In the wake of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, CT, where 27 people (20 of them between the ages of 5 and 10) were killed, there is one prominent question. Why? Why did this happen? It seems that no one has any answers except the same old tried and truly failed, but they are easy to find if you look in the right place.
It is certain that there will be an immediate increase in the clamor over incidents of this nature. President Obama has said that there will be “meaningful action”; presumably he meant tighter and more restrictive gun control. Many other leaders have also joined in, with the consensus seeming to be that we can’t avoid talking about it anymore, but have to come to grips with the issue.
There will also be a renewed focus on the “mental” condition of the people who commit these types of criminal acts. We will probably be subjected to scores of “experts” who will expound their favorite theories as to why someone acts this way and what we must do to serve as a counterbalance to their unsocial behavior.
My guess is that the “culprits” in this act of violent barbarity will be these two strawmen. They are convenient and many people will use the emotion of the moment to try to get what they want from the situation. Besides, if we can make these the scapegoats, then we have no real incentive to explore the deeper causes of violent behavior. Oh, yes, there are deeper causes and we must face them squarely.
First, I predict there will be very little discussion about violent and murderous video games, television shows, and movies to which young men are subjected to from the very beginning of their lives. We will not talk about how someone growing up with digital murder finally decides to try it out in real life to see how it feels or to vent a lifetime of built-up rage. After all, there is no proof that playing with matches ever causes someone to light a forest fire or burn a house down. Besides, we all like to indulge. Don’t we?
Second, there will be no connection between this shooting and the undisputed fact that every year millions upon millions of small, helpless children under the age of nine months are legally killed before they are born. Some will protest that these are two completely separate issues and that it is unfair to even try to pair them. Violence is as violence does, however, and a young man who hears about women regularly ripping their unborn children out of their wombs might very well think that he should be excused if he joined in the carnage.
Third, there will be absolutely no mention made about the way that our young men and women go overseas into small towns and cities and slaughter hundreds and thousands of innocents. Absolutely none! If there is one sacred cow which cannot be sacrificed on the altar of Exceptional Americanism in the name of maintaining our lifestyle and making some people fantastically rich, it is our military, the most powerful killing machine in the history of the world. Why is it perfectly acceptable to shoot, bomb, and incinerate millions upon millions of innocents abroad, yet be completely repelled and outraged when it happens here?
America has become a violent place. Violence permeates every seam, nook, and cranny of our culture. It is everywhere and there is virtually no escape from it. We watch it on TV or the movie screen, play games with it on X-Box, practice it during abortions, promote it with our political views, cheer and applaud our military or the men and women who perform on WWE, and myriad other ways. We are America and we are violent. We love violence. We thrive on violence. We are to blame. We are all guilty. Our society is made up of individuals and a very large part of those individuals, a very large part indeed, are violent. It is time for us to admit that “we have met the enemy and he is us.”
What are solutions to prevent school shootings like this one? Longer prison terms for violent offenders? Tighter restrictions on gun ownership? Turning legitimate gun owners into pariahs and criminals? Blaming someone’s mental condition because he broke? Blaming society? These will probably be tried and will not work any better than they did in the past. What, then? I can think of three answers, one which will be rejected outright, one which is actually happening now behind the scenes, and one which must happen but will be resisted as long as possible. Respectively, they are:
This will go nowhere. Every school district in the country ought to purchase a high-powered, high-quality pistol for all of its teachers and administration, teach them how to use the firearms, and require them to be carried while on school property. They ought to issue body armor for all their personnel. Armed, trained, and ready educators could have easily shot this young man right at the start and eliminated virtually all of the heartache he caused. Instead they cowered in closets and under desks. It would have been so easy. It will not happen.
The one solution which has some legs would be for parents to realize that the government can’t protect their children any better than they can educate them. Parents should take the initiative in this and immediately pull their children out of these “indoctrination centers” and put the responsibility for the education of their children squarely where it belongs—on their own shoulders. There is serious movement in this direction.
What must be done is to admit as a nation that we have failed, that we have sinned before God Almighty, and that we need to make a change of direction away from the appalling nightmare we are in. We need to start, as a nation and society, to become outraged by violence, any kind of violence, and start demanding that perpetrators, whoever they might be, are severely punished. We need to start asking forgiveness from God and allow His Holy Spirit to begin working in our own hearts, our hearts first of all, and then those of the people around us. We need to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and that we must submit our murderous desires to His rule in every area of our lives. This, too, will not happen, at least on an official level, but it should. There is no better answer.
