Mysterious echoes of gunshots

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 1:53 pm by tmatt

Mysterious echoes of gunshots 2013-01-30T13:53:39-05:00 tmatt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s hard to read any of the sermons that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached about death and heaven without hearing echoes of gunshots.

“The minute you conquer the fear of death, at that moment you are free,” he said, in 1963. “I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

Decades later, these words still inspire faith and courage, said social activist Johann Christoph Arnold, who marched with King in the Civil Rights Movement. That’s why the patriarch of the nine Bruderhof communes in the U.S., England and Australia included this quotation in his most recent book, “Seeking Peace.”

This was the book that Cassie Bernall and other teen-agers at West Bowles Community Church were supposed to have discussed on the evening of April 20th. After that tragic day at Columbine High School, Bernall’s parents showed Arnold her copy of “Seeking Peace,” with its handwritten notes for the study session that was never held.

Cassie had boldly underlined King’s thoughts on death. Did she hear echoes of gunshots?

“Why did those words speak to her at such a young age? It is such a great mystery,” said Arnold. “But I do know this. She had found something she was willing to live for, and even to die for, and that made all the difference in her life.”

Here is what Cassie wrote, in a 1998 note her parents discovered after her death: “I try to stand up for my faith at school. ^?I will die for my God. I will die for my faith. It’s the least I can do for Christ dying for me.”

Cassie Bernall was one of the Columbine students who was asked, at gunpoint, “Do you believe in God?” Her story has been spread by news reports and chains of Internet sites hailing her as a martyr, in the true sense of that ancient title in Christendom.

Now, her mother has written her own tribute, entitled “She Said Yes.” Because of the ties between Cassie, her church and Arnold’s writings, Misty Bernall’s 140-page memoir has been published by the Plough Publishing House, which is linked to the tiny Bruderhof movement, with its commitment to pacifism, simple living and the sanctity of life.

In the wake of Littleton, many Americans – politicians, preachers and pundits – keep arguing about the “larger issues” that supposedly led to the bloodshed, notes Misty Bernall. She is convinced parents must focus on more personal issues closer to home.

“Why, when parents and lawmakers are calling for gun control and an end to TV violence, are our young crying out for relationships?”, she asks. “Why, when we offer them psychologists and counselors and experts on conflict resolution, are they going to youth groups and looking for friends? Why, when everyone else is apportioning blame and constructing new defenses, are they talking about a change of the heart?”

Nevertheless, “She Said Yes” makes it clear that Cassie’s parents repeatedly had to say “no,” as they pulled her away from peers involved in the occult. Her mother reprints passages from letters in which Cassie and a friend pondered suicide and murder. The Bernalls taped telephone calls, searched their daughter’s room, took evidence to the police and, finally, moved to another neighborhood. Cassie raged against it all, until her life was changed during a church youth retreat.

Brad and Misty Bernall refused to give up, noted Arnold, and made radical changes in their own lives, as well as in the life of their daughter. All of this took time, energy and sacrifice. Cassie’s new life was rooted in weekly patterns of fellowship, prayer, reading and service projects with her family and new friends. They ate pizza and went skiing, but also helped leukemia patients and built homes for the poor. Cassie traded vampires and “death rock” for poetry and photography.

“Cassie would never have said ‘yes’ in that final moment, unless she had said ‘yes’ so many other times before that,” said Arnold. “She had to say ‘yes’ to many wonderful experiences in her new life, before she had the strength to say the ultimate ‘yes’ when that moment came. We must not forget that.”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 8, 1999

Generation J

Next Post

September 22, 1999 Travels with the battling baroness

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Academia Anglicanism Announcements books Catholics doctrine evangelicals family life First person Godbeat Islam Judaism Mainline churches Marriage mass media movies Orthodox Politics popular culture religion sex Social issues Uncategorized Web/tech World World religions worship young people

Select a Month July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998 January 1998 December 1997 November 1997 October 1997 September 1997 August 1997 July 1997 June 1997 May 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 November 1996 October 1996 September 1996 August 1996 July 1996 June 1996 May 1996 April 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996 December 1995 November 1995 October 1995 September 1995

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What year did Martin Luther post his 95 Theses?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1517 1492 1600 1401