After every school shooting we face the question of, “Why?” Why did a woman shoot her way into a private Christian school in Nashville and kill six people? Well, some in the media want us to believe that an unfair law made this woman do a bad thing. They’re painting the shooter as a victim of laws and beliefs she may have perceived as an attack on her identity. In essence, they’re arguing that traditional Christian values provoke violence.
You see, the shooter was a transgender woman who identifies as a male, and Tennessee recently banned gender affirming surgeries on minors. Media spin insinuates that the new law triggered an individual who was struggling with mental health issues. So she went to her former school and attacked the traditional Christian values that were attacking her.
In other words, those who oppose the transgender agenda are partially responsible for this tragedy; or so the spin goes. This opens the door to a broader discussion. Can traditional Christian values be held responsible for violence like the Covenant School tragedy?
A Personal Confrontation
In a recent sermon I stated that homosexuality was a sin and a perversion, according to the Bible. I also said that heterosexual sex outside of marriage was sinful. Afterwards, a young woman politely asked about my comments. She told me of a teenage boy who was struggling with same-sex attraction. His mother was concerned because he was also struggling with depression and had even contemplated suicide.
The young woman asked, “Would you feel any responsibility if that teenager decided to take his life after hearing someone like you say what you said today?” I said, “No,” and gave her two reasons. First, when I made those comments I also talked about God’s grace and His ability to deliver us from our sins—any sin. I shared that conviction of sin is not God’s way of making us feel defeated but of showing us the way to freedom.
Secondly, the ultimate result of sin is death. I did my best to offer compassion for the circumstances she was describing while not compromising biblical truth. In her mind, however, the problematic issue was not the sin of homosexuality but the truth of Scripture.
Truth has Become the Enemy
Our society no longer operates on facts but on scripted narratives and propaganda. Truth will always be seen as the enemy in a godless culture, and anyone who holds to the authority of Scripture is fair game. In fact, many with this view try to claim the moral high ground. Jesus warned His disciples, “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God” (John 16:2).
Do you think I’m being overly dramatic? Then consider this. Since last May—when the Supreme Court draft overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked—there have been 22 times more attacks on pro-life groups than on pro-choice groups. And in Minnesota, lawmakers have advanced legislation introduced by a transgender representative that could strip custody from parents who do not support their child changing genders.
The Ongoing Battle Against Truth
The intensity of this battle will continue to grow as the Bible becomes less relevant in American culture. The truth of Scripture has been replaced with the new religion of, “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power…always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:5; 7).
We now live in a pagan culture—a culture so afraid of truth that it will do anything possible to destroy it. I believe we’re facing an all-out assault on Bible-believing Christians and organizations. And in the view of many, traditional Christian values provoke violence like the Covenant School tragedy. In other words, we’ve left them no choice. We’re making them do it.