The tragedy of the school shooting

The YouTube killer, that’s what the newspapers are dubbing Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the young man who walked into his high school and shot dead 7 students, and the headmistress before finally turning the gun on himself. Pekka-Eric regarded himself as a ‘social Darwinist’ and on a home made video said “I, as a natural selector, will eliminate all who I see as unfit.”

Today sees Finland hold a day of national mourning for the dead with their Prime Minister calling it a “great tragedy”. One distraught relative said “This is the end of our world - the end of Finland.”

Our heart goes out to the families and relatives of those caught up in such a horrifying ordeal. An act made all the more horrifying by its perpetrator, a young man of just 18. Yet this is not an isolated incident, in April 32 were killed at Virginia Tech not to mention other teen sprees.
What would lead young men to such acts of violence? What would leave them feeling so bereft of hope and to place so little value on life?

The tragedy that has unfolded in Finland reminds us of the worlds needs seen in individuals who are hurting and bereft of hope. It reminds us that the local church is the hope of world because it is God’s mean of calling people to experience his grace. It also confronts us with the awful consequences of leaving God out of life.