Does it really matter who said “Yes”? Well, yes and no.

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will also disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

This is the time of year when we recognize the anniversaries of a lot of violent, tragic events. The Virginia Tech shootings happened on April 16, 2007. The Waco siege ended in the burning down of the Branch Davidian compound on April 19, 1993. The Oklahoma City bombing took place two years later on the same day. And on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Colorado, two high school students went on a shooting rampage, killing twelve students and one teacher as well as injuring several others before taking their own lives.

One of the better-known stories to emerge from the Columbine massacre is the story of Cassie Bernall. In the aftermath of the shootings, witnesses in the high school library stated that one of the gunmen pointed a gun at Ms. Bernall and asked her if she believed in God. She said “Yes,” and was immediately shot and killed.

As you might imagine, this little vignette launched a stream of inspirational tribute amongst evangelical Christians. She had died a martyr’s death, showing courage under the most dire of circumstances not to deny her Lord. Christian recording artists released tribute songs to Cassie Bernall. Her story was incorporated into many a Christian youth group meeting, and spurred other teens on to a deeper commitment to God. And Bernall’s mother wrote a book entitled She Said Yes, which chronicled young Cassie’s deliverance from a dangerously rebellious lifestyle as a younger teen.

But a few months after the Columbine event, as the dust began to settle and more details began to emerge, controversy arose. Based on the recollections of all witnesses in the library, and their relative locations in the room, it was determined that the original interchange between the killer and Ms. Bernall may not have been accurate. It seems that the gunman’s question “Do you believe in God?” and the answer “Yes” actually took place with another student, Valeen Schnurr. And, Ms. Schnurr was spared after her affirmative response.

Sadly, this set off a heated argument between supporters and detractors of evangelical Christianity. Detractors accused evangelicals as having jumped the gun on the Cassie Bernall story, and as having continued to perpetuate their version of the story to foster anti-atheist sentiment (the killers were purportedly motivated by their atheism). They further said that while we all ought to be sensitive to the families involved in the tragedy, we must also accept the truth of what transpired on April 20, 1999. Some supporters countered by insisting that the investigation was incorrect, and that Ms. Bernall really was the one who made the now-famous confession.

So what really happened? It seems that somebody stood up and acknowledged her belief in God “at the point of a gun” on that fateful day. But was it Cassie Bernall or Valeen Schnurr? This is a question that has intrigued me over the years, because I, like many Christians, have been greatly touched by the “She said ‘Yes’” incident.

I have done a small bit of reading and research on this, and although it appears now that it was Valeen Schnurr who actually had this famous exchange with the gunman, I am in no position to make any definitive, final judgments. I simply don’t know all the facts. But I do have a few thoughts.

First, the truth matters. The account of a modern day Christian martyr is a very powerful story, but I also believe it is wrong to pass off a story as true if it is not. In this case, three options exist: either Ms. Bernall said it, Ms. Schnurr said it, or it is truly undetermined (I am assuming that they both did not say it). If it is either of the last two, we—evangelicals included—should acknowledge it.

Second, I have come to believe that, in a sense, it doesn’t matter who said “Yes.” Don’t get me wrong here. As I said, I fully believe that the truth matters. What I’m saying here, though, is that whoever it was that said “Yes” is not the main story! To me, the main story is this—

Cassie Bernall was a young girl who was saved from a sinful life by placing her faith in Jesus Christ. Whether or not she had that specific conversation on that specific day, she is now in the presence of God for all eternity. Death has no power over her because she placed her faith in what Jesus Christ did some two thousand years ago. Sometimes as Christians we don’t find ourselves thinking or talking in these terms, but this is truly what we believe.

There is another part to the main story, however. That is, Valeen Schnurr, though her life was spared, apparently acknowledged God in an extreme situation. She survived that day, but did she know this when she was answering the gunman’s question? I think we would have to say that she did not.

I often have wondered what I would do if I ever had a gun pointed at me—literally—and was asked if I believe in God. My most sincere intention is that I would say, unhesitatingly, “Yes.” Maybe I would be shot and killed. Maybe I would be spared. But in the end, that’s not what matters. What ultimately matters is whether I am willing to acknowledge, in any situation, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is Lord.