God and the VA Tech Shootings
Today, all eyes are on the campus of Virginia Tech where, I’m sure you’ve heard by now, over 30 people were gunned down this morning when a shooter attacked the campus. As of yet, the gunman has not been identified, nor has it been released whether he was a member of the student body. One thing is certain: this is the deadliest shooting in the history of the United States. As I’m writing right now, 33 are confirmed dead, including the shooter. It has not been released if police killed the shooter or if it was suicide.
EDIT, 4/17:Since writing this yesterday, the gunman has been identified as Cho Seung-Hui, a senior VA Tech English student, and it has also been determined that he shot himself. The number dead stands at 33, with the students still in the hospital as stable.
At times like these, most people, myself include are just dumbfounded. I look to the sky. Why, God? Why? Death is never an easy part of life, but on top of death, shear tragedy.
And yet, it is difficult to not want to bring the shooter back to life, just to shoot him again. Most people will agree with me when I think, I hope he suffered. That, dear readers, scares me. My own feelings about this situation make me question my very ability to write a daily blog about religion. For in the Bible, it says,
“If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”
1 John 1:8-9
To condemn the shooter, as heinous as the crime may be, is to put ourselves above as somehow “better.” It is to deny the sins within ourselves. I’m not justifying what the shooter did. This was a horrible, horrible thing, and he is a cold-blooded murderer. However, right now, I’m pledging to open my heart to forgiveness.
Remember, forgiveness is not the same as saying “it’s ok.” It’s NOT ok. It will never BE ok. Forgiveness is simple saying “I acknowledge what you did, but it is not in my place to judge you.” God will judge this event; I feel confident in that. The deaths of the innocent will not go forgotten, here or in an eternal life. However, it is important that we don’t let the grief and hate consume us. It is important to realize that the loss of ALL the lives today was a complete tragedy, but we are still living, and we can work towards creating something positive out of this.
My first reaction is to tell you to donate to any one of the numerous funds that I’m sure has been set up/is being set up in the names of the victims. Give what you can in their honor to make Virginia Tech safer and to help close friends and family members with funeral expenses and with getting the help they will surely need with the grieving process. On second thought, I’d like to recommend something else as well–donate or volunteer within your own community. What happened today at Virginia Tech could happen at your alma mater or at the college where your child attends or even at your local high school. Violence is a problem that is not going away. By giving what you can when you can, you will help to make our communities a safer place.
God bless all of the deceased, God bless all those left behind.
forgiveness, God, heaven, death, Virginia Tech, school shootings, VA Tech, Virginia Tech shooting, VA Tech shooting, education, violence
April 16th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
very well put…its hard to forgive such senseless actions though.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:46 am
i was actually on the outside of the building when the shots started. survivors said that the shooter never said a word and had no facial expressions whatsoever.
that doesn’t even sound like rage to me.. sounds like evil.
your article is great.. everyone around here appreciates all the positive people around the world. It’s still kind of a dream around here though. I don’t think reality has set in yet and might not for a while.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Sometimes in great grief we tend to want God to act the way we would - “God will judge this event”, but in fact God does not judge any event or person for anything. We talk about unconditional LOVE, but don’t really understand what it is until we are put to the test to forgive (as you say) but also LOVE the people who have done these things. As you say we don’t codone what has happened but if we treated all people with LOVE and help when they need it (even before they need it) these things would not happen in the first place. We are all one - there is no separation and what we do to another we do to ourselves.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:01 am
My heart goes out to everyone who lost a loved one in this tragedy. This includes the shooter. His family also lost a child and now, forever, will be asking themselves what they did wrong, what they could have done differently. It’s hard to see it from the side of the family of the accused. But I believe it’s what we have to do in order to prevent further tragedies like this. See this thing from the perspective of the shooter (as much as possible) and ask ourselves what we can do for our own children to make sure they never find themselves in such a position or that, if they do, they take positive action, rather than resorting to violence.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I agree, Gayle. It’s difficult to do, but the more we open our hearts, the more our hearts will be healed.
April 18th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I just hope that the families of the deceased have the courage to cope.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
This is a must. We must forgive and watch the healing begin right before our eyes.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Your blog was uplifting, but this incident had nothing to do with god or the devil. This child was absolutely sick. Just as cancer has nothing to do with the devil or evil, neither do illnesses orginating in the brain.
I agree with you, blaming this guy is not the solution. Mainly because blaming him is cruel. Just as cruel as blaming a child with a seizure disorder for having convulsions(which people used to do-and blame on the devil). People are very vulnerable. We are a delicate species. This young man cried out for help many times, and apparently no one understood his cries enough, or knew what to do with them in time enough, to help him and all of the innocent people he took with him. Such a sad situation.