'A Dark Knight'—Are There Any Answers?

Like man you, I have watched with unspeakable horror at the events that have unfolded in Aurora, Colorado. People go to the movies everyday. The midnight premiers have become something of a spectacle as raving fans don costumes and gather at the local theater to celebrate their heroes of the big screen. Hundreds of such movie goers were at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado for the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. What was meant to be a fun night at the movies quickly turned into a nightmare that no one will soon forget.

The details of the events continue to emerge. Undoubtedly, we will continue to learn more and more over the next several days and weeks. All day long I have heard a variety of adjectives used to describe what happened ... senseless, gruesome, shocking, unthinkable and tragic. But the one word used over and over has been evil. And therein lies the heart of our struggle when these evil acts occur. We ask questions like, "How could something like this ever happen?" "How could a person be capable of committing such heinous crimes?"

We struggle with mourning the loss of human life while wanting to see justice brought to the person responsible for the evil. So, are there any truths or answers that can help us make sense of the senseless evil that results in the loss of human life and reorders our thoughts about life? From a biblical perspective, the Bible is God's revelation of Himself and His truth. The Bible is the sufficient source of absolute truth that answers the questions of life and death.

THE REALITY OF HUMAN EVIL

Evil in the human experience of life is a problem in the fact that evil is a reality. But, why? Why is there evil? Why do people commit such evil acts? The Bible pinpoints the origin of evil. In Genesis 3 we have the historical account of what is known in theological terms as The Fall. Adam and Eve disobeyed God's clear command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The resulting consequence has been the reality of sin. Sin is best understood as disobedience to God. And sin has consequences. Sin is epitomized in our selfish acts of rebellion against the goodness of God's love. The result has been the real presence of evil in the world.

Yet, some will say, "But how could a person do something as evil as this?" Two truths must be considered here. First, there are no degrees of sin. While telling a lie or robbing a bank do not seem to be as heinous as the massacre at the movies in Aurora, the reality is that sin is sin as far as morality is concerned. There are not BIG sins and little sins. All sin is sin and all sin has moral consequences. Second, the potential wickedness of any human should never be underestimate. Al Mohler writes, "The Fall released human moral evil into the cosmos, and every single human being is a sinner, tempted by a full range of sinfulness. When someone does something as seemingly unthinkable as this, we often question how anyone could do such a thing. The prophet Jeremiah spoke to this when he lamented, 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?' [Jeremiah 17:9]"

THE DESIRE FOR JUSTICE

In His wisdom, God has established the human institutions of government to serve as restraints against human evil. Romans 13:1-4, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; fir it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." This means that the government is God's ordained human authority to restrain human evil and punish the evildoer.

The laws of our society serve to discourage and restrain evil while outlining the consequences that will be applied to those who transgress the rules of the authority. Our nation is a nation governed by the laws of the land. At the foundation of our laws is the fear of God, because all authority is a derived authority from God.

THE ANSWER IS IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST

There are no easy answers to our questions. But Christians know that God is sovereign and is in complete control. Nothing happens outside of His sovereign control. This does not meant that God is the author of sin or the origin of evil. James 1:17, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." God's providential care of His creation strengthens our faith to know that He is governing all of life's days to the end that He has determined by His grace ... eternal life in heaven where we will be free from the penalty, power and presence of sin.

The intersection of God's sovereignty and evil is the cross of Christ. Remember, the source of evil in the world is mankind's sinful disobedience to the love of God. The gospel message is the message of God's triumph for us over sin, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1Corinthians 15:3). The apostle Paul reminds us that this gospel message is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

The message of the gospel is God's answer to our sin and suffering. The truth is that in the midst of our suffering and pain there is a good, loving, gracious, merciful, just, righteous, holy God who knows our pain and provides the solution to our suffering. God sent His Son, Jesus, to bear God's wrath for our sin. Jesus lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23).

The biblical response for Christians in these days should be to pray. We should pray for the victims and their families to know God's grace and peace. We should mourn with them. We should pray for our governing authorities to have God's wisdom as they investigate and prosecute the case. We should pray for gospel churches in the Aurora community (and all across the nation) to minister the love of Jesus AND the gospel of Jesus in our communities. Morality cannot be legislated satisfactorily. The only sufficient cure is the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we pray we must point people to cross and the gospel.