Violence and Virtue
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11). Do you ever wonder how close we may be to the end of the world? The earth, however, is frequently filled with violence (World War II, for example). And in the 1960s, the whole country mourned the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (Nov. 22, 1963), civil rights’ leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4, 1968), and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (June 5, 1968).
The week of September 7th, 2025 was difficult to endure—especially in light of the fact that last year a man stood outside a Supreme Court Justice’s house ready to kill him and presidential candidate Donald Trump survived two attempts on his life—one of those coming within an inch of succeeding. The first newsworthy victim in September was a Ukrainian woman who came to the United States for safety—fleeing the war between her native land and Russia. She had just finished work and was taking public transportation home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She sat down in a vacant seat and began to check her telephone. Suddenly the man in the seat behind her stood up and took her life by stabbing her several times (it was all on camera). No motive was discernible.
Some have claimed that people are only upset because the killer was black and the woman was white. Seriously? How about people are outraged because a totally innocent woman was murdered? Would we somehow be less appalled if the young woman were black? Such is preposterous. Did not the nation mourn the loss of Dr. King as much as the President and his brother? Race has nothing to do with it in this century. Later in the week a white male (age 22) assassinated another white male (age 31). Would we be angrier if a black male had pulled the trigger? How absurd!
People are not outraged that Iryna Zarutska was murdered mercilessly by a black male—but rather by the fact that he had been arrested 14 times, was known to be mentally ill, yet was out on the streets. The mayor of Charlotte commented that society "will never arrest our way out [of] issues such as homelessness and mental health" and that these issues should be treated with the same "compassion, diligence and commitment as cancer and heart disease." Wrong. A murderer deserves no compassion; his right to live no longer exists (Gen. 9:5-6). Having previously shown violent tendencies, he should not only have been arrested; he should have been imprisoned. Something is terribly wrong with our justice system when people who are a danger to others are allowed to walk freely among us. The police chief of Washington, D.C. is quoted as saying (pay close attention to these words): The average homicide suspect had been arrested 11 times. Incredible!
Charlie Kirk was the second victim the week of September 7th. Your congenial editor had never heard his name before but wonders how he missed him, as his accomplishments were several. Since this shooting dominated the news for days, there is probably not much the reader does not already know, but what Elton John wrote concerning the senseless murder of John Lennon in his haunting song, “An Empty Garden,” also seems appropriate here: “It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain.” Christians disagree with the philosophy of Lennon’s “Imagine,” but no one rejoiced in his death.
The word virtue occurs seven times in the New Testament. The first three times are in Mark and Luke and generally refer to power (from dunamis, #1411 in Strong). The other four times, a different word is used—arete (#703). It refers to “moral excellence, virtue, moral goodness, purity.” Paul said to think about virtue (Phil. 4:8). Peter wrote that God called us to glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3). He also advised that virtue should be added to faith and knowledge to virtue (2 Peter. 1:5). One does not find too many public figures who morally live up to standards of purity. Apparently, Charlie Kirk was one who did. That and his ability to reason with those who disagreed with him should be emulated.