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This leads us to what I believe is the underlying cause of all of these sick tragedies. It is something which I have discussed a number of times before. Simply put, we cannot remove God and His Word -- the Bible -- from our government, from our schools, from our public square, from our families, and from our personal lives, and then expect everything to be a-okay. The Bible has been both the moral as well as the spiritual foundation of our nation for two centuries. Many of our laws are based upon its precepts. Yet for fifty years now, we have knowingly and intentionally been ripping out that foundation from under our very feet. As a result, many people in this nation have lost their moral compass, as well as their fear of and respect for God, and the bad fruit of such foolishness is evident all around us. Those of you who share my Christian convictions will know exactly what I am talking about.

I must confess that I am quite dumbfounded when I come upon comments in the news, on social networks, etc., where people make the claim that some of our children no longer know the difference between right and wrong. I am flabbergasted. This is extremely hard for me personally to understand. If you are also a fellow Christian, then you may already know why I feel this way. If not, let me tell you. As I explain in a number of other articles, I am convinced that God instills a Voice of Conscience in every single one of us. It is inescapable. His Laws regarding morality and acceptable human behavior are indelibly etched on the tables of our hearts. Consider the following verses. Take particular note of the words I have emphasized in uppercase letters:

"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew THE WORK OF THE LAW WRITTEN IN THEIR HEARTS, THEIR CONSCIENCE ALSO BEARING WITNESS, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)"


"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:"


"Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart."


"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;"


"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."


You see. It doesn't matter where we live, or who we are. Deep within our beings, we all know what is right, and what is wrong. Why? Because as the Apostle Paul clearly writes, "their conscience also bearing witness". We can refer to it as the Voice of Conscience, or as the little angel sitting on our shoulder, but it is there directing our thoughts and our actions. So even if we didn't have the Bible, we would still be held accountable for our actions. Whether we live in some modern city, or in some remote village deep in the jungles of Indonesia, we still know that it is wrong to kill. It is wrong to steal. It is wrong to have sex with our neighbor's wife. It is wrong to have sex with a person of the same sex. God has put it in us to know. No one can deny this or feign ignorance; even if they try to rub God out of their lives, or say that the Bible is not His inspired Word.

A person would have to completely harden his heart to God's Spirit in order to not know these things. And actually, it is not that he does not know them; it is just that because of his own stubborn pride and willfulness, he has knowingly chosen to consciously and purposely block out the Voice of God which is speaking to his wicked heart. I am reminded of the following verses which clearly reveal the wickedness of an unregenerate human heart:

"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."


"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."


Wow! What an honest picture of the human heart! Sadly, this is exactly what we see happening in America in our modern day, and it is very alarming. Many people have become so hardened against God, that they are past feeling anything. They have become so darkened in their understanding due to sin and rebellion in their lives, that they have no idea of the spiritual depths to which they have fallen. Either that, or they just don't care what God thinks about them. Sadly, we Christians know to what degree they have fallen, because we witness, read about and hear about their ungodly behavior every single day, and it is quite disgusting. It is as if certain segments of the American population are purposely challenging God with their sick, defiant, immoral behavior, and just daring Him to mete out His judgments against the nation. As I explain in the series "Don't Ever Underestimate Our Spiritual Enemy", God is not asleep, and someday His axe is going to fall. They won't be laughing then.

It may surprise you to know, that almost two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul described this very same behavior and ungodly attitude when he wrote the following in two of his Epistles:

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."


"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"


So, as you can see, God definitely knows the score, and He has known it for a very long time. He made us, and so He obviously recognizes the potential evil that resides within every single one of us. He knows what we are capable of doing, if the right conditions present themselves, and if we choose to harden our hearts against Him. This issue is so serious with the Lord, that the Bible is filled with verses which warn us against hardening our hearts, so that we become spiritually blind, and deaf to hearing the Voice of Conscience. Consider the following examples:

"Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."


"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."


"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."


"For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."


"He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."


"And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?"


"And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept."


"Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen."


"Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"


"He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."


"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye."


"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;"


"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years . . . Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God . . . While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."


"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God . . . While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."


"Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."


In light of all of the previous verses, as difficult as it is for me to accept, I have to wonder if perhaps it is possible for a person to become so hardened in their heart against the Lord's Spirit and Still Small Voice, that they truly do not know the difference between right and wrong, and good and bad behavior. Is it possible that the kids and adults who commit these mass shootings are really that far gone? Then I stop to think about the plethora of powerful psychotropic drugs that some of these people have been treated with. We all know how much strong drugs can affect us.

