In the weeks and months to come there will be doubtlessly dozens of “experts” all giving their opinions on why Cho Seung Hui would methodically plan the murder of his peers. Cho bought two weapons for the explicit purpose of murder, recorded a diatribe against the “debauchery” of the “rich kids” and send it to NBC in between his murderous rampage, compared himself and his sacrifice to that of Jesus Christ, and he had wrote on his arm and signed his name as Ismael Ax on the package he had sent to NBC. That last note from Cho chronicled what he was about to do and why he was about to institute the most murderous rampage in 21st century America. The root problem of all the tragedy that occurred is a spiritual problem.
All across the internet are dozens of sites that note that Ismael Ax is how Cho chose to refer to himself. This is a reference to the Muslim version of Abraham’s sacrifice. There is confusion over the spelling of Ishmael because those of us from the Jewish-Christian communities use the Hebrew spelling of Ishmael and the Muslim communities use the Arabic spelling of Ismael. To read the Biblical story, check out Genesis 22. In the Muslim version, Abraham almost sacrificed Ishmael with an ax, hence the reference to Ismael Ax.
It is apparent that Cho choose to link himself to the Muslim community and in particular to their version of the sacrificial story. We could talk about and play up the idea that this tragedy is all about Cho’s understanding of and connection with Islam. The real problem goes much deeper than whatever his connection was with Islam. The real problem dwells within the very nature of the human heart. Cho thought that his actions would be a sacrifice that would awaken America from what he perceived at its apathy towards outsiders. The problem was that Cho was deluded by his sins to think that his sacrifice would change the world. Cho spoke against greed and alienation that he felt as being a outsider on the VT campus. It is much easier for us to dismiss this as the rantings of a madman than to realize he was desperately seeking something to make life better. Cho was so twisted and fully corrupted by sin that he saw himself as a martyr that was going to awaken America and cure it of the problems of greed and selfishness. Cho did not understand the nature of sin.
Sin is any act or thought that we commit that goes against what God desires for us to do and think. Sin left unchecked begins to consume us, it ravages our soul as it consumes every part of our humanity. It is aparent from Cho’s words and actions that he was lost in his sins and even though he thought his sacrifice was going to change the world it ultimately did nothing but end 33 lives prematurely.
The story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22 gives the four perimeters for acceptable sacrifice. First, God must command it. Second, man must be willing to obey. Third, God must ultimately provide the sacrifice. Fourth, man must accept God’s provision. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac as the test to prove his devotion to God. God never intended for Isaac to die at Abraham’s hand. Instead when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a proper sacrifice of a ram caught in a thicket and a angelic messenger confirmed that he was not to harm Isaac. Abraham gladly accepted God’s sacrificial provision. Cho wanted to be a martyr and wanted his life to be a sacrifice that would get VT and America’s attention. Cho’s sacrifice will eventually be forgotten by most Americans other than it added to the problem and not to the solution.
God cares about both our actions and our thought lives. That’s why he sent Jesus as the only proper sacrifice for all sin. God wants us to think and live our lives in a way that help combat the problems of sin not add to them. God wants us —and even wanted Cho– to come to Jesus. God desires for us to exchange our sins for God’s grace. God wants us to live lives that are defined by grace and mercy. God wants us to live lives that unite people and not divide them. God wants all of us to come to Jesus and learn what it means to love. God wants us to accept his sacrificial provision and not to try and do it on our own. It is apparent that Cho did not understand who God and Jesus are, and it appears that he didn’t realize that what he needed most was God’s love and acceptance not the attention of the VT campus and the world through mass murder and his own unworthy sacrifice.
As we over the next few weeks mourn for the VT community and families, it will become easy for most of us to return to our normal lives as the memories of the VT tragedy begin to fade. Let us learn now from this tragedy. Let those of us who call ourselves Christians learn to seek out the Cho’s and offer God’s love to them in the hope that we may turn them from the same path of destruction to the very real life offered in following Jesus. Let us who call ourselves Christians learn to show Jesus more in our actions as well in our words. Let those of us who are still seeking what the ultimate meaning of life is learn from Jesus and learn what his sacrifice means to us today. Let us all learn from Jesus on how to be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem.
Possibly related posts:
- Reflections on Pelagius and Augustine
- Politics and Faith Reflections
- Lent Temptation, Sacrifice, & Focus
- what God would say to Jon and Kate + 8, reflections on being a Dad
- Reflections from Reinhold Neibuhr