People have been asking in the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, “How could God allow that to happen?”
Well, let me think. We’ve legislated God out of every public area of life, especially in the schools, and confined Him to the churches. We’ve made our schools “drug-free zones,” “gun-free zones,” and “God-free zones.” Then we’re surprised when He doesn’t prevent what happened in Newtown?
Even in churches, many people would like God to be just a soft cuddly “baby-Jesus-in-a-manger” or a jolly Santa Claus rather than an Aslan the Lion as in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” When Susan in that book says, “Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” Mr. Beaver replies “Safe? Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
God never forces Himself on anyone, but He has warned us about how things will be if we choose to exclude Him and His protective presence from our lives. So don’t be shocked if, “when the cat is removed, the rats begin to show up.”
Don Wiens
Kingston
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It is time that reason must be observed and the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution be repealed.
A well-reasoned amendment assuring the right of a citizen of the United States to keep and own a firearm should be formed.
This amendment must place restrictions on the type and operation of permitted firearms and ammunition.
This amendment shall require a permit and vetting prior to issue of permit.
Certain circumstances such as mental impairment, instability or a history of such would deny a permit.
A permit to own a firearm would be no different than a permit to operate a vehicle, a driver’s license.
Time is of the essence in this needed action.
Earle L. Willey
Indianola
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The heartache of losing so many children to an act of evil at Sandy Hook Elementary School appears to have left us all searching for why and how to make sure it never happens again.
Recent letters to the editor remind me much of the Book of Job in the Bible. Job’s three friends all came to the aid of Job’s suffering, but instead of silence they all brought their views of why this happened to him, but forgot the reason they came in the first place. The reason was to support a friend who was suffering. Our president perhaps showed us the best leadership of his administration in urging us to “Love one another.”
In the Old and New Testament scriptures, the constant direction is to love our children.
Before people who love God can have those conversations about stopping these crimes against children, in regards to gun control and mental health, perhaps we should be constantly looking to ways to help those youth who are marginalized, those who get lost through the cracks in the culture of today.
All our youth in this world of today deserve a culture that supports and loves them, and to know about a God that does also. Our first priority from people of faith is how to show the love of God to a new generation that seems to have everything at their fingertips, except that love.
Mick Sheldon
Kingston
