Why The School Shootings?

We cannot remove the causes of violence in society, but we can reach out to save young people who are headed for destruction.Why The School Shootings? Over the past two years, the United States has had an epidemic of mass shootings, and the whole country has been asking questions like, “Why did they do it?” and “How can we explain the fact that brainy kids from seemingly stable affluent homes become killing machines without a hint of remorse?”1 How can we answer such questions when we cannot answer why man sinned in the first place! Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment, had every need supplied, and had a perfect Father -- yet they sinned! People often offer explanations that shift the blame away from the perpetrator. Thus, Eve might have said that it was God’s fault: He made the fruit too attractive, or He did not fully explain to her the consequences of eating it, or He allowed Satan to deceive her. Likewise Adam, in effect, said to God, “It’s all Your fault! You gave me the woman, and it’s her fault too! She talked me into it.” April 20, 1999
15 killed in Littleton, Colorado high school shooting. May 21, 1998
2 killed and 20 wounded in a Springfield, Oregon high school shooting. March 24, 1998
5 killed and 10 wounded in a Jonesboro, Arkansas elementary school shooting. December 1, 1997
3 killed and 5 wounded in a Paducah, Kentucky high school shooting. The first sin recorded after the Fall was the murder of Abel by Cain (Gen. 4:3-10). Scripture wisely does not really give us the explanation for it -- consequently, we can conclude that ordinary people can do wicked things for what to us are insufficient reasons. We do know that there are contributing factors, some of which are discussed below, but the mystery really is summed up in this question: “Why do these factors not produce widespread slaughter all the time?” Poor Parenting
The majority or people cite “poor parenting” as an answer to the question, “Why?”2 Abuse is a factor, and we are warned, “Provoke not your children to wrath” (Eph. 6:4 KJV). Also constant exposure to pain and violence can cause children to be unresponsive to punishment, because for them nothing hurts!3 However, poor parenting includes far more than outright abuse. Parents who are withdrawn and neglectful are at risk of shaping a vulnerable child into an anti-social adolescent.3 For example, one of the recent school killers said, “I’d rather be wanted for murder than not wanted at all!”3 Contrary to the usual assumption, children do not link poor parenting with a mother working outside the home; they just want the time their parents do share with them to be unrushed, focused on them, and rich in shared activities. Good parents make the child feel important and loved, promote strong values, and use constructive discipline.4Discipline
The word in Scripture translated “chastening” denotes “the training of a child, including instruction, hence discipline.”5 We see it used in Ephesians: “Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4 NIV). Discipline is far more than correcting by inflicting pain! What is done is as important as what is said! “Just as children learn to imitate language and gestures, they imitate the moral practices they see.”6 Parents who are gossips and churches which are “legal” will produce adults with the same moral characteristics! The authoritative approach to discipline is more effective than either the permissive or the authoritarian;7 it has consistent and firm limits with open discussion to facilitate understanding. The authoritarian approach, on the other hand, offers no explanation and fosters the idea that moral rules are merely the whims of the parent. The permissive no-rules-at-all approach is defective in that children who “don’t learn the meaning of ‘no’ will be at the mercy of impulses they don’t know how to control.”6 We know that conduct during adulthood often has its roots in childhood, for we are told, “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Prov. 22:6). TV, Movies, Video Games
More than 75% of the people polled cite the media as deserving some or much of the blame for the school shootings.2 The entertainment industry convinces advertisers that TV can influence what people buy, but then denies that the violence they exhibit has any effect on them! Children do imitate what they see! But not having a TV is an imperfect answer, because children are eventually going to watch TV, even if they have to go to a friend’s house where the parents may have no control over what their children watch. Movies are less of a problem because parents can more easily control their children’s going to the movies. However, violent computer games are a significant problem. The killers in the Littleton, Colorado high school shooting were “obsessed” with an interactive game in which the players try to rack up the most kills. Such games are more harmful because the person does not merely watch but actually does the killing.8 Most teenagers do not take it seriously, but it is different with those who are predisposed to violence and aggression.8 Parents should allow computers only in a family room where what is viewed can be monitored, controlled and discussed. Bullying
Bullying is so widespread in schools that school administrators tend to ignore it. The two mass murderers in Littleton “apparently were looking for revenge on the jocks (athletes) who badmouthed them.”1 The victims of bullying become ready for revenge. I know from personal experience, because I fantasized about using a baseball bat on my schoolyard bully! Bullying can also occur in families. Ishmael “mocked” Isaac and it was a serious enough problem that Abraham got rid of him and his mother (Gen. 21:9-14). There are so-called “programs” to help the bully overcome these tendencies, but, in the meantime, what should Christian children do who are being bullied? They can do as Ruby did. She was among the first African-American students in the 1960s to integrate a high school in the South. “While she was being taunted by her classmates, Ruby prayed for their redemption.”7Spiritual Warfare
Newsweek (Aug. 23, ’99) lists “inexplicable demons” among the causes of the killings. Surely, it is not by chance that Michael Carneal fired 12 shots into a prayer group in Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky, and that the killers in Columbine High School in Littleton shot those who responded “Yes” to the question, “Do you believe in God?”1 An FBI profiler commented, “Never underestimate the fact that there are some people that are just evil."10 The Old Testament recognizes that some children are capable of going far beyond “typical” misbehavior when it prescribed the death penalty for truly rebellious children this way: “Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you” (Dt. 21:18-21). There are “programs” to help prospectively violent children but they only treat the symptoms. The real changes have to be in their hearts. This is where there is a role for the Church. Children are much more responsive to the gospel than are adults, and they can be reached by public school groups (such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life and Youth for Christ), church youth groups, Sunday schools and Bible camps. A troubled youth had been a terror, but after he was saved at a week-long camp, there was an immediate and obvious change. When another camper irritated him and he started to become violent, he suddenly stopped and said, “I’m a Christian now and I can’t do this anymore!” The Church also has the responsibility to help born-again teens mature spiritually so that they begin to rely less on what others say and more on their own deeply held biblically-based beliefs to guide their behavior. We must do more than use the Bible to impart knowledge; we must also use it to impart moral values: “All Scripture ... is useful for teaching ... and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). We cannot remove the causes of violence in society, but we can reach out to save young people who are headed for destruction. We should not sit by idly and watch them fall over the brink, because “the Lord is not ... wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). End Notes
1. Newsweek; May 3, 1999; pp. 25-31.
2. Newsweek; Aug. 23, l999; pp. 32-35.
3. Newsweek; May 3, 1999; pp. 20-25.
4. Newsweek; Aug. 30, 1999; p. 52-56.
5. Vine, W. E.; Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Terms; Oliphants; vol. 1, p. 183.
6. Newsweek; Special Edition, Spring/Summer 1997; pp. 92-93.
7. Scientific American; May 10, 1999; pp. 73-78.
8. Newsweek; May 10, 1999; pp. 45-50.
9. Newsweek; May 10, 1999; pp. 39,43,55.
10. Newsweek; May 17, 1999; pp. 30-32.By Alan Crosby