with a steady hand

After watching last week's news stories about the gunman in Colorado, I was completely flabbergasted. The response of the church in Colorado Springs may be born out of trauma, but their justification of violence is inexcusable. "The Holy Spirit was with me," the security guard said. "My hand was steady. I didn't shake at all." At some point, God guiding this woman through an incredibly difficult situation became God pointing the gun at another person. The pastor continues to argue for armed security guards in churches. And everyone seems OK with it.

For millenia (and maybe forever), people have used God to justify violence. Old Testament scriptures ring with battles in God's name. The Crusades took on a life of their own as "Christians" paid their way into heaven by fighting for "Christ" in the Holy Land. World War II saw contemporary Christians participate directly and indirectly in the slaughter and genocide of millions. So this isn't a new thing - this idea of using God to aim the gun. History books are full of people apologizing for the wrongs their ancestors did. Haven't we learned? What's it going to take?

It may be naive to hope for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s hopes, to pray like Gandhi, to serve like Dorothy Day. At some point humanity must stand up and hold itself accountable. It is irresponsible to hold the "why didn't we see/know" until 20 or 30 years have passed. It is shameful to never be able to see ourselves as the guilty or unjust.

I don't know what I would do if a gunman walked into my congregation. I don't know how I would respond if I had been there. But I don't think that it is acceptable to praise God for the murder accomplished. The act and justification are both sin. Taking someone's life does not please God; they were part of God's "good" creation originally, too. Let's call it as it is: badness, violence, ugliness, brokenness, sin. This is not a blessing. We shoudn't be congratulating each other. This is the world gone wrong.