Light to Dispel Darkness: The Gospel’s Hope Arising From A Senseless Act
Grief gripped the entire Nashville community. In shock, as pundits and politicians attempted to make sense of the senseless, across our presbytery men and women gathered in their homes, schools, and churches to pray. We did not need to ask, “Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to happen to us?” We know why. It was for precisely this sort of calamity that Jesus came in the first place. He came to deliver us from our sin and the corruption of this valley of tears.
“Time after time mankind is driven against the rocks of the horrid reality of a fallen creation. And time after time mankind must learn the hard lessons of history—the lessons that for some dangerous and awful reason we can’t seem to keep in our collective memory.” Hilaire Belloc
Day dawned on March 27th in Middle Tennessee with the redbuds blooming, the songbirds trilling, and the gentle breeze blowing under crystalline springtime skies. There was little portent of what the unfolding of the day might bring. Several committees had gathered and were diligently working on preparations for the upcoming stated meeting of the Nashville Presbytery. The senior pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Chad Scruggs, was in one room, and several of his elders were in the next room over.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, our deliberations were interrupted by a flurry of calls and texts: there was an active shooter at Covenant’s school facility. We emptied into the hallway, stricken, eyes clouded with unbelief, horror, and grief. Spontaneous cries of supplication and intercession went up. The Covenant men hurried on their way back to the church. The rest of us began frenzied monitoring of the news while contacting our own flocks and families to mobilize prayer.
Our worst fears were realized. A disturbed young woman armed with assault weapons and seething hate shot her way into the well-secured building and proceeded to take the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults before the Nashville Metro Police were forced to stop the assailant with lethal force. One of the victims was the daughter of Pastor Scruggs.
Grief gripped the entire Nashville community. In shock, as pundits and politicians attempted to make sense of the senseless, across our presbytery men and women gathered in their homes, schools, and churches to pray. We did not need to ask, “Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to happen to us?” We know why. It was for precisely this sort of calamity that Jesus came in the first place. He came to deliver us from our sin and the corruption of this valley of tears. Moreover, He comforts us in our pain and sorrow.
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How a Bible Tweet Led to a Battle for Free Speech
As Räsänen points out herself, one does not need to agree with her beliefs to agree that everyone should have the right to speak freely. As Räsänen waits for the ruling of the Court of Appeal, expected before November 30, a lot lies at stake. The verdict will reflect the state of regard for free speech in Europe. This is one to watch as a cautionary tale – not only for Europe, but for the rest of the world as well.
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The Ten Words: The Third
Violating the third commandment, includes, but is not confined to, using “God” or “Jesus Christ” in our speech to utter exclamatory anger or excitement. No, to take the Lord’s name in vain is to not live in light of who God is and what He does and to invite and encourage others to do the same. But among those who truly know and call upon his name, they are enabled to revere and rely upon Yahweh, and thereby glorify his name, for He IS.
Names. We all have one, or two or three, maybe even four or five! Names identify us, don’t they? At least to some degree. Yet, we recognize that we are more than merely our name(s). My parents could have decided to name me by any other name besides David, and yet I would still be me. Our human names have a certain kind of arbitrary character to them. This truth tends to cause us to miss some of the truth about God’s third commandment which deals directly with God’s name. Unlike our names, God’s names (he actually has several) have nothing arbitrary about them.
When we recognize that God’s names reveal his character and conduct, or who he is and what he does, we are better able to understand what it means to take his name in vain, and, hopefully, avoid doing it.
In the third commandment, the Hebrew term that is generally translated take is most often in the Old Testament translated as lift, carry or bear. Another legitimate way to translate the first part of Exodus 20:7 would be: “You shall not lift the name of Yahweh, your God, to vanity or worthlessness.” Of course, one may still be left wondering: What precisely does this mean? It all revolves around the importance of the name Yahweh.
God first revealed his name Yahweh to Moses (Exod. 3:14), when he embarked on freeing His covenant people, Israel, from the Egyptians, because of His faithfulness to his covenant promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod. 2:23). Of course, Yahweh had called Abraham as fulfillment of His covenant blessing that he bestowed upon Noah, which was Yahweh’s continuance of his covenant relationship first established with Adam (Gen. 1:26-28; 6:18; 9:1-17; 12:1-3). In other words, Yahweh is the covenant making creator and redeemer. Indeed, he is the latter precisely because he is the former.
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What Is Social Media Good For?
What we see on social media cannot be construed as what is broadly true, sociologically speaking. However, social media can be incredibly insightful, as it allows us to encounter people who are different than us and challenge our preconceived notions about a people, group, or subject. It enables us to connect with people we normally wouldn’t in our local communities who have the potential to positively impact our view of the world.
It’s worth asking: What is social media good for? It’s not good for everything, and in many ways, it is, in fact, bad for us. I think it’s important that we continue to sound the alarm about the problems social media (and technology, more broadly) poses to our flourishing as we continue to progress further and further into the digital age and more generations are raised with devices. That said, social media isn’t all bad. There are things that it is good for. I thought it would be worth mentioning a few of those things.
Networking
David Fincher’s 2010 Oscar-winning movie isn’t called The Social Media; it’s called The Social Network. It wasn’t that long ago that we referred to these social websites as networks rather than media. That’s because their primary function wasn’t to mediate content to us, but to connect us with other people. To this day, this remains the best use of the social internet.
Patrick and I first met over Twitter (ummm, X) and worked together for six months before we ever met in person. I’ve made many other meaningful relationships because of social media, but that’s mainly because social media was the starting point, not the ending point. The relationships that have been the most meaningful have progressed from tweets to texts to calls to Zoom calls, and sometimes meeting in person. Some of these relationships have had a tremendous impact on my life, leading to job opportunities, significant worldview shifts, and just general encouragement and helpful feedback. The best reason to be on social media remains connecting with actual people.
Exposure
If you’re an artist, activist, writer, or any other kind of content creator, you no longer have to wait for the gatekeepers to choose you. You can find an audience and speak directly to them. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. With consistency, determination, and skill, you can bypass the traditional avenues of being discovered and have your voice heard by those who want to hear it. It doesn’t take that many, either.
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