"Why is it that the media never covers what it is like to be a victim of violent behavior? Why not portray the ugly side of these kinds of things? Why not refuse to put up the shooter's picture? Why not showcase the parents a year later who are still grieving the loss of their murdered children? Why not tell the story of the classmates who cannot sleep at night and the friends who feel like someone has taken their heart and ripped it out and stomped on it? Why not take the camera to the hospital and tell the story of what a bullet does when it enters the human body? Why not do a film series on the life of a 16-year-old who is paralyzed from the neck down from a gunshot wound inflicted by a classmate and then make it required viewing in high school? Why not put a tour of the morgue on the 6 o'clock news? It wouldn't be pretty, but that's the point - no glamour - just ugliness - just truth."

It hasn't been that long, has it, since the shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield?

That was the day, you'll recall, May 21st of last year, when 15 year-old Kipland Kinkel opened fire in the school cafeteria at Thurston High, killing two students and critically wounding eight others. The two dead were Mikael E. Nickolauson, 17, and Ben Walker, 16.

Others wounded were Jennifer Alldrege, 17, with chest and hand wounds; Joshua Pearson, 17, wounded in the buttocks; Mellissa Femrite, 16, wound in the left forearm; Sara Branom, 16, wounded in the right thigh; Gabriel Thomas, 17, wounded in the left shoulder; Richard Peek, 17, wounded in the left arm; Christina Osbourn, 17, gunshot wound to the pelvis; Kyle Howes, 16, broken tibia and lacerated thigh; Tara McMullen, 17, broken right rib; Nathan Cole, 18, wounded in the abdomen; Carolyn McClain, 15, wound in the right arm; Trina Harty, 17, wounded in the left leg; Tabitha Fain, 14, wounded in the thigh; Betina Lynn, 18, wounded in the ankle; Elizabeth McKenzie, 15, wounded in the left hip; Melissa Taylor, 15, wounded in the shoulder; Jesse Walley, 16, wounded in the stomach; Jacob Russell Ryker, 17, wounded in the chest and hand; Amber Ramsey, 15, wounded in the right hip; Ryan Atteberry, 17, wounded in the face; Tony Case, 17, wounded in the chest, abdomen, and leg; Teresa Miltonberger, 16, wounded in the head. (1)

Sheriff's deputies also found the bodies of Kinkel's parents in the family home just outside Springfield. William P. Kinkel, 59, and Faith M. Kinkel, 57, were teachers.

Under Oregon law, Kinkel will be tried as an adult, although his age means he cannot get the death penalty if convicted.

The youthful shooter was arrested, suspended from school for the remainder of the year, and released to his parents’ custody the day before the murders on a charge of possession of a stolen firearm, a .32 caliber pistol that was found in his locker. Police said he had been in trouble before for dropping a 12-inch rock onto a passing car from a highway overpass. He had a fascination for guns and making bombs. One report said he experimented by putting firecrackers into the mouths of cats and lighting them. His parents knew about his behavior and had sought help for him. One report indicated that they were firm and reasonable with him but never spanked him.

Kinkel had once been voted as "most likely to start World War III," according to a Thurston High School student.

Police Capt. Jerry Smith said the boy parked his car several blocks from the school and walked inside, carrying a .22-caliber rifle, a .22-caliber handgun and a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun. His father had purchased this later gun for him in the hope of defusing his fascination with violence and redirecting it into a constructive use.

Seventeen-year-old wrestler Jake Ryker, despite gunshot wounds to his hand and chest, tackled the boy in the confusion of the shooting and got the guns away from him.

Kinkel was a joker, a boaster, according to his friend Destry Saul who said the rebellious youth "wanted to put a bomb under the bleachers at a pep rally and block the doorway so students couldn’t get out." Destry didn’t take him seriously and blew off the next threat, too. "If I ever get really mad, I’d go and hit the cafeteria with my .22," Kinkel was said to have told Destry. "I have lots more rounds for my .22 than my 9 mm and I’ll save one for myself." "Sure," Destry said, probably thinking it was an idle boast. "Whatever." (2)

This incident was a tragedy in itself, but it isn't unheard of. Portland minister Bob Whiddon compiled a list of similar school shootings in his MINISTER AS COUNSELOR NEWSLETTER.

