Asking "Why?"

Authorities in Connecticut responded to a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown last Friday morning. Police reported 27 deaths, including 20 children, six adults and the shooter, according to the Associated Press. An official identified the suspected gunman as Adam Lanza.

One of the most striking aspects of the news coverage of the recent shooting in Newtown, CT is the stunned silence about the question of "Why?"

Of course there is often great mystery when asking why things happen in our world. Indeed, modern science is increasingly proficient in answering hard questions. There appear to be fewer and fewer true mysteries, if you believe the scientists.

We can often predict the weather, the stock market, and geo-political trends, but rarely the human psyche. We can send a man to the moon and talk with someone across the planet, but get dumbfounded by the human heart.

Will we ever be able to understand the mind of man well enough to predict and prevent these horendous events?  Why can’t we answer questions of human behavior?  Was Adam Lanza evil, crazy, or sick? 

Modern science, and society in general will never comprehend the nature of man until they acknowledge the reality of the spiritual dimension of life. But when we see the extreme evil in man, we tend to fall silent. We would rather cling to an outmoded secular view of human nature that gives no insight into the more profound aspects of thought and action. We would rather call it an "illness" and walk away, than to take a serious look at the cause of extreme deviant and destructive behavior. We will do almost anything to avoid dealing with "the world beyond"- which is the ultimate source of evil.

There is certainly more to man than what meets the eye- more than the mere physical or mental. Human beings have a spiritual dimension of life. They have a connection to a world of good and evil.

Dr M Scott Peck, in his book “Children of the Lie” documents case after case from his long career of clinical counselling of patients that should be diagnosed as not only as mentally ill, but also as “evil”.

And certainly the Scriptures support this view. Jesus told Peter to "get ye behind me, Satan"; He also called the Pharisees "sons of their father, the devil".  Paul warned the Ephesians not to "give the devil a foothold".  He also stated that the battle that we face is not simply one of flesh and blood, but against "the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens."

So how does this evil world influence man?  Simply put, I would say “every thought that enters the mind of man does not originate with him.”  This is what is meant when the Bible speaks of “temptation”.  If a person accepts these thoughts, dwells on them, takes action, all manner of evil can result.

Now I'm not saying that there is a devil under every bush, but when a twenty-year old chooses to murder 20 innocent children and 6 caring women, I see significant evil behind it. I don't care how harmless he looks in some of his pictures, how willowy his physical presence, or what was the particular nature of his mental problem. I'm saying with great certainty, actually absolute certainty, that there was something evil at work behind the scenes.

And why do we, meaning the media, insist on looking for only one simple answer for complex problems. Why can't there be more than one factor at work- physical, mental, AND spiritual?  Why couldn't it be a physical ailment, mental condition, as well as an evil influence? 

To understand extreme crimes in our world, we must consider the question of evil. If we conceed that those doing evil are being influence from “beyond”, then there is value in looking beyond and seeking to understand.  So what are the strategies of the evil one?  Does he actually think he can defeat God?  Why is he so determined to "kill, steal, and destroy" human beings, as Jesus pointed out in the Gospel of John chapter 10?

Admittedly, the nature of evil is indeed a great mystery.  Maybe that’s one reason asking “Why?” can be so frustrating.

What do you think?

If we were to ask of Satan the same question we ask of any mass murderer what would we say?  Is he sick, insane, or simply evil? 

How would you answer this simple multiple-choice question?

Satan is….

a.     sick

b.     insane

c.      evil

d.     all of the above

Correct answer: all of the above