I just read about a shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland, KS.  It seems as though there is a mass shooting every week.  Is this a new epidemic?  There are so many questions raised whenever there is such a tragedy.  Is it a gun control issue?  Is it a mental health issue?  Politicians, media and everyone else scramble to find out why.  Bullying.  Depression.  Genetics. Race. Gender. Ethnicity. Childhood. Abuse. Drugs.  All of these have at some point have been in the bulls-eye of why.  There are valid arguments for them all.  You can probably find someone in medicine or law enforcement or psychiatry that could provide you with a fact based study on why any or all of these factors have contributed to the increase of violence in our society. But this issue was addressed long ago in the Bible.

 Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  https://bible.com/1/eph.6.12.kjv

This is war.  This a war for the heart and souls of man.  All of the things we read about in the news are just scrimmages in the war.  The first problem we face is that fewer and fewer people believe we are in a war.  I love Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.  In this article, a Barna Group poll found that 51% of adult Americans polled found that church was “not very” or “not at all” important.  http://www.denisonforum.org/cultural-commentary/1000-church-is-not-important-51-percent-of-us-adults-say  This is only one sign of a growing shift away from traditional values to a more secular society.  Ephesians has no place in many people’s minds and hearts.  Neither does the war so neither does the Savior…the solution.

Be blessed

Stay tuned for Part 2