The Tragedy at Columbine High

by Andy Rice                                                                                             Vol. XII, No. 9, October 1999

Columbine, the state flower of Colorado, has been stained with blood. Not the blood of trained service men but students who should be in a safe and secure environment. The tragedy which the students at Columbine High School in Littleton faced plunged the entire nation into a tail spin which forces us to question the meaning of it all.

Two main questions are being asked by everyone. "Why has this senseless tragedy happened?" And "How can we prevent it from happening again?"

Without a Biblical or Christian world view there is no adequate answer to the first and only hopeless attempts at answering the last. As Christians we must turn to the Scriptures for answers and wisdom of which the world is unaware.

The first question concerning why this tragedy had to happen is clearly answered in the Bible. The Scriptures teach that mankind is depraved and sinful by nature. He is not as bad as he can be, but his nature is tainted by sin (Eccl. 7:20; Eph. 2:2-3). The rejection of this biblical teaching and the acceptance that mankind is inherently good has at best clouded our vision of the possibility of evil which humans might impose upon one another. The Apostle Paul outlines for us this doctrine in the early chapters of Romans which we shall summarize with just a few references. "Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, ...murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; ...disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death.... What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written:

                There is none righteous, no, not one;

                There is none who understands;

                There is none who seeks after God.

                They have all gone out of the way;

                They have together become unprofitable;

                There is none who does good, no, not one....

                Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

                Their feet are swift to shed blood;

                Destruction and misery are in their ways;

                And the way of peace they have not known.

                There is no fear of God before their eyes (Rom 1:21-22, 28-32; 3:9-12, 14-18)."

        One of the fellow gang members of the Trench Coat Mafia said on the evening news, "My friends were good people who made bad decisions." The last of that statement is true, but the first is false. They did make bad decisions, many long before April 20th. But we must not allow that to overshadow the doctrinal truth of the depravity of mankind.

 Jesus explains it to us in an understandable manner when he said, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit (Matthew 7:17-18)."

The tragedy has visited us secondly, because our culture is being undermined. The biblical foundations which were accepted and applied to the American culture from its beginning and for many years are being removed or have already been replaced. God declares, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34)."

When a nation turns away from what made it great we can only expect reproach, sorrow, and judgment to follow. We see this being worked out before our eyes. The young people of our land are looking for both meaning in life and a belief system. Where shall they turn? The general population has accepted materialism with its single desire for immediate gratification. Others offer meaninglessness and hopelessness. Then there is the extreme end of the spectrum which offers an alterative approach to life where fulfillment is found in violence, destruction, and hate.

Should we be surprised that the barbarian's are among us? First we removed moral and biblical principles from our schools and then from society as a whole. Then we contributed to their destructive ways with our high tech media. Their minds have been filled with violence as they have been sitting motionless in front of the TV and the big screen, soaking up the most violent graphics imaginable. They have even been encouraged to engage in this activity through video games until their consciences are seared beyond recovery.

A third answer to why this school became a killing field is referred to in the Scriptures when it says some will give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:10). All believers are involved in spiritual warfare. But often we fail to acknowledge that since the creation of the world there has been a battle waging between God and Satan on this earth. Satan and his demonic forces are using lies and false philosophies to deceive those created in the image of God. The spiritual forces of wickedness are deceiving and destroying our youth as it were without opposition. Our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). There may be other reasons why this tragedy happened at Columbine High, but the three answers stated here reveal the most obvious ones that believers will recognize as being a valid Christian point of view.

The second question which is occupying everyone's mind is, "How can we prevent something like this from happening again?" There are many things which we can do as a society which may reduce the possibility of this kind of tragedy being repeated as often as we have experienced it recently. But the lasting solution falls upon the church. We could just say, "The church must be the church." But for our own accountability we must look at several specifics which we are responsible to perform. The church must place a high priority upon teaching and modeling the Christian life. Ephesians 4:17-24 sets forth both the goal and means for the successful living of the life which we have in Christ Jesus. Yet most preaching seems to avoid confronting the believer with the information which is vital to discipleship. God is not pleased with anything short of self denial, cross-bearing, and holy living.

The church must also take seriously the command to evangelize our community, state, country, and world. That which we are called to in the Great Commission is not an option. It is absolutely essential to who we are both as Christians and the body of Christ. Are we too complacent in our freedom and too careless in our concern for souls?

The church must also take a stand for biblical principles and be prepared to argue or defend those principles in the market place. This cannot be done in an unprepared or unprofessional manner. Thought and study must be put into the issues which are facing our country. If those of us who profess the name of Jesus and even occupy places of leadership within the church fail to prepare and speak on the issues of the hour we should not complain when an unchristian bias is accepted and implemented.

We must see that our role in a post-Christian America is to be the people of God no matter what it may cost us! Are we too comfortable to speak out?

The church must join hearts and hands upon our knees crying out to God to send a visitation of his Holy Spirit upon us (2 Chron. 7:14; Luke 11:9-13). The hour is late and the darkness is approaching. Our only hope of survival is to be found in the hands of a gracious and wonderful God. Are we too content to cry to Him?

We definitely need light and God said to the church at Ephesus in 5:14,

                "Awake, you who sleep,

                 Arise from the dead,

                 And Christ will give you light."

Then in Revelation 2:4 Jesus says to the Ephesians, "I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Could it be that we are suffering such massive spiritual darkness in our land today because we, the church, have left our first love and are asleep spiritually? Could not many of the moral evils of our day be laid at our own doorstep because we have failed to sound the proper warning in time? Are things too far gone? No. But we must make it our business to live a holy life before the watching world and share Christ at every opportunity — even when there is no opportunity. We must take a stand on issues and principles even if all around us are opposed to them, and plead with God to send us a revival. The words of Jesus to the Laodiceans are exactly what the church in America needs today when He said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Rev 3:20)."

[Andy H. Rice, Sr., is pastor of Mineral Springs Baptist Church, Vinton, VA.]