It is easy to place all of our anger, sadness, and rage on the young man who sat in the midst of the Bible study class, looked into the faces of the people and still choose to murder them. And yes, a good deal of the responsibility does lie with him, but much of it lies in the culture that allowed him to commit the crime.
We, the United States of America, proclaim to be founded on Christian beliefs. It is those same 'Christian beliefs' that caused the explorers and early settlers to take away the land and culture of the Native Americans already living here and corral them in reservations. It caused greedy men and women to choose to import men, women, and children, from their homeland, enslave them, and justify their enslavement with passages from the Bible. It is those same 'Christian beliefs' that proclaim that 'all men are created equal' yet considered the enslaved Africans as inhuman or at best, three-fifths (3/5) of a person. It is those 'Christian beliefs' that justified separate but equal and Jim Crow laws to keep those Americans of African descent 'in their place.' These are not Christian beliefs. To be a Christian means to be Christ-like and to live and respond with love and compassion as Jesus Christ would. The families of the Charleston Nine exhibited Christian beliefs when they forgave the gunman and turned their focus to prayer and restoration.
This culture has staunchly clung to the second amendment while ignoring the growing statistics of gun violence in this country. President Obama, in the eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, stated that every day thirty (30) lives are cut short by gun violence. And this culture has created a climate of subtle racism that attempts to normalize remnants of the Civil War and call them 'heritage not hate.'
Ephesians 6:12 states, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." When we place our hurt and anger on one person, we miss the point. It's time to address the principalities and powers, the seat of government and the laws on the local, state, and national levels. It's time to vote in every election, lobby and petition our leaders. It's time to address the spiritual wickedness created by the enemy to wreak havoc in this land. We must couple our physical actions with spiritual ones as we earnestly seek the face of God with prayer and fasting.
The Charleston Nine paid the ultimate price. As President Obama said, 'we can't slip into a comfortable silence' and 'go back to business as usual.' It's time for us to change in the culture.