Skip to content
  • Home
  • About Ryan French
  • AV PODCAST
  • Links & Resources
Search
Close

A Pentecostal Blog & Podcast

A relevant apostolic resource that covers biblical topics of interest, ministry, Christian living, and practical insights.

Apostolic Voice / Christian / Christian Faith / Christian Living / Christianity / Culture / Evangelism / Faith / God / gospel / Heart Disease / Holy Ghost / Holy Spirit / human / Human Life / Jesus / Jesus Christ / Jesus' Name / Jesus' Name Baptism / las vegas massacre / las vegas shooting / Living For God / mass shootings / message / motivation / motives / pain / Pentecostal / police / Psychology / Religion / SIn / Soul Winning / Spirit / stephen paddock / suicide / the sinful human condition / The Value of Human Life / Water Baptism / Winning the attack against your mind

The Las Vegas Shooting and the Human Condition

October 4, 2017October 4, 2017 Ryan A. French

As I write these words, we still know very little about the motives (aside from pure evil) that caused a lone gunman to rain a hailstorm of bullets on innocent victims in Las Vegas. America awaits with bated breath for any details that might bring clarity to the reasons behind the shooters sickening actions. Sadly, knowing the killer’s motivations (regardless of what they are) will be of no solace to those who lost loved ones Sunday night. Justifiably, the watching world craves some level of understanding going forward.

One thing is certain, nothing discovered will produce any satisfying revelations. By assessing motives, we desperately hope to discover an inoculation from individual acts of evil. Although, new laws may or may not make certain types of sickening inclinations more difficult to accomplish – laws do nothing to address the pervasive evil contained within the human heart.

Undoubtedly, consequences (legal and otherwise) intimidate many people into submission. However, threatened social consequences are only preemptively impactful to a certain point. Obviously, suicide bombers can’t be intimidated with loss of life over their actions. They give their lives willingly in the service of evil. Neither can a suicidal killer with hatred in his heart be thwarted by any punitive measures. A homicidal heart will find a way to commit murder regardless of the measures civil society takes. Please don’t misunderstand, preventative measures should be made when and where possible. It would be ludicrous for polite society to conclude that because rape can’t be totally eradicated we shouldn’t make every effort humanly possible to prevent and punish rape. Certainly, the same goes for murder whether it be mass murder or homicide in general.

Mass killings are a relatively new social manifestation of evil. While every society from the beginning of time (going all the way back to the biblical account of Genesis) has suffered the scourge of violence and homicidal hatred the particularly heinous rise of senseless mass murder is a distinctively modern problem. Since the dawn of so-called civilization, governments and power-hungry tyrants have slaughtered more innocents than historians can count. But otherwise average individuals killing innocent people they don’t even know (or barely know) en masse is terrifyingly unique.

The level of hatred required for this nightmarish breed of viciousness defies comprehension. Modern psychology views the origin of evil as a biological byproduct, rather than an outside force that impacts us biologically. Therefore, it only addresses the symptoms and remains incapable of correctly diagnosing the primary disease.

Evil is evil, and while individuals are responsible for their own actions, evil does not originate in the human psyche. It is always easier to relegate every depraved human action down to mental illness or madness. While mental illness is certainly a real problem, not all (or even most) mentally ill individuals commit horrific crimes. Just calling a killer mentally ill doesn’t explain away their actions or substantively address why one mentally ill person kills and another does not. We instinctively want to categorize evil as insanity, because it is too emotionally painful to imagine a sane person methodically killing dozens of people he’s never even met.

Mass shootings push the fallen nature of humankind out from the shadows into the piercing light of day. The naked evil and wicked capacity of the human heart causes us to blink and squint. We can’t look directly at it without excruciating pain. It’s not that evil things aren’t happening all around us every day – we just fail, or refuse to notice them. Those that do notice and comment, like the prophets of old, are labeled depressing, downers, boorish, buzz killers, alarmists, catastrophists, or some other condescending pejorative. But large-scale, in-your-face evil can’t be ignored, denied or minimized. So, we hunger for the elusive why behind the “madness”. Some point the finger of blame at God in these circumstances (here’s a great article on the origins of evil). But ultimately, evil is satanic in origin and embedded in the human condition. Therefore, human methodologies alone – no matter how well intentioned – will never eradicate evil from the human heart.

Because the fallen nature of humankind is vulnerable and consistently capable of awful behavior, Jesus instructed us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil… (Matthew 6:13).” I’ve often marveled at those who assert that God is not good while simultaneously asserting that humans are intrinsically good. I’m not sure you can read about events like the Las Vegas shooting and believe in the innate goodness of humanity.