Poor Roger's Almanac 
I think (I hope) we can all agree that unless we get to the root of our current cultural abyss, it ain’t ever going to get fixed. Besides man’s depraved and wicked nature, what’s the genesis of today’s corrupt culture? There has to be a definitive point in history that’s responsible for the America we have today as compared with America in the 1600s. Until we figure out what it is and deal with it, we are only doomed to more of the same or worse:
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
It’s something that destroyed our Biblical foundations. The Prophet Jeremiah provides a hint:
“Who is the wise man, that may understand this? …land perisheth … [b]ecause they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart…” (Jeremiah 9:12-14)
And when did this occur here in America? It officially and nationally occurred when the constitutional framers failed to expressly establish the Constitution upon Yahweh’s immutable morality as codified in His commandments, statutes, and judgments. Not only this, but there is hardly an article or amendment that, in some fashion, is not antithetical, if not hostile, to Yahweh’s sovereignty and morality.
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to Yahweh’s perfect law and altogether righteous judgments (Psalm 19:7-11). Take our Constitution Survey at http://www.bibleversusconstitu… and receive a free copy of the 85-page “Primer” of “Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective.”
It’s too bad that Joel Myrick, the assistant principal of Pearl High School, in Pearl, Mississippi, wasn’t in Connecticut. He stopped Luke Woodham from killing any more than the two people he killed before Joel could get his gun out of his car. Of course, I didn’t hear about this on the lamestream news. Neither will you.
Psalms 94:
20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
I agree with all that Poor Roger has written in his response to yet another great tragedy in our nation. He has told us what we must do if we are to turn our nation into a place that is safe for our children. Poor Roger has acknowledged that the chances we will go the sane direction he has detailed for us are slim to none because God has spoken to us through many other tragic events, and we have ultimately returned to our old ways because, I suppose, it’s easier, or maybe it’s because we love being our own god. But why would a nation of people who want to claim that we are one nation under God reject Poor Roger’s well-articulated plan? It’s a plan that is biblical! It’s a plan that is sensible! It’s a plan that will work!
In Proverbs 14:12 God warns us “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” For certain we have seen the truth of this warning from God through the actions of Adam Lanza who gave in to his own evil nature thereby bringing pain and suffering to many families whose lives are changed forever. Now what we must decide is, will we continue down the same path of destruction against which Poor Roger has warned us? Or will we decide as Christians we must do as Joshua taught the tribes of Israel in Joshua 24:14-15: “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
As Christians we must decide are our ways are better than God’s ways? Or will we trust God and serve Him only? Those seem to be the choices. We want God to heal our land, while we want to be our own god, and God will not permit it to work that way. Has God allowed us to be broken enough that we are ready to turn to Him? Or must we endure more suffering and heartbreak before we will give up our ways and lean on the Everlasting Arm?
thank you for the most logical and reasonable analysis of our current dilemna and ongoing media jungle. i totally agree.
Hi, David. Thanks for your comment. No, I didn’t hear about this before and probably wouldn’t have if you hadn’t mentioned it. What is necessary, I believe, is for people who know what is right to do what is right and not to be afraid to make a stand, even if it is their last one.
As moderator of this blog, I try to keep it squeaky clean, so I am going to ask you respectfully to refrain from using terms like “lamestream” in any comment you make in the future. I have posted my requirements in the Comments Policy at the top of this page and would like each of us to follow those as carefully as possible. I appreciate your cooperation.
Hi, Mary. Thanks for your comment. You asked some hard questions in your last paragraph and I don’t have the answers. God knows. In that we have to trust.
Officially, as a unified nation, I would probably say that we are not ready to go down that road. There are too many people, rich and powerful all, who would have to give up what they’ve got to surrender to His higher law. I expect they will resist to the bitter end.
Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, the poor in spirit, those who need His touch, and those who seek Him out. There are a lot of people in those categories today in America and their numbers are growing daily. As the humanist State breaks down and disintegrates, they will continue to grow more and more numerous. Many of these people will turn to the Saviour. This is a “good” trend.
However, we didn’t get here overnight and we won’t change overnight. Even in the event of a miraculous revival across America, there will be pain and suffering as we learn to submit to His commands. We should rejoice, though, because Jesus is King and all of creation is being brought under His control.
