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In the aftermath of Cho Seung-Hui's deadly rampage at Virginia Tech on April 20, 2007, the media and internet was filled with the videos, photos and the messages Seung-Hui sent to NBC explaining his reasons for murdering people he didn't even know. It revealed an unimagined, inner rage towards society.
Everybody is trying to reach inside Seung-Hui's mind to find out what drove him to kill 32 people and wound 29 others and finally to kill himself.
Experts describe his "personal miseries" and "issues." The use words such as "loner" and "psychotic" to somehow explain his actions. They describe him as "socially marginal" and talk about society's failure to help him.
Some were brave enough to describe his actions as evil, but few were willing to take the next step Wall Street Journal Columnist Peggy Noonan did in her column. She writes:
"The most common-sensical thing I heard said came Thursday morning, in a hospital interview with a student who'd been shot and was recovering. Garrett Evans said of the man who'd shot him, "An evil spirit was going through that boy, I could feel it." It was one of the few things I heard the past few days that sounded completely true. Whatever else Cho was, he was also a walking infestation of evil."
The disciples understood this. They understood there was an evil presence in the world that drove men to horrifying acts.
The Apostle John writes that during the Passover Supper, satan had already put the thought in Judas' mind to betray Jesus. Our Lord was aware of this betrayal and said there was one in their midst who would betray Him. The disciples were shocked. They asked who it was. Jesus holding a piece of bread in His hand, said the one to whom I give this morsel, which was then handed to Judas.
John writes, "After the morsel, Satan then entered into him (Judas). Therefore Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.'" (John 13:27) At this point, the Lord was talking to the satanic not the man.
Now under the control of Satan, Judas was driven to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Once satan was done with him, Judas was quickly disposed of and I believe driven to kill himself (Mat 27:5) -- an act repeated by Seung-Hui.
Though the cross marks the great triumph of Christ over the demonic realm enabling men to break free from satan's control, it was also a time when satan purposely used men to fulfill his evil purposes. Maybe, it is no coincidence that during these days when North America celebrates Easter, we have witnessed many "evil" tragedies.
In addition to Virginia Tech, on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 people including 19 children when he blew up the Alfred R. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Four years later on April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold commit suicide after shooting 12 students and teachers at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado.
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