Author: Rev. Charles Pugh

I trust this article will help you who are reading to think with me about a very important subject all tied to Virginia Tech.  Tragedy has brought me to the point of sharing this more publicly and we all can learn if we seriously think about what I am explaining here.  Having observed much of the tragic circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood Massacre and as we have learned more about the shooter, Nadal Malik Hasan, I am compelled to write this particular article today.  There are three philosophies of life that can be seen reflected in the lives of three figures, all tied to Virginia Tech and related to events over the past 31 months:  1.  Radical Islam, which kills; 2.  Radical Secularism, which feels; and 3.  Radical Christianity, which heals.

After 09-11-01, most of us came to understand in a greater and more real way than ever before, that there are philosophies of life which threaten the very physical life of us all.  Islamic Jihadism is a religious philosophy that seeks to control through violence.  This is why 3,000 people were murdered on 09-11-01.  Radical Islam kills;  proponents take a fundamental approach to their faith, advocating violence to mitigate justice or bring people to submission.  Violent actions are often preceded by a cry of “Allah Akbar.”  Followers believe that GOD is pleased with them even taking violent action into their own hands.  They use terror that they bring upon people in various ways to force submission.  Some even use deferred promises of pleasure to motivate people to follow their radical philosophy (e.g. “72 Virgins,” or some other heavenly reward).  Nadal Malik Hasan followed a Radical Islamic philosophy and took violent action into his own hands (no matter how psychopathic one thinks he was then).  Certainly, his thinking was impacted by his education at Virginia Tech and as he studied further in the field of secularized psychology, just as it was impacted through his turning to Jihadism.  That brings me to the second philosophy—Radical Secularism.

I submit that Radical Secularism is more dangerous than Radical Islam and is even often used as a motivation for violence.  It directly impacts far more people too.  Radical Secularism feels; proponents take a materialistic philosophy of life and religiously seek to exclude religion or any vestige of GOD from education, the media, the government or any public arena.  I say this philosophy feels because the focus is on what can be seen or touched.  It is at least agnostic, emphasizing uncertainty or doubt about anything not physically observed and most often atheistic. This philosophy looks only to the natural world or the greater universe (current thinking) for answers.  Since the focus is on what can be physically felt, there is little to no help available for emotional or spiritual feelings.  Medicine is seen as the primary solution for any problem with the psyche.  In Radical Secularism each person becomes the center of their own universe.  When not tempered by others, this will turn one inward to the point that they eventually act out.  This is where Seung-Hui Cho was.  His psyche had been impacted by Radical Secular thinking and resulting hypocrisy that he saw in others around him (incidentally, that is how Islam itself began).  This philosophy dominates the scientific world and the academic community.  At its root is a religious belief in evolution.  This brings me to introduce the third philosophy—Radical Christianity.

Christians are supposed to BE followers of Jesus Christ.  While Jesus confronted the error of the religious leaders of His day, He did not advocate His disciples taking violence into their own hands.  In fact, He advocated loving GOD above all and loving your neighbor as yourself (c.f. Mark 12:30-31).  Jesus even said to love your enemies and do good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44).  Radical Christianity heals; proponents are called to follow all of Christ’s teachings and take this Gospel of healing into the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20).  Each has been given a ministry of reconciliation, so they cannot be passive.  (2 Corinthians 5:18).  Many act apart from the teachings of Jesus and thus succumb to a secularized religion.  In fact, Christians are indeed responsible under GOD to be RADICAL in this sense—being what they should and doing (living up to) what the Bible teaches.  This is what I, Charles R. Pugh, have been doing.  After 04-16-07, my living out This Faith is what labeled me psychotic and to date, has separated me from my family and many former friends (including many professing Christians).  Dr. Henry M. Morris lived out this simple, RADICAL faith too and Virginia Tech even helped turn his world upside down (see my 02-25-09 Blog:  “Tragedy, Truth and Triumph—Henry M. Morris”).  Read Hebrews 11 for many other examples of this RADICAL CHRISTian FAITH.

