Though it has been more than 30 years since I sat in his class, I can still remember an ethics professor at the seminary explaining that the only way to curb forces bent on evil is with an equal or greater force defending what is good. Yes, that was during the Cold War and arms race era and we all understood it to have application in the political realm, but I think it also has application to the sphere of our daily lives.
What my professor knew and what every Bible believer holds to be true is the evident truth that people -- yes, all people -- are corrupted by sinful longings and inclinations. No amount of sterilizing the environment of our human existence will ever prevent people from carrying out at least some of those sinful longings; and there will always be evil in this world, whether it be a murderous dictator, a robber and thief, a rapist or abuser, a sluggard or a liar.
Things were different when I went to school and there were occasional fights on the playground with no one expelled. We may have roughed each other up a bit, yet we were always careful not to get so carried away as to do serious damage because we all feared going to prison and no one wanted to be put to death in the electric chair. I guess you could say the fear of punishment kept us in check. While we might have been willing to risk the small punishments, no one was willing to risk the big ones.
And what I am here saying we are also seeing to be true in regard to the many mass shootings which have been filling up the pages of newspapers in recent years -- not that there weren't also horrific crimes in years gone by which filled the papers and kept the presses turning, because people were inclined to evil then, too.
But where are so many of these crimes taking place? We hear about schools. Many have been at churches. A number of shooters have carried out their crimes on military bases. And there have been the shootings in gun-free theaters and malls. In most cases, these terrible crimes have been executed in places where the shooters knew their victims would be unarmed and defenseless due to prohibitions against carrying weapons there. The shooters faced no immediate threat and, in many cases, no real threat to their well-being for years to come.
Yes, it's true that some, who likely wanted to die, carried out their crimes at police stations and in other areas where they would encounter armed resistance to their evil plans, but most often it's in gun-free zones where people are defenseless against armed attacks and help is far enough away to be too late to stop the evil from occurring.
My points are simple. Evil is not going to go away by banning weapons and trying to sterilize the environment because people are, by nature, self-centered and evil and there are always some willing to push that to the limit and do horrendous deeds -- especially so in a society that has thrown out divine law and divine authority. And, as my professor said years ago, the only way to curb such forces bent on evil is with an equal or greater force defending what is good.
We will never be able to stop all the evil plots and plans out there which people devise. There will always be senseless and evil crimes in this world and sometimes very close to home. But the best answer we can apply in such a sin-tainted world as ours is not to deny our own nature and make everyone a defenseless, potential victim but to meet those threats of evil with an equal or greater force in defense of good.
And, as surprising as it may be to those who would disarm everyone and ban all weapons, crime is on the decline in places where people are allowed to exercise their right to be armed and protect themselves and their families.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 07/29/2015