The Wired Word for the Week of June 19, 2016In the early morning of Sunday, June 12, a gunman opened fire inside a gay bar and dance club in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 and injuring 53. By 5 a.m. on Sunday, the gunman himself had been killed in a gun battle with police, bringing the death toll to 50. This mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub surpassed the 33 killed and 23 injured in the Virginia Tech attack of 2007.
On Sunday afternoon, President Obama labeled the rampage "an act of terror and an act of hate." On Monday, he reported that the gunman appeared to be motivated by extremist propaganda online. Although the shooter claimed allegiance to an Islamic State leader, authorities have not found any links connecting him to terrorist groups. Obama called the shooting a case of "homegrown extremism." House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said, "As we heal, we need to be clear-eyed about who did this. We are a nation at war with Islamist terrorists."
Many of the shooting victims were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where 29 were being treated, including five who were "in grave condition" as of Monday. Hospital officials reported that local blood banks had more than 600 units on hand due to a surge in donations after the shootings.
The gunman who carried out the attack was 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who was born in New York. The son of an Afghan immigrant, he grew up in Florida, obtained an associate's degree in criminal justice and held jobs as a security guard. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and he legally purchased the two guns used in the attack.
But Mateen showed signs of emotional trouble and a volatile temper. Sitora Yusifiy, who was briefly married to Mateen, described him as an abusive husband who beat her repeatedly. "He was not a stable person," she told The Washington Post. "He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn't finished or something like that."
For several years, Mateen regularly attended the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, Florida. Imam Shafiq Rahman described him as "the most quiet guy" and said that there was "no indication at all that he would do something violent." But Rahman's 20-year-old son described Mateen as an "aggressive person."
Mateen's father insisted in interviews following the killings that his son's violent deeds had nothing to do with religion. But he did report that Mateen expressed anger toward gays. He recalled that a few months earlier his son had become enraged at the sight of two gay men being affectionate with one another. On Monday, a witness told The Orlando Sentinel that Mateen had visited the Pulse nightclub at least a dozen times prior to the attack, and had been seen with a drink at the bar. Mateen had also been active on gay dating apps.
In recent years, the shooter had twice been on the FBI's radar. In 2013, agents investigated him for making comments to co-workers about terrorist groups and for expressing a wish to martyr himself. Mateen explained that he made the remarks in anger because he felt that he was being teased for being Muslim. Then, in 2014, Mateen was investigated for possible ties to a suicide bomber who blew himself up in Syria. The FBI determined that there were no strong ties between Mateen and the bomber.
Investigators are still trying to determine what led up to the attack on Sunday. The FBI is working to determine what role anti-gay bigotry may have played, aware that the Islamic State has carried out a violent campaign against gay people. Videos have been released showing its members executing people they identify as homosexual. The New York Times reported that Mateen called 911 shortly before the attacks and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Condolences and offers of support have poured in from around the world. Vigils and memorials have been held, and the Eiffel Tower was lit in rainbow colors on Monday evening. The chief executive of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, said that the Orlando attack "tells us that terrorism knows no religion, boundary and geography. Terrorism must be eliminated."
Mark Galli of Christianity Today magazine wrote that he and his staff "are deeply grieved by the shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to friends and family of the victims. In this case, the attack was targeted at one group, and so our prayers go up for gays, lesbians, and other sexual minorities who now live with a heightened sense of fear. We are glad to hear of so many Christians, from many theological persuasions, reaching out to comfort them in their grief."
More on this story can be found at these links:
'He Was Not a Stable Person': Orlando Shooter Showed Signs of Emotional Trouble. The Washington PostRyan on Orlando Shooting: 'We Are a Nation at War With Islamist Terrorists.' ReutersOrlando Gunman Was 'Cool and Calm' After Massacre, Police Say. The New York TimesOrlando Gunman Who Pledged Loyalty to ISIS Was 'Homegrown' Extremist Radicalized Online, Obama Says. The Washington PostWitness: Omar Mateen Had Been at Orlando Gay Nightclub Many Times. Orlando SentinelA Meditation on the Orlando Shooting. Christianity Today
The Big Questions
1. The shooter reportedly expressed anger at the sight of men showing affection toward each other in public. Regardless of your attitude toward people who are gay or lesbian, what is the justification for showing anger and rage toward a brother or sister? When is such emotion acceptable, if ever?
2. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines hate crime as "a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin." How do the Orlando shootings fit the definition of hate crime? Why should Christians be especially concerned about crimes that are motivated by hate? Should an alleged motivation of hate even be a factor, or should the objective criminal actions be what is punished? Explain.
3. How is hate destructive? When we, as members of the church, feel intense anger or dislike or disgust about something, how do we keep it from boiling over into active hate that can do grave damage? Where have you seen hate doing damage to the developing spirits of children, to buildings that are vandalized in the community, and to congregations that end up splitting because they can't figure out how to get along and do ministry together?
4. In response to crimes such as the Orlando attack, many people direct hateful emotion against innocent people. Most of us have seen responses that blame innocent Muslims or innocent gun owners for this crime, at least in part. How have you been tempted, in these ways or others, to blame innocent people? Are there any other places or cases where you have been tempted like that? How did you respond to the temptation -- and is that how you should have responded?
5. Robert Lynch, the Roman Catholic bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida, writes, "Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence. Those women and men who were mowed down Sunday were all made in the image and likeness of God." Where do you see contempt and hatred leading to violence? What does it mean to you to take a stand for people "made in the image and likeness of God"?
Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 37:3-4Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. (For context, read 37:1-9.)