If Christians were REVIVED and living a true RADICAL CHRISTianity (and many will indeed see this as crazy), there would be healing in our land!  If Christians do not step up NOW, then America and the freedoms WE ALL enjoy will continue to collapse under the philosophy of Radical Secularism, just as many other Nations throughout history have.  America’s founders warned of this reality as well.  Selah!

The recent shooting massacre at Fort Hood in Texas provides us with yet another opportunity to learn and grow and change.  13 more lives have been extinguished (14, when you count the developing baby killed along with the pregnant woman) and another 30 physically wounded.  With the shooter still alive, the coming days and weeks will provide us with a somewhat unique opportunity to better understand his thinking and that from his own testimony.  There are many aspects to this story which relate to areas of my own personal tragedy and even the greater Virginia Tech community.  Even if this proves to be more of a religious outburst of violence or terrorism (“radical Islam”), there are psychological questions raised given this man’s job status and even questions related to his background and education.  The fact that he turns out to be a Virginia Tech graduate, no doubt brings back memories of the awful 04-16-07 shooting massacre here in Blacksburg.  This area still needs to learn and do more to heal from that horrific day on the Virginia Tech campus and no doubt those in the Fort Hood and military communities have a long road of recovery ahead.  No matter how you look at this, what we really need is greater Mental Health!

To the degree that any of us denies the real world where we live and the basic principles operating in the Creation itself, to that degree we will be mentally ill.  While there are clear examples of mental retardation or even limitation, much of what is labeled mental illness today is nothing more than different or even poor thinking that comes from the accumulated emotional baggage of improperly living in a fallen world.  I know this personally from my interaction with far more psychologists and psychiatrists than I ever imagined and from my own interaction with dozens of patients on the inside of our mental health facilities.  There is MUCH needing to be learned from my experience of tragedy and having been involuntarily forced to spend weeks of my life on the inside.  My soon to be released book—“Lessons To Learn” (the greater title being, “The Virginia Tech Tragedy and My Personal Tragedy:  Lessons To Learn From An Insider and From Scripture”) tells the story and lays out what I have learned and what others need to seriously consider.

I, as much as any, want people to think properly.  I want people to live emotionally stable and happy with their physical life.  I want people to be spiritually healed and KNOW that this is a key area being neglected in the way that many people counsel today.  The fact is, that because we live in a fallen world and live as fallen creatures in this world, we are going to experience problems.  If we fail to understand what the Creator reveals to us through the Creation and through His own involvement in history, we will NEVER be mentally healthy.  We must look at the whole picture.  We must learn to keep a larger perspective on the tragedies of life and especially when any of us may face those personally.  That is the only way to survive in life.  That is the only way to truly prevail and live an emotionally stable and satisfying life.  I KNOW this to be true and have been able to face all of the incredible tragedy and stressors that I have, because of my personal relationship with the GREAT CREATOR.

There is SO MUCH MORE I would like to share to help and encourage you, dear reader.  I am doing this through all of my writings on this Website and through the book that will lay it all out in greater detail.  Please take time to consider what I am saying.  Read over the other articles on this Website.  Be sure that you understand the GOOD NEWS (see the GOSPEL tab above).  Accepting this Truth from the CREATOR is the only way to have a happy life and be certain of the life to come.  Whether you agree with all I am saying or not, if you hope to maintain the best Mental Health you can have now, please learn what you will with me.

Though the economy is keeping many from dressing up as much this year for Halloween, I thought I would take the opportunity that this time of year brings to continue discussing an outline I have previously mentioned, coming from the Bible book of Romans, chapter 13.  This is an outline I have used extensively over the years to help bring structure to the daily living in my home and help teach my children.  It comes from the text of Romans 13:11-14 and is logical as well as easy to remember for applying to all of life.  1. Wake Up!  (c.f. my 08-27-08 Blog, “WAKE UP!”); 2. Clean Up! (c.f. my 01-07-09 Blog, “CLEAN UP!”); and then, 3. Dress Up! (what this article is about); and what I will write about later:  4. Grow Up!  Last year on this same date, I also wrote a challenging article you may wish to review:  “What are Your Masks?”  Whether or not you have ever taken part in some Halloween or Fall Festival celebration and dressed up in some costume, you would do well to further consider what it means to Dress UP!

