of grief.

April 2007 Tabletalk Articles:

• Sin, Death, and Grief by Burk Parsons
• A Grief Observed by R.C. Sproul
• From Grief to Glory by Jim Coffield
• Mourn with Those Who Mourn by Archie Parrish
• Good Grief? by Anthony Carter
• True Shepherding by Joel R. Beeke
• Hope by R.C. Sproul Jr.
• A Tale of Two Funerals by Gene Edward Veith

Morbid Irony

The events of this week have stenciled an ironic caricature of American culture. I am thinking in particular of the stories that have garnered the most attention nationally. On the one hand we have the unrestrained violent brutality displayed by Cho Seung-Hui in the Virginia Tech massacre and then on the other hand we have a ruling by the Supreme Court upholding the previous decision to ban all partial birth abortions.

As you would expect the 2008 presidential candidates have had plenty to say about both stories. What I find morbidly ironic is the contradictory statements concerning violence.

Consider what Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said:

“Violence has once again taken too many young people from this world….They were daughters. They were sons.”

Obama was not referring to the violence of partial birth abortion, whereby the doctor pierces the skull and vacuums out the brains of a developing human at the end of its gestational period. Instead he was referring to the violence committed on the Blacksburg, VA campus.

Concerning the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ban on such violence Obama said:

“I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling”

Similarly, Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton said concerning the Virginia shootings:

“My prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the students, faculty, and community devastated by these gruesome killings.”

And concerning the decision to uphold the partial-birth abortion ban, Hillary says:

“It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.”

Constitutional rights?! Gruesome killings!? Does anyone else see this repulsive contradiction? How can you abhor violence on the one hand (VA Tech) and then on the other (partial birth abortion ban) be so staunchly opposed to any measure of reducing similar violence? Some may rightly argue that what is done in the partial-birth abortion procedure that Clinton and Obama support is far more violently barbaric than what occurred on the campus of Virginia Tech.

This cultural caricature is troubling indeed. I praise God for the Supreme Court’s decision. At the same time I understand that things are not going to swiftly transition into a spiritual utopia. Therefore, in the meantime, I long for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the very giver and sustainer of life. I long for him to return, punish evil, reign in righteousness, and receive his glory. I do this being ever aware that I am a murderer myself. I am an evil sinner myself. I am a person who if I were alive at the time of Christ would have gone horse in my yelling: “Crucify Him!”

So, cognizant of my own heart I am cognizant of grace and mercy and desirous of God to likewise pour out grace upon others, that he might be glorified.

Virginia Tech Shootings: what people are asking and what Christians should say

We have read the horrific accounts from witness and school officials at Virginia Tech explaining in some detail of the morbid brutality that erupted on the Blacksburg, VA campus yesterday. We have now further learned that the assassin was a 23 year-old senior named Cho Seung-Hui.

The prevailing question that arises in all of this is: Why? Why did this happen? Why did Cho Seung-Hui do this?

As the reporting of the facts gives way to an attempt to understand, categorize and otherwise deal with what has happened, many suggestions have been offered. I have read that it was an argument with his eighteen-year-old girlfriend, Emily Jane Hilscher that was the cause of this. Emily was the first victim of his brutal rage. Others have blamed the prevalence of violence in culture, whether it be movies, music or video games. Still others have weighed in and placed blame upon his environment. Others blamed his upbringing. I have also read of folks blaming everyone from the NRA to Charlton Heston. And for each suggestion there are thousands of question marks.

So what is the answer? Can anyone give a reasonable answer as to why something like this happens?

Surely the humanism that prevails our culture is not equipped to answer such grim displays of evil through the actions of people as Seung-Hui. The psychologist, likewise, may attack outside influences in trying to nail down precisely what was troubling him, however, the answer as to “why” remains elusive. Many post-modern university professors may have a hard time even deciding whether or not this was evil or not. Regardless of who is asked we seem to get a similar response, something was wrong with him. For most assuredly, something has to be wrong in order to make someone do such unspeakable things.

This is a perfect time for the thinking Christian to raise his hand and offer clarity. Instead of trying to excuse God from any knowledge or involvement in such things, we would do well to speak with clarity as to the root that has produced such a vivid and painful disaster.

As Christians we understand the presence of evil is not limited to those things that merely unsettle us, but rather everything that undermines the will of God. Evil is not limited to the squeeze of a bullet or the rage of a murderous attack but in every act of self-exaltation that comes at the expense of the God’s preeminence. The essence of evil is seen through its relentless attack upon the goodness of God. From our vantage point there are levels of evil, however, from the holy eyes of omniscience there are not levels of evil, only God-attacking-evil.

This is why the Christian understands murder not just in terms of squeezing the trigger but also the mental homicide of hate. It is why Jesus threatened hell fire to those who would exalt themselves above others and speak with hatred towards them (cf. 1 Jn. 3.15; Matt. 5.21-22).

We understand this world to be plagued by the persistence and pervasiveness of the effects of sin. By the mercy of God the effects of such sin is restrained from being as devastating as it potentially could be, however, on days like today, its effects are no doubt horrifically gripping.

Additionally, it is a good time for the Christian to compassionately speak out against evil and to promote the God who alone has triumphed over it, will not turn a blind eye to it, and will one day completely eradicate the earth from it. We understand that history is moving in a linear direction, towards its pinnacle point, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to rule and reign with all evil firmly suppressed under his sovereign foot. There is a day coming when he will reign in righteousness and all who do not submit to him will be crushed.

In the meantime we have a message do we not? Our message is one of good defeating evil. It is a message of redemption. It is a message of victory. However, this message is not for those who believe that they are without evil but for those who see themselves as evil. Pride is the mother of evil; she has birthed every atrocity known to mankind. It was pride that flooded the heart of Adam in the garden, it was pride that requested a murderer to be released instead of the sinless Son of God, and it was pride in the heart of Cho Seung-Hui that put himself first and took the lives of thirty-three other people. Pride is indeed evil, for we are all pridefully evil people.

Further, it is pride that keeps people from even now submitting to the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ over them. It is an evil pride that rejects his Lordship in view of self-sovereignty. If you, even now, do not see yourself as evil, there is a good chance that you do not see God as good. And therefore, it would be impossible to love him through the sin-bearing Savior Jesus Christ. If this is you, I urge you to come and join the millions of evil men and woman like me who have found mercy, grace, love and forgiveness through our good and faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian please speak-up with biblical clarity to your hurting neighbors, friends, and family. For we are a people who pray for opportunities to speak of our God. God in his providence has given us such an opportunity today.