The following is excerpted from a posting today on a weblog by Christianity Today, Inc.:
Two days after the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech, many questions remain unanswered. Among them are questions about Cho Seung-Hui’s personal religious beliefs and his attitude toward Christians. The few details that have emerged in the press so far seem to raise more questions than they answer. The Associated Press reports, for example:
Cho … left a note that was found after the bloodbath. A law enforcement official described it Tuesday as a typed, eight-page rant against rich kids and religion. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“You caused me to do this,” the official quoted the note as saying. Cho indicated in his letter that the end was near and that there was a deed to be done, the official said. He also expressed disappointment in his own religion, and made several references to Christianity, the official said.
Unanswered: What was “his own religion”? USA Today says that at least one point, he (like many South Koreans) was a Presbyterian: “Pastor Cha Young Ho of the Korean Presbyterian Church said that the family once belonged to his church and that Cho was a quiet boy.”
McClatchy reporters talked with Young-Hwan Kim, president of the school’s Korean Campus Crusade for Christ chapter. “No one knew him,” Kim said. “We had no contact throughout four years. It’s amazing. We could not reach out to him.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying, Kim said. Members of Korean Campus Crusade repeatedly invited him to meetings, he said, but Cho wouldn’t even provide personal contact information.
If Cho’s faith remains something of a mystery, Christianity is front and center in much of the memorial. Stories of the victims are trickling out. The Myspace page of Lauren McCain, 20, now continues her testimony.
“The purpose and love of my life is Jesus Christ,” she wrote. “I don’t have to argue religion, philosophy, or historical evidence because I KNOW Him. He is just as real, if not more so, as my ‘earthly’ father.”
McCain is becoming one of the more prominent Christian victims, but she’s not alone. “Several of our students were killed,” Campus Crusade leader Tony Arnold told Mission Network News. “Three that we know were involved with either Campus Crusade for Christ or with one of our sister affiliate ministries called Valor. There’s also another student that is not officially listed yet, but since no one has been able to reach her, we believe she must be among the casualties.”
Virginia’s governor invoked Job and Jesus. Job, he said, “was angry at his Creator. He argued with God. He didn’t lose his faith, but it’s okay to argue. It’s okay to be angry.” It’s also okay to feel despair, he said, pointing to “those haunting words that were uttered on a hill, on Calvary, “My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?'” But do not let go of community, Kaine urged both those directly lost family members and those able to help the grieving.
President Bush sounded a similar note. “Across the town of Blacksburg and in towns all across America, houses of worship from every faith have opened their doors and have lifted you up in prayer,” he said. “People who have never met you are praying for you; they’re praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured. There’s a power in these prayers, real power. In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God. As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'”