First, thanks to Gospelcom.net content editor, Andy Rau, for the helpful package of resources in dealing with the Virginia Tech killings just one week ago today. (Being able to respond to crises almost in real time—I had resources on my blog within ten minutes of the news—is just one of the benefits of the Intenet.)

Second, Christian polster George Barna provides these observations on the tragedy by focusing on the parents, rather than all the other popular targets: lax gun laws, lack of mental health resources, etc. etc.

In Barna's research, he finds:

• By the time an American child is 23 years old, as was the killer in Virginia, he will have seen countless murders among the more than 30,000 acts of violence to which he is exposed through television, movies and video games.

• By the age of 23, the average American will have viewed thousands of hours of pornographic images, which diminish the dignity and value of human life.

• After nearly a quarter century on earth, the typical American will have listened to hundreds of hours of music that fosters anger, hatred, disrespect for authority, selfishness, and radical independence.

• The typical worldview of a person in their early twenties promotes self-centeredness, the right to happiness and fulfillment, the importance of personal expression in all forms, the necessity of tolerating aberrant or immoral points of views, allows for disrespect of other people and use of profanity, and advances forms of generic spirituality that dismiss the validity of the Judeo-Christian faith. Largely propelled by postmodern thought, the typical worldview of young people does not facilitate respect for life, acceptance of the rule of law, or the necessity of hard work, personal sacrifice, paying the dues or contributing to the common good. Barna noted that only about 2% of today’s teenagers possess a biblical worldview that acknowledges the existence of God, Satan and sin, the availability of forgiveness and grace through Jesus Christ, and the existence of absolute moral principles provided in the Bible.

• Growing numbers of children seek to make their way through an increasingly complex life without the traditional safety net comprised of a loving and supportive family, a stable circle of supportive peers, teachers who know and help nurture the child, and a community of faith that assists in giving meaning to life and a sense of belonging.

Barna concludes that spiritual training is vital, but monitoring children's media exposure is also crucial:

"The issue of media management was also evident in the families Barna studied. "An overwhelming majority of these successful parents believed that the media have a significant influence on the lives of children. Consequently, they limited, monitored and mediated the media content to which their children were exposed. They often refused to give permission to the kids to watch particular programs or to listen to certain music, and regularly had discussions with their children about the content of the media they consumed. Those discussions were not always comfortable or pleasant, but were deemed to be very important in making standards real for their children."