All we have to do is what He tells us and have faith that it will all work out for our good, just as has been promised.
It seems strange to me that someone who objects to using the word “lamestream” would bring a curse upon himself by using the word “Poor” as part of his own name. I don’t suppose Jesus would be allowed to use the word “dog” on your blogsite to describe any Canaanite women, would He? Looking back, I can see that using the word “lamestream” was not the best choice. I should have used a Biblical description of the news media, something like “lying, whorish, Edomite bastard sons of hell.”
I appreciate you wanting to “keep it clean.” However, it seems that attempting to do so in defense of comments made toward a controlled media that only tells us what the “controllers” want us to hear is questionable. After all, he used no profanity. He just told it like it is. Maybe he should have used a more polite term, like I did (if that can be considered more polite). I might suggest to everyone that they look for alternative news at places like http://www.rense.com where truth is disseminated. You will hear a lot more than what David mentioned, and that isn’t the only time a crazed shooter was stopped in his tracks.
David,
I am going to be changing the name of this blog, but not for the reason you listed. I am simply not satisfied with it and am trying to find an appropriate replacement.
I have lived the vast majority of my life with a sharp, sarcastic wit and quite often it came out of my mouth, sometimes with the clear, deliberate intention of hurting or cutting down someone else. In the last few years, I have come to realize that this was not a Christlike way of living and I have been actively submitting this area of my life to the Holy Spirit ever since. I have gotten to the point where I hate even hearing something which might only smack of that tone.
Nevertheless, I also understand that not everyone thinks or speaks the same way I do and I may have to make some allowances and leeway for that. I certainly do want you to continue to read what I write and feel free to respond. I don’t want to be so restrictive that you simply go somewhere else. That is not my intention, instead, I want to have everything that comes from my life to be pleasing to the Lord God, including this blog.
I have been, as I’m sure you have, on other blogs where the commenters do their best to rip and tear each other to shreds. I find this type of atmosphere repulsive, distressing, and offensive and refuse to participate in it or allow it to happen here. However, in the interest of maintaining a healthy debate, I am probably going to have to overlook some things.
If I have offended you in this, please forgive me. Stick with me, David, and we’ll get past this.
Northeden,
Thanks for your comment. Certainly I don’t want to “control” this so tightly that only my voice is heard. What you suggested is quite reasonable. See my response to David’s comment for clarification.
Thank you, Rich Roger, for being rich toward God. I feel quite honored that you are willing to overlook my offensiveness and that you cherish our continued correspondence, even though we have never met in person. You are to be commended for being so kind, according to Proverbs 15: 1: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” But at least I’m in good company. Jesus’ disciples told Him, in Matthew 15: 12, that the Pharisees were offended when He told them that what comes out of one’s mouth is what defiles a man. I look forward to seeing more posts on your blog site.
I agree with your overall point of what we as a nation have become (in fact I’d say it’s worse than your description), as well as the need to turn back to The Great I Am that became flesh and dwelt among us, with repentance and baptism in His name. We must promote His Laws, Statutes and Judgments, none other. His Kingdom/Will on Earth, not man’s via legislation allowed under the various constitutions.
That being said, there’s much more to this tragic event (as well as the others) and why it took place than meets the eye. Although Edomite owned and controlled Hollywood and TV, prescription mind altering drugs (which have been involved with every one of these high profile mass shootings – without exception), unholy video games, etc., etc.,
There’s a great evil in our land that has been allowed to build for several generations and is at the heart of this nation’s downfall to such levels of depravity we now find it in.
The guy in the YouTube links below has been doing some good reporting on this and other things happening. He has excellent reports on the recent shootings and has an as good as any explanation as to what’s going on with these planned and staged events. If you think this is just one of those “Conspiracy Theories” as most people have been conditioned to respond, remember, the Bible is replete with conspiracy (Note the father of the alleged “lone” perpetrator is to testify on the LIBOR scandal, just like Holmes’ father. Coincidence? Only if you’re a “Coincidence Theorist”.):
Pt. 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_fI0hm1dqY
Pt. 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_ODW4JG9y8
Go to his channel for updates.
It’s only his reports that I like and not necessarily his views or associations. He’s searching for answers to “life” like many others, which he’ll not find until he turns to The Great I Am that became flesh and dwelt among us and His Word.
Chris, welcome to the conversation.
