Why Does Murder Happen?

From the recent shooting in Virginia of a reporter and cameraman to school shootings to terrorism, murder is prevalent in our society.  So why does murder happen?  Liberals blame guns, secularists both liberal and conservative blame it on psychological problems.  Are these groups right or are they totally off base?  

Many liberals blame guns but people commit murder not guns.  Did murder not happen before guns existed?  Secular liberals and secular conservatives usually place the blame on mental or psychological problems within the person committing the crime.  Whether you turn to MSNBC, CNN, or FOX News you usually get a secular worldview.  They operate on the assumptions that people are basically good and that God is basically irrelevant or does not exist.  

In reality the real problem is evil.  People are not basically good but sinful.  In Genesis 3 man sinned and rebelled against God.  As a result all of creation is fallen and under the sin curse.  All human beings are now born sinners, it is our very nature. Shortly after the fall in Genesis 3 we find the first murder taking place in Genesis 4 when Cain murdered Abel.  

Every intention of men's thoughts are evil continually (Genesis 6:5).  We are born in sin (Psalm 51:5), and the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  There are none who are righteous (Romans 3:10) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  (Matthew 15:19) "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." (ESV).  Evil is in the heart of man and not a basic goodness.  This is the Biblical doctrine of total depravity.  

The shocking truth is that we are all guilty of murder.  Whoever has hated another person is guilty of murder (Matthew 5:21-22).  We may not have committed the physical, external act but we have violated the internal spirit of the law.  In reality none of us have kept any of the Ten Commandments.  We are all guilty before God.  Our only hope is to run to Jesus, to repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for salvation.  

The Biblical worldview presents us with the reality that man is sinful and evil is real. The secular worldview cannot face the reality of evil, it has no basis for the category of evil.  It does not want to deal with the reality of evil because it does not want to deal with the reality of God.  Only the Biblical worldview gives us the truth. 

Evil can be restrained by strong families, strong communities, and a strong justice system.  But in our modern society we do not really have any of these.  Even if we had a strong society all murder and all evil could not be stopped.  Evil is a reality in our fallen world.  What we need is a changed heart and only God can gives us this.  We must ultimately look to heaven and Jesus is the only way there.