The Attempted Trump Assassination

It probably goes without saying, but I wholeheartedly condemn the shooting.

If anyone hasn't heard yet, [click here]. I don't like Donald Trump. I severely dislike him as a person and disapprove of nearly every action he's ever done. But attempting to kill him is not the answer, and it's not the answer to most problems we face in this world. We are not to seek the deaths of others - the Bible states clearly that committing murder is a sin. It's not like I'm unsympathetic to the desperation that these gunmen face. You see a problem in the world. You try to solve it, and it feels like the only solution left is to take extreme measures like murder. However, it's imperative to understand that these are just feelings, emotions. They're not based in factual logic. It's not possible for the human imagination to exhaust all possibilities to solve a problem. This is one reason we must rely on God; He is perfect in His judgments and is all-knowing, and can weigh all situations objectively. Also, emotions do not justify the majority of wrongdoing. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Reasons and excuses are not the same thing; having a reason to do something wrong doesn't excuse the wrong, especially when considering we live in a universe ruled by an omniscient deity who actively offers His guidance to us.

It doesn't matter that it was a controversial figure. It doesn't justify an attempted homicide. If this had been Joe Biden; if this had been a beloved actor/actress; if this had been a random passerby on the street; it would be equally damnable. Despite my extreme opposition to what Trump stands for, I will pray for a speedy recovery for him, as this is something that shouldn't have happened to him. We are all entitled to live our life as long as God has apportioned it, to make our choices and live accordingly. To take a life is to end someone's life outside of what God has apportioned. I firmly believe Trump is a heretic and is living a life that will lead him to Hell, and I would assume someone who hates him enough to shoot him believes similarly. If anything, this is all the more reason not to shoot him, because if the shooter had succeeded, he would be sent to Hell prematurely. As long as a heretic lives, there is time left for them to see the error of their ways and to repent unto Christ. To shoot them is to take God's justice into one's own hands, and to deprive that person of thousands, if not millions of chances to turn away from their wicked path.

Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all this comes in the fact that the shooter missed, and killed a random attendee of the rally. This is the end to the path of murder: innocents will inevitably suffer for it somehow. Occurrences don't happen in a bubble; they have a ripple effect and carry across the world. The family and friends of an innocent person will be grieving, and their loved ones alongside them. Tragedy is spreading because of this act. And this only comes from a failed assassination attempt. One that failed so hard, some seem to consider it a joke. A shot to the ear? It's ridiculous. Yet think about this: Tragedy has manifested from this failure. How much more would the tragedy be magnified if it had succeeded?

In the end, this was a shortsighted, ignorant act, the adult equivalent of a baby throwing a temper tantrum and throwing things around a room. It's an immature, emotionally-guided pseudo-solution that was doomed to fail from the start. It lacks the excuse of one being an infant who doesn't know better, and thus deserves nothing but scorn. Again, it doesn't matter that this was a "Republican", or a "presidential candidate", or "a one-percenter", or any other trait or demographic that pertains to Donald Trump. None of those things are what make this shooting wrong - what makes the shooting wrong is the fact that it was a shooting. It should never have happened to anybody, no matter who they are. Remember that Christ had nearly, if not all of the same power on earth that He has in Heaven. He could have, Himself, slain every single unrepentant sinner in less than a second. A righteous [god] and the measuring stick for morality, He instead taught [the parable of the weeds] and and [Matthew 5:45], and never killed a single person, even during His crucifixion. This shooting violates all of this, and deserves our condemnation.

May God bless you all and guide you according to His gracious will. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you to God for helping me to write this.