Another act of sickening horror. It seems like every six months or so, many of us are shaken to our cores as yet another crazed lunatic carries out an act of utter depravity.
The 2012 massacre in Connecticut (20 children and six adults shot to death at an elementary school) was all over TV, radio, newspapers and social media. We couldn’t escape it, even if we wanted to.
Indeed, one blogger, struggling to deal with the tsunami of emotions brought on by this slaughter, went so far as to ask “Is this what the end of the world feels like?”
Such questions were asked beyond U.S. borders, since mass shootings happen even in countries not known for violence. People in Norway are still haunted by the indiscriminate killing of more than 70 people in July 2011. And Canadians haven’t forgotten the 1989 murder of 14 women at a college in Montreal.
With each of these events, every news report brings with it the nagging question asked by everyone from angry atheists and normally indifferent agnostics to serious people of faith: where was God??
I would be a sheer idiot to attempt to provide an easy answer because it doesn’t exist.
But as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the divine Son of God), I feel confident in writing two things:
1. Every deadly attack is just one more piece of proof that God’s gift of freewill is permanent and rock solid.
When humans betray each other, we often get angry and withdraw our trust or love or commitment. Connecticut, Montreal and Norway are glow-in-the-dark proof that God is different. No matter what we do (or don’t do) to spit on the gift of freewill, God simply WILL NOT take it back.
Indeed, an ancient prophet states it this plainly: “I [God] don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” And as we all struggle with the deaths in Connecticut, I’m profoundly grateful for this truth.
2. God was ALL OVER this event.
For example, church pastors across North America dropped their planned sermons and turned all their skills and time to addressing the massacre, even if it was only to ask the same questions and pray for the families of the victims. That may not sound like much, but it can still bring comfort to suffering people.
In addition, faith organizations like the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sent crisis-trained chaplains to Connecticut to help survivors, emergency responders and others deal with their emotional agony. As a serious Jesus follower, I see these amazing people as the hands and feet of Jesus, in action where and when it matters most.
So what do you think….do these two points make any sense? Do you believe in God any more or less as a result of tragedies in Connecticut, Montreal, Norway and so many other places? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
I am sorry. I really must disagree with you. You have provided no proof.
The kid had severe mental problems. His mother, who was also strange, is the one who bought the guns. And the father… well he was estranged from the family. (How much strangeness do you want?) Add the USA’s historical propensity to guns, violence, and belief in self-privilege …. and there you go. All the ingredients were there. They just all came together.
Free will, is STILL a debated concept. For it to work, you would have to have total freedom over making any decision (zero constraints), as well as total knowledge of all the ramifications of making a decision. You would have to understand and know all the things in your past that would, for example, make you choose chocolate over vanilla. You would also have to know all the alternatives in any decision. And you would have to be sane.
And… In the case of this poor young man, I fear perhaps none of these things were present. He did what he did. Why, we will never know.
As for “god being all over this event”…. which “god”. Yahweh? Jesus? Allah? Kukulkan? Tengri? Zeus? Thor? Caninus? Any one of the thousands of “gods” currently on the menu in China or India? What of the Shintos? or Buddhists? There are indeed “infinite possibilities” ….
Maybe your “god” was protecting the Earth from one of the teachers in that school who was very evil. and had to die…. Maybe your “god” had mercy on us, and was protecting us from one of the kids, who was going to be the next Atilla the Hun. We will never know….
Sadly, most “gods” are very bad shots. They need to fly planeloads of people, into buildings full of people, to achieve their aims. Or destroy (in OT legend, at least) entire planets for a few evil people. They tend to store nuclear weapons in volcanos. Odd bunch of chaps. They seem to have no understanding of their creation.
But this kid, had no free will. Maybe he was invaded by some daemon that took him over….. We will never know!
As for ANY “god” being “all over it”…. Let me ask you this:
If you had to the power to save any or all of those children, would you? What about the teachers?
I already know your answer… Well, no. WHY? You would be undoing your deity’s will! And you would be “sinning”.
