An undoubtable broken heart over the events in Las Vegas sets the tone of this article. Having lived in Las Vegas for nine years, I am happy to say my friends are okay, but for the victims and all involved, I do what I must: I author disclosure. You will not have my prayers, but that reason comes shortly.
On September 28th, Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise returned to Congress after the tragic shooting during the annual congressional softball game. He received an amazingly heartwarming reception whose bipartisanship – no that is not true: it was a true nonpartisanship reception that inspired many, I’m sure. But my critical eye quickly saw the ugly dark-side of how Congress unites for one of their own but never for us. It has been widely reported how Americans always come together in times of crisis, but let me reveal a secret. America is in a perpetual state of crisis, and suddenly the failure of Congress became clear.
If only Congress would spend a modicum of their narcissistic passion upon US as opposed to their political party. How often have both parties used the suffering of people to score political points? This is the same playbook that terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah use to entice people to their side. They facilitate great harm only to then “rescue” their people. It is nothing more than the old-school organized crime protection scheme.
I support the 2nd Amendment, but I despise the NRA. We need gun control; we need to limit carnage ammunition. There is no reason for any one person to own an arsenal. But our American narcissism, particularly from those soldier wannabes who cry havoc about gun confiscation upon any effort to implement responsible gun control, makes any civil discourse impossible. When civil religion idolized the soldier and our war culture, it sanctified gun ownership and gun violence; if God ordained America, he ordained guns and killing. If that god is in control, then honestly, we need a new god. Perhaps one who, oh let’s say, desires the turning of weapons into plowshares.
I won’t offer my prayers, because most prayer accomplishes nothing but solidifying narcissistic pride. For those who do pray and invest their lives to action, you have my genuine thanks. But having lived the life of an independent fundamental Christian for many years, I see things quite differently. The vast majority of people who “offer prayers” do it to make themselves feel better. They believe their prayer absolves them from the responsibility to act and allows them to return to their own self-centered lives. Returning to their temples of TMZ, sports, guns, computer games, and pornography, most professed Christians embrace hate and desire God’s destruction of the other. They relish their own narcissistic superiority. They decry works from Ephesians 2:8-9, but forget verse 10 where Paul stated Christians are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” and James’ writing that faith without works is dead.
Professed Christians return to their temples of idolatry believing God is in control and “thy will be done.” They miss the fact that if God manifests his will across the world in the hearts of all, then was it God’s will that fifty-nine innocent people died in Las Vegas? If they say that God ordained man to freely choose to sin or not (God is not in control), then how will prayer change man? Why then do they choose not to act? This hypocrisy is something I cannot accept. Evil arises from our own narcissistic thoughts, not the will of God. But narcissism absolves us of our responsibility, and the death and carnage continues.