tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post777425662411126967..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-21215980340163282892014-07-21T12:58:14.797-05:002014-07-21T12:58:14.797-05:00Thank you for this excellent article, Pastor Peter...Thank you for this excellent article, Pastor Peters. I was looking for something to help my unbelieving friends come to terms with the evil behind the Malaysian jetliner destruction last week, and this is perfect!<br /><br />Cheers..Nick the BritNick the Britnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-31068157759540079622012-07-24T07:49:57.396-05:002012-07-24T07:49:57.396-05:00Something completely unreported (thus far) in the ...Something completely unreported (thus far) in the American press, but somethow uncovered in Britain: the shooter is an habitual marijuana user, thus, disconnected from reality and giving the evil one more than a foothold in his troubled soul.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-69142058775128790012012-07-23T19:02:14.812-05:002012-07-23T19:02:14.812-05:00I also received a chilling reminder of the evil wi...I also received a chilling reminder of the evil within and among us, when I recently read a sentence in a book about anti-Semitism in Germany during the past 200 years to the effect that 90% of all of the Germans who committed the horrors of WWII were baptized.<br /><br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-33686725757046457542012-07-23T15:28:57.118-05:002012-07-23T15:28:57.118-05:00By the way, the "we" I write in the init...By the way, the "we" I write in the initial post refers not specifically to us as Christians but to citizens of our nation in search of answers, safety, and comfort in time of national tragedy.<br /><br />For what it is worth, the media has identified the family as "Lutheran." It reminds me of the comfort I have given to a family whose son I had taught and confirmed and then this young man killed another young man over a drug dispute. We can raise our children well, bring them to the font, address them with God's Word at home and Church, and still the evil boiling under the surface can take hold of their heart and mind, and, without constraint, lead them to do terrible things.Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-1173879068649777232012-07-23T15:25:05.331-05:002012-07-23T15:25:05.331-05:00I think that I do not disagree so much with what G...I think that I do not disagree so much with what George wrote but I do understand that psychpath or not, we place great emphasis in difference which is more degree than difference in essence. Is this not what Luther highlights in the catechism? Do we not - even Christians - have killing thoughts and speak killing words? We make great distinction between words and thoughts and the actions that proceed from them. So it is that we are grateful that the thoughts and words that proceed from our hearts do not find their way into actions - thanks be to God -- but they differ more in degree than essence. So while it may comfort us to think of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes as psychopaths, the greater need we have is not explaining these terrible actions but addressing the God whose love holds us in the palm of His hand even when we confess that we sinners of thought, word, and deed.Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-70833142258039509612012-07-23T15:00:08.314-05:002012-07-23T15:00:08.314-05:00Dear Rev. Peters, I find myself agreeing with most...Dear Rev. Peters, I find myself agreeing with most of what you write, and I do find a certain amount of solace in your words. But I think, when really terrible things happen, we sometimes stretch reality a bit too far. I suspect this is the case when you write, “We want to think that the shooter in Aurora is a strange anomaly -- an occasional sampling of the very few who live on the fringe of sanity and reason. But it is a convenient lie we tell ourselves only to disguise the reality of sin and its hold on us. We desperately want to believe that we and most are good people who occasionally say and think and do bad things.”<br /><br />Simple observation tells us that people are not shooting at us with automatic weapons all the time. Moreover, similar to the Norwegian mass murderer, I suspect that we will soon find out that the perpetrator in this case is, in fact, a psychopath. Not all people are psychopath, just as not everyone was demon possessed in the days of our Lord, although all people are sinners. Also, I think that at times like these, it behooves the Christian to remember that, having been washed in the waters of Baptism, he is a new creature. Not that, as a result, we stop sinning, but, by the grace and mercy of God, we have “the mind” of Christ, by which our tendency towards sinning is checked. This may not be apparent to us as we view life around us, but it is an article of faith – it is what comes with our Baptism. However in no way does it permit us to boast, unless we boast in the Lord, because none of us have anything that we have not received.<br /><br />Finally, yesterday somebody in church mentioned that it was such a pity that people were killed who had not had the opportunity to “come to Jesus”. In situations like this, the Doctrine of Election is a great solace. God will bring every member of His Elect into His Kingdom – some sooner, some later – and He will not be thwarted by a psychopath.<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com