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By Guy Page
Yesterday, our little church in East Montpelier was among thousands across the country lifting up Brown University in prayer. I mentioned that both my nephew and another extended family member were among those sheltering in place in darkness with the cellphones off, like us wondering what had happened, who had done it, and what would happen next.
At a church in Alabama, the scene was far more somber, more tragic. After dismissing the children, Rev. Craig Smalley of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama told his congregation:
“Tragically, one of our parishioners was one of those killed yesterday. He continued to describe what a wonderful young woman Ella Cook was, and about the faithful to God and the church displayed by both her and her parents. Then he quoted – with breaking voice – the words of John the Apostle: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot – and the darkness will not – overcome it.”
You can hear the audio file here:
Ella Cook was also the vice-president of the Brown University College Republicans. So why did this young man – described anyway as a young man by police – shoot and kill her? Why did he kill at least one other person, and wound eight others?
A person of interest has been released. The shooter reportedly shouted something: as of this writing at 9:37 AM Monday, what he uttered is unknown. The motive have been political or religious. Or not. We just don’t know.
What we do know is that another bright light has been brought down. Not a brightness as big as Charlie Kirk’s, but bright in her own sphere. Just this morning I was reading in Revelation chapter 6 the vivid story of the martyrs up in heaven who for some reason are underneath the alter, and they are crying out – “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
I am comforted that according to this story that the loved ones of the martyrs won’t be doing the judging and the avenging. That’s in the hands of a higher power, as it should be. And this isn’t just about Christians either, we had another mass killing this weekend, this one definitely religiously based, in Australia where dozens of Jews on Bondi beach were gunned down. So what do we do about this? Wring our hands? Naturally but when then? Pray, certainly, if you’re of a mind. By all means ask God how long before it ends.
Government will certainly try to intervene. What it should do is up for debate.
President Trump has just appointed an anti-semitism czar who apparently wants to re-institute social media ‘misinformation’ warnings on statements deemed to be anti-semitic. I didn’t like these warnings when they were about election interference and Covid, and I don’t think I like them much now, either.
Still. There is a rising anti-semitism on both the left and the right. You better believe it’s here in Vermont. So is the “Is He Dead Yet?” movement targeting President Trump and washing over to people like Charlie Kirk. I get a lot of comments and letters and op-eds that cross the line from legitimate criticism of Israel to veiled and even outright hatred of Jews. They may deny that, but I see it. I don’t allow explicit expressions of bigotry of any kind on VDC, and we also support free speech, so there’s a fine line, sometimes so fine it’s hard to find.
I am trying to model tolerant discussion of what to some are intolerable ideas. To say that while some ideas are deplorable, there are no – or at least very few – true deplorables.
Getting back to Brown University, I think about the Light Shining in the Darkness. I think about our Ivy League universities founded by people who believed fervently in objective truth and wanted to train others to think and speak likewise. And how those universities have become in many ways darkened rooms, full of fear. I thnk about my nephew, and my niece’s nephew, and all of those other students confronted perhaps for the first time with the personal threat of true evil and that, sitting there in darkness, maybe some of them found the light of forgiveness, and Truth, that cannot be overcome.
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Categories: Crime
There have always been and will always be hateful and crazy people in the world. The reason they target churches, colleges and entire countries like Australia is because they have been declared “gun free zones” and vermin who engage in violence like that dont like anyone like law-abiding, armed citizens shooting back at them. It may be an unfortunate reality, but an armed society is a polite society.
…and I am armed and I am polite…
A GUN FREE ZONE IS A TARGET RICH ENVIORMENT.
Robert A. Heinlein: “There are no dangerous weapons. There are only dangerous men”.
Sorry, Guy, but I won’t be clicking on your site again. That you would compare the brightness of one slain person to another’s is gross.
“What we do know is that another bright light has been brought down. Not a brightness as big as Charlie Kirk’s, but bright in her own sphere.”
Read more carefully Joey. I said she shone as bright as Charlie – but her star was not as big. Look up in the sky and you will see some stars big, some small, and varying also in brightness. There are small but bright stars – and she was one of them.
“Not a brightness as big as Charlie Kirk’s, but bright in her own sphere.” You’re clearly insinuating that Charlie Kirk was more famous and what that even had to do with anything related to yesterday I don’t know. Gross.
Joe and Chris, had you even heard about her before this. No, I didn’t think so.
Dan, my best friend has lived on the Brown campus for over ten years. This was a horrible tragedy that had nothing to do with Charlie Kirk. I don’t need you to complete my thoughts when you barely have any. Sometimes it’s better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it.
It’s shameful that you have to be so insulting to every commenter on this site. I only asked if you had heard of her before this shooting. I think you should show a little more respect to others. You are not always right but can’t admit it.
Thank you, Guy, for sharing your poignant thoughts about the heartbreaking tragedies this weekend with the VDC community today.
I don’t offer platitudes, but only say amen to the truth with which you closed your article and the fact that no matter how dark the evil, it can and will never extinguish the light of Truth Himself who absorbed all that evil and darkness with the power of His love. We have no other hope than Jesus who marvelously overcame and triumphed over the worst the devil could throw at Him.
May the Lord comfort and draw near with His love and kindness all those who are hurt, grieving, and perplexed about these tragedies.
I can not imagine a more cowardly act than gunning down innocent unarmed people. What kind of mental sickness would cause one to do such a thing?
I sincerely hope who ever did this burns forever in hell.
Australian police confirmed the alleged offenders had ISIS flags and IEDs in their car, had been to a ISIS training island in the Philippines
Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
Among all the bloodshed occuring in rapid fire succession: What does it say about a leader of the “free” world publically speaking ill of the dead? Does this mean that two wrongs, or countless wrongs, make it all right now? Appears to me all being revealed is prophetic – how many warnings and signs of false prophets, false idols, and false doctrines does it take to realize the Words spoken are speaking now – anyone notice of the things warned are coming to pass?
When the Lord speaks over the lies and deceptions, the saints and the remenant can hear it and can see it.
2 Timothy 3
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.
Very interesting that the problem here is the gun! Every witness to the Brown shooting reportedly told police the shooter shouted ‘Allah Akbar’, while Australian authorities say the offenders had military training at an ISIS island in Philippines and had an ISIS fling and IED in their vehicle proving they as the Dem PM said, connected to ‘Right Wing Extremism”
Thanks Guy.
And now the MIT professor that was just killed in his home in Brookline, Mass. He was Jewish. What the heck is going on?