I would like you to clarify something for me. You mentioned Edomite owned and controlled Hollywood and, to be honest with you, I’m not sure what you mean. This is the second time the word “Edomite” has appeared here and I’d really like to understand.
Thank you.
Chris, I opened up the youtube videos you linked to and, quite frankly, couldn’t get through them. I don’t discount the “conspiracy” theory, neither do I put a lot of stock in them. One thing I do know for certain is that public opinion is being shaped by a far wider range of influence than has ever been possible in the past. Thanks to the Internet and ease of communication, it is no longer possible for governments and/or controlling interests to only allow us to see and hear what they want us to know. This is a watershed moment in time and has already shifted the momentum in favor of freedom loving people.
Here’s an ABC early report about a second shooter:
Here’s another earlier report where police said more than one. Then they bring in a “specialist” by the name of Garret to help re-direct to the “lone” idea.
This is the same guy that gave a profile as to why someone would do such a thing. Problem is, it was the wrong guy, Adam’s brother. All this yanks on your heart strings, and especially those of mothers. As the plot thickens.
There are many more conflicting reports that show this to be highly suspect at best.
As the Edomite Rahm Emanuel says: “Never waste a good crises.”
As old Nord Davis Jr. used to say: “Learn to see what you’re looking at.”
Please know that it is only by His grace that my senses are trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5: 14. It was He that instilled in me a love of the truth. And seeing and knowing these things can be quite grieving and painful, which is why many will not pursue it. Ecclesiastes 1: 18.
I’ll reply to your other reply about the Edomite question later.
I tried to post this earlier, but it appears that it didn’t take:
Roger,
I’m pleased to here you say you’d like to understand. That indicates to me you may have a love of the truth.
Genesis 25: 19 – 34. Special Attention to 22 & 23. 25: “Red”. 30: “Edom” (means “red”).
Gen.: 26: 34 & 35: Esau-Edom pollutes his lineage by taking wives of the forbidden and permanently cursed Canaanites (Gen. 9: 25 – 27). Isaac and Rebekah weren’t just a little miffed about it. The literal meaning of “… they brought grief to …” is: “… were a bitterness of spirit to …” (See also: 27: 46).
Here’s a comment I posted elsewhere regarding why this particular people do what they do. It bares repeating here and contains references to sources that will provide the understanding you seek. You should recognize one of the sites. It’s commenter Ted Weiland’s, above.
Please note these are Jewish sources that admit plainly they are not the people of the Bible.
Here’s the post:
It’s very difficult to understand why certain peoples have particular natures to do this or that without knowing who they are.
Modern day “Jews”, by their own words and sources, admit they are not the people of the Bible, i.e., His Covenant or Chosen People:
“Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a ‘Jew’ or to call a contemporary Jew an ‘Israelite’ or a ‘Hebrew.’” (Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins, eds., “Identity Crisis,” The Jewish Almanac, (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980) p. 3.) That sentence is the opening sentence of the First Chapter entitled “IDENTITY CRISIS” of the 1980 Jewish Almanac.
According to three Jewish encyclopedias and Flavius Josephus, the entire Edomite nation was forced into converting to Judaism and became known as Judahites at the time of the high priest John Hyrcanus (Maccabaeus):”…in the days of John Hyrcanus (end of the second century B.C.E.) … the Edomites became a section of the Jewish people.” (“Edom,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.) “They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation….” (“Edom, Idumea,” The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York & London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904) Volume V, p. 41.)”…from then on they constituted a part of the Jewish people, Herod [King of Judea] being one of their descendants.” (Cecil Roth and Geoffrey Wigoden, “Edom (Idumea),” The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977) p. 589.)
Note these are all Jewish sources (with the exception of Josephus, which was a true Levite,) that plainly tell you they are not the people of The Bible.
To find out who the modern day “Jews” are go to http://www.seek-info.com/israel.htm and get the book: “Who Is Esau-Edom?”
To find out who His people really are and why it matters, get “God’s Covenant People, Yesterday, Today and Forever.” It’s one of the best and concise, as well as extremely well documented books on the subject. Also, “The Mystery of the Gentiles: Where Are They and Where Are They Now?” Both can be obtained at http://www.missiontoisrael.org
Chris, your comment didn’t show up immediately because I look at every one before I approve it and I don’t always get it done right away. If you don’t see your comments right away, be patient, it may take a few days. I have a life to lead.
