Today’s Horrors Are Explained in the Bible

This country’s recent spate of seemingly random violent acts has caused many to question their faith. In the wake of the Columbine massacre, the shootings at West Anaheim Medical Center and the mass murder at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, many people have sent up a collective cry to God: “Why?”

While some of today’s most prominent religious leaders have appeared on national television to explain events that are inexplicably horrific, few have used solid scriptural references to back up their answers.

During an appearance on “Today,” one well-known Christian leader, making vague references to the book of Job, said, “We can’t question God’s plan, and we just have to take everything that happens by faith.” When pressed to explain why God would allow such tragedies, sadly, he had no answer.

As a Christian who takes her faith and her relationship with God very seriously, I find it disheartening when our Christian leaders fail to have answers for those who are hurting, lost and seeking the truth. With Jesus as our role model, we as believers need not shy away from hard questions. God is not silent on these topics, and many answers are as close as the nearest Bible.

Scripture is clear about the origin of evil in this world. It is also specific about God’s role in determining people’s lives and destinies. The Bible identifies the source of all evil as Satan and his host of demonic spirits, whose sole purpose, according to John 10:10, is to “steal, kill and destroy.” Although many within and outside of religious circles would like to deny the existence of evil spirits, scripture begs to differ.

On the other hand, God’s purpose and plan for every human being, according to the same verse in John, Chapter 10, is that through Jesus Christ mankind might “have life and have it more abundantly.” Ah, you might say, but why does a God who offers life abundantly allow the devil to steal, kill and destroy people’s lives?

That word “allow” is very interesting. To allow something to happen, one must have some level of control over the circumstances in question. The question then seems to be, if God is all-powerful, couldn’t he just reach down from heaven and stop bad things from happening?

The answer to this is found in the very first book of the Bible (which makes you wonder why so many tongue-tied Christian leaders seem unable to find it!). Genesis 1:26 explains that God gave dominion or rule over the Earth to mankind. That basically means that human beings have free will and are in charge of the choices they make for their own lives.

In Genesis 3 we read the infamous story of the fall of man involving Adam, Eve and the serpent (or devil). What spiritually took place during that event is that man, through disobedience to God, relinquished his dominion over the earth to Satan. Why didn’t God intervene? The answer is simple: Although God is all-powerful, there are things the Bible says he cannot do, such as change or lie. Once he gave dominion to man, it was in man’s power to do with it as he pleased, and man freely relinquished it.

The good news is that dominion over earthly affairs is once again available to mankind, through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible states that by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus defeated Satan and his evil hosts, offering mankind salvation and victory in this world, not just the great by and by. But like those marauding militiamen who went on a killing spree in East Timor, Satan is not an enemy who plays by the rules. The Bible says he will continue to “roam about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour,” (I Peter 5:8). Whether he operates through misguided teenagers who murder their classmates or an angry loner compelled to attack a church youth service, the devil is alive and well and behind much of the evil we see in the world today.

So what is the Christian response to a world in chaos? Are we to fear the violence, hide behind our Bibles and pray for Jesus to come quickly?

No. As believers, we are God’s foot soldiers, called to spread God’s message of love, mercy and forgiveness, but also through “effectual fervent prayer” (James 5:16) to enforce the victory of God’s Kingdom over the enemy’s evil schemes.

God neither allows nor condones tragedy, sickness and poverty to afflict humanity. These things simply exist in an imperfect world. God, instead, has a heart that is breaking for a world that has collectively turned its back on his teachings and commandments, a world that insists on living any way it chooses, embraces sin, condemns school prayer, advocates freedom of any religion but Bible-believing Christianity, and then points an angry finger at God when things go horribly wrong.

It is time for this country to heed the wake-up call and respond to the directive in II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”

I believe America is still one nation under God. Let us prove our faith, so that we can once again, from our hearts say, “In God we trust.”

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On Faith is a forum for Orange County clergy and others to offer their views on religious topics of general interest. Submissions, which will be published at the discretion of The Times and are subject to editing, should be delivered to Orange County religion page editor Jack Robinson.