Really facing the depravity of the human condition head-on is depressing and hard to grasp. The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “As the salt flavors every drop in the Atlantic, so does sin affect every atom of our nature. It is so sadly there, so abundantly there, that if you cannot detect it, you are deceived.” He added: “The venom of sin is in the very fountain of our being; it has poisoned our heart. It is in the very marrow of our bones and is as natural to us as anything that belongs to us.” We inherited that sinful nature from the lineage of Adam (Romans 5:12). You can’t truly fathom the goodness of the Gospel until you grasp the depravity of the human condition. The Good News begins with bad news: All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Thankfully, the Gospel story begins with condemnation but ends with redemption. In the weeks and months ahead, I have decided to write about the Gospel. This blog has failed in that mission so far. If you’re reading this and you feel hopeless please know there is hope. If you’re reading this and you know someone who feels hopeless please tell them about Jesus. Tell them how God wants to forgive their sins and fill them with His Spirit (Acts 2:38). Tell them how the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead can raise them above the hopelessness of sin (Romans 8:11). We can push back against the darkness by reaching one heart at a time with the truth of the Gospel. It’s the only hope for the human condition.

img_2111

File Aug 19, 10 14 39 AM

File May 09, 5 37 38 PM

file-sep-09-7-32-00-pm

img_1683-1

img_1646-1

img_1648-1

img_1649

Related posts:

  1. What About Hell? – Everything You Need to Know
  2. Charlie Gard and the Value of Human Life
  3. The Death of Reverence
  4. A Biblical Response to Racial Tensions
  5. Guard Dog or God’s Chosen?
  6. Politically Incorrect Prophets (Speaking Truth In an Age of Timidity)
  7. Should Christians Dye Their Hair?
  8. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christ…
stephen paddock and the les vegas shooting, the hope of the Gospel, The Las Vegas Shooting and the Human Condition, the motives behind the las vegas shooting, the only thing that can save the world, the real motives behind the las vegas massacre, the sin problem and how it hurts humanity, why are people the way they are, why did the las vegas shooter kill all those people, why people are so bad, why the Gospel is the only hope for humanity, why we need to spread the gospel like never before

Post navigation

Previous Post
Graphic Design Tips – For Churches On A Budget
Next Post
Don’t Settle for an iTunes Version of the Gospel

Ryan A. French

Blog Stats

  • 576,165 hits

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Top Articles

  • 6 Dating Standards for Apostolic Singles
  • Christianity Isn’t Dying (Dead Churches Are Dying)
  • Should Christians Dye Their Hair?
  • 10 Signs You Might Be Guilty of Self-Idolatry
  • Connection vs. Carnality - In Student Ministry
  • 14 Pastoral Leadership Styles & Personalities - Part 1
  • Been Hurt By A Pastor? (8 Reasons You Should Stop Talking About It)
  • The Myth of Once Saved, Always Saved - Debunking False Doctrines
  • 4 Problems Preacher's Kids Face
  • Feeling Disconnected From Your Church? Think About This...

Apostolic Voice Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014

1 Corinthians 15:58

…be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Ryan FrenchFollow

Ryan French
ryfrenchyRyan French@ryfrenchy·

Christianity isn’t dying; dead churches are dying. Studies are finding that old “mainline” denominations are in sharp decline, while fundamental evangelical churches are holding steady and, in some cases, growing exponentially.

https://ryanafrench.com/christianity-isnt-dying-dead-churches-are-dying/

Twitter 1351563998123188226
ryfrenchyRyan French@ryfrenchy·

Christians are intentionally manipulated into feeling as if they are silly and insignificant. Ironically, agnostics are extremely evangelistic in their attempts to proselytize Christians into their cult of faithful faithlessness.

https://ryanafrench.com/christianity-isnt-dying-dead-churches-are-dying/

Twitter 1351563744124555266
ryfrenchyRyan French@ryfrenchy·

Many iconoclasts realize Christianity's death is being exaggerated, but they continue the facade to belittle believers. By marginalizing Christianity, they hope to intimidate Christians into silence on cultural issues of importance.

https://ryanafrench.com/christianity-isnt-dying-dead-churches-are-dying/

Twitter 1351563455560626176
ryfrenchyRyan French@ryfrenchy·

Twitter 1351218016344793097
ryfrenchyRyan French@ryfrenchy·

Students don't care if you are at a sporting event if you are there to weep with them in an altar.

https://ryanafrench.com/connection-vs-carnality-in-studant-ministry/

Twitter 1351169291442417664
Load More...

What I’ve Read

What I’m Reading

Recent Posts

  • Connection vs. Carnality – In Student Ministry
  • COVID Carnality (The Cause & Cure)
  • The Top 10 Articles of 2020
  • 15 Ways to Win the Battle Within
  • Spiritual Resolutions for a New Year

Follow Apostolic Voice via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blog at WordPress.com.
Back to top