The Hokies football team dressed up in a festive orange and maroon uniform last night, yet it wasn’t enough to help them overcome and win a tough game against a hungry North Carolina team.  Wearing special clothing does help set an atmosphere, yet dressing up is clearly not enough to fully change the reality of any actions by the ones under the clothing.  Clothes alone do not “make the man” as is sometimes said.  Clothes only cover the body of the person who resides on the inside.  It is the clothing or “dressing UP” of the immaterial aspect of our being that makes the real difference in the person.  What you are “dressed in” on the inside will indeed be reflected in your attitude and often even through the physical clothes that you wear.  Modesty is a subject that many do need to further consider and just as I discussed further in the “CLEAN UP!” Blog, there are many Scriptures to help give guidance there.

To help you make the true change that is best for your life and what will give you the ability to prevail, no matter what problem or tragedy you may face, you must first be spiritually awake.  That does not mean that you simply have an interest in spiritual things, but that you have trusted in GOD’s spiritual healing through the Person of Jesus Christ.  The healing of the sin stained and separated spirit will then help bring emotional healing and even have great physical benefits.  We often have the correct order reversed and think we can change from the outside in, when everything has to actually work the other way and change from the inside out.  No matter how you may try to clean up your life or dress up your body, you will have no ultimate success until you are spiritually awake in Christ.

When you are awake, you can better understand the principles of the Word of God and be able to effectively keep your life clean.  You also then have a real choice of putting on or dressing up your mind with the “armor of light” (Romans 13:12; c.f. Ephesians 6:11ff too).  The real dressing up is when you practically choose to put on the spiritual clothing that GOD gives to every person who places their faith in the Person and work (death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ.  When you trust in this Gospel—“good news”—you not only have forgiveness from sin, you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ!  It is then your choice to dress UP in HIM!  Apply this Truth from Romans 13:14:

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

Be certain to Dress UP!  Dressing down in anything less will only bring harm, even eternally.

A flurry of recent events leads to me write about another important subject today.  Over the past week or so, much has been discussed about people who are said to be missing.  It seemed to begin last week when National attention came to a flying saucer shaped balloon found zipping through the Colorado skies, potentially with a 6-year old boy trapped inside.  That actually turned out to be a hoax.  After last Saturday, it was learned that another Virginia Tech student turned up missing, having attended a concert at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  Nearly a week later, authorities are still looking for leads and trying to find Morgan Harrington.  A 7 year old girl from Florida went missing last Monday, though tragically her body was found a couple of days later in a Georgia land field.  News of another missing young girl in Missouri led me to think even more about a very important subject, often related to tragedy:  MISSING IN ACTION!

It is a terrible feeling to have lost something or someone and be faced with that void in your life.  Which of us has not lost some paper where we had written an important message or some valuable, like our wallet or purse, at some point in our life?  Often, there is panic followed by a more diligent search to somehow locate the missing item.  How much more is this feeling magnified when it comes to missing a person?  Most parents have some idea of the feeling that comes when their child is not found where they are expected to be.  Priorities suddenly change to focus attention on finding the missing person.  When a soldier goes missing, particularly on the battlefield, the remainder of the battalion will focus on finding or rescuing that soldier who went missing in action.

Looking at this even more broadly, one can come to see how important each of us becomes in the lives of those around us.  Even when some are not as accepted as they should be by others around them, there is still an acceptance of their being around.  When one in any group goes missing, there is a void.  There is also a void that may be less realized at the time, when any of us fail to act as we should in any given circumstance.  If we are not thoughtful and purposeful about the ways that we live, we can easily fall into a sense of complacency or even cynicism about life.  The effect of this is that in reality we are missing the way we should be living or you could say, missing in action.

Personally, I have been negatively impacted by this M.I.A. reality in our society.  I am writing about at least 10 gaps I have found to be missing throughout the society and focusing on 10 key Lessons To Be Learned.  As human beings, we all will have some kind of emotional response to the injustices and tragedies around us.  Our response means much less unless it is followed by action in service.  One of the first blog articles I wrote back on 04-29-08 (“GROWTH…From Compassion to ACTION”) discusses this in more detail.  Though I have been physically M.I.A over the past week due to a bout with what was likely the H1N1 flu, I have continued to act and interact with others in as many ways as possible.  I am looking for and working toward a time when there will be far less people who are said to be missing in action!

