Oklahoma, the scene of some of the worst twisters and terror attacks in America has been hit again. This time the grisly nature of the attack so defies our sensibilities that it is difficult to justify discussing it in a paper whose subtitle is, “Information and Inspiration.” A woman was beheaded by her co-worker while at their place of employment, and her husband was waiting outside, as he did every day, to take her home. Her name was Colleen Hufford, she was 54, a mom and a grandmother, and greatly loved.
My husband called me to tell me what happened, and he understood my silence while I tried to get my head around this happening on American soil. One of the most beloved women in Iraq was beheaded while I was there, and no one really ever found out why. I can tell you why—evil is real and irrational.
Colleen’s assailant was a man by the name of Alton Nolen, a recent convert to Islam, a supporter of ISIS and Osama bin Ladin, and someone who thought it was appropriate to post a video of a beheading for viewing on his own social media site. After he got done with Colleen, he stabbed another woman by the name of Traci Johnson several times before he was stopped by the company’s CEO, Mark Vaughan. Mark, a retired deputy sheriff, shot Alton, and without any hesitation I thought, “Thank God he was packing and knew how to shoot.”
Just as I began to regain my own equilibrium, I became aware that another eerily similar incident nearly happened at a nursing home in Oklahoma days earlier. A 30 year old Nigerian man came right out and told his female co-worker that he was going to cut her head off with a dull blade. What precipitated the threat is that he noticed she was wearing a Star of David necklace. At first she thought he was joking, and then realized he was completely serious. When asked why, he replied that he represents ISIS, “and ISIS kills Christians. It is just what we do.” He also told her that after he did it, he was “going to post it on Facebook.”
I remember when I was in theological school and we were studying the Book of Revelation and the end times. There was a specific reference in the 6th chapter of the book that discusses those that “were slain for the Word of God and their testimony.” The primary definition of the word “slain” is to “slay, slaughter, or butcher.” I don’t think that it is a hysterical over reaction to at least ask the question, “Is this an example of what John saw?” And, perhaps more importantly, “Now that it’s here, will we see more?”
An MSNBC commentator tried to spin the Oklahoma murder and stabbing as “workplace violence,” but what rational person would describe it as such when the alleged perpetrator says, “It is just what we do.” Congressman Allen West also notes that ISIS is beheading children in a park in Mosul, Iraq, and putting their heads on a stick. Why? Did the kids get their decapitators fired from their job? No, it is what they believe Allah would have them do, and it is evil. May God bless Mark Vaughan for stopping more slaughter, and may God have mercy on all of us. ISIS is here.
