Everybody’s pointing fingers. Many blame guns. Others blame mental illness. Some blame the glorified violence in our videogames, film, and television. And a few blame everyone and everything but the shooter himself.
But what if the real architect behind the Las Vegas massacre isn’t someone we can hold accountable? What if the real weapon isn’t something we could control with a thousand new laws? And what if the motive behind the massacre was something most Americans don’t believe exists in the first place?
Bottom line up front: Evil is more than just a behavior. It’s a real presence at work in the world, and it likely captured the 64-year-old Las Vegas shooter, Stephen Paddock, a long time ago.
“He was a sick man,” said President Donald Trump after the shooting. “We’re dealing with a very, very sick individual.”
Most people agree with the president in assuming Paddock must have been an insane psychopath, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence supporting that claim. The mass shootings at the elementary school in Connecticut, at the movie theater in Colorado, during the congresswoman’s event in Arizona, and at Virginia Tech all share a common characteristic: all four shooters had been diagnosed as mentally ill.
But from all accounts, Paddock wasn’t insane, at least not certifiably, and most killers aren’t either. Otherwise, our justice system wouldn’t hold them personally responsible for their actions. They’re actually just morally compromised souls who’ve somehow lost the only armor we have against real evil in the world and have succumbed to its influence.
Sick? Yes, but not with anything a doctor could cure.
Responsible? Yes, but you don’t have to be Thomas Aquinas or Billy Graham to recognize that this man was infected with pure evil.
Such talk may seem antiquated, perhaps even superstitious to many. But if you believe scripture and the teachings of our early church fathers, evil is a very real force, not simply a literary symbol used in the Bible to make sense of human behavior. Demons are real, and so is their ability to influence our lives.
That is not to say Paddock was possessed. That’s a bit much, and the experts say that’s not how evil forces operate in our world, at least not mostly.
“Very rarely, devils intervene in human affairs in vividly frightening and dramatic ways,” explained Bishop Robert Barron. “But typically, devils act more indirectly and clandestinely, through temptation, influence, and suggestion.”
To illustrate his point, Barron references a painting in the Cathedral of Orvieto in Italy.
“The artist shows the devil whispering into the ear of the Antichrist, and also working his arm through the vesture of his victim in such a way that it appears to be the Antichrist’s own arm, thereby beautifully symbolizing how the dark power acts precisely with us and through us,” he said.
Paddock pulled the trigger, but perhaps it was the devil’s arm that held the gun.
Freedom requires morality, and the freer a nation is the more virtuous it must be. But a nation that has the right to bear arms cannot simultaneously be a nation that doesn’t respect life. And the further we slip away from morality, from our founding faith, the more we may become the devil’s own arm.
Why this matters: Passing more laws restricting gun ownership will not stop these mass shootings from occurring. Focusing our efforts on the mentally ill will not, either. Censoring pop culture will only whitewash the veneer hiding the true problem. Until we accept the fact that true evil lurks in this world, that it is a force, we must fight, and until we accept help from the only person who can defeat it, nothing will change.
You’ve probably heard it said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist. Don’t be fooled. Pray that our nation awakens to the reality of his existence and the influence he and others like him can have in our lives.
What do you think was Paddock’s motivation? Take the discussion of this article over to Facebook and Twitter and let people know what you think.
(“Be bold and courageous.” – Joshua 1:9)
About the Author: Pepper Bryars is the new editor of Yellowhammer News. Pepper began his career writing for military newspapers while serving in the Alabama Army National Guard. He then became a staff reporter for the Mobile Press-Register, spent time as an aide to then-Congressman and Governor Bob Riley and served as a presidential appointee managing legislative issues for the Defense Department. Pepper was also a strategic communication advisor to U.S. military forces operating in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He was twice awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Exceptional Public Service, once for service in Baghdad during the early days of the Iraq War and a second time for work at the Pentagon. He is the author of two books and most recently wrote a popular conservative opinion column that was published in the Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register, Huntsville Times, the Mississippi Press and at AL.com.
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