The Newtown Massacre and the Pain of God

Chris Hopkins

By Michael Brown at Townhall; "In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, as family members and friends of the slain and wounded suffer unspeakable agony, people around the world are asking, “Where was God?” But very few are asking, “Is God hurting too?”

"According to Basilea Schlink (1904-2001), a German Christian leader who stood up to the Nazis, “Anyone who loves as much as God does, cannot help suffering. And anyone who really loves God will sense that He is suffering.”
...".In the words of Pastor Timothy Keller, “If we again ask the question: ‘Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?’ and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn’t. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us. It can’t be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself.”
"That’s why Anglican leader John Stott stated, “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross.” "
Much more in the rest of this article.
Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire, and his latest book is The Real Kosher Jesus.

Israel and Gun Violence; why gun violence is less common in Israel–where many carry guns openly–than in the U.S.:

By Alana Goodman at Commentary Magazine; "Most of the mass shootings that have taken place in Israel were related to the conflict in the region... at least two of these firearm terrorist attacks occurred at schools (both yeshivas). In both cases, the gunmen were not given the chance to end their own lives. They were killed by people at the schools who had guns."....

Goodman links to this article from Tablet Magazine, saying the author, Liel Leibovitz takes a look at why gun violence is less common in Israel–where many carry guns openly–than in the U.S.:
It’s the Jewish state’s gun culture, not its laws, that prevents mass shootings like the one in Connecticut

Israeli girls wear automatic rifles as they dance together during the celebrations for Independence Day in Jerusalem on April 19, 2010.

"The first and most universal one is that ever more stringent gun control is bad policy: As is the case with drugs, as was the case with liquor during Prohibition, the strict banning of anything does little but push the market underground into the hands of criminals and thugs. Rather than spend fortunes and ruin lives in a futile attempt to eradicate every last trigger in America, we would do well to follow Israel’s example and educate gun owners about their rights and responsibilities, so as to foster a culture of sensible and mindful gun ownership."

...." “An armed society,” Nedivi wrote, quoting the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, “is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” It may be a bit odd to think of Israeli society as polite, but when it comes to guns it is, and for just the reason articulated by Heinlein: When everyone has a gun, guns are no longer seen as talismans by weak, frightened, and unstable men seeking a sense of self-validation, but as killing machines that are to be handled with the utmost caution and care." 

Can't argue with that. Goodman concludes with this:

I'm sorry that many will find this poster offensive. I just ask
 that you give me an argument against it if you can. I only
wish one of the adults killed at the school had been armed.

"That’s definitely not to argue that arming more people is a solution to mass shootings in America. Israel is different because many of the people who carry guns in public are trained soldiers, and military service is mandatory for almost everyone. The heroes who stopped the gunmen at the yeshivas were reportedly all either soldiers or enrolled in pre-military preparatory programs. But it also contradicts the notion that fewer guns equals more safety. There may be policy responses to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that could be helpful in small ways–a review of mental health treatment in this country is warranted, and even a debate about gun laws isn’t a bad idea. But there are no obvious, all-encompassing solutions and anyone who argues otherwise is selling something."

Carefree chatter... then screams: Minute by minute, how death came to Sandy Hook

UK Daily Mail  "The yellow school buses pulled into the Sandy Hook elementary school car park as normal just before 9am last Friday.

"They were met by a dozen teachers on ‘bus duty’, and the pupils’ names were called out and ticked off as they got off.

"But as the carefree, chattering children filed in to their suburban school the fateful chain of events that would lead to 20 of them being slaughtered was already in train.....

"For some reason, he passed on and instead chose to enter a classroom occupied by teacher Lauren Rousseau, her 14-strong class and a special education teacher.

"Lanza put the Bushranger’s maximum six-rounds-a-second rate of fire to devastating effect, killing them all. The children, police told the Hartford Courant newspaper, were huddled together and clutching each other in terror."....

"In a separate room sat the parents. Those whose children were unaccounted for were sent to a separate room and to write their names on a new list.

"Connecticut governor Mr Malloy took it upon himself to break the awful news to the parents whose children were dead.
"‘They had been gathered for a number of hours, clinging to hope and someone had to decide how to handle that situation,’ he said. ‘It was a tough assignment.’"
Witnesses said the wailing of the newly bereaved was so loud it could be heard outside. Parents were allowed to identify their children from photos to spare them having to see the actual bodies.

