Stay on God’s Path to Avoid Our Disposition to Violence
Re: Bullets strike three east-end homes on second anniversary of gang homicide, Jan. 11
This article documenting the shooting on Jan. 10 on Claremont Drive finished with an interesting note. It quoted a translation of a biblical verse in Spanish, found on one of the resident’s doors, that is taken from Joshua 1:9. It states: “Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The context of this verse refers to God’s promise to Joshua and Israel, in order to provide Joshua with courage amid his struggles while leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. Such a message is still relevant today, and in the aftermath of the shooting, worth pondering.
Despite the unfortunate fear instilled in the residents of these townhouses because of this violence, the remarkable thing was that no one was killed or harmed that evening. Moreover, my daughter, who lives part-time in the area, was with me that evening. Nevertheless, when people lose their sense of restraint and moral accountability, these sorts of acts occur.
It is precisely when humanity lives as if there is no God that its sense of objective moral values and duties is abandoned. After all, how can we consistently praise or blame anyone for their actions if there is no objective morality or free will? It is only when we consistently live as if a God—who grounds objectively good moral values and duties—truly exists, that we can one day transcend our archaic and violent evolutionary predispositions.