Latest / The Daily Article / Man accused of crucifying pastor asks for death penalty: Trusting God when we suffer because we trust God

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Man accused of crucifying pastor asks for death penalty: Trusting God when we suffer because we trust God · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Greetings, and welcome to the Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 edition of Dinnison Forum's daily article podcast.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elkins, narrator.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The day's daily article is authored by Chief Vision Officer and co-founder Dr. Jim Dinnison.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In April 2025, Pastor William Seanman of New River Bible Church in Arizona was found dead inside his home.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: His arms were outstretched and his hands pinned to a wall in a position authorities described as resembling a crucifixion.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Authorities later said, the killing was part of a larger plot to target multiple Christian leaders.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Last week, the man accused of killing the pastor asked a court to sentence him to death.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: He stated, quote, it's an indisputable fact that the crime was heinous in nature.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I intended it to be heinous, in quote.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: He allegedly intended to target 14 pastors or priests across the U.S.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Investigators say the victim was chosen because of his Christian faith.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our faith does not exempt us from living in a fallen world.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: A fact my dear friends in Cuba are experiencing as the power crisis and gripping their nation continues to worsen.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Believers are as affected by severe weather across the U.S. this week, as anyone else.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Christians are as endangered as others who also live in Iran, Israel, or any of the other 26 places identified by the Council on Foreign Relations as a global conflict site.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But when we suffer, the cause we are believers can especially question the reality and relevance of our faith.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It feels grossly unfair for God to call us to follow and serve him then allow us to be persecuted for obeying his call.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, it's also such suffering that affords us an opportunity to know and honor our Lord in ways we cannot otherwise.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: During times of crisis we sometimes feel the absence of God's presence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In CS Lewis's a grief observed, he reflected on the death of his wife, Joy Davidman, to cancer at the age of 45.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Lewis was transparent with his suffering and the faith struggles that ensued.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, go to God when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: a door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: After that, silence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: You may as well turn away.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: There are no lights in the windows.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It might be an empty house.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: was it ever inhabited?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It seemed so once, but that seeming was as thorough as this.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What can this mean?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Why is he so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In quote, at such times, we feel God's absence in ways that can be overwhelming.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: The night my father died, I went into our backyard, stared into the starry sky, and shook my fist at God.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: When our older son was diagnosed with cancer, I went for a long walk the next morning to tell God how disappointed I was with him.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Both times, it was his absence, his silence, the apparent lack of presence and provision that grieved my soul.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: At other times, however, we feel the presence of his absence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We sense that our Lord is with us in our pain, we feel the weight of His promise in Isaiah 43 verse 2 when you pass through the waters.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: I will be with you.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As we shuffle through the valley of the shadow of death from Psalm 23 verse 4, we know somehow it is with us in the darkness.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But still, there are no answers to our questions, no explanations for our pain.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In some ways, this is even harder.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: If our father is an absentee parent, at least we cannot blame him for refusing to help us with our hurt.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But if he is at our side, but refuses to help, what does this say about him about us?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Christians face the same decision every moment of every day, whether we will measure God's character by our circumstances, or our circumstances by his character.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: When all is well, we might choose the first and assume that ours is a father who blesses his children, but when life caves in, what are we to believe about the God who allows our pain?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We can, however, choose to measure our circumstances by his character.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: When we face unexplained suffering, we can determine that the fault lies not with his ability to explain our pain, but with our ability to understand his explanation.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Like a first grader who cannot understand trigonometry.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Our finite and fallen minds cannot comprehend the ways of an omniscient, infinite, supreme being, referenced in Isaiah 55 verses eight and nine.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As time went by, Lewis' sense of God's silence in his grief changed.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: When I lay these questions before God, I get no answer, but a rather special sort of no answer.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It is not the lock door.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate gaze.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As though he shook his head, not in refusal, but waving the question like, he's child, you don't understand.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In quote, when we suffer for our faith, we have the terrible privilege of trusting a father, we don't understand, and worshiping a God whose call to obedience has led to our pain.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But such a choice shows that we love God or who He is, not just for what He does, and that our faith is not a business transaction, but the commitment of a child to their father.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: I have learned a hard lesson over the years.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We discover who our friends truly are when we can do nothing for them.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Our father might say the same of us.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Dwayne Brooks is the longtime pastor of Talua Baptist Church in Houston and a trusted personal friend.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In his email devotional, he recently quoted the lyrics of a song by the author, podcaster, and musician, Michael Carden.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Could it be you make your presence known so often by your absence?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Could it be that questions tell us more than answers ever do?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Could it be that you would rather die than live without us?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Could it be the only answer that means anything is you?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Could it be?