Friend, there was ONE Who was found to have come to this earth to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).  Jesus Christ took action to make it possible for us to be reconciled to GOD.  He was crucified, but not found missing in action, since He defeated death.  He now acts in intercession for all those who come to GOD by Him (Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1, etc.).  He calls each believer to a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18ff).

Be reconciled to GOD and be helping others be reconciled as well.  Don’t be found M.I.A.!

I am often amazed at how inconsistent and even idiotic we have become when applying justice and mercy.  A flurry of recent news stories brings particular attention to this problem.  A well behaved six year old Cub Scout from Delaware, Zachary Christie, was recently suspended from his elementary school and sentenced to 45 days of reform school with older delinquent boys.  This was for bringing a camping tool (fork spoon and knife) to school in order to eat his lunch.  Public pressure has since helped overturn this decision and Zachary is now back in school.  Another story from upstate New York reveals that 17 year old Eagle Scout, Matthew Whalen, was recently suspended for 20 days because he carried a pen knife in a survival kit locked in the trunk of his car.  In addition to how this is currently impacting his schooling, he has feared that this might negatively impact his application to West Point.  The school board has reviewed and maintained the suspension, while authorities from West Point have indicated this would have no negative impact on his application there.  In discussing these examples of ZERO TOLERANCE policies, I have heard commentators justify these actions on the basis of the massacres at Columbine and even Virginia Tech.  Having personally fallen victim to unreasonable judgments in the aftermath of 04-16-07, I will take this opportunity today to discuss ZERO TOLERANCE!

If there is one thing that is frequently promoted and encouraged on the college campus, it is that we must be tolerant!  Authorities often encourage or even demand 😉 that every belief or lifestyle of behavior be tolerated.  This usually begins by tolerating all kinds of ideas, even radical ones that defy reality.  It then extends to tolerating all kinds of language, even what most would consider vulgar.  Further extension of this attitude of tolerance means that you must accept any person’s expression of their own sexuality.  This impacts dress standards for sure, and even goes further toward tolerating all kinds of increasingly open sexual behavior—through pictures, plays, movies, music and other public expressions of what is often even perverted sexual behavior.  There comes a point when some tragedy happens or perhaps someone is even killed and then there is usually a pulling back from wherever the tolerance doctrine has gone.  Often, the pendulum swings back in the other direction and you have policies like the ZERO TOLERANCE idea that attempts to enforce a specific standard, regardless of circumstances.  What is wrong with this picture?  The limitations of a one page article keep me from detailing all of my thoughts here.  The broader issue relates to judgment as well as mercy.

We want life to be fair.  We want justice, yet we want it according to our own standards.  We want it both ways.  We’d like to be able to do whatever we feel like doing and then have others who do things we don’t like face consequences.  That is the double standard of the human nature, which is created in God’s Image, yet marred through the corruption of sin.  The fact is that no matter how good any of us strive to be, we all fall short of God’s standards and are subject to HIS justice.  We recognize that none of us is perfect, yet this does not mean that we give up standards or give in to whatever we think or feel, as many mistakenly do.  When people do make mistakes or even fall into some obvious sin, what then is our response?  We often are lacking in mercy and we have certainly been lacking in justice.

Our problems are many and the solution is neither greater tolerance nor is it zero tolerance.  We must seek to promote justice wherever we can and then leave the injustices that we cannot correct to the One Who will one day straighten out all things.  Quite simply, we must be balanced.  We must promote justice and love mercy.  Most importantly, we must walk humbly with GOD and what HE has revealed in HIS guidebook.  Consider the verse that is often called, “The Micah Mandate”:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Because of GOD’s own personal sacrifice through the shed blood of JESUS CHRIST, HE can and does extend mercy.  In fact, for those who believe on HIM, they even have access to His Grace!  The end of those who do not place their faith in JESUS CHRIST is indeed ZERO TOLERANCE!!