Virginia Massacre - Gunman To Blame

Two days ago a gunman went to kill — an as yet unnamed — female student "execution style" and ended up murdering over 30 people, most of them young people preparing for their adult lives. Immediately afterwards the pundits and talking heads began asking "why", trying to "make sense of the madness". Soon the cacophony of conjecture split into two — consistently predictable — factions, one that blames gun laws, video games, popular culture and inept response of the school and law enforcement and the other that places the blame on the gunman's parents. Surprisingly few place blame on the gunman.

In the coming weeks a portrait of Cho Seung-Hui will come into view, but the opinions concerning why and how he did it will come much faster. Was he insane, was he simply evil, or was he twisted into this unspeakable act by video games, porn or easy-access guns? Surely the gun control gremlins will crawl out of the machine and bang their drums once again. What they won't say is that ONE responsible professor with a gun could have averted much of the tragedy. If the Holocaust-surviving professor would have been allowed to have a concealed weapon, instead of barring the door — as he did with *incredible* bravery, saving many of his students — he might have been able to stop the gunman... in his tracks. However, now is not the time to make political hay out of such a tragic event, and so...

I pray for and with the families of the students who were so callously murdered by this seemingly arrogant and self-centered young man, an immigrant from South Korea. He came to this country a young boy, and — if all the psychological research is correct in claiming that a child's personality is basically formed by the age of three — then the unstable foundation of this man’s mind was already laid. What caused him to murder a young girl and her advisor, and then go home to reload and return to carry out his despicable crime? Was it video games? Easy access to guns? Or was it what some people call a licentious culture that supports and coddles perversion? Is it the fault of the campus police, Blacksburg law enforcement or the administration of Virginia Tech? Was it his parents, and their method of childrearing, a lack of discipline, too much, or was he clinically insane? Was it the fault of some of his former or fellow schoolmates, their bullying, or was it rejection by certain peers and women? It may be that some of these things are true, but none of these are to blame for Seung-Hui's actions… the only person to blame for the massacre at Virginia Tech is Cho Seung-Hui, a sad, lonely, bitter, suicidal young man committed this evil. Yes, evil. If savagely murdering 32 young people for no reason other than your own emotional pain isn't evil, nothing is.

Let us all remember one fact in the coming weeks, as all of us try to come to terms with what happened at Virginia Tech, Cho Seung-Hui murdered those people, he did it alone, with malice aforethought. There may be insight into how this sick young man became a mass murderer in the coming weeks, but nothing will change the fact that no video game, no television, no parent, no police officer, no other student, and no gun murdered those unfortunate people; only Cho Seung-Hui committed that abomination.

My prayer...

May God be with those families and friends of the fallen students and educators at Virginia Tech. Lord, comfort them in this horrific time, strengthen them so that they may endure the sad and dread filled days they must face as they put to rest their loved ones. I specifically pray for those around the grieving, that they might support and console them. Instruct all of us to *avoid* offering opinions and answers to the hurting families and friends - instead help us to control our tongues, so that the few words we do say would be a relief and not *add* to their suffering.

Lord you tell us to pray for our enemies, even for those who persecute us and even though this may be hard, I pray for the family of Cho Seung-Hui – his parents did not pull the trigger regardless of how we might feel about their culpability in this matter. I specifically pray that they would do the *right* thing and be as forthcoming as possible as the families and all of us try to gain some insight in the aftermath.

I especially pray Lord for our leaders, our President, our educators, our lawmakers, all of our elected officials, admonish them to guide with love and wisdom and to avoid using this unimaginable tragedy for personal or political gain. Thank you Lord for our nation, for this shining land that you have blessed so mightily, over and over again. Give us strength to do whatever is right and necessary in response to what has happened. Help us to see that despite the bad — that will always be with us — there is also the good... like Liviu Librescu 76, the holocaust survivor who was an engineering science and mathematics lecturer at Virginia Tech for 20 years, who blocked the gunman's way and saved many student's lives. Oh Lord, please help us to search ourselves for how we might respond in such a way that would *honor* Liviu, thank you for him, for his example, for his courage, be with his wife and family in this terrible time. Lord I pray... I pray that you will help heal some the angry divisiveness that has gripped our nation. Help us each to see that to come together, each of us must reach out... we cannot stay in one place and join together.

Lastly Lord, please help us all to search diligently in our own hearts, in our own homes for anything that is offensive to you, for any wrong or misguided ideals, actions or habits that separate us from you, that cause anyone pain or suffering. Help those of us who have children to be good parents, to look carefully at how we are raising our children, to root out any wrong or sinful ways in which we interact or instruct our children. Guide us Lord to raise our children to become strong, kind, friendly, compassionate, loving and obedient to you, and help us to do so with firmness, but also kindness as you tell us in Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord". Thank you for this nation, thank you for our people, of all races, of all ages, of who the majority are kind and loving people who show their love in trying times such as these. Thank you Lord for our families, our friends and loved ones, and help us to comfort the families and friends of those who were slain at Virginia Tech. May your Spirit move within them and give peace to their grieving hearts.