{"id":4569,"date":"2015-10-02T05:43:34","date_gmt":"2015-10-02T11:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=4569"},"modified":"2015-10-02T11:26:27","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T17:26:27","slug":"another-act-of-madness-gunman-told-christians-youre-going-to-see-god-in-just-about-one-second","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2015\/10\/another-act-of-madness-gunman-told-christians-youre-going-to-see-god-in-just-about-one-second.html","title":{"rendered":"Another Act of Madness: Gunman Told Christians “You’re Going to See God In Just About One Second”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"WF.001\"<\/a>It was another act of attention seeking madness in this\u00a0gun-crazed, violence-obsessed society of ours\u2026 and there\u2019s no making sense of it. I resonate with the comments of President Obama yesterday \u2013 I feel numb; like a fog has come over my mind. But, I refuse to let this become normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shooting hits home, because the gunman apparently targeted Christians.<\/span><\/p>\n

CNN is reporting<\/span><\/a> that the gunman entered a classroom saying,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been waiting to do this for years,\u201d the gunman told the professor teaching the class before he shot him point blank. Anastasia Boylan, a victim who was shot and seriously injured reported the events to\u00a0her father before going into surgery. The students fell to the ground. CNN\u00a0says Boylan told her father that the gunman asked students to stand up, and asked them if they were Christians, \u201cand they would stand up and he said, \u2018Good, because you\u2019re a Christian, you\u2019re going to see God in just about one second\u2026\u00a0And then he shot and killed them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Daily Beast<\/em> is reporting<\/span><\/a> that the shooter\u2019s online profile at a dating site \u201cidentifies his views as \u2018conservative, republican\u2019 and lists \u2018organized religion\u2019 as one of his \u2018dislikes.'\u201d The same article also says that he commented online about the Virginia shooter, Vester Flanagan, saying people\u00a0\u201clike him have nothing left to live for\u2026\u00a0On an interesting note, I have noticed that so many people like him are all alone and unknown, yet when they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are\u2026 A man who was known by no one, is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day. Seems the more people you kill, the more you\u2019re in the limelight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In times like these, when I have no words to say, all I can do is turn to the Psalms of lament and let them help me find my voice. I will say what I always say & try not to let it become routine\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

How long Oh Lord? You see us down here tearing people apart don\u2019t you? How long until you step in and stop it?<\/span><\/p>\n

I say what I will myself to say, and I can almost believe it when I do: refuse to believe that evil wins. I refuse to allow another violent mass shooting\u00a0to breed bitterness in my heart, to make me hate. I refuse to lash out, and I will only love, love, love. I will believe that love is stronger than hate.\u00a0I will continue to hope <\/em>in the face of evil and it will be my ultimate act of defiance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get used to it. Don\u2019t become numb to it.\u00a0Weep with those who weep, to be sure, but never let evil tempt you to hate. Refuse to let this be one more thing that causes us to lunge at each other\u2019s throats.\u00a0The most radical thing to do right now is continue to pray and act and think and live in\u00a0hope<\/em>. Hug your children. Pray for those whose lives\u00a0have been ravaged by this madman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019m reading this morning, from Psalm 44.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

11<\/span>You have butchered us like sheep<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and scattered us among the nations.<\/span><\/span>
\n 12\u00a0<\/span>You sold your precious people for a pittance,<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>making nothing on the sale.<\/span><\/span>
\n 13\u00a0<\/span>You let our neighbors mock us.<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We are an object of scorn and derision to those around us.<\/span><\/span>
\n 14\u00a0<\/span>You have made us the butt of their jokes;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>they shake their heads at us in scorn.<\/span><\/span>
\n 15\u00a0<\/span>We can\u2019t escape the constant humiliation;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>shame is written across our faces.<\/span><\/span>
\n 16\u00a0<\/span>All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>All we see are our vengeful enemies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

17\u00a0<\/span>All this has happened though we have not forgotten you.<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We have not violated your covenant.<\/span><\/span>
\n 18\u00a0<\/span>Our hearts have not deserted you.<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We have not strayed from your path.<\/span><\/span>
\n 19\u00a0<\/span>Yet you have crushed us in the jackal\u2019s desert home.<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>You have covered us with darkness and death.<\/span><\/span>
\n 20\u00a0<\/span>If we had forgotten the name of our God<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,<\/span><\/span>
\n 21\u00a0<\/span>God would surely have known it,<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>for he knows the secrets of every heart.<\/span><\/span>
\n 22\u00a0<\/span>But for your sake we are killed every day;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>we are being slaughtered like sheep.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

23\u00a0<\/span>Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep?<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Get up! Do not reject us forever.<\/span><\/span>
\n 24\u00a0<\/span>Why do you look the other way?<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression?<\/span><\/span>
\n 25\u00a0<\/span>We collapse in the dust,<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>lying face down in the dirt.<\/span><\/span>
\n 26\u00a0<\/span>Rise up! Help us!<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Ransom us because of your unfailing love.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was another act of attention seeking madness in this\u00a0gun-crazed, violence-obsessed society of ours\u2026 and there\u2019s no making sense of it. I resonate with the comments of President Obama yesterday \u2013 I feel numb; like a fog has come over my mind. But, I refuse to let this become normal. The shooting hits home, because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1406,142,1407,1410,1409,1408,146,978],"class_list":["post-4569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chris-harper-mercer","tag-cnn","tag-guns","tag-madness","tag-psalm-44","tag-shooting","tag-the-daily-beast","tag-violence"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Act of Madness: Gunman Told Christians "You're Going to See God In Just About One Second"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It was another act of attention seeking madness in this\u00a0gun-crazed, violence-obsessed society of ours... and there's no making sense of it. 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