Perhaps when Obama begins to demagogue and divide this country once again, he can turn his anger on those bleeding hearts who fought so hard for the rights of mental patients and against their treatment being  mandatory.

Pic: Hartford Courant’s Front Page Shows Young Victims Of Newtown Killer…

Weasel Zippers   "Heartbreaking to say the least."

Mrs. Clinton, please forgive our suspension of belief

http://terrellaftermath.com/

 Hillary Clinton faints; suffers concussion  "The conspiracy machine on the right has been working overtime postulating that this fall and injury are too convenient to be true. But the truth is a little more prosaic; Clinton was already doubtful for that testimony and while convenient, it's hard to imagine that Hillary would shed much additional light on what happened that day. If she was going to stonewall, then whether she shows up or not is moot.
"As far as Kerry, better at State than Defense which is where there was speculation he would end up. A man who voted against every major weapons system over the last three decades has no business running our military. He will fit in nicely with the striped pants set at the State Department and will be mostly powerless to make policy. "

The school shooter, the aftermath and the consequences

http://comicallyincorrect.com/

Legal Insurrection; Mother recounts terrors of raising genius son with violence-oriented mental illness   "Progressive gun control advocates were clamoring for more liberty-crushing legislation immediately after the slaughter of the young students and teachers at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. Meanwhile, others cry “white privilege” because most mass shooting suspects are white.
"Yet, one critically important aspect continues to get lost in the intense press coverage: The failure to develop and implement serious and protective policies that address the needs of both the mentally ill and their potential victims."

Hugh Hewitt: The mainstream media vultures gather  "The rush to assemble a media mob is now expected and the ratings consequences to the networks of ignoring such a horror are no doubt enormous, but the intrusion into the awful grief of the families of the victims is itself sickening."

Neal Boortz: And so here we are smack in the middle of a debate frenzy over gun control --- and who didn’t know this was where this tragedy was going to go as soon as the news started breaking.
"The debate on this one is going to be furious. Obama has been making it clear for quite some time that part of his “fundamental transformation” of America is to go after our guns. This shooting has given him more ammunition than he will probably need. ...And expect outrage if you point out that people actually DO use guns to protect themselves hundreds of times a day." Boortz refers us to the CATO link below.

Shooter's mother reportedly became ´obsessed´ with guns and taught Adam how to shoot, but on Friday in a grim twist he blasted her to death while she laid in her own bed.

From CATO: Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens

Gun Control - Watch What Happens When Guns Are Banned.

Israel has solved its school shooting problems

Michelle Malkin: 6 simple things parents can do in the wake of massacres without government

Michelle Malkin Malkin begins with this at number one:
1. Teach our kids about the acts of heroes in times of crisis.
Tell them about Newtown teacher Vicki Soto’s self-sacrifice and bravery. Tell them about Clackamas mall shopper Nick Meli, a concealed carry permit-holder whose quick action may have prevented additional deaths. Tell them about Family Research Council security guard Leo Johnson, who protected workers from a crazed gunman. Tell them about the heroic men in the Aurora movie theater who gave their lives taking bullets for their loved ones. Tell them about armed Holocaust Museum security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, who died fighting back against the museum’s nutball attacker. Tell them about armed private citizen Jeanne Assam, who gunned down the New Life Church attacker in Colorado Springs and saved untold lives.
Read the rest here.

Remember all our fuss over Zero Dark Thirty being used to make Obama look good? How about this?

Zero Dark Thirty confounding liberal film critics   "What if Hollywood made a high profile movie that carried an implicit message supporting George W. Bush's War on Terror policies and made Barack Obama look naïve? What if the movie were made by an acclaimed director, and was really, really good?
"Why, you'd have the amusing opportunity to read up on the critical reaction To Kathryn Bigelow's new blockbuster film, Zero Dark Thirty."

aceshowbiz.com

Westboro Baptist Church Says It Will Picket Vigil For Connecticut School Shooting Victims

HuffPo  "The Westboro Baptist Church, the controversial group known for protesting outside funerals of slain U.S. service members, announced that it will picket a vigil for the victims of Friday's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the second-deadliest school shooting in American history.

