Making Sense of the Virginia Tech Tragedy

This is a special edition of Vertical News (April 17, 2007) written to address a recent shooting rampage on the campus of a university in the United States.

by David Treybig, Managing editor

On Monday, April 16, 2007, 33 people were killed and others injured at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, in the deadliest campus shooting in the country's history. According to university officials and police officers, two people were killed at 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a school dormitory. Two hours later, others were killed at Norris Hall—a building containing classrooms and faculty offices.

Bedlam reigned as the shooter armed with two handguns and a large amount of ammunition began indiscriminately killing everyone he saw. Some students barricaded the door of their classroom for protection after the shooter momentarily left; others jumped out of the second story of the building because the ground floor exit doors had been chained. Finally, as police closed in, the shooter took his own life.

Our hearts mourn these innocent people who lost their lives in this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are that the families and friends of these victims will find peace in the wake of this carnage.

Following incidents like these most recent shootings, important questions are always raised. Why did the shooter do it? Why didn't the authorities do a better job of protecting everyone? Why didn't students have notification of the potential threat sooner? Tempers will rise and fingers will be pointed at just about everything possible.

Some will use this occasion to argue for more stringent gun control. Some will say that this is the price Americans pay for allowing people free access to guns. Other Americans will say that situations like these highlight the need for people to have guns for self-protection, and that the real fault is with people—not guns.

Others will blame the university's leadership and the police, claiming that these authorities are responsible for many additional deaths by not acting sooner or in a different way. And here the old cliché regarding hindsight being 20/20 will undoubtedly prove true. After a tragedy, everyone can think of things that might have thwarted the perpetrator or lessened the impact.

While the questions noted are good ones to consider, the one issue relating to such tragedies that we can be sure the news media will not focus on is our human nature, including our personal responsibility to control our actions. It is always easier to point out what others should have done than to consider that human nature—including ours—is the real culprit that will never be fully controlled without receiving help from God. Consider the insightful example of the first murder recorded in the Bible.

In Genesis 4 we read that Cain and his younger brother, Abel, both brought an offering to God and that God respected Abel's offering but not Cain's (verses 1-5). What was the result? Cain lost it—that is, he lost control of his emotions and his sound thinking. He got so mad he killed his brother (verse 8).

Before the murder, God was aware of Cain's attitude and warned him of the danger of harboring hate. He asked , "'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it'" (verses 6-7).

In this passage God was teaching Cain—and us today—that he and we are responsible for our thinking and our actions. We can't just get mad about something and go berserk. God told Cain—and us today—that if he and we do well, things will eventually work out. God also explained to Cain—and us today—that sin would always be there, beckoning us to do something crazy and stupid, but that we need to rule over it. And herein is one of the great lessons to be learned from the Virginia Tech shootings: We each need to learn to rule over our own sinful thinking.

Ruling over our sinful thoughts is tough work. But it is something we can do with God's help. This is the kind of vertical thinking that few will apply to the Virginia Tech tragedy. If you're up to the challenge and want to learn more about how you can please God by ruling over sin, request or read our free booklet Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion. This incident also graphically illustrates how much we need Jesus Christ to return and set up the Kingdom of God. For more on this subject, request or read The Gospel of the Kingdom.

Our hearts go out to those affected by this terrible tragedy. Their pain and heartache make us pray for the day when "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4). At times like these, our booklet Why Does God Allow Suffering? can be of help as well. VT