Baptists respond to massacre

BLACKSBURG, Va. (BP)—Thirty-three people were killed and at least 15 wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history April 16 at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. Southern Baptists began mobilizing during the day to help the community cope with the tragedy.

Five Virginia Tech victims had Baptist ties
Jarrett Lane was to study coastal engineering at the University of Florida

BLACKSBURG, Va. (BP)—Five of the 32 victims in the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech University had ties to Southern Baptist ministries.

The VT massacre and the reality of evil
Point of View

The unspeakable evil of the killings at Virginia Tech forces us once again to face the reality of human evil. Some worldviews deny the reality of evil. Christianity faces this challenge honestly, and acknowledges the horror of moral evil and its consequences. The Bible never flinches from assigning responsibility for moral evil. Human beings are capable of committing horrible acts of violence, malevolence, cruelty, and killing.

A black day in Blacksburg
Point of View

What does one say about the worst shooting in US history? How do we make sense out of the senseless? Sorry preachers, but three points and a poem won’t do. There are no quick quips or catchy clichés that will make everything better.

Something horribly wrong: Evil in the equation
Point of View

A short time has passed since the shootings that killed thirty-two innocent people and injured another thirty at Virginia Tech. Americans can relate to what Virginia Tech President William Steger said immediately after the killings: “I’m really at a loss for words to explain or to understand the carnage that has visited our campus …”

President Bush speaks at VT during day of mourning

BLACKSBURG, Va. (BP/FBW)—Students, faculty and their families gathered on the campus of Virginia Tech University to mourn the day after a gunman killed 32 students

Relief team ‘wanted to be available’ for VT victims

BLACKSBURG, Va. (BP)—Less than 200 yards from the key scene in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history sits a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief trailer. Volunteers from various Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia churches were mobilized as the tragic news began to unfold from Virginia Tech; they arrived at the campus the morning of April 17.

Virginia Tech campus minister, Florida pastor asks for prayer

BLACKSBURG, Va. (BP/FBW)—Three days after the shootings at Virginia Tech, a leader at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry on campus issued a call for continued prayer for those affected by the tragedy.