Murder and Looting Run Contrary to Biblical Values (And Other Truisms)

After police killed suspect George Floyd by kneeling on his neck during his arrest, riots broke out across the US and quickly turned violent, with looters smashing windows and stealing from businesses.

This weekend we celebrated Shavuot, the 3,500+ year anniversary of the giving of the 10 Commandments, which instruct us to avoid murder, theft, coveting.

But this weekend saw murder, theft, looting, #riots2020.

On this same Shavuot holiday 2000 years ago, a momentous, civilization-changing event took place: God poured out his spirit on human beings in a tangible miracle manifested at the Temple in Jerusalem in front of thousands of witnesses. The evidence of God's spirit in a person include gentleness, patience, self-control, goodness.

But this weekend saw little fruit of God's spirit, but instead violence, unbridled rage, wickedness, hatred.

The commandments are still needed, still relevant as ever.  

God's spirit is still needed, still as relevant as ever.

And where there is a void of these, there is civilizational chaos.

It's strange to me to have to write a post that says murder and looting are wicked. Isn't it already obvious? Yet I see some Jews and Christians justifying violent riots. "Systemic racism" is the justification. "We must dismantle white patriarchy." 

No. 

You don't get to go outside of the law just because you perceive injustice within it. That's not how justice works. As God says in the Bible, pre-empting our cries against injustice, "I will avenge." If God is just, God will ultimately have the final say over injustice. Not you.

There are racist cops, there are bad apples, there are injustices within the judicial system. Their existence does not justify looting, assault, theft, coveting, hatred of races and classes other than your own. That's still wickedness, and it undermines the initial injustice of the death of George Floyd.

Dear reader, start with yourself. Do you have God's commandments in your life? Do you have God's spirit in your life? Is there good fruit proving that?

The Virginia Tech shootings, guns, and politics

The recent student massacres at the University of Virginia Tech is a huge story here in the US; understandably so.

My cousin happens to attend that university, and I'm happy to hear she's safe.

While on my lunch break today, I thought I'd catch some talk radio in my car about the school shootings. As is my custom, I listened to both Minnesota's AM 950 Air America, a left-wing liberal radio station, and Minnesota's AM 1280 The Patriot, a right-wing conservative radio station.

The left-wing liberal station was filled with talk of gun control. "If only we had gun control, this wouldn't have happened." "Bush loves stealing our civil liberties, yet he's too afraid to take away the guns."

The right-wing conservative station was filled with talk of gun problems as well. "We ought to train these teachers to use guns in self-defense."

In short, the left says the problem is too many guns. The right says the problem is not enough guns, or not enough training to use guns.



Somehow, I think they've both got it wrong. Seems to me that's treating the symptom, rather than the illness.

If guns aren't the problem, what is?

It seems to me the problem is society. It is evident modern American society is putting forth an unusually large number of people bent on killing other people, especially in public schools.

Why is that?

If I were to guess, it's partially due to society's exclusive focus on the successful, all the while deriding the less fortunate. That's where it starts: inequalities, perceived or real, creates anger and unrest. Ethics and religion also play a role: a modern society bent on secularizing us worsens the situation by causing the downtrodden to abandon hope altogether.

Perhaps society is generally too focused on success -- financial, societal, educational -- when we ought to be more focused on happiness. More happy people = fewer pointless murders.