May 26, 1991, Millikan Jr. High School, Sherman Oaks, CA. Two killed.

May 1, 1992 - At a High School in Olivehurst, CA. Four killed.

January 15, 1993 - At a High School in Grayson, KY. Two killed.

June 5, 1993 - At a High School in Reseda, CA. One killed.

September 3, 1993 - Roosevelt High School in Dallas, TX. One killed.

January 28, 1995 - Skyline High School, Dallas, TX. One killed.

February 2, 1996 - Frontier Middle School, Moses Lake, WA. Three killed.

February 29, 1996 - On a school buss in St. Louis, MO. One killed.

September 25, 1996 - Dekalb Alternative School, Atlanta, GA. One killed.

November 1k 1996 - Summer High School, St. Louis, MO. One killed.

January 8, 1997 - At a high school in Brooklyn, NY. One killed.

January 27, 1997 - At a middle school in West Palm Beach, FL. One killed.

February 19, 1997 - At a high school in Bethel, AK. Two killed.

October 22, 1997 - At a high school in Norwalk, CA. One killed.

December 1, 1997 - Heath High School in Paducah, KY. Three killed.

March 1, 1998 - Marshall High School, Washington D.C. One killed.

March 24, 1998 - Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, AR. Five killed.

April 24, 1998 - Parker Middle School in Edinboro, PA. One killed.

May 19, 1998 - Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, TN. One killed.

Probably the biggest danger for us in hearing these things is for our eyes to glass over at their "statistical" sound and fail to realize that each of these incidents sent children out into eternity and left grieving parents, relatives and friends behind. Any one of these could have been our own kids or grandkids. School is no longer a safe place for children to be.

What's going on in this country? Why the violence in those so young?

I suggest to you that what we are seeing is nothing more than the result of a nation that has turned its back on it's Creator. We're reaping what we have sown as a nation. At the rate things are going, we have a lot more reaping to do.

Of course, in the tragedy in Springfield, the primary one responsible is 15 year-old Kip Kinkel. He planned his actions. He got the guns. He put in the bullets. He pulled the triggers. He killed and wounded his classmates. No amount of searching elsewhere should remove the responsibility that rightly belongs to him, in spite of his tender age. He is a murderer who, when convicted, should receive the harshest punishment our society can administer, both to prevent his ever doing such a thing again and to deter future murderers. But beyond the responsibility belonging to this young man, there are certain things in our society that feed and encourage the violence around us. They contribute to it, either directly or indirectly and whenever the question of "why" comes up, they need to be mentioned. I want to talk to you about them in this message. I believe the first and foremost issue that feeds the violence around us is:

1. A Departure from the Standard of God's Word.

The connection between a departure from God's way and the proliferation of violence is nothing new.

It happened in the world that existed before the flood. We can read about it in Genesis 6. As the population increased, those who still served and worshipped God began to intermarry with those who didn't. That always works to the detriment of those who are believers and soon the believers are acting just like the unbelievers. The result is recorded in Genesis 6:5: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Then, just below that statement, in verses 11 and 12 we read, "Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence." Imagine a world full of Kip Kinkels.

Any society that corrupts the truth of God will see an increase in violence. It's what we're seeing right now. There is a direct link between violence and our nation's departure from God.

Of those who know of God's will but refuse to do it, the Psalmist says in Psalm 7:16, "The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head." (NIV)

We have left God's standard of right and wrong so we can no longer say with conviction what is wrong. We have left God's standard of guilt and punishment so we no longer can deter the results. We have become a violence-permissive culture and we don't know how to stop it.

