The Tragic Consequences of False Ideas
By Jeff Keaton - Founder, CEO & President of Renewanation
O
N APRIL 8, 2018, 23-year-old Casey James Lawhorn
murdered his mom and his good friend, Avery. Casey
decided to write a lengthy Facebook post to detail why and
how he committed these horrific murders. After describing
in grotesque detail how he killed his friend and mother, he
made some statements that revealed his worldview. I will
quote a few of them.
“Don’t give me or my family your prayers. No one will be
hurt by this more than my brother (Chad Lawhorn). He will
probably need a lot of help getting through this and if you think
you are helping him by talking to the sky, you’re [redacted]
wrong. I don’t want or need forgiveness from anyone. What
I did is unforgivable, and prayer is a waste of time. Nothing
happens after death, but if there is a hell, I’m going to be in
the lake of ice at the bottom. What I look forward to is the
nothingness after death.”
This is a tragedy beyond words, and it ended with Casey
taking his own life. I in no way know or understand what
this young man’s mental state was. However, in his own
words, he defined his worldview. He did not believe there is
a God who hears or answers prayer. He did not believe there
is a God he would give an account to. He did not believe
he would suffer in hell. He believed death would bring him
final relief. This young man believed many of the cardinal
tenets of secular humanism. These beliefs are being taught
to more than 50 million K-12 students every school day in
America. In spite of the fact that most secular humanists do
not commit horrific acts like this one, secular humanism is
a worldview of hopelessness. If we are all just a compilation
of chemicals that have randomly come together over billions
of years, and if we have not been created in the image of a
loving God, what is the purpose of life?
The biblical worldview is a worldview permeated with
tremendous hope and accountability. We tell children the
truth when we tell them the Gospel. God created all things
good. Man chose to sin, to rebel against God. Our sin has
brought every conceivable evil into our world. However,
Jesus came to redeem man and our world. With this inter-
vention, we can once again live lives that are pleasing to God,
and we can become a part of redeeming and restoring our
world to look more like God’s design. We must reach more
children with this truth and rescue the masses from being
taught the lies of secularism.
Have you joined the cause of giving children a biblical
worldview? This is one of the best ways to change the course
of our nation. We must stop just cursing the darkness! It’s
time to take the light of truth into the darkness.
Jeff Keaton has been a successful pastor, church and school
planter, and ministry entrepreneur. As the founder and CEO
of Renewanation, Jeff now works across the United States and
Canada to help awaken the church to the great need to give ev-
ery child a biblical worldview. Jeff is married to his high school
sweetheart, Michele, and has two daughters and two sons-in-
law: Julianna, Andrew, Heidi, and Jordan. He is the author of
The Life of Radical Faith.
15