A Moment of Silence and Prayer
Posted by Alexei on April 16th, 2007
I bow my head in shame and deep sorrow for the tragic events that took place this morning. No doubt you have already heard – a gunman at Virginia Tech rampaged through the campus today, leaving 33 dead and many more wounded. This atrocity cannot be comprehended. It cannot be described. It cannot be understood. All we are left with is pain, confusion and anger for such disregard of human life. These killings are meaningless. The lives lost are irreplaceable.
Please join me tonight in prayer for the students and teachers who have become unwilling victims of this tragedy. Both, the wounded and the dead need your prayers, but let us pray foremost for those who have passed away. I wish I knew their names so I could pray for each one in turn, but the names will not be released until later. Right now, my most sincere prayer goes out for the 32 souls standing at the gates of heaven. May God accept his children even as they go out of this world so prematurely.
Please pray with me.
I think it’s ironic that you have this disgusting little religious website, so unbelieveably so that you’d think you’re a crazy fanatic, and when this tradgedy happens you never even once check to see if I’m ok. What a great christian you are. It’s all about image anyway.
What is this kid talking about?
Don’t know — but I was there when it happened, and I know what was said isn’t true.
Have been and will continue to pray. I’ve been trying to get people to post the VTech on Black Ribbon icon on their MySpace (and Facebook!) accounts. Here it is:
So many have already expressed their condolences, including countries of China, Iran, and Russia. Its all over wikipedia, the entire world grieves.
Click Here for Image
Thanks Mike, I’ll add that image to the post. I think the first comment may have been directed at me out of anger prior to checking all the facts. I’ll just let that be.
well well well
Suicide and murder is such a waste of concious existence.
Pain can be unbearable for some to push them to commit an act such as killing someone else.
Act of free will, simple evil. A tragedy indeed. I feel empty inside to watch senseless killing and violence that has no foundation.
For those who are going to read this tread I’d like to point out an existing problem that has not been resolved for some time. Human nature at it’s best.
What is the use of a firearms in the year 2007. People have the right to have firearms ?
Hunting might be a good reason altho our sociaty is not dependent on hunting for source of food. Yes a big gun provide security and and control. I am one of those who think that if you live by the sword you die by the sword.
I do hope that atrocities like VTECH will not occur again.
Do you remember Columbine ? Did’nt we already pray for this not to happen again.
I do belive that there is something greater then ourselve. Some might say it’s God.
But I belive it has something to do with education and the way we live.
Alot of people don’t understand the value of life and our part in it.
And by the way Melissa, I miss you very much I hope everything is ok for you.
I just blogged this on MySpace blog. Perfect for this place too.
Today at Virginia Tech, a memorial exists where 32 rocks have been placed in rememberance of those who died at the shooting two and a half weeks ago. One student, Katelynn L. Johnson, has been placing a 33rd rock secretly in the middle of the night for Cho Seung-Hui in order to avoid backlash. While other students have taken the rock away during the day, she replenishes it over night and the cycle of placing and removing the rock continues.
My friends, 33 people did die on that terrible day. What Cho Seung-Hui did can only be described as barbaric. He certainly is our enemy, and there is a lot of hatred right now directed towards him as the killer. But should we memorialize him too? Does he have the right to be remembered along with his victims as someone who had a lot of problems and not a rational mind? What do we do with those among us who are vile, full of hatred, and malice? Do we abandon them, lock them up and keep them out?
These types of moral dilemmas can easily be solved by looking at the Bible. Christ says (Mat. 5:44) ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’. If Cho Seung-Hui is our enemy, he too should be loved and included in the memorial. For some people, this might be quite possibly the hardest thing they will ever have to do. Forgive him. ‘For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?’.
So I’m with Katelynn on this one — being a moral and loving person to care enough for such a brutal, vicious, and hanus person is hard. But where is it written that life must be easy, without suffering and pain? If we are to be like Him, we must aspire to be like His love, a more perfect and wholesome love than what is conventional. For if He could forgive even Cho, there would be great hope for us and our salvation too.