Kip Kinkel won't get the death penalty here in Oregon. Instead he'll get 25 years of his life behind bars. He'll get 25 years of free food, clothing, shelter, medical and dental benefits, laundry service, exercise facilities, libraries, a free college education that you'll pay for, and armed guards to protect him from outside harm. The average family of four can live on less than what it will take to house him in prison each year. He may also be eligible for Social Security benefits when he turns 65.

In Deuteronomy 21:20, in sharp contrast to our anemic penal code, God directed that a rebellious child be taken outside the city and stoned. If he would not respond to their discipline, parents of such a rebellious child were to take him to the elders of the city. They were to say, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us..." The passage continues: "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear of it and fear." This punishment was not for the everyday issues that come up with children. It was for those who consistently frustrated their parents' attempts at discipline to the point of exasperation.

The experts today say that capital punishment of wrongdoers won't deter future wrongdoing. God says it will. The verse I just read you says the deterrent will be twofold: It will "remove the evil from your midst," and "all Israel shall hear of it and fear."

"But our research indicates..." I can hear the modern "experts" say.

All I can say to that is "They're wrong!" How do I know? Because the God who made us says so and everyday all you have to do is watch the news for the proof. As long as we stubbornly refuse to listen to our Creator, the violence will only continue and escalate.

The second thing that feeds the violence around us is:

2. A Wholesale Acceptance of Humanistic Psychology.

"Do you mean to say that you're against psychology, Dave?" No. I'm against humanistic psychology - that psychology that puts man at the center of life rather than God. Unfortunately, that's about all the psychology you'll find around you, so in a sense, I am against it.

A psychological lie has won the day in our society. The lie says that man is basically good. For your information, the Bible says just the opposite - that "there is none righteous, not even one." (3)  Under this psychological lie though, if a man does something wrong, it couldn't possibly be his fault because of this innate goodness. It therefore must be the fault of someone or something else. It's his parents or his environment. It's because he had to eat sack lunches at school and never got to eat in the cafeteria. It's because he grew up in the ghetto. If you've listened to the news this past week, it's because his mother smoked cigarettes while he was still in the womb. Because of the acceptance of this lie, no one is responsible for his own actions anymore. We can successfully blame our sins on others.

Actually, this is nothing new. It first appeared in Genesis 3. When they had eaten the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed both his wife and God. "It was the woman You gave me!" (4) Eve blamed the snake. Interestingly, God didn't accept the blame shifting at all. Both Adam and Eve got the death penalty and were thrown out of the garden. There were no picket signs or court appeals. That was the end of it. God has never accepted attempts to side-step responsibility. He did make a way that man could be restored but there was no bargaining. Nothing short of full repentance would do it.

Remember the man who shot President Reagan? He bought a gun in Hawaii and figured out a way to get it to the mainland. He figured out how to get himself and his gun to Washington. There he figured out how to read schedules and how to be where the President would be. With malice and forethought he raised the gun and emptied it in the President's direction. At his trial, humanistic psychologists successfully defended him from those who would make him responsible. The jury declared him "innocent by reason of insanity." Had Adam and Eve lived in today's permissive climate, I'm sure there would have been a lawyer somewhere who would have made that claim for them.

Is it any wonder we have the problems with violence that we do?

The third thing that feeds the violence around us is:

3. A Media That Glorifies Violence And Magnifies the Reputations of Cold-blooded Killers.

While the media cannot be held directly responsible for the violent acts of a young person, they surely play a role in creating a society where violence is glamorized.

Here in Oregon the news channels went live, all day long, to the scene of the shooting in Springfield. They interviewed students, parents, police, and school officials. They scrambled for names and pictures. When the facts had been told for the millionth time, they found experts to speculate on why it all happened. In less than a day a young man previously unknown had become world famous. They researched his past, showed his picture again and again, talked to everyone who knew him. They eventually hinted that he might simply be a victim himself. Something must be wrong with his family or his school situation. Maybe he had been mistreated in some way as to make him angry. They found the most emotional witnesses to play off of. The only thing missing in the newscasts was the violin music. Ironically, it is this very glamorization of violence that may have helped him make the decision to kill. "Other kids have done it to prove their point? Why shouldn't I?"

