I Prayed have prayed
Lord God, we cry out to You for the lives of America's young men. Turn their hearts and lives to You.
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The nation must now endure another gut-wrenching tragedy, with 31 having been senselessly gunned downed in Texas and Ohio over a weekend. This following a week where three were gunned down in California.

My appeal is to consider these tragedies a crisis of culture and not to turn them into politics, which is already happening.

I’m thinking about the words of Robert F. Kennedy when he spoke to a crowd in Indianapolis in April 1968, after hearing the news that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been murdered.

“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in,” said Kennedy. He himself would be assassinated shortly thereafter.

Kennedy appealed to Americans to move away from “polarization” and “hatred” and toward “love and wisdom and compassion.”

It is a great temptation to simplify what is complex, and this tends to mean translating everything into politics, looking for some particular individual to blame and looking for some simple policy answer that will allegedly solve the problem.

But these tragedies are not simple and not partisan.

They have occurred too often in our nation and have occurred under Democratic as well as Republican regimes.

There is a sickness in the soul of our nation, and that sickness plays its way through and winds up expressed in deadly, pathological acts of lonely, lost, confused individuals — disproportionately, young males.

This is why IFA published a prayer guide for students with a wonderful prayer for young men.

We must try to grasp the nature of this pathology and consider how it may be addressed.

If we look, we can see other telling symptoms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the rate of suicide in the nation is the highest since 1942.

From 1999 to 2017, the suicide rate increased 33 percent, and in 2016, suicide was the second leading cause of death in the age range of 10 to 34.

The rate of suicide among young men is more than three times higher than that of young women.

On the other side of the spectrum, while young Americans are taking their own lives at an increasing rate, fewer are bringing new life into the world.

The CDC reports that in 2018, for the fourth year in a row, the nation’s fertility rate — the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 — dropped and hit a historic low.

And this has occurred coincidentally with a drop in the rate of marriage. The percentage of American adults who are married is one-third less than where is stood half a century ago.

Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute has written about the huge exit of prime-age males — 25 to 54 — from the workforce. In 1965, according to Eberstadt, 96.6 percent of prime-age males were working. Now its 88.5 percent, meaning millions of prime-age males have abandoned the workforce.

All this has occurred as Christianity, once a pillar of American society, has been pushed to the margins.

Per Gallup, in 1974, 65 percent of Americans expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the church or organized religion. By 2019, this was down to 36 percent.

Faith builds a sense of belonging to something true and greater than oneself. It provides meaning and an anchor in times of difficulty and uncertainly.

As faith and eternal truths become more marginalized, more young people, particularly young males, become isolated and left with a sense of meaninglessness. They lose the key framework through which one takes personal responsibility for his or her life.

It produces an inclination to look for others to blame for their difficulties, for their personal struggles. Sometimes it becomes violent.

There is a great price to be paid for a culture of meaninglessness.

This is what we should be thinking and talking about, rather than simple political answers and who to blame. (From Star Parker, UrbanCure.org)

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JAMES LEGEL.
August 8, 2019

Crimes with Military / Assault Guns and Multi Round Magazines should be a ‘FEDERAL CRIME’.

The FBI should be only ‘ONLY” jurisdiction.

President, Congress, State, Local Government have ‘NO’ say in Federal Crimes pertaining to those weapons.
State and Local Governments can control / manage 4round Clip Rifles & 9shoot Pistols…
FBI: Background Checks should be reviewed and up graded.
‘Punishment’ with Military/Assault Weapons & Multi round Magazine, minimum 3 to 5 years… Death and/or Injury 20 years or Death.

    R. Moore
    August 8, 2019

    Like the article was saying it’s a crisis of faith…guns don’t kill people…people do!!

Alan K. Veasey
August 8, 2019

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Look to the Lord for strength and direction. Pray for revival.

    Betty Beardsley in WI
    August 8, 2019

    Yes, Lord! We need revival in the USA. Father, help us to stop blaming each other and work together to help those who are so confused & deceived by satan. May the Church arise and take its place in the USA. Lord, hear our prayers. You were willing to save Sodom & Gomorrah from judgement if 10 righteous people were found there. Lord, I don’t know how many Christians there are in the USA, but I asked YOU to hear our prayers, increase our numbers, let Thy kingdom come and let Thy will be done here in the USA. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Barbara J Struble
August 8, 2019

Please consider supporting Judge Roy Moore for U.S. Senate, Alabama. He is a graduate of West Point and a strong voice for God’s Truth and U.S. Constitution. McConnell and RINOS arespending millions (again) to keep him out of senate.

Ray Clark
August 8, 2019

Around 1900, General William Booth (the founder of the Salvation Army) was asked about what he foresaw coming for the “church” in the next 100 years? This is what he said… “Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, Forgiveness without Repentance, Salvation without Regeneration, Politics without God, and Heaven without Hell.” If Christianity is the dominate religion in America, then we must hold the blame for the downfall of America. With hundreds of denominations with different concepts of Christ, and hundreds of different Bibles teaching different views of Christ’ humility, simplicity, purity, love and life, no wonder sinners do not believe us anymore. They think we have a flawed religion that does not deliver anyone from their sins. We claim we’re still practicing sinners, only saved by God’s grace.
If we want to fix this problem in America, we must do what (2 Chronicles 7:14) says…If my people (Christians) which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. It starts with me and you!

Juliana Mazzocca
August 8, 2019

Yes we all have to honor and understand God as spiritual ideas and have to be inspired by the
understanding of God in our every day lives. Yes we all have bad behavior,but always listen to that
still small voice, which is God and it will direct you to the good action for yourself.
Also being grateful gives one great strength especially in times of mental turmoil. Christian Science teaches gratefulness is not a substitute for wealth – “It is wealth itself” when we do
that it opens the door to more good and we can go forward with that understanding in all circumstances.

Junnus Clay
August 8, 2019

According to 2 Timothy 3:1-9, I agree that the increased secularization of society, our failure to reach and disciple young men is a substantial part of the reason for gun violence in America. But in my opinion your solution is both incomplete and politically slanted. Easy access to guns, especially assault weapons is a huge part of the problem, and they need to be banned period, forever!I the wholistic solution to gun violence by young males is we as a people and a nation has failed these young men; therefore the solution is multi-facet: spiritual, social, political and economical. We must address this problem from all aspects of society. And I agree, we must stop the blame game.We must come to the table in pray, in love, in humility, in unity and ask God to help us. Today, our current division as a nation is a huge part of the problem!We should only support and elect leaders who unite us. A house divided among itself cannot stand!

    Junnus Clay
    August 8, 2019

    FYI- I grew up in Selma and marched with Dr. MLK,Jr.in 1965. I currently serve as the President of the Manhood Development Institute, in Marietta, GA

Flora Lee Rauch
August 8, 2019

Lord we lift up all our young males to You. My grandson, Andrew, for instance, draw them to You with every means possible. Keep them aware that You are near, wanting the best for them. Show them the gifts you have planted inside them Lord. Send Christians into their lives who point the Way. Reward them every time they think of you and every time they do the right thing in Jesus name we pray Amen

    Rochelle
    August 8, 2019

    Amen!

      Emily DeNaro
      August 8, 2019

      Spot on analysis! Also, when the baseline is established that killing babies is acceptable it opens the door to other acts of murder by devaluing life. Lord have mercy on our country!

Brent Peterson
August 8, 2019

So true, as each Political Party blames the other, rather than working & praying to help our Country & angry men.

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