Assuming
you read my posting of Monday; let me now address what is missing in our
national dialogue,
and is the only true hope for lessening the violence across America. [If you
didn’t read the October 5th posting, please do so before proceeding.]
The
only hope for this nation is the reinstituting of moral and ethical
Judeo-Christian teaching in the public arena.
More gun laws will not (has not) resulted in less gun related murders.
Shortly
after the April 1999 Columbine shooting, Darrell Scott, the grieving father of
student victim Rachel Scott, was invited to address the House Judiciary
Committee’s sub-committee back in June 1999.
What he said to our national leaders during this special session
of Congress was painfully truthful. They
were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. The following is a portion of the transcript:
“Since
the dawn of creation there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and
women. We all contain the seeds of
kindness or the seeds of violence … The first recorded act of violence was when
Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field.
The villain was not the club he used … The true killer was Cain, and the
reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart … Men and women are
three-part beings. We all consist of
body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse
to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil,
prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual influences were present within our
educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as
theological seminaries. This is a
historical fact. What has happened to us
as a nation? We have refused to honor
God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s
tragedy occurs, politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the
NRA. They immediately seek to pass more
restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private
liberties. We do not need more
restrictive laws … The real villain lies within our own hearts …”
Darrell Scott is correct – The real solution to humanity’s
sinful nature of rebellious evil against the moral codes of the Creator is to
invite the living presence of God’s Spirit into our hearts, and live according
to righteousness as manifested by God through the incarnate Christ Jesus. The absence of moral absolutes in our society
has contributed to our nation’s moral decay and decadence. More gun control will not (and has not)
changed the hearts and minds of our fallen humanity. Only the indwelling Spirit of God can “lead
us not into temptation and deliver us from evil” … as we so often pray in
the prayer the Lord Jesus taught us (Matthew 6:13).
What a shame that the political left only see more restrictive
laws and even confiscating weapons as the only resolution to the problem of gun
violence in America. If they were only
more tolerant and less closed-minded, then they would consider the
Judeo-Christian moral and ethical solution.
Meanwhile, we’ll go on thinking that mass murderers have mental
and emotion problems, and completely ignore their spiritual void due to a society
that denies moral absolutes.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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