Dear KHCS Family,

There are too many days in our life that ring so similar to Monday, April 16, 2007.  We sat spell-bound as we watched and listen to news reports from a town we previously had probably never even heard of – Blacksburg, VA.  In a shooting rampage on the Virginia Tech campus covering 4 hours and 2 buildings separated by three quarters of a mile, the lives of 32 people, most 18-22 years of age, came to a violent and sudden end.

The resulting emotions were instant – shock, grief, outrage, disbelief, fear, loss.  Questions abound.  Everyone is trying to figure out how this could happen and why this happened.  What would possess a young man to gun down 31 other human beings and then eliminated the possibility of our being able to ask him this question by turning the gun on himself?  How can a personal value system get so altered to allow someone to do such a thing?  Even his family and parents released a statement of dismay.

Those in the media who often try to do our thinking for us were quick to blame a myriad of usual suspects which we will not discuss here.

Could we not point the finger when colossal tragedies like this take place on monumental decisions leaders of our country have made in the last 50 years to eliminate from our educational system any form of moral absolute code of behavior and practice?

FACT:  In 1962 the Supreme Court removed the Bible from our public schools.  Moral absolutes were eliminated.  Ethical decisions were now based on a philosophy that everything was relevant.  The teaching that a Supreme Being, our Creator had a code or collection of guidelines by which we should live was deemed an infringement on our personal freedom. 

FACT:  The 10 Commandments, a moral code taught in the Bible and believed in by Christians, Jews and Muslims, are no longer allowed to be taught or displayed in schools and public places.  Is it any wonder our society is headed back to the days of the Judges where “each man did what was right in his own eyes?”

FACT:  Prayer in school has been ruled repeatedly as unconstitutional.  Praying at school, in class, at sporting events and other activities has been eliminated in almost all cases.  As dozens of innocent victims last week faced the barrel of a loaded gun, no one dared to ask if those last, desperate prayers were unconstitutional or not.

If the lines between good and evil have been at worst eliminated or at best severely blurred by these monumental decisions of withdrawal from the Truth, how can we expect things like the tragic events of last week not to happen again and again in our society without absolutes?

As bad as things are getting on some fronts it does give us some degree of encouragement to see progress on other issues.  Last week the Supreme Court, in a landmark decision, ruled partial birth abortions to be unconstitutional.  Quite simply, this ruling was that a fetus/person should have protection by the Constitution in the middle trimester of pregnancy since it has the ability to fight to live during the process of the termination of that pregnancy.  It should also be encouraging that the most recent conservative appointees to the Court were the key votes in achieving this victory for the defenseless children in their mother’s womb who otherwise have no right to choose.

We will update and inform folks in the Coachella Valley about the Dead Sea Scrolls that will be at the San Diego Natural History Museum from July through December.  These Scrolls are from Israel, Jordan and Russia.  This will be the most complete exhibition ever given in the world.  It’s an opportunity for Christians to equip themselves with knowledge of historical facts they can use to evangelize others.

Please keep in mind KHCS stays on the air with Information and Inspiration 24 hours a day because of the generous tax-deductible gifts from our listeners.  You are a part of this ministry which touches the live of many here in the Coachella Valley.  However, prayer is the most important part of keeping KHCS on the air!  Please, if you haven’t, consider being a ministry partner in both of these areas.  Thank you.

In His joy,

Dan Pike
President

Mailing Address:
KHCS - Joy92
PO Box 2507
Palm Springs, CA  92263