Shock and disbelief are settling in—and most are asking the same question in one way or the other; how could this happen here?

"This isn't Charlottesville; these are outsiders," they repeated throughout the day trying to comfort each other. "What should we do? How did we let this happen? What went wrong? How responsible are we?"

So, as a resident of this once peaceful city, I also wondered how we should respond in the future? How do we, as Believers, respond to the seeds of hate speech, racism and violence that blossomed over our city and our University yesterday? How can we stop it from happening again?

Saturday was scheduled on many Christian calendars as international students move-in day—the kick-off of "welcome week" orientations for the incoming class of 2021. Half a dozen sporting events were also planned by the University and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. All were cancelled—by mid-morning on Saturday, the city had virtually shut down.

Instead of welcomes and games, rioting and street fights started Friday night in a torch light parade to the Thomas Jefferson Monument on University grounds. Early Saturday morning, while several churches and Christian groups held prayer walks in McGuffey Park and vigils in nearby churches, "Unite the Right" rally members picked street fights with willing counter-protestors downtown. By mid-morning, protestors and counter-protestors were gleefully rioting in downtown Charlottesville.

That's when police, on cue, stepped in and cancelled the Rally before it could begin.

The resulting violence left one woman dead, two police officers accidentally killed in a helicopter crash, and 19 people injured—many with life-threatening injuries.

The Saturday rally was almost universally represented here in the media as a Ku Klux Klan style event staged by white racists—a rally resurrected from a bygone era of racial violence. As a result, fearful and self-righteous Christians from 250 local churches in the five-county area boycotted both the Rally and counter-protests.

The clergy that locked arms and blocked the "Unite the Right" Rally from entering the park were mostly outsiders recruited from up and down the East Coast. Like the Rally participants themselves, they were bused in from nearby states to provoke political theater, damage, violence and mayhem.

Watching the events unfold in horror on Saturday, both Christian and secular political eyewitnesses realized that the deadly violence was highly organized; orchestrated by professional outside forces—organizers welcomed in by naive churches and community leaders.

Local Christian leaders now understand that "Congregate Charlottesville," the inter-faith counter protest staged to oppose the visiting white nationalists, was masterfully organized by outsiders who wanted violence as much as Alt-Right Nazi racists they pretended to oppose.

From the start, most local Christians here realized that "Congregate Charlottesville" and the demonstrators didn't represent the community—but no one understood their true agenda; how serious and deadly the violence could become.

Now, these same Christian leaders are trying to wash the blood off their hands and hopefully learn a valuable lesson for the future.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

HERO: 13-Year-Old Credits God After Miracle 4-Hour Swim to Save Family [Video]

The Young Evangelical Woman behind a Viral Message of Faith and Freedom for Cuba

What Constitution? Progressive States, Cities Join WHO Globalist Network after US Withdrawal

'Largest Act of Deregulation': Trump to Roll Back Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Rule

'Strong Standards of Safety': Trump Admin Removes 2000 Unqualified Truckers from Roads, Many for English Proficiency Violations

Clinton-Appointed Judge Strikes Down California Mask Ban on ICE Agents

Netanyahu to Meet Trump With Iran Missiles High on Agenda

The Democrats' Trump-Epstein Smear Campaign Just Collapsed

[Watch] Powerful Pro-life Super Bowl LX Commercial Champions Option of Adoption

Seahawks MVP and Coach Give Thanks to God after Super Bowl Victory

Israel Hails Takaichi's Landslide Win in Japan

Georgia Co. Fires Officer for Confronting Trans (Biological Male) Who Used the Ladies' Room [Video]

Ghislaine Maxwell Declines to Answer Questions in House Deposition

California: SBA Suspends 12,000 Borrowers Suspected of $9 Billion of Fraud [Video]

Second Ransom Deadline Approaches in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance

Millions Tune in to TPUSA's 'All American Halftime' Super Bowl Show [Videos]

PASS IT ON… Here Is How You Watch the Super Bowl 'All-American Halftime Show' Sponsored by TPUSA

After Impressive $1 Million Monday Box Office Haul, Amazon MGM Expanding 'Melania' into 200 More Theaters

Former Lesbian Goes from 'Borderline Satanism' to God Encounter: 'He'll Completely Transform Your Life'

'We're Under Attack': Jewish New Yorkers Blame Mayor Mamdani as Antisemitism Explodes