GUNS, SPOONS, GOOD, EVIL

The deaths and injuries from the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, this past week are truly tragic. One thing that amazes me today in the media's and people's response to such heinous acts committed by individuals is the refusal to ever concede that there is supernatural, personal evil in our world. Objects are called evil-objects such as guns. Personal convictions are first called "intolerance" which is then called evil. But, people's moral choices and consequent actions are not called evil. No credence is given to reality of supernatural forces that are evil. No concession is given that human hearts harbor evil or that some things in this world's system are truly evil. In refusal to recognize the reality of evil and attribute such acts as the shooting to evil, it is remarkable the things our society and its spokesman the media will not blame. They will never blame the constant portrayal of un-condemned evil in movies and television shows. No, Hollywood can never be blamed for such influence even though the recent shooter very possibly was emulating a violent scene portrayed in a movie. It is also remarkable, though predictable, what will be blamed. In the next days we will see this tragedy turned into a platform to condemn guns. In the media's mind, it will not be the fault of the person who pulled the trigger; it will be the gun's fault. Not believing in personal evil, something had to cause the person's deplorable actions. The object, the gun, becomes evil. To blame the shootings on guns is like blaming obesity on forks and spoons. What many do not recognize is that refusing to recognize the reality of personal evil is also to take away personal good. As certainly as there is evil in this world, there is good. The Devil may be at work, but so is God. In accepting and living with the reality of evil, there is also the accepting and living with the reality of good.