Some reflections on recent events.... Part 1 [Guest Post]

I am doing something a little different here and posting a guest post. My father, who many of you know is a Lutheran pastor, posted his reflections on the recent events in Connecticut and our response to it on his Facebook page. I thought more people might like to read it, so I asked him if I could repost it here. Enjoy! 
-Laura

From Pastor John Davis:
 
The following is the first in a three-part series of thoughts as I reflect on the current events in Connecticut and our collective societal response to them:

Today, at our staff devotion, we prayed earnestly for the people of Connecticut, for families affected, for the community, for pastor

s and counselors, and the like. We also prayed for our own local schools and our nation. And in praying for our nation, we prayed that people would turn to (or turn back to) our God and Father and His Son, Jesus. As people are so severely confronted with evil, the questions of morals and goodness become a point of discussion, and the search to find/go back to strong values seems to be at the forefront. In this void and in this hurt is where we as disciples of Jesus can make such a difference, so long as we are not weakly resigned to the values and morals of an increasingly secular society.

At the conclusion of our devotion time, we sang the hymn, "God of Grace and God of Glory" I share the words of verses 2-4 of this hymn (public domain) with you:

Lo, the hosts of evil round us scorn the Christ, assail His Ways!
From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days.

Cure your children's warring madness; bend our pride to your control;
Shame our wanton selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage lest we miss your Kingdom's goal.

Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore;
Let the gift of Your salvation be our glory evermore.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage, serving you whom we adore.

I believe these words are a strong challenge for us to rethink the moral foundations upon which our society (or any society) and our lives are built. Individualism, individual rights, self-determination, and the like can be wonderful gifts and in many ways have played a significant role in the growth of our nation. However, there is another side to such a worldview, one which makes no distinction between values and choices, with all being relative and all being of equal worth. (Similarly there are blessings in there being a collective, societal, and group dynamic world view, which also comes with another side to include the suppressing of individual freedoms and rights for the sake of the whole.) This dichotomy seems to generally work until we have a tragedy such as the one in Connecticut. Then, we start to ask questions, and we focus on immediate solutions, whether those solutions be gun control, bringing back school prayer, or any similar kinds of ideas. But such discussions miss the mark.
 

If the observation (as I have heard) is that evil paid a visit in Newtown, then the real question is how do we overcome the evil? Getting rid of guns does not get rid of the evil. Nor does the institutional practice of prayer automatically change the hearts and minds of people. To answer this question, there has to be an objective understanding of evil, and that is the challenge for the new and current worldview we collectively have. When we rationalize, minimize, or politicize away that which we know to be evil, then we eliminate any objective understanding of evil. We effectively say: “what is evil to one is not necessarily evil to another, and who am I to decide.” The result of such thinking is that evil is subjectively defined by the many instead of objectively defined by something (someone) greater than ourselves. While there are many who prefer it this way, the problem is: what if the many have a view different than the few? Does their view automatically make something good or evil? And what if the views change; does that make something suddenly more or less evil?
To a people without God, there is no easy remedy for this dilemma—in fact it actually perpetuates the dilemma. The solution that is often found is limited to the current of the day, but such a solution lacks permanency, conviction, and universality.
 

On the other hand, to a people with God, there is an inherent recognition of that which is objectively good and that which is objectively evil. This recognition is a starting point, but it is not the cure-all we desire. Instead, living this objective truth is a life long journey, which continually refines us and builds upon and nurtures this truth within us. Simply put, we have to live out these truths in a clear and consistent manner for them to be relevant and to be recognized. In fact, when people who believe in God follow the world view of subjective evil, they exacerbate the problem by sending conflicting messages about good and evil/right and wrong to those who don’t know God, which only reinforces their (and the current) world view; all of which leads us to keep asking the very question that we seem to want to avoid: how do we overcome this evil?

Tomorrow, I will share what I firmly believe to be the answer to the above question.