In case you somehow haven't heard by now, on Sunday, June 12th, a gunman stormed a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, declared allegiance to ISIS, and opened fire with an assault rifle. Fifty people have been pronounced dead as of the 13th, and 53 more were injured before he took hostages and got into a shootout with the police. As the biggest mass shooting in American history and a hate crime/terrorist attack to boot, many people are feeling incredibly hurt and scared. Many people have lost loved ones and are not sure how to carry on. And after all this, everyone is left wondering, "Why?"
When disaster strikes, this is one of our first reactions. We always feel the need to ask, "Why did this happen to me? Why were my friends and family killed? Why do I have to suffer?" More often than not, these question turns into a religious ones: "Why has God done this to me? Why is He killing innocent people? Why is He making me suffer?" This questioning can quickly turn to blaming, with accusations ranging from failing to prevent the tragedy to actively causing it. However, misdirected anger with God will not ease any suffering. He did not kill those fifty people; an unstable man with a gun did. He is not the antagonist.
I think the "God as the antagonist" conclusion largely comes from the same basic assumption, held by both religious and non-religious peoples alike: that every action committed on this planet happens because God tells it to. However, this assumption violates one of the most basic qualities God granted us: free will. Things do not happen because God says they should happen. God has a plan in place for everyone, but people have the choice everyday to follow it or stray from it. Sometimes it's hard to see the path God has made for us, and so people get confused and make wrong turns, or walk blindly off the path, or even willfully turn away from it. Everyone has the right to stray, but that doesn't protect them from punishment when they commit heinous acts like this.
God did not send the night club shooter. That shooter made a decision on his own to kill those innocent people. The shooter is the one that ripped lives into pieces. God is the one who can help put the pieces back together. In fact, He already is. He is in the hundreds of people who went to donate blood, and the people and businesses that provided food to those donators. He is in the police who ended the hostage situation and the service men and women who are fighting against terrorists overseas. He is in the hospital staff that rescued the injured. He is in all of us, as we embody him with our love and sorrow. So don't blame him, embody him. Love will help heal wounds.
