THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Why Violence in America?
Like many, the recent school shooting tragedy in Connecticut brought tears to my eyes and sadness to my heart. No child, or parent, should ever have to face that. The same emotions came with the recent movie shootings, also Columbine, and Virginia Tech. It is a feeling of unbelief, much like what we felt with the World Trade Center Towers collapse in New York.
It brings us to the question of the hour, why? Why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? What can we do to make sure that it never happens again. Why is there such evil? Is it growing? These are great questions. It is amazing how diverse the proposed solutions. It is even more amazing how simple the real answer is, and yes, though not easy, there is a real answer!
Mankind offers many answers, even some to questions not being asked. The politicians love to run in with their solutions, which usually cost more of our money, and place us under more of their control. The educators, the media people, the talking heads, and the consultants each offer their wisdom through the eyes of their worldview. Ah, there lies the problem, it is the truth according to them, or the consensus of opinion of the day. It is the old adage: fools rush in where angels fear to tread” or, as the scripture says, “they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (II Cor. 10:12)
The reality of it is, we are moving quickly to the time prophesied by the Bible… toward the end of history, as we know it. There will come a time when each man, like the days of the great Biblical flood, will do that which seems right in his own eyes. Thus man utters his ignorance and calls it truth. Believing there is no such thing as absolute truth, that all things are relative, the debates begin on the solutions to what are perceived as the issues of the day. God tells us in the first chapter of Romans that men will profess to be wise but become fools. They will forever be learning but not be able to come to a knowledge of the Truth. They knew the truth of God but rejected it. The result is God gives them over to perversion as they exchange the truth of God for a lie.
Now, the truth of what is happening in America Today. Our heartbreaking problems are what happens when man turns from God to serve his idols. Liberty can only come through the author of liberty! Freedom can only come from the source of freedom… the One who said: “and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” also said that He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that nobody can come to the Father except through Him …Jesus Christ.
Man did not create this great country. God did! Man did not win the Revolutionary war by his genius, God did it. Americans did not rescue the world in WW I and WW II. God did it through us. It’s not “Yankee Ingenuity” that did those things but the goodness and greatness of God that guided, defended, prospered, and used us to be a blessing to the world. It was “praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition.”
It was because our founding fathers acknowledged the God of the Bible, and honored His son, Jesus Christ, that God blessed America like no other before it. Our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence all acknowledged, not just any god but, the only true God, our Savior! Our laws, and our very form of government came from the principles expressed in the pages of the Bible. God has been, the author of our liberty.
Many things have happened to unhook us from Him in the past century. But none was so harmful as when our Supreme Court rejected Him by banning prayer in our public schools at the insistence of atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hara. It is easy to confirm. Our ACT and SAT college scores have been in freefall since 1962, the same year as the court decision. The same time frame brought us our escalation of drugs, children born out of wedlock, abortion, increased crime, overflow of prisons, the disintegration of the family, and the rise of homosexuality. Oh, yes, it also brought us a marked decrease in church attendance. As those evils increase, educational, economic, agriculture, industrial, political, and military power diminishes.
The list goes on and on of the areas where America towered over the rest of the world, but has fallen. It all points dramatically to the time of that decision. It was the first time one of our three branches of government ruled decisively against the God of Heaven. Spiritual war was declared on our God and the rest, as they say, is history…
Now, it is not only no prayers in school, but no Bibles, no Creator, no Christmas songs about God, and no word from Him at graduation. Down with the Ten Commandments! Down with the Nativity scenes! Down with prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. It’s even down with Tim Tebow!!!
We have arrived at a time when what ever God is for, we are against, and what ever God is against, we are for. Kill the unborn. Let same sex marry. Promote sexual freedom, vulgarity and profanity in our media. Fund the sexual experiments of youth with condoms, and abortions. But ban Christian clubs, morning devotions, and any symbols that honor Jesus Christ. Take His name in vain! Let profanity reign, even in the White House. Increase the dishonor of the Prime Minister of Israel.
We join to promote the enemies of the Jews in the Middle East, but put down those who follow Christ. We promote Allah, Buddha, the moon god, or the sun god. We tolerate paganism. We promote Druid worship in the military. But, we ban Jesus Christ where ever He may be found. Now, it is not just our Supreme Court, but Congress, and the President of the United States leading the way. God says that those nations that forget Him shall be turned into Hell. (Ps. 9:17)
People that are raised to believe that they were not created by the Creator, are taught to bow before an ape and call him “our father.” Children that are taught they are animals that evolved from scum, will grow up to have no regard for human life, their own or that of another. Banning the teaching of the Ten Commandments unleashes the opposite of thou shall not kill, steal, covet, commit adultery, have any other gods, nor take God’s name in vain. Oh, there is something else about honoring mom and dad in there too!
When children are raised to have no fear, respect, or personal knowledge of the God of the Bible; When children are raised to think that human life has no special value; When children are taught there are no absolutes, nothing is right or wrong; When precious children are raised to not have any knowledge that one day they must stand before their creator and give an account for their lives, and how they treated their fellowman, they will grow to become a self centered, hedonistic culture that sees less and less value in others, themselves, their country, and their world.
In the United States there have been 18 major slaughters of four or more people in the past 12 months. One major killing of four or more at a time every 10 days has taken place in America in the years 2008-2010. It will continue to increase, and it will get worse, even if we ban knives, guns, and bombs. It will continue to increase until, and unless, man returns to the Bible, the God of the Bible, and the Savior of the Bible.
Until we again teach creation, the Ten Commandments, and the Golden Rule, there will not be a diminishing of violence. Until we again call out for people to repent of their sins and invite Jesus Christ into their lives as their personal Lord and Savior, the outward disintegration of our culture will continue. Christ and His Word are the glue that holds civilization together. Without Him, chaos reigns, and pagan barbarianism rules. The darker ages return, and a world dictator will soon be looming on the horizon, if he isn’t already.
The politicians don’t want to hear it, the educators don’t want to hear it, the Islamists don’t want to hear it, The liberal theologians don’t want to hear it, the media don’t want to hear it, but if we are to see peace and freedom again in America we must repent and turn back to the God of the Bible and embrace His Word alone as absolute truth.
The solution to America’s crises is to embrace, and from these shores once again proclaim to all the world as our founding fathers before us, that there is only one true God, and only one Savior, one Creator, one Lord, one final judge. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only way to peace and the only way to Heaven. Aside from that…
And God said: As the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24)
Donnie Lee (Don Roberts) has a history of over 40 years in radio and television broadcasting. He is the former host of CBN’s 700 Club, a professional educator, and an ordained minister.
Through The Looking Glass looks at current events through the lens of absolute truth, the Word of God.
