Dear Reader, this is not short, but I would ask you to take your precious time, which I respect, and read to the end and think deeply with me about this subject. Thank you.
Nearly every American has voiced an opinion this week about this. Why Uvalde? The horror. The tragedy. The unthinkable. And how to stop it? Confront mental health. Gun control. More security. Some compromise, somehow.
With no expression of sarcasm whatsoever, I humbly yet boldly say this, I know the answers to both of these questions. But you need to hear this, the answers are not mine. And I am certainly not the only one with this information.
These answers are clear and direct, coming from the only perfect source of information, and that is A Biblical World View. Yes, it is in and through the Bible, the very Word of God, the eternal and timeless Word of God, that we can find these answers. We do not necessarily like the answer to the first question, but we certainly are thankful to have the answer to the second question.
Why Uvalde? And tragedies like this, both large and small? The Bible is very clear in Genesis that after the glorious creation of all things by God (which is key in a Biblical World View), humankind fell from perfection and brought imperfection to all creation. Thus, now all humankind carries this Sin and lives in a fallen world, a world that is now under the power of sin, death, and the devil, as Martin Luther so well described it.
Yes. This Sin (theologians use the upper case for this over-all fall from grace) separates us from God and puts us at odds with each other. Left unchecked, our Sin would ultimately destroy us and all that exists even for all eternity.
If you are not a person of this understanding at this point, I would challenge you to explain the reality of our world with any other feasible explanation.
There are certainly consequences of this Sin, which become evident everywhere we look. These consequences include, but are not limited to, denial of this Biblical World View, disease, behavioral problems, broken relationships, mental health problems, crimes of all kinds, wars, human chaos of all sorts, human death, etc. Throughout the Bible we see time and time again these consequences of Sin that were evident before us, and now we see through the lenses of Scripture the reason for the presence of all these consequences in our own time. Well come back to this.
Sin. Yes, left unchecked would ultimately destroy us. However, and thankfully, Sin was and is not left unchecked. Of the Two-Point-Truth of the Bible (the first being Sin), the second is the good part, even called The Good News, even called The Gospel. Yes, fortunately, oh-so-fortunately, God Himself did not leave Sin unchecked. First of all, He made His Holy Promise to send a Savior to take on Sin and conquer it, and thereby saving the whole world from these destructive consequences of Sin.
Then, He sent even His own Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. By His perfect life, by His death on the cross to pay the ultimate sacrifice to forgive all sin, and by His conquering even death in His resurrection, Jesus has beaten Sin for all eternity. In reality and in His Perfect Will, God has chosen to leave us in our fallen world at this time, but with these promises. Since Jesus has already defeated sin, death, and the devil, we are now empowered by His Holy Spirit to live our lives meaningfully and faithfully even in the harshness our fallen world; and Jesus will return again at His Perfect Time to bring the new heaven and new earth (The Revelation) into eternal existence for all who believe in Him.
The perfection of The Biblical World View is this. The Law of Scripture shows us our Sin, its consequences in our lives, and our need for a savior because we cannot conquer our Sin by ourselves, even with our best human effort. The Gospel of Scripture declares to us the Good News that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
However, there is still one more key component in Gods Plan as revealed in His Biblical World View. Jesus gave His disciples The Great Commission right before He ascended into heaven (the event we marked just this past Thursday, 40 days after the resurrection). Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all which I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. (Matthew 28:19)
So, the perfect Biblical World View has us now taking all that I have just laid out from the Bible to the world. That is the Mission of The Church. And here is the way that has played out in history. When The Church has positively influenced governments and societies to live within the Biblical World View, for the most part life for humankind has been better, much better. I cannot go further into world history at this point, and some scholars would certainly disagree with this statement, but I would challenge that a full denial of this is impossible.
So, what about our society? Our government? Our quality of life at this present time? It is sadly clear that in our society today, in the United States of America, that the Biblical World View, upon which our country was founded (yes!), and by which our society lived for the most part in previous generations, it is sadly clear that we have drifted and been driven away from the Biblical World View in far too many ways. Argue if you will, but true. I do not believe our society is already doomed and defeated. So much good still lies within us, but warnings have been and must continue to be made concerning this.
