Confused about how to respond to the Florida shooting? Clearly, everyone wants school children to be safe but how is this accomplished? Some want to address issues such as mental health, gun control, and/or school security. Others point to cultural issues such as violence in video games and movies or social issues such as bullying. But in all this conversation, has anyone identified the root issue—why do acts of violence, like mass shootings, continue to occur?
If we want a real solution, we must understand the real problem—the root issue. The starting point for correctly understanding the root issue requires a correct view of reality.
If you concede that the physical universe was created by a spirit being known as God, then spiritual reality preceded physical reality. This means that physical reality proceeds from or out of spiritual reality.
Rebellion against God appears to predate the creation of physical reality. Ostensibly this rebellion was led by a fallen angel named Lucifer (aka Satan),1 who was accompanied by other fallen angels.
Soon after God created the physical universe, which he declared to be very good,2 Satan and his minions helped lead the first humans into rebellion against God.3
Sin is rebellion against the will and ways of God, and sin is a spiritual reality that is manifested in physical reality. For example, sin is the reason for physical death.
Because of the systemic nature of sin, mankind can never meet God’s standard of righteousness. This is one of the important lessons of the Old Testament: righteousness can never be attained by human works.4 Salvation from sin and death is accomplished only through the vicarious substitutionary atonement of Christ.5
Notwithstanding the availability of salvation, the spiritual rebellion against God continues and is manifested in many physical ways such as lying, stealing, laziness, deception, infidelity, and murder.
All of us experience the physical consequences of sin. Some of the consequences are more painful than others. For example, if someone steals your credit card, it is frustrating and annoying, but the pain is not comparable to the murder of a loved one—an almost unbearable pain. Though the two scenarios produce different degrees of pain, the root issue is the same—sin in the universe.
To manage the consequences of sin in the physical universe, mankind makes laws. For example, mankind makes laws that forbid the theft of credit cards and murder. The enforcement of these man-made laws punishes disobedience but cannot completely stop theft and murder because the root issue is a spiritual issue—sin in human beings. To fully stop theft and murder requires the eradication of sin.
The root issue of sin is spiritual reality that requires a spiritual solution. From a Christian worldview, Christ provided the only efficacious solution to the problem of sin.6 The legal basis for ending the rebellion against God was accomplished through the substitutionary atonement of Christ.7 Though the basis for ending the rebellion has been completed, the end of this rebellion has not been culminated, but it will be.8 In the meantime, the battle continues. The spiritual reality of sin continues to be manifested in the physical realm, though many have and will experience the saving reality of Christ. So, before the consummation of the final victory over sin, how can humans address the manifestation of sin in physical reality, not just at the symptom level, but at the root level?
First, we must see reality correctly.
On February 14, 2018, a lone gunman using an assault rifle murdered seventeen people and injured others at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Simple enough, everyone sees this, right? Well, if this is all you see, you have a naturalistic view of reality that ignores the existence of spiritual reality. Such a view is the default perspective of atheism. A priori, this view excludes spiritual reality. But atheists are not alone; even theists, who view God as disconnected from his creation, in essence default to natrualism; this view is known as deism. While naturalism claims there is no spiritual reality, a Christian worldview recognizes both physical and spiritual reality.
Second, we must understand reality correctly.
In addition to recognizing the existence of both the physical and spiritual dimensions of reality, we must also understand the proper order of these realms. The root realm of reality is the spiritual. The physical realm is driven by spiritual reality. In other words, physical reality manifests symptoms of underlying spiritual reality. Consequently, to seek to understand events in physical reality correctly, one must seek to understand the spiritual reality behind those events. Accordingly, the Florida shooting was a manifestation of spiritual reality, namely, individual and cultural sin.
Third, we must draw the right conclusions.
Given the human proclivity to think as naturalists, it is tempting to conclude that responding to the symptoms of sin is the solution; this is sometimes called sin management. But this is not the ultimate solution; the real solution must address sin at the root.
To address sin at the root requires an understanding of the spiritual nature of sin and how God responds to sin. When humans rebel against God, this reveals a depraved mind—a mind opposed to God, which is contrary to God’s design of mankind. One possible divine response to sin is to turn humans over to their depraved minds. Depraved minds tend to embrace the unnatural, that is, consequences contrary to health, life, and prosperity.9 The opposite is also true. A sound mind will align with God’s will and yield blessings of health, life, and prosperity.10 Progressively, the world is choosing rebellion against God. Therefore, negative tangible consequences are progressively occurring.
For example, in the decade of the 1950s, the number of school shootings in the USA was 17 compared to 153 in the decade of the 2010s, which is not over. This is an increase of 800 percent.11 During the same timeframe, the population grew from 166 million to 321 million, an increase of only 94 percent. The growth rate of school shootings is increasing dramatically faster than the population growth. This is a symptom of increasing rebellion, which intimates that we should expect increasing manifestations of sin, such as, school shootings.
Fourth, we must make the right choices.
The solution to a society spiraling out of control due to unchecked rebellion against God is to repent. The right choice is always obedience to God, which leads to divine blessings. Therefore, the starting point for dealing with sin at the root level is repentance. This means that we must repent of our rebellion against God and return to a Christian worldview.
To be able to make this choice, we must see both physical and spiritual reality. We must understand that physical reality is a by-product of underlying spiritual reality and recognize the rebellion against God. We must properly conclude that the cultures of the world are progressively being shaped by naturalistic thinking and therefore rejecting God. And finally, we must repent and choose to return to a Christian worldview.
Alternatively, we could choose to simply work on the symptoms of sin seeking better mental health programs, better gun control, better security at schools, and a better culture. This is sin management—an expensive and only marginally effective response to the symptoms of sin. It is like a Band-Aid on a serious wound; in the end, it will not be efficacious.
If we want a real solution, we must choose to address the problem at the root. We must be willing to repent and seek the Lord. We must replace our rebellion against God with repentance and surrender to the will of God. Only then will we be able to truly mitigate the problems of society as we wait for God to consummate his final victory over sin.
If the Lord tarries, the real solution will probably take a long time. So, there may be a place for sin management as part of the interim process of individual and societal repentance. But we must be clear that the long-term solution to the symptoms of sin is a return to a Christian worldview. Nothing else will work because the real problem in individuals and the cultures of the world is rebellion against the Creator. Until we address this root reality, the symptoms will only continue and grow. Sin management alone will not be able to stop this.
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1. Isaiah 14:12.
2. Genesis 1:31.
3. Genesis 3.
4. Galatians 2:16.
5. Galatians 3:11–14.
6. Acts 4:12.
7. John 19:30.
8. Revelation 20.
9. Romans 1:18ff.
10. Psalms 1.
11. https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/69623-the-devastating-truth-about-school-shootings-in-america.
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