Vince Deagler

hi again.  i want to dig a bit deeper into the shooting in az by asking a difficult question, why are we shocked?  now, don’t misread me.  i feel bad those 6 people died, and many others wounded.  but as i mentioned last week, these kind of tragedies are far too common in our history.  this is sad…but true.  do you ever wonder why?  i do.

if you follow the news, there are many reasons.  i’ve heard rush limbaugh, glenn beck, and sarah palin are to be blamed.  another strong theme is our gun laws are too lax.  and then there is the break down of our mental health system.  i’m sure you have heard of other explanations.

well since we are speculating on how and why this could happen, let me weigh in on the topic.  what do you suppose the cumulative effect would be if we educated several generations of our fellow citizens to believe:

1.  there are no moral absolutes.  truth, right, and wrong are whatever you determine it to be based on whether it works for you.  we must reject the idea of a moral authority like god.   

2.  there is nothing special about man.  man is simply a highly evolved animal.  the only difference between man and a bug or a chicken is the evolutionary process.

3.  man is nothing more than a big accident.  a cosmic coincidence who just happened without any reason or purpose.

4.  human life, when certain conditions are true, has no intrinsic value.  for instance, we have concluded preborns have no value worthy of protection.  and currently we are wrestling with the issue of euthanasia, deciding whose life has value based on the “quality” of that life.

what do you suppose the effect of such an education would be?  i ask because to me this is similar to looking at a map.  when you look at a map, you can tell where a road goes.  we have highway 99 running through modesto, ca.  i can look at a map and tell you exactly where 99 north and south go.  if i got on 99 north it would not surprise me if i ended up in sacramento.  we have chosen a secular morality as a culture and are now surprised by our destination?  perhaps we should have gone in a different direction.

now i am not trying to be simplistic.  i am not calling for a bible “bandaid” and we all live happily ever after solution.  in fact, i don’t mind a discussion on why these kind of things happen that includes the political climate, current gun laws, or the mental health system.  further, i think when these sorts of things occur we ought to do an exhaustive analysis as a culture as to why.  nothing should be off limits.  so why are we afraid to interject the concept of morality into the discussion?

i am a christian.  i believe god is the moral authority of the universe and has disclosed that moral standard to us in scripture.  i do not think murder is wrong because that is the consensus of the group.  i think it is wrong because god says it is wrong.  and the difference between the two concepts is huge.  in nazi germany the holocaust was accepted…it was the consensus opinion.  in many islamic regions it is ok to kill jews, christians, and other non-muslims…its the consensus.  but when you embrace an absolute standard, these things are wrong, no matter what the consensus. 

can i demonstrate a direct line between the removal of moral absolutes, god, and scripture from our society and events like this.  no.  as i mentioned last week.  we are “totally depraved” sinners.  that will not change.  but as we embrace moral authority…god, and his moral absolutes…scripture, we are recognizing we do not have the right to make it up as we go along or do our own thing.  we are affirming we answer to someone above us, the moral authority of the universe.  and that is a needful lesson today, because he teaches man is not an accident.  that man is special, the pinnacle of creation since he bears the very image of god.  and because that is true, life…all life is to be valued and protected.

would that eradicate events like the az shooting?  probably not, because a moral authority and absolute is only as effective as our willingness to submit to it.  think about it now, this tragedy did not happen because we did not have laws against it.  no, we had all kinds of laws that were broken that day.  its just that this criminal thought he was above the law, that it did not apply to him and his circumstance.  that his situation was so egregious that this was an acceptable response.

but i can say this, no one who has surrendered their will to god, and is living out that surrender, is ever gonna do something like this.  i know that because i know where god is trying to take us.  it is his will that we love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  and that we love our neighbor as our self.  if we are following him, surrendered to him, that is where we are headed.

so maybe it is time we look at the map and see where the road we are on is taking us.  and not just as a nation.  we each need to do this as individuals.  maybe it’s time to recognize our social experiment that has taken us away from moral authority and absolutes has gone horribly awry.  maybe it is time we reconnect with god.  that’s what i think.  love to hear your thoughts on the matter.  blessings.  vince.