She must have been a psycho.

This week at my university, the University of Arizona, a female freshman bought a knife, wrote a fake suicide note, and stabbed her roommate to death in her sleep. While we are steadily growing more and more accustomed to events like this, it still brings with it a sense of shock. But what should bring an even bigger sense of shock is that we are, in fact, growing accustomed to it. Since this fact is of course rooted in the profound antitheism of our culture, it always is curious to find out how these events are interpreted by those who are proponents of and participants in, as well as victims of, this worldview.

As we sadly have had the opportunity frequently to encounter these reactions and interpretations, I have certainly noticed an interpretive trend: "She must have been a psycho"; "she was crazy"; "she must have snapped." I heard this explanation again this week, as I have heard it many times before regarding events from the WTC bombings to the Virginia Tech murders. From now on I am determined to strongly challenge this interpretation, for I now recognize it as the way in which the proponents of the antitheistic worldview evade facing the questions and consequences that their worldview entails.

How so? Surely anyone who flies airplanes into buildings, shoots dozens of classmates, or stabs her roommate to death in her sleep is a crazy psycho, right? Well, I am certainly not qualified to comment on the psychological status of any individuals, but neither is anyone I have heard making these claims. We don't know anything else about her yet, but they know she must have been a "psycho." And in saying so, they are relegating the action to the sphere of anomaly, and they are making a clear and decisive distinction between themselves and the other person. For the implication is that normal people don't do things like that; I do not do things like that.

And I, a sinner who has been raised to life by the Holy Spirit of God on the basis of the saving work of Jesus Christ, know better than this. This action is so far from being anomalous that I can confidently say that it is perfectly rational and consistent with the antitheistic worldview. Furthermore, I recognize that the only distinction between me and people who stab their roommates to death in their sleep, is the sovereign grace of God. Apart from the grace of God, I personally have all the resources within me to stab people to death in their sleep. The source of this wickedness is sin, and it is everyone's problem. And if we studiously ignore the source of scenarios like this, as we do, then we will continue to see them occur with increasing regularity and visciousness. Our culture is profoundly bereft of any explanation of where actions like this come from, as well as why they are even bad actions instead of good actions. It is only the Biblical worldview that can correctly identify the source, as well as the solution, to these deeds. We must not let our non-Christian friends evade the questions which are screaming for answers by a simple shrug of the shoulders and the exhausted cliche "she must have been a psycho." Here is our chance to offer the hope of the gospel to our friends. There is obviously no hope in the four-hour cleansing ceremony by a Native American medicine man that took place in the residence hall on the day after the murder. But this is the best our university can offer.