I am not just talking about illegal drugs such as heroin, methamphetamines, etc. I am talking about prescription drugs as well. Many of us have found ourselves in situations where we have had major surgery, or serious oral surgery, or some other type of procedure, which has left us in great pain. In such situations, the first thing we want to do is to run to the pill bottle in order to find some relief. Sometimes we will even cheat a little, just to make sure that we are so numbed up, that we can't feel the slightest bit of pain. Our brain becomes sluggish, we feel like there is cotton in our ears, and we are feeling really, really good.

Now, just imagine what it must feel like to take even more powerful prescription drugs, such as the ones which these killers have had to take on a daily basis. Obviously, I have never done it, so I can't say with any degree of certainty exactly how it affects them. I have taken Hydrocodone once or twice for strong pain following complicated oral surgery, and I really didn't like the effect that it had on my body. So I have not taken it since. But I am wondering if it may be possible for the long-term usage of such psychotropic drugs to result in a complete disconnect between a person and the Voice of God's Spirit -- or conscience -- speaking to their heart. In other words, a total breakdown with their moral compass, so that they don't realize that these heinous acts they are committing are wrong.

Taking this a step further, it has long been said that some drugs serve as a gateway to the Spirit World. Again, I don't know if this is really true or not, because I have never had such an experience in my own life. But if it is true, what if some of these kids are foolishly making a connection with the forces of darkness? Before you scoff at such a possibility, let me remind you that according to news reports, following his arrest, Nikolas Cruz claimed that demons pressured him into killing all of those kids at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Equally alarming is the fact that he is not the first killer to make such claims.

In Cruz's case, whether or not bringing up demons is just a legal ploy by his lawyer so that Cruz can plead temporary insanity remains to be seen. However, from everything I have read online regarding this horrible incident, it seems that this attack involved clear-cut premeditation. Not only that, but right now, many Americans are pleading for blood; so the judicial system may just give it to them by making Cruz an example. Time will certainly tell, but it could very well take years before Cruz's final fate is determined.

No matter how you look at it, the United States is in very deep spiritual trouble; and as we saw earlier, the people, through their own foolish choices over the past fifty years or so, have brought this trouble upon themselves. Of their own free will, many of them have knowingly chosen the way of unrighteousness, and I have no doubt that God has taken notice. Not only has He taken notice, but I am sure that He is not pleased. What has been needed for a very long time now is nationwide repentance, and a forsaking of our sinful ways. I am reminded of the following verses:

"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people."


"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."


"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."


Not only does America need to engage in full repentance, forsake her ungodly, rebellious behavior, and get her heart right with the Lord, but we as a people need to be renewed in our minds, hearts and spirits, because a lot of us have become spiritually stagnant, or perhaps are already dead in a sense. Consider the following additional verses:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."


"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."


"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."


"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."


"And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"


Sadly, despite all that we have been through as a nation in recent years, this type of genuine nationwide repentance, and cleansing and renewing of our minds and hearts has not yet happened. There seemed to be hope for it, and inklings of it following the tragic events of 9/11, but it did not last long. Today, it is rather evident that in a spiritual sense, we are worse off now than we were back then, and the wicked continue to do even more wickedly with seeming impunity. Let me remind you of a verse I shared earlier. Surely, this verse perfectly describes some of the unregenerate people in America who are driving the country ever close to her judgment:

"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."


One thing which we all need to realize is that these ongoing mass shootings are just one manifestation or symptom of the serious disease which afflicts our nation. As I said earlier, we need to do everything within our power to mitigate, and hopefully to stop, these heartbreaking incidents. If that means introducing more restrictive gun control laws, then so be it. Despite protests from the gun lobby and pro-Second Amendment advocates, we simply must do it. Our children are worth it, aren't they? But doing these things alone will not fix things. It won't be enough. Unless we attack the problem at the root, that is, at its spiritual root, we are doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, and suffering the consequences in the process.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Are Personal Tragedies Due to Sin?
Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts
Demonic Possession and Sickness: A Biblical Perspective
Divine Protection: Do You Have Fear or Faith?
Do You Want Love and Light, or Rod and Wrath?
Don't Ever Underestimate Our Spiritual Enemy
Free Will and Personal Choice
Killing and the Phinehas Priesthood
Killing, Murder and Military Duty
Owning Guns: What Saith the Scriptures?
School Shootings: The Second Amendment Controversy

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