That's what Peter Lane said about the death of his 22-year-old son Christopher, who was shot to death by three teenagers as he was jogging on a neighborhood street. One of the three, according to police, said they killed the younger Lane "for the fun of it."
Christopher Lane, an Australian baseball player, had come to Oklahoma to attend college. The three teens, who didn't know Lane, picked him at random to kill reportedly as a way of breaking up boredom. As Lane was jogging on the street, they drove up behind him, and one of them shot him in the back. The trio then drove away.
Lane died on the spot, despite the efforts of passersby to help him.
All three boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, are now in police custody. Two are charged with first-degree murder and will be tried as adults. The third is charged with using a vehicle in the discharge of a weapon and with being an accessory to first-degree murder after the fact. While considered a youthful offender, he will be tried in adult court.
Lane was a well-liked student in his Australian hometown. His high school coach described him as "a joy to coach," and said he was "extremely well-respected" and a "mature student-athlete who his teammates could look to for advice and support."
At the time of his death, Lane was entering his senior year at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.
Tara Harper, a cousin of Lane's girlfriend Sarah Harper, said that Sarah and her family are working with the Lanes on funeral arrangements, but that Sarah did not plan to attend the court proceeding against Lane's killers. Sarah "wants nothing to do with them," Tara explained. "I don't think we'll ever know why it happened. No answer will be satisfying, no matter what it is."
In response to the killing, Tim Fischer, Australia's former deputy prime minister, urged Australians to avoid the U.S. as a way to pressure its Congress to act on gun control.
"Tourists thinking of going to the USA should think twice," Fischer told the Melbourne Herald Sun. "This is the bitter harvest and legacy of the policies of the NRA that even blocked background checks for people buying guns at gunshows. People should take this into account before going to the United States. I am deeply angry about this because of the callous attitude of the three teenagers [but] it's a sign of the proliferation of guns on the ground in the USA. There is a gun for almost every American."
In an issued statement, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, "This is clearly a tragic death, and we extend our condolences to the family and the loved ones. We understand that local authorities are focused on bringing those responsible to justice. Clearly, we would support that."
Many people besides Lane's father call this crime "senseless." TWW team member James Gruetzner suggests that "senseless" means "This doesn't make sense in my world view" or "This is not justified by any foreseen gain to the perpetrator." He adds, "My guess is that, to the killers, it 'made sense' to them at the time. That's not said to attempt to even gain a small bit of sympathy for them. Not at all. It is meant as an indicator that 'putting oneself in someone else's shoes,' if we are honest, can be more than unpleasant, but a very disgusting or horrifying experience. The sage military advice to 'know your enemy' applies to every effort to counter evil in this world."
Blogger Bryan Preston questions whether the teens were really bored or whether they killed from some other motive. He notes that the rapper Lil Durk "spent time in prison on gun charges, but sees that time as positive for his music career." Preston quotes Durk: "By me going to jail, that was publicity, too. It was all in newspapers. So at the same time, it never kinda stopped."
"So were these kids in Duncan really bored when they killed Chris Lane," asks Preston, "or were they building their resumes, using criminals like Lil Durk as their template?"
Home environment may be another factor. Initial reporting has revealed that Brenda Edwards, the mother of one of the accused murderers, is currently incarcerated and has had 13 criminal convictions, nine of them in the past 10 years. In addition, there are reports that the three were involved in the Crips gang and had threatened to kill another teenager who didn't want to join.
A man in the neighborhood where Lane was killed and who saw emergency workers tending to him commented, "It's very saddening. ... He was a guest in the country."
More on this story can be found at these links:
3 Okla. Teens Charged in Death of Australian Baseball Player. Washington Post
Christopher Lane, Australian Baseball Player, Killed by 'Bored' Okla. Teens. CBS News
Chilling 911 Call Details Final Moments of ... Chris Lane's Life. Herald Sun
Were Chris Lane's Teenage Killers Really 'Bored'? PJ Tatler
The Big Questions
1. How do you define "senseless"? Is it possible to see what seems to be a senseless act as part of God's will? How would you respond to someone who suggested that this horrible murder -- or other senseless acts -- are part of God's plan?
2. In what ways does the Christian faith address "senseless" acts?
3. Preventing future "senseless" acts actually requires trying to make some sense of those that have happened. In which fields might some answers be found -- psychology, criminology, sociology, theology? Why and how?
4. When have you done something unhelpful that made no sense, even when you afterward tried to ascertain your motivations? What did you do to prevent a reoccurrence of such behavior?
5. What Scriptures help you when dealing with pain caused by someone's senseless act?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Deuteronomy 32:28-29, 31
They are a nation void of sense; there is no understanding in them. If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern what the end would be. ... Indeed their rock is not like our Rock; our enemies are fools. (For context, read 32:26-33.)
Deuteronomy is described as words from Moses spoken to the Israelites as they neared the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (see Deuteronomy 1:1). In chapter 32, Moses is reciting the words of a song to the people (see 31:30), and the lyrics present a "lawsuit" brought by God against the Israelites about their gross disloyalty, both in the generation of Moses' day and in the times of their ancestors. Starting at verse 28, however, the lyrics turn to laying out the grounds of hope for the future, found in the nature of God and his divine power.
