Thinking of these killers as “lone wolf” actors makes it easier to dismiss them as demented individuals, hapless victims of bad parenting, self-destructive misfits, or erratic evil doers. But we need to see these “lone wolf” white supremacists for what they are—members of “wolf packs.”
Concerned as we rightly are about the immediate human cost of Lori Gilbert Kaye’s awful murder and the trauma inflicted on the Poway and national Jewish communities, hardly anyone has delved into the theological causes behind Earnest’s actions, as confused as they may be.
The question of the “Christian” nature of Tarrant’s terrorism cannot be answered by appeal to a neutral umpire or standard. Hard as it may be to accept, I do not think a single, uncontested, objective yardstick exists against which to measure the “Christian” character of his act. What is “Christian” is—and always has been—TBD.
Someone like Mattis may have imagined that his quiet resignation would save both his honor and conscience. But such a conventionally dignified resignation may have put both at risk.
For those confident in the coming of Judgment Day or in the frictionless workings out of karma, there is naught to be done but wait for history to unfold its glorious purposes.
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