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Mark GalliMark Galli

SoulWork

Making Non-Sense of the Colorado Shootings

Spiritual thoughts on another random act of violence.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning. (v. 5)

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! (vv. 11-12)

The online commenter expresses well the sentiment that even the believer experiences. The difference is this: For the Christian, the Object of dismay and anger happens to be the Source of healing and hope. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ has shown that this is not a fanciful wish, some utopian dream, but one grounded in history—a history that itself seems to be grounded in deathly absurdity, when, in fact, it is alive with hope.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today, and author of Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Power of the Holy Spirit (Baker).

SoulWork

In "SoulWork," Mark Galli brings news, Christian theology, and spiritual direction together to explore what it means to be formed spiritually in the image of Jesus Christ.

Mark Galli

Mark Galli

Galli is editor of Christianity Today and author of God Wins, Chaos and Grace, A Great and Terrible Love, Jesus Mean and Wild, Francis of Assisi and His World, and other books.


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Comments

Displaying 4–6 of 22 comments

Charles Riley

July 25, 2012  4:28pm

Thank you Mark. Its evil and God does have his purpose and as a human I will struggle with events and other terrible situations the rest of my life. Just when I think I have the Theology worked out and I know why God has not healed me from my Quadriplegia, someone starts killing everyone so that main stream media will cover it. I was wondering when someone would mention the killing going on in Chicago. Mark you made some fine points and I think we will be sorting through this stuff and falling on our knees until we have to stand before the Throne. We can't stop all evil, IT IS ABOVE OUR PAY GRADE but we can stop some of it. We need to do all the practical things we can do. As a Therapist we should push for laws to mandate reporting clients who are seriously ill and who own a gun. Now we are limited. We need to have gun laws that work. My life along with my family was saved because we had a gun in the house. There is no need for some of these guns that are available. Corky Riley

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SCOTT STINSON

July 25, 2012  2:56pm

I read most of the comments and the majority think that this tragedy has something to do with gun control. At Least 80 Dead in Norway Shooting; Hand guns are illegal in Norway. I think you are all wrong, what about Jeffery Dalmer, John Wayne Gacy Murders, . If you read your Bible, you know the distance from our sinfullness to GODS rightousness. A unrepented liar, is just as guilty as a hitler, or stalin. So I TELL YOU QUIT playing the blame game. LOOK in the mirror a liar, thief, fornicator, murder is looking back at you. Admit you are a sinner, repent, ask CHRIST into your life, Worship HIM, obey HIM as LORD and if disease, fatal accident, or a deranged gunman kills you in the next second or 50 years if you keep the faith I will see you in heaven, This event is the result of a man satisfying a desire who does not believe or respect the accountabilty to GOD, based on his field of study, a gifted student he is a humanist who believes when he dies he ceases to exsist. GBY

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yvette moore

July 25, 2012  2:46pm

To Dan Bruce: "When our society starts to realize that the people with guns should be accountable for their gun ownership and use BEFORE the tragedies happen," I don't understand what this means. How do you make gun owners like the shooter accountable before they commit such a crime. What do you mean?

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