It's not clear in verse 28 whether the "nation void of sense" is Israel or one of Israel's enemies, but that "senselessness" leads whoever the nation is to misunderstand the power of Israel's "Rock" (Israel's God). The "rock" (god) of the enemy "is not like our Rock" -- that is, that god cannot be compared to the might and power of the Lord God.
Questions: Is one of the roots of "senseless" violence a failure to recognize and obey the "Rockness" of our God? Why or why not? How would you define the "Rock" upon which our basic assumptions are based? What are your basic assumptions about life? What boundaries do you draw around behavior choices?
Habakkuk 1:2-3
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? (For context, read 1:1--2:4.)
In the opening chapter, Habakkuk challenges God to explain why there is such violence in the world and why God does not intervene to stop it. God's reply is not to worry; he's sending the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to destroy everyone. Habakkuk sees that as "throwing out the baby with the bathwater," which is the essential meaning of what the prophet says in 1:14: "You have made people like the fish of the sea." Habakkuk protests that it's easy for God to do that, seemingly so lightly, for God is immortal (1:12), but we humans are struggling. In the second chapter God continues the dialog -- write this message big enough so people speeding by can read it (2:2): "the righteous live by their faith" (2:4).
Questions: In what ways does your faith help you when you see senseless violence -- or worse, when someone you love becomes a victim of it? What kind of conversations have you had with God regarding a universe that sometimes seems senseless? Should you feel free to question, challenge or even criticize God for the way things are? Why or why not?
Ecclesiastes 8:14-15 (The Message)
Here's something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what's coming to the wicked, and bad people get what's coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It's smoke. So, I'm all for just going ahead and having a good time -- the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time -- compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth. (For context, read 8:10-15.)
Here's the author of Ecclesiastes commenting on something that "makes no sense at all" to most of us: bad things happening to good people and vice versa.
Questions: TWW team member Frank Ramirez comments, "Part of the response of Ecclesiastes is that the best thing for us to do in the face of meaninglessness is to eat and drink and enjoy life. I think part of our authentic Christian response to these sorts of outrages [such as the random shooting of Christopher Lane] is to have backyard barbecues and softball games and remember to hug our loved ones and tell them we love them before we take off in the morning." In what ways do such actions help us deal with senseless violence? At a time of grief, confusion or doubt, what activities or "normalities" do you cling to in order to provide landmarks in a troubled emotional landscape?
Romans 7:15, 21
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ... So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. (For context, read 7:14-25.)
Here's the apostle Paul describing his inner conflict with senselessness: "For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." Given this admission and the fact that he zealously persecuted Christians ("breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" -- Acts 9:1), we might wonder how prone he might have been to even senseless violence had he not undergone conversion to follow Jesus.
Questions: At least Paul had not only a voice calling him to do evil, but also a voice calling him to do good. How do we nurture that good voice in young people today? Have you ever done something that made sense at the time, or at the age you found yourself, that later in life you defined as senseless? Have you ever, after a certain act, thought to yourself, "Why did I do that?"
Have you initiated dialogs across generational or cultural lines that have facilitated real conversation in times of trouble? Are you as prepared to listen to youth as you are to speak at youth?
Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (No context needed.)
Note that St. Paul doesn't say that "all things work together for the best," but that they work together "for good." Paul would probably say that God doesn't encourage or desire evil, but he allows it to happen and ensures that good comes of it.
Questions: What are some situations in your life in which God has worked "for good" when, because of sin, it was not "for the best"?
Revelation 21:3-4
See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. (For context, read 21:1-7.)
This is a description of life in the kingdom of God, tn part the kingdom which we petition to "come," both in eternity and in the present, when we pray the Lord's Prayer. In that kingdom, God's will is finally done on earth as it is in heaven. No more night, no more crying, no more tears, for the former things have passed away and nobody shoots passersby anymore (not an exact translation, but true to the spirit of the text).
Questions: How does the Bible's teaching about the kingdom of God fit with life as you experience it today? How does it help? What do you believe God's kingdom will be like when it fully comes? Does the thought of a future perfection in any way make up for a very troubled present?
For Further Discussion
1. Before class, read the document "Making Sense of 'Senseless Violence.'" It's too long to summarize here, but you could ask class members to respond to these two conclusions in the document:
© 2013 The Wired Word
"Second, the case analysis shows that offender emotions are much more complex than is usually assumed. Although the analysis of the particular emotions of an individual perpetrator (does) not immediately allow us to draw firm conclusions concerning the general causes of 'senseless violence', it does provide valuable indications regarding the relative importance of the various personal and situational factors, which bring about 'senseless violence.'"
2. TWW team member Frank Ramirez says, "The proper Christian response is to defiantly live the peace of Jesus Christ despite the madness that seems to surround us." Do you agree? Why? What are some ways you might do that? How does his statement compare with 2 Corinthians 5:7 -- " ... for we walk by faith, not by sight"?
3. If you found yourself face to face with the victim's family, what would you say to them? What would you say to them about the United States? About your Christian faith?
Responding to the News
News such as this reminds us of the importance of supporting youth ministries that seek to implant the divine meaning of life in young people today.
Closing Prayer
O Lord, be present with comfort for those who mourn loved ones taken from them by unwarranted violence. Help us as a society to find effective ways to counter violent impulses in ourselves and others. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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