Senseless Tragedy

Mass shootings and violent attacks by all kinds of ruthless means (e.g., vehicles, knives, bombs) against innocent people have become so common that it’s hard to keep up on the stories:  Texas church shooting, Las Vegas music festival shooting, NYC truck ramming, plus Barcelona, London, Manchester, Orlando, Berlin, Nice, Paris…

This week the media has given extensive coverage to the Nov. 5 attack at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that left 26 dead.  I especially appreciated an article from Christian psych­iatrist, Richard Ernst, “Deranged, Depraved, or Dejected?” (Nov. 8 at the Gospel Coalition).  He urgently advocates for those in our society who face mental health challenges.  Here’s his line of thought.

When a mass shooting occurs, we often fall back on a hunch that the perpetrator must have been mentally ill.  These killers are written off and distanced from the majority population as “deranged,” “crazy.”  Ernst contends, “These comments neither illumine nor edify.”  In fact, it’s extremely rare for someone to be found guilty of a violent attack “by reason of insanity” in a US court.  Few such crimes are com­mit­ted by those who don’t understand right and wrong.  Most harm inflicted on the innocent is due not to mental illness but to sin.

Ernst’s chief concern “is that our country’s eagerness to write off someone committing a heinous act as an emotionally troubled person … makes our brothers and sisters with emotional hurdles feel that much more rejected.  ‘This is what society thinks of me—I’m a screw-up, I’m damaged goods.  No one would ever love me, and no one wants to help.’  Flippant comments about murderous gunmen actually make people with emotional difficulties feel further margin­alized and misunderstood.”

Friends, let’s pray for the grieving, take reasonable security measures, and continue to trumpet the unshakeable hope of eternal life in Christ.  And let’s also “lock arms with our emotionally struggling brothers and sisters in gospel community, seek to gain understanding of their experience, warm them with the Word of God, and, when appropriate, encourage them to seek health from professionals who specialize in addressing these types of issues.”