Eddie Huff: My Thoughts On Charleston Church Shooting

Thoughts on Charleston Church Shooting

Eddie Huff - Guest Columnist

  As I sat in church this morning the greater portion of the service was devoted to "sharing in the suffering" of Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Charleston, SC. Throughout the service I heard reference to mourning, grieving and weeping for and with those killed, their families and church. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I did not feel a special need or conviction to mourn, grieve or weep. In all honesty, felt bullied or pressured into feeling something that was not a natural reaction.

  Did I detest what happened, feel sympathy for the families of the victims? Yes, of course I did. But I also felt a sadness for the young man Dylann Roof, who committed the heinous act. I felt for his parents, his sister and other relatives whose lives have been forever adversely affected by this event. His sister was to have been married today Sunday June 21st, 2015.

  How is it that every time a tragedy such as this occurs we focus solely on the victims of the murderous act and avoid the perpetrator(s). In 1999 when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 fellow students and 1 teacher. I kept hearing that 13 people died in Columbine that day, but I kept thinking, no, 15 people died that day. Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold died that day too. We prayed for the families of the victims but not once did I hear about prayer for the Klebold and Harris families. I am sure that somewhere there were some who thought of this like myself but it was not a public thing like we have seen this week.

  The interesting this is that as believers in Jesus Christ and His redeeming power, we should be more concerned for the unbelieving killer than the believing victims. What I mean is that if we are truly believers we know that those "saints" killed are with the Lord and enjoying His presence now. We understand the loss their loved ones feel and we should try to comfort them, but again what about the sadness of the loss of two souls to eternal separation from God? What about the terrible remorse their families must feel? The questions they must be asking. Where did we go wrong, how did we not see this, how was this not our fault?? Who will pray for and comfort them?

  I have to take this a step farther though. I have to ask if the national grief does not have something to do with the race of the killer and the victims. When 10 people were shot and 6 killed in Colorado in 2007, while it made the news, there was not this national outpouring. There were 37 people killed in Chicago this month, 10 were killed in Detroit last night. I do not see or hear about grieving for those families. I asked myself how many services have been held, how much mourning and weeping has been done for the victims of Boko Haran and Isis? Thousands of Christian men, women and children have been brutalized, maimed and murdered by these groups, but I do not see united prayer services for these souls. Where is the national or international grieving and weeping? I have to wonder if some, if not most, of the attention paid to this event is not a giant guilt trip. As if somehow we can erase the history of racism with these acts of penance. Roof is a racist and we want black people to know WE are not like that, so we have to express our sadness in every way we can. We are better than that, we are not like him. That is not the type of remorse God wants. Believers in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ should mourn the loss of every soul that passes without having been redeemed.

  Eddie Huff is a former missonary, and licensed minister with an

undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. Eddie studied

theology in the M. Div. program at Melodyland Theological Sem-

inary in Anaheim, CA. 

Eddie is also a financial services representative as well as a radio 

personality, writer, and public speaker living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Eddie available for speaking engagements.

  I say stop mourning and begin rejoicing at the faith and forgiveness shown by the families and church members of Emmanuel AME Church. Let's also seek and lead to salvation those that are lost. Let's endeavor to reach other Dylann Klebold's, Dylan Roof's and Eric Harris' before they end up on the wrong end of a horrible news story.

God Grant us the grace!!

Eddie Huff