It Started in Eden

The ongoing spate of violence in America’s public schools saw tragic manifestations last year, including the murder of five Amish girls and the critical injury to several others at the same rural Pennsylvania schoolhouse.

While most people struggle over such tragedies, the Bible explains why these terrible actions occur. Suffering and death are the consequences of Adam’s Fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). In fact, the first murder happened only a few years after the Fall, when Cain murdered his own brother Abel.

Evolution is not the culprit. However, people have rejected the truth and authority of the Bible and have instead accepted evolutionary ideas like survival of the fittest, as taught in most schools. These ideas have contributed significantly to a growing sense of meaninglessness and purposelessness in society. And with this mindset in society, such senseless violence should only be expected to increase.