Heres the question: In the absence of The Biblical World View, what takes its place? Many -isms, for sure: atheism, hedonism, narcissism, just to name a few. However, I believe there is one that is now more prevalent and perhaps even more dangerous to our society. And that is nihilism.
Ever so quickly, nihilism is nothing-ism. People believe nothing. People believe nothing is real. People believe they are nothing. People believe their lives mean nothing. People believe nothing is wrong. People believe nothing is contrary to society. People believe nothing is permanent. People believe nothing is of value. And into that nothingness comes the evil of a fallen world.
Combine the reality of mental illness in fallen world with the absence of a Biblical World View, replaced with nihilism, and you get evil rising up and a gunman shooting children! To which we all shout, Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!
What will make it stop? Ultimately, only the return of Jesus Christ to bring His Full and Holy Kingdom for eternity. But until then, we of The Church must take up even more vigorously The Mission of bringing the world, our world, our family, our neighbors, into the Biblical World View of the reality of Sin, the need for forgiveness, the saving work of Jesus Christ, His love for us, and our love for one another, even those who may differ from us.
So, to those who put down our faith and our beliefs and our mission; to those of you in our own government who continue to try to shove us Christians and our Biblical World View further and further to the edges of influence in our society; to you I say, Watch out! Here we come again! We Christians will again become Christian Soldiers, armed not with human weapons, but with the Truth and Love of Jesus our Lord and Savior! Only this will turn the hearts of the people of our society to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) And I would certainly add, And walk with each other in justice, kindness, and humility.
This is the Ultimate Answer. Amen! And Amen!!
[Kollmeyer, a Fayette County resident for 36 years, is Pastor Emeritus at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. Follow Pastor Scott Ness and this great church at http://www.princeofpeacefayette.org. Kollmeyer until recently was Interim Pastor at Word of God Lutheran Church in Sharpsburg. Find some of his video recorded sermons at http://www.woglutheran.org and follow Pastor Jason Dampier and this great church on this site.]
More here:
Why Uvalde? How to stop it? - The Citizen.com
- Voices: Working-class men like Steve Wright don't go to the doctor and that's exactly the problem... - Yahoo News UK - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- "Superman Defeats Nihilism": Grant Morrison Loved an Obscure Alan Moore Story So Much They Almost Remixed It - Screen Rant - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The rise of stay-at-home girlfriends - UnHerd - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 'Fargo' Recap, Season 5, Episode 2: Trials and Tribulations - Vulture - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- What's the matter with Russia? - The Hub - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Killer: The unintentional comedy of the year? - EL PAS USA - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Eli Roth's Thanksgiving Keeps A Disappointing 2023 Slasher Trend ... - Screen Rant - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Bobby McDonagh: The Rule of Law matters more than ever when ... - TheJournal.ie - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- A 2023 gift guide: 10 ideas for the music lover in your life - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Ten Great Sci-fi TV Shows that Promote Reason and Individualism - The Objective Standard - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Jonathan Sacks: Are Science and Religion Enemies? - The Collector - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- An open letter to all of my progressive friends - New York Daily News - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Two Tragedies of November 22nd - The American Conservative - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Speculating on the ceasefire moment in Gaza - rabble.ca - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- In Defense of Stigma - The Stream - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Pro-lockdown obsessives still long to be told what to do - Yahoo Eurosport UK - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 8 signs you're a mentally strong person (even if you don't think so) - Hack Spirit - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Trump Gets Fined in Court but Wins in the House - The New Yorker - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- The challenges to democracy [letter] | Letters To The Editor ... - LNP | LancasterOnline - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Standing against the insidious spread of euthanasia | News, Sports ... - The Daily Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- A large chunk of Republicans are quite set on voting for the face ... - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Israel's civic strength in response to the Hamas attacks should stiffen ... - The Hub - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- No Time to Go Wobbly on Russia - Center for European Policy Analysis - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Blinken to Security Council: Where's the revulsion over Hamas attacks - The Times of Israel - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Opinion | In Israel and Gaza, Searching for Humanity - The New York Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Donald Trump to testify in NY AG Case - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Thom Nickels: Demonic nihilism? It's not just on the streets. - Broad + Liberty - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Reflections on the Revolution in America | Pavlos Leonidas ... - First Things - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why It's Always Raining In The Movie Se7en: David Fincher's ... - Screen Rant - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Poetic Time In The Age Of Acceleration - Noema Magazine - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: Zilched releases her best work yet in 'Earthly Delights' - WDET - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Phoebe Bridgers thinks we confuse sadness with intelligence: Listen ... - Audacy - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Called to be a man in Christ, not a Nietzschean superman - Catholic World Report - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why The Last Voyage of the Demeter Sank at the Box Office - MovieWeb - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Forget GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption, I want Manhunt 3 - PCGamesN - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Gabriel Krauze: raw writing from the streets of London - RNZ - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- The Ideal Man According to 7 Different Philosophers - Art of Manliness - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: In How to Blow Up a Pipeline, nihilism is optimism - Detroit Metro Times - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Beaten To Death Review: Disturbing Australian Horror Lives Up To Its Title [Panic Fest 2023] - Dread Central - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- David Brooks: Joe Biden and the 'battle for the soul of America' l - Baltimore Sun - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Ram Jams: Fall Out Boy, New Album and Era - Fordham Observer - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson Is the Emblem of GOP Cynicism - The Atlantic - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- One Night in Washington, D.C., With George Santos - The Intercept - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Reddit study finds interesting facts about typical Blue Jays fans - Jays Journal - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Yale Professor Breaks Down Years of Violent Conflict Between ... - The Greyhound - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Nietzsche, Friedrich | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- 30 Religious Terms You Should Know - Daily Writing Tips - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Difference Between Existentialism, Nihilism, and Absurdism - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Philosophical skepticism - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Simon Critchley - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- 'World is Crumbling. An Email Doesn't Matter': 2022 Was the Year of Nihilism. How Do We Move On? - News18 - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Moscow accuses West of legal nihilism RT Russia & Former Soviet Union - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Wordsworths Challenge to Darwinian Nihilism | Evolution News - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie LaCava review numb nihilism ... - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Editorial: In the Face of Climate Nihilism, What Can One Do to Not Lose All Hope? | Opinions - The Link - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Cardinal Mller Reasserts the Dangers of Nihilism The European Conservative - The European Conservative - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Midnight Club Is a Teen Horror Show Thats Actually Scary: TV Review - Yahoo Entertainment - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Hiltzik: GOP cruelty counts on the humanity of others - Los Angeles Times - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Screen Grabs: A revisionist Western that still shines bright - 48 hills - 48 Hills - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Russian Roulette: How Ukraine Can Win the Game (Part 1) - Kyiv Post - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- What 20 Years of Putin's Own Words Tell Us About Russia's Subversion of International Law - JURIST - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- 'Triangle of Sadness' Review: Hazardous Levels of Smug - Vulture - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- In China, Only the Party Tells History - Foreign Policy - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Yahoo Entertainment - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- No Laughing Matter: Bodies Bodies Bodies Is Too Cynical to Be Much Fun - Erie Reader - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Oliver Jeffers Gets Perspective With Meanwhile Back on Earth - TIME - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Talkin' About My Generation: How Boomers Became Deaf, Dumb, and Blind To The Inspiration and Innovation of Rock and Roll - MetalTalk - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- 'Cult of the Lamb' and the bleating heart of nihilism - Catholic News Service - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Spin - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- This cosmic horror game will force you to trust characters to survive - Polygon - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Belief in God can help us find a purpose in life that we are currently lacking - David J Nixon - The Scotsman - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Date Night" by White Lung - Northern Transmissions - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Lyrically Speaking: What is Bob Dylans All Along the Watchtower actually about? - Far Out Magazine - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Pinocchio (2022): Disney wished on another wrong star - Campus Times - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Complicated Legacy Of 'Rick And Morty' - The Federalist - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Soul and Things" - Baltimore Beat - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Ukraine Holds the Future: The War Between Democracy and Nihilism - Foreign Affairs Magazine - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Hedgerow Theatre Company Dives Into The Darkness With Martin McDonagh's THE PILLOWMAN, October 5-31 - Broadway World - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- The skate punk brats of the '90s are back to ruin our lives again - Cult MTL - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Kurt Russell's Best Movie Was A Critical And Box Office Disaster - Giant Freakin Robot - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]