John Hinkley, the man who killed John Lennon, after escaping the death penalty because he was ruled insane, said that he did it because he was a nobody who wanted to become famous. (5)

Why is it that the media never covers what it is like to be a victim of violent behavior? Why not portray the ugly side of these kinds of things? Why not refuse to put up the shooter's picture? Why not showcase the parents a year later who are still grieving the loss of their murdered children? Why not tell the story of the classmates who cannot sleep at night and the friends who feel like someone has taken their heart and ripped it out and stomped on it? Why not take the camera to the hospital and tell the story of what a bullet does when it enters the human body? Why not do a film series on the life of a 16-year-old who is paralyzed from the neck down from a gunshot wound inflicted by a classmate and then make it required viewing in high school? Why not put a tour of the morgue on the 6 o'clock news? It wouldn't be pretty, but that's the point - no glamour - just ugliness - just truth.

Then there is the violence at the movie box office. I don't attend violent movies. In fact, I seldom attend movies at all. In my opinion, there is seldom anything fit for Christian consumption that happens in a movie house. The same is true about the vast majority of videos. I do see the previews on TV from time to time and it doesn't surprise me that our kids, many of whom have seen them all, think violence is an acceptable way of life.

Let me say something else. I simply cannot understand how any Christian who cares one iota about his faith could attend things like this. I also cannot understand allowing children to do so. I do, however, know that some of us in this congregation do both and it sickens me. But that isn't the problem. It also sickens God.

Every time you as a Christian plop down your $6 to go to a violent, R-rated movie, you in a very real sense, cast your vote in support of the production of more just like it. That $6 at the box office goes to support the theaters and directors and screenwriters who make the stuff. As long as you and people like you spend, they will continue to churn it out. I know this is true because the excuse they always us when confronted by concerned people is, "We're just making what the public wants to see." You pay for the stuff and you become a perpetrator.

I'm not a fool. I know the violence in media will continue. So will the violence in youth continue as an indirect result. I for one don't intend to be intentionally responsible for it. I'll stay away from these things. I encourage you to do the same.

A final thing I'll mention that feeds the violence in youth is:

4. The Degradation of the Sanctity of Human Life.

What is human life worth? Not much to many who are growing up today. They learned this, in many cases, from their parents, their schoolteachers, and those they respect. Since well before they were born it has been OK to kill an unborn child by dismemberment and sucking it into a sink.

In our history the greatest loss of human life in war was our own Civil War of the mid-1800's. At the end of that conflict there were around 450,000 dead. In contrast, the Vietnam war took 53,000 American lives. World War two took 400,000 American lives. The death toll from abortion in this country since it was legalized in 1973 stands at 20 million. "War is hell," they say. Killing unborn children is a constitutional right that is vehemently defended.

Our society has taught young people growing up that if circumstances are difficult, it is OK to kill as long as the child has never seen life outside the womb.

On the other end, they're being taught that an older person, struggling with physical ailments, is better off committing suicide. Today it's by the consent of the one who suffers. Tomorrow it may well be without his consent.

The opportunity to teach the sanctity of life to our children is not found in preserving the lives of the healthy and prominent. It is taught in our attitudes toward the weak and helpless. Presently we're blowing the lesson big time!

Life is less and less precious because of that unlearned lesson. It's expendable. If someone else's life on either end of the spectrum gets in your way, it's permissible to do away with it. Is it any wonder we have children who think nothing of snuffing out a few lives in order to prove a point or to "be cool" or to express their frustration?

Conclusion

Footnotes:

Author's Note: This message was preached in April of 1999, so some of the information will need to be updated. It should, however, serve as a structure for a message on this pertinent topic.
1. http://thurston.5g.com/victims.htm
2. http://www.msnbc.com/news/167806.asp
3. Romans 3:10
4. Genesis 3:12
5. From a special presentation of AMERICAN JUSTICE on the A&E Cable TV channel.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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