"Shirley Phelps-Roper, a spokesperson for the group and, like most members of the organization, a relative of the group's founder, Fred Phelps, announced on Twitter on Saturday the group's plan "to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment."
"It is unclear when the group plans to protest, although a tweet from Margie Phelps implied that it would be during a vigil that will be attended by President Barack Obama on Sunday evening.
"Members of the Westboro Baptist Church say that America is being punished for its acceptance of gays and lesbians. In recent days, Phelps family members have sent tweets about the Connecticut shooting that have said "God sent the shooter." "
It is hard enough for me to fathom one person feeling this way, but to think of him passing these feelings on to an entire congregation is beyond my comprehension.
We become like what we worship; to draw closer to the Jesus revealed in the Scriptures is to become more like Him who was always aware that everything in his life was under the control of the Father (hence the spiritual struggle I have doing this blog). This is part of what the peace of God the angels spoke of at the first Christmas was about. What these Westboro people have learned of Jesus I cannot begin to guess.
(I'll save the subject of drawing closer to Jesus vs. drawing closer to the prophet Mohammed for another discussion). TD

Newtown CT – Idyllic, Horrific, Courageous

Craig Andresen  "I have never been to Newtown Connecticut…Never even heard of it until last Friday.

"In my mind, I can picture it now. I have no idea how accurate my mind’s eye might be but, let me share it with you.
"Last Thursday…
"Newtown Connecticut was the 21st century equivalent to a Norman Rockwell painting.
"It’s mid-December. The colorful leave have fallen, been raked up and taken away but, the sky is a vivid blue.
"Newtown, last Thursday, was a clean small town full of cheer.

...."Robbie Parker also talked about Emilie’s little sisters. “They seem to get the fact that they have somebody they’re going to miss very much.”

"And Robbie Parker spoke of the shooter’s family too… “I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you.”

"HE…Can’t imagine how hard it must be for…THEM.

"Healing in Newtown Connecticut is going to take time. There will always be voids that will never be filled but, if Robbie Parker is any indication of the strength of the folk who live there and I believe he is, they will find a way through this…Together."....

mercurynews.com

Are evil people so evil that there is not even compassion for small children?

Let us count a few of the instances where not even the innocence of childhood was sufficient to spare victims  from murderers

Beslan school hostage crisis   "At least 334 hostages were killed as a result of the crisis, including 186 children, with a significant number of people injured and reported missing."

Sharia: The long list of Christian children raped, killed by Muslims  "It's not just that the little Christian girl with Down's Syndrome was beaten (along with her mother) for "blasphemy" under the sharia, or the 12-year-old Christian boy had his ears, nose and intestines gutted as part of the reprisal for an alleged act of blasphemy, it's that this is going on daily, the persecution of non-Muslims under the sharia in Muslim countries, and the media not only says nothing; they defame, smear, and destroy those of us who shine the light on these depraved acts in the cause of Islam."

Father and his two sons, and another girl, killed outside Jewish school   "And he could have taken inspiration from Norwegian right-wing extremist* Anders Behring Breivik - who last July went on a shooting spree that killed 77 people."
*No, not the TEA Party as Pelosi would say.

We need to point this out: American Muslims Mourn Rampage Victims. "“The Muslim Community at the Al Hedaya Islamic Center in Newtown CT and at other area Masajid in Danbury CT...share in the grief of the families of the children in today’s tragedy,” the center said in a statement on its website." We will look for instances of regret from these sources of Muslim-caused violence.

Confessed Fogel family murderer sentenced: unrepentant, says he’d do it again and the killers were praised by other Arab Muslims.

Until the Ma'alot massacre we thought that surely no terrorist would kill children.
At least there was some outrage in America over the massacres of American Indians - precious little but more than we see in Muslim nations over killings by Islamists.

http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/12/14/cartoons-tragic-school-shooting/#3

Domino's owner sues feds over ObamaCare

MyFox  "The founder of Domino's Pizza is suing the federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in the new health care law.
"Tom Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says contraception is not health care and instead is a "gravely immoral" practice. He's a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court, along with his Domino's Farms, which runs an office park near Ann Arbor.
"Monaghan offers health insurance that excludes contraception and abortion for employees. The new law requires employers to offer insurance that includes contraception coverage or risk fines. Monaghan says the law violates his constitutional rights, and he's asking a judge to strike down the mandate.
"The government says the contraception mandate benefits women and their role in society. There are similar lawsuits pending across the country."

faithmouse