The Bible Belt Has Buckled

In 1995, I preached a sermon based upon the 59th chapter of Isaiah.  This passage came to me with the urgent warning of impending judgment, shortly after the OKC bombing.  After preaching the sermon, the pastor told another pastor in town that I'd never preach from his pulpit again . . . I didn't; and it wasn't long until that pulpit wasn't his.

The OKC bombing shook this nation, but yet we built a memorial and went on with business as usual.  This nation is big on memorials and statues, without giving consideration that our Creator may see them as idols.  Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for domestic terrorism, and that execution was carried out in 2001 which is record time, considering capital punishment and the judicial system.  The man who was found guilty as his accomplice, Terry Nichols, is serving several life sentences in a maximum security prison.

Last year a very troubling headline from Tulsa crossed my newsfeed and we covered it here in the Goshen Gazette.  A man was found by his wife in his garage, hands and feet bound and decapitated.  If that isn't horrific enough, there is more.  Tulsa police, at the time of the interview, ruled his death a suicide . . . Let that sink in for just a moment.  At the time, the claim was made that the investigation would continue.  Just how qualified are these folks to continue an investigation based upon the presumption that this was suicide?  In a Google search this afternoon, most reports of this grizzly discovery continue to be dated in June of 2013, which is when it was reported to have occurred.  No name was given in the reports I found, family privacy, being cited as the reason.  All the links and blogs seemed to originate from the same site.
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/man-found-decapitated-police-suspect-suicide/nYNZh/

Last Sunday there was a black mass in Oklahoma City, with protesters, but it took place.

The breaking headlines of a beheading in Moore, Oklahoma have me both puzzled and concerned.  I "knew" immediately that even though there were reports of the alleged murderer's social media posts and attempts to convert co-workers to Islam, a public beheading would not be ruled terrorism, but workplace violence . . . because he'd just been fired.  Sadly, I was not wrong . . . which then raised another question.  Where is this woman's obituary?  How could everything be so quickly determined while the alleged murderer is lying unconscious in the hospital and the other victim continues to be hospitalized?  Of course, HIPAA laws prevent further investigation into those who are allegedly hospitalized.
 http://abcnews.go.com/US/fired-oklahoma-food-plant-employee-beheads-woman-attacks/story?id=25780332

Undoubtedly the Bible Belt has buckled, or come undone as the case may be.  Not to disregard the memory of anyone, and certainly there is no intent to discount the value of human life, but as is the case in so many horrific headlines of these days, there are more questions than answers.

Destruction From Within . . .

Usually this blog begins with a topic that easily becomes a title and the article simply flows.  In this particular case, however; there is just too much muddy water to flow properly.  Upon reading about the female soldier who completed suicide at Fort Lee last month, as well as a statement contained led me to a consider a question, several actually; that I think we all need to ask.  "It is not yet clear what motivated Walker to shoot herself. The base commander, Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, said she was upset and enraged but could not say whether this was consistent with her usual behavior. He didn’t know if she was being treated for any mental health issues, or whether drug or alcohol use was a factor." 
The article's title was an obviously intended to lead the reader to making a connection to the 2009 Ft. Hood shooting.  "What the Fort Lee Shooter Sgt. Paula Walker Thought of the 2009 Fort Hood Massacre"
The question?  Why mention a possibility of mental health treatment, when the 2009 Fort Hood shooter was the base psychiatrist?  What kind of "treatment" would she have possibly received?  What kind of treatment did the people in Dr. Nidal Hasan's care, receive before his rampage?  
Although the sensationalizing headlines referred to Paula White as a "shooter," I'd like to point out the fact that no one else was injured.  She simply took her own life where she worked.

These questions led me to the more recent 2014 Ft. Hood shooter, Ivan Lopez; whose rampage ended in his suicide.  It was reported that he had suffered the loss of his mother and grandfather recently and was taking the prescription: Ambien.  That doesn't excuse murder, but the side effects of Ambien were quite troubling.  Then there's also the factor to consider, who prescribed that for him, and what was discussed through the therapy he was receiving for depression and PTSD.  Which brings me right back to the fact that it was the base psychiatrist who was the 2009 shooter at Ft. Hood.  In both cases, terrorism was ruled out in the shootings, yet the 2009 shooter has made it clear, he sees America as the enemy.   CNN even cited Fox News for breaking the story first!

Since Nidal Hasan has been found guilty and given the death penalty, the reclassification from Workplace violence to Terrorism or Treason is unlikely.  The fact that it was classified as Workplace violence, in the first place reeks of terrorism or treason; in that our military was under attack on our own soil!

 See, it just isn't flowing, but all this information is pertinent!  A woman commits suicide and she's called a "shooter."  A soldier known to be distraught with mental health issues taking a potentially harmful drug, killed three people and himself, was reported to be responsible for a "shooting spree."  Whereas, officials at the US Department of defense determined there was not enough evidence to put Nidal Hasan on trial for an act of terrorism.  With 13 fatalities and 32 wounded on a US military base, his rampage was ruled "workplace violence."   His latest move seems a guarantee that the death penalty will never be carried out.   This man has now written to ISIS leader, requesting to become citizen of Islamic State. 

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.  Torah of Holy Scripture