In your reply to my question, you gave a lot of history about the Edomite people, but I didn’t want history. I could have looked that up myself. Instead, I wanted to know what you meant by calling Hollywood (and now Rahm Emmanuel) Edomite. What is your reasoning behind this adjective? Why exactly do you use the term? Don’t beat around the bush, but tell me in plain language why you feel the need to apply this particular derogatory epithet to people you (apparently) don’t like or disagree with.
I used to indulge in conspiracy theories, but I’ve gotten to the point where they don’t concern me any longer. I’ve moved beyond that. Whether it’s the Bilderbergers, CFR, Tri-lateral Commission, Skull & Bones, Communists, J. Edgar Hoover, Masons, Templar Knights, or any other organization of individuals, weak or powerful, which is attempting to “take over” the world, simply doesn’t matter any more.
Conspiracy theories are all, 100%, fear-based. This is not to say that there are no grounds for the belief, but anyone who gets caught up in this maelstrom will be hindered by fear to some degree or another. Fear paralyzes. It holds people back from being and doing everything they were created to be and do. I know. I’ve been there.
I have broken free of the matrix. My only purpose in life from now until the time of my death is to glorify God every way possible for me. I can’t do that if I’m always fighting against some nebulous strawman who “almost” has me in his evil grip. Let them go, let them continue their feeble efforts to control me. Let them impoverish me. Let them lock me up in their concentration camps. Let them kill me. I don’t care. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
I’ve got better things to do than to argue over the existence of a secret cabal. I won’t do it. I will simply ignore the issue and move on.
“Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He Who sits in the heavens laughs (at them); the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure…” (Psalms 2:1-5)
I have no fear. If God is for me, who can be against me?
Roger,
I posted both comments in the AM. When I came back about 8 hrs. later, they still had the “awaiting moderation” sign. I then refreshed the page to see if they posted, but they BOTH disappeared in the refresh. I then re-posted JUST the answer to your Edomite question and they BOTH came back.
Now to your reply.
“In your reply to my question, you gave a lot of history about the Edomite people, but I didn’t want history.” How else could I answer the question without identifying who it is that owns and controls Hollywood and TV?
” I could have looked that up myself.” But you didn’t and you asked me for help in understanding what was meant and I gave it to you.
” Instead, I wanted to know what you meant by calling Hollywood (and now Rahm Emmanuel) Edomite.” Where did I call Hollywood “Edomite”? I said it was Edomite owned and controlled. You can’t get the understanding to the question without correctly identifying exactly who are the Edomites, which “own and control that Hollywood and TV”, now can you?
Rahm Emanuel is an Edomite. If I’m not mistaken, his father was with The Mossad.
” What is your reasoning behind this adjective?” Adjective? Where do you get adjective?
“Why exactly do you use the term?” Because that’s their name. I didn’t give them that name, God’s Word did.
“Don’t beat around the bush, but tell me in plain language why you feel the need to apply this particular derogatory epithet to people you (apparently) don’t like or disagree with.”
“Beat around the bush” ??? I showed you who I was referring to in plain language, from their own words, who is Edom today in answer to your question: ” … the Edomites became a section of the Jewish people.” (“Edom,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.) “They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation….” What part of that wasn’t clear or hard to understand?
“This particular derogatory epithet” ??? It’s their name for crying out loud!
Are you going to accuse God Himself of using a “derogatory epithet” as well ??? “So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom. These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites …” Gen. 36: 8 & 9.
God Himself wasn’t exactly fond of these people: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9: 13; Malachi 1: 2. ” … the people toward whom Yahweh is indignant forever.” Malachi 1: 4. Has forever been suspended yet?
These are the people that have been filling this nation with their vile perversions, indoctrinating and corrupting the people of this nation for decades through such avenues as Hollywood and TV, as well as many others, so that we become “twice the sons of hell that they are” (Matthew 23: 15). Have you ever read anything from their most high authority The Talmud? If not, I can see why you may be unaware of their true nature.
If I recall correctly, what this nation has turned into is part of the theme of your article, isn’t it?
I’ll try to get to the other one later. That is is you still want to hear from me.
Chris, I appreciate your input, but I think that we should agree to call a truce on this issue. I’m going to move on to something else. As far as whether you make a comment on the other post, that is up to you. I will consider what you say if you do and if you don’t, that will be fine.