(Editor's note: Chuck Warnock pastors a church within commuting distance of Virginia Tech. The church is profiled in the Spring Issue of Leadership. We asked Chuck to share with us what he's telling his congregation following the tragic shooting deaths of 33 students and faculty on the university campus.)

So, "Where," you ask, "is God in the tragedy at Virginia Tech?"

There are those who will trot out the ancient question, "If God is all-powerful and all-good, then why didn't He prevent the carnage on the campus?" That question tells us more about our immature understanding of both God and this creation than it does about anything else. We must admit that we do not know enough about God to pose that question and we do not know enough about the forces of darkness to form an answer.

Professor D. Z. Phillips, in his book, The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God, cautions us against easy explanations: "Such writing should be done in fear: fear that in our philosophizings we will betray the ...

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