After all: The teachers were adults, and so sinful, and so had to die. (According to your bible!) As for those 6 year old kids, let me quote Jesus: “Suffer, the little children, to come unto me!” Looks like he got his will. The kids, and their friends, and their families, have all suffered. The innocent and the guilty alike. And the taxpayers, too, who are all paying for cleaning up this mess.
Whatever the ministers and priests did AFTER the event, is about as useful as changing a flat tire, after you have wrecked the car….. The first thing, is to prevent the car wreck. Don’t you agree?
I am sorry. I see no deities in these things. I do not really see any daemons, either. I see people. Good ones, bad ones, sick ones, neutral ones, innocent ones, guilty ones, sad ones, and happy ones.
I used to think as you do. But one day, I woke up.
Thanks for your thoughts, Pete. I knew when I wrote this essay that there would be lots of atheist folks who would angrily disagree with me. As for proof, well you can’t prove God doesn’t exist and I can’t prove He does. And I don’t think that’s an accident.
Sorry Frank, but let’s analyse this briefly.
“1. Every deadly attack is just one more piece of proof that God’s gift of freewill is permanent and rock solid.”
Um. How? I’m not here to say there is or is not free will, nor wether or not God exists and gives us free will or not. But let’s look at the possibilities.
God does not exist and there is free will: Kid decides to kill others.
God does not exist and there is not free will: Events were set into motion which led a kid to kill others.
God exists and there is free will: God let a kid decide and then commit an attack on others.
God exists and there is no free will: God set up events so that one of the things that happened was that a kid went out and killed others.
Notice how all of those are indistinguishable? The very same event could be used as ‘proof’ for each one, and as such is really proof for none of them.
“2. God was ALL OVER this event.
For example, church pastors across North America dropped their planned sermons and turned all their skills and time to addressing the massacre, even if it was only to ask the same questions and pray for the families of the victims. That may not sound like much, but it can still bring comfort to suffering people.
In addition, faith organizations like the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sent representatives to Connecticut to help survivors, emergency responders and others deal with their emotional agony. As a serious Christian, I see these amazing people as the hands and feet of Jesus, in action where and when it matters most.”
I will grant that perhaps praying with someone and talking to them gives emotional comfort to those suffering. But again, this does not give any evidence of any god being involved. Notice it was people who prayed and talked to give emotional support. So let’s look at some possibilities.
If God exists: People helped other people emotionally by praying with them and talking.
If God does not exist: People helped other people emotionally by praying with them and talking.
That a group of people banded together to help others is great, but it no way proves any of their claims of truth.
Anyone who wants evidence will find it. Anyone who wants to diss that evidence can also do so. Anyone who wants to spit on the idea of freewill can also find ways to do so. That’s just more freewill. And as you can see, we can go around in circles like this FOREVER.
I don’t see how that is relevant to wether or not something is evidence. But I agree, you have nothing to say to basic analysis that really has NOTHING to do with any preconceived notions either party might hold. As I said, I was not interested in showing there is no free will. Far from it, I just wanted to show what you presented logically did not give evidence to your claim.
I can’t even prove God exists. And you can’t prove He doesn’t. So court-style evidence will never be possible. Freewill, from a Jesus perspective, is inextricably tied into faith – and I’ve sadly come to learn that faith is a dirty word to many atheist people.
If you want to consider yourself a “winner” of a debate, then go right ahead. Frank’s Cottage is not aimed at atheist people. It’s written for people who are open to spirituality.
Thanks for your comment. I’m quite satisfied with everything I’ve written, so I won’t be commenting further.
I believe in God and freewill. People do both good and evil things, sometimes they choose evil things. God’s message is there as a guide to avoid evil acts but it is up to the person whether they listen. All we can do is be an example to others and act kindly. We cannot control others.
I really like what you said! It makes more sense in a few words then any of the other rants! Thank you ❤️
I believe in Heaven and Hell and God as the sole creator of Humanity. In Christianity, God wanted to give people free will and he saw what occurs when you do that when Adam & Eve took the forbidden fruit. This is why Heaven & Hell exist. The free will that he gave us is a gift that many people respect and love but for the people that don’t, they go to Hell with the Devil