Sibling rivalry is as old as the Bible, going back to the first brothers, Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). In the case of Joseph and his brothers, the brothers hate him because he has a dream that predicts that he will someday reign over them (vv. 5-8). The brothers sell him to some Ishmaelites and he is taken to Egypt, where he rises to power. Eventually he saves his family from trouble and says to them, "Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people" (50:20).
Questions: What do you consider to be the major causes of hate between people? Why is it so hard to love the people around us, even our closest relatives? Have you had an experience of God turning hatred into love and evil into good? Describe.
Ecclesiastes 3:8 ... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (For context read 3:1-8.)
TWW team member Frank Ramirez notes that while this verse might suggest that there is a God-ordained time for hatred and war, the author of Ecclesiastes is cataloging a list of things that happen, regardless of our will or God's intention. They are the result of free will, accident or circumstances, the sorts of things that we will encounter over the course of a lifetime.
Questions: When have you found yourself hating someone, or a whole group of people? What was the cause of that hatred? Did you do anything about it? When have you found yourself the recipient of hatred? Was it because of something you did, or because of who you are (African-American, Hispanic, female, etc.)? Did you fight back against hatred?
Matthew 5:43-45
[Jesus said,] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (For context, read 5:38-48.)
[Jesus said,] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (For context, read 5:38-48.)
Many civil rights activists deliberately chose the path of nonviolent resistance toward those who hated them, praying for those who beat them or sought to kill them, and refusing to return hatred for hatred. More recently we have seen African-American Christians who survived a vicious hate crime on the part of an armed white person who murdered innocent people in their church appear at his hearing and express forgiveness for the murderer.
Questions: What do you think is the most effective path of resistance against hatred? How do you understand Jesus' words, "Do not resist an evildoer" (v. 39)? What would Jesus do? What did Jesus do?
John 1:1-5In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (For context, read 1:1-18.)
John describes Jesus as the pre-existent Word of God, in the beginning with God and part of the creation of the universe. He is part of the creation of life as well, and John describes this life as "the light of all people." One of the strengths of this light is that it cannot be extinguished by the darkness of the world.
Questions: How do you see Jesus as the light of the world? What happens when his light shines into dark situations? Where do you see his light at work, when the darkness of hatred and violence is so strong? How can you reflect his light to people around you?
Romans 13:1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. (For context, read 13:1-7.)
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. (For context, read 13:1-7.)
This is one of the few places where the New Testament touches on government and a Christian's relationship to the government. As with much of scripture, it is viewed in fairly absolute terms by some, as a mere suggestion by others, and with some fairly in-depth analysis by yet others.
At a conference on terrorism and counterterrorism a few years ago, TWW consultant James Gruetzner was discussing this passage with one of the conference speakers. The speaker noted that there is no parallel passage in the Koran or other Islamic authorities that would differentiate between government and religious practices. He believed that that is one reason why religious law tends to be imposed in Muslim countries: Under Islam, even ostensibly secular rulers are responsible for enforcing Islamic law. Of relevance to the Orlando attack, at least eight Muslim countries actively impose the death penalty for homosexual acts (Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria [some sections], Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia [some sections], Sudan, Yemen). Areas controlled by the Islamic State also do so.
Questions: Where does one draw the line between obedience to governments and obedience to God? How firm does your understanding of what God commands have to be? How does one respond when government goes beyond its responsibilities, such as are delineated in the Romans passage? Does the lack of a separation between mosque and state within Islam have any effect on how Islam is viewed?
For Further Discussion
1. The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued a letter in response to the June 12 shooting, which says, "We believe that all people are created in God's image. All of humanity bears a family resemblance. Those murdered in Orlando were not abstract 'others,' they are us. But somehow, in the mind of a deeply disturbed gunman, the LGBTQ community was severed from our common humanity. ... We live in an increasingly divided and polarized society. Too often we sort ourselves into like-minded groups and sort others out. It is a short distance from division to demonization. [In Orlando], we witnessed the tragic consequences of this." In society today, where do you see us sorting ourselves into like-minded groups, and sorting others out? How is division connected to demonization? What is the solution?
2. According to Religion News Service, "Religious leaders from Pope Francis to the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sharply condemned the shooting. ... Muslim groups also condemned the killings." What is the significance of these condemnations? How can people of different faiths unite at a time like this?
3. TWW team member Jim Berger writes, "The church has disaster agencies prepared to respond to floods and hurricanes. But how do we respond to this horror? We can't send vans of workers to rebuild anything, so what do we do?" How would you respond to Berger's questions?
4. This past Sunday, a Chick-fil-A location in Orlando had its employees make sandwiches and tea, and provided them free of charge to volunteers at an Orlando blood donation center that was taking blood donations for the surviving victims of the attack. Chick-fil-A never opens on Sundays, and its CEO has spoken out against gay marriage. Yet, Chick-fil-A responded to this attack with tangible support for the victims. Discuss this response to the attack in the context of hatred, disagreement and love.
5. If the shooter had, in fact, visited the Pulse nightclub socially and used gay dating apps, he might have been experiencing a struggle with his own sexual orientation. How do our inner struggles often erupt in destructive ways? What spiritual resources can be employed to find peace with ourselves and with the people around us?
Responding to the News
Most acts of hate do not make the news, but they are damaging to people in communities across the country. Be attentive to words and deeds that show hate toward people of any race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation, and respond with Christian love.
Closing Prayer
We thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus to be the light of the world. May we reflect his light to others, and trust that darkness cannot overcome it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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