As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, the massacre of 20 children (they were either 6 or 7 years old) and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., has cast a pall over one of the most important days in Christendom.

Since the Friday morning shooting spree — the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed himself in the school — the question “Why?” has filled the pages of newspapers and the airwaves.

Why did Lanza do it?

Why did he select Sandy Hook Elementary?

Why did he fatally shoot his mother in their home before he took her guns and drove her car to the killing field?

And, why did Lanza select the youngest children in the school?

But the question that has not been asked is this: Why did a loving God allow the innocent to be the targets? Reports indicate that each child was shot multiple times. The adults, including the principal and teachers, were killed trying to protect the young ones.

Where was God?

Theologians and experts in religion will offer persuasive reasons for why God cannot be blamed for what occurred in Sandy Hook school, but those won’t answer the question: If God won’t protect the children, who will?

The adults in the school tried to come between the gunman and the young victims, but they were summarily dispatched.

Even the most faithful must have moments of doubt when confronted with the kind of carnage that occurred last week in a place that should have been a safe haven for the young.