On Friday evening in Paris, seven men set out to kill and terrorize as many people as they could in the name of their god.  The result was 129 people killed and over 300 wounded on the streets of Paris.  The only thing these people seemed to have in common was that they were out to enjoy themselves.  Nothing more.

As a Christian, how do I make sense of this?  How can people take God the Creator and turn him into God the Destroyer?  How can they justify the taking of human life for what seems to be no other reason than I do not believe as you do?  How can they take the Muslim faith and so twist it to justify actions that are unjustifiable?

Not that this is the first time this has happened.  History is riddled with occasions where people have done horrible things in the name of God.

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying, “There is no justification for such things, neither religious nor human.  It is difficult to understand such things, done by human beings.”

If the leader of the Roman Catholic Church does not understand it, how can I?

I am heartsick and appalled at what has happened.  And I am at a loss as to what to do.  How does one respond to an event such as this?  For some that I have talked to, the answer seems to be ignore it.  It didn’t happen here, so it really doesn’t have an effect on me.  But it does.

Pope Francis said that he was praying for the families of the victims, for France and for all those who suffer.  I will be praying for them and for us as well.  For to some extent, we are all victims of this horrible event.

– Jackie Acres