{"id":9736,"date":"2017-11-05T16:56:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-05T21:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=9736"},"modified":"2017-11-05T16:56:32","modified_gmt":"2017-11-05T21:56:32","slug":"church-members-shot-public-gets-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/11\/church-members-shot-public-gets-mean.html","title":{"rendered":"Church Members Shot and the Public Gets Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

First let me say, how sorry I am for the people in that Texas church who were shot and killed. The pain of loss must be so great right now for their families and friends.<\/p>\n

At the time of this writing, there is very little information. I, like many of you, looked at several news outlets to see the details of the shooting. While I am horrified by the shooting, I am also repulsed by the comments of so many people on several news sites I read. They are mean, insensitive and speak to a lack of decency.<\/p>\n

Here is one person’s comment of many that\u00a0made my stomach turn:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Dumb religious people. All you needed to do was not go to some building to hum in tongues to your imaginary friend and you’d still be alive. “<\/em><\/p>\n

What kind of person says such things when innocent people have been killed? Shame on you and\u00a0others who chimed in with equally mean and insensitive comments.\u00a0This is a time to grieve and mourn and to offer compassion and \u00a0sympathy to people who have lost members of their families.<\/p>\n

Yes, I am upset. Upset that another shooting took the lives of innocent people, upset that people use these events for political agendas, but even more upset at the hardness of heart displayed by\u00a0so many–precisely the reason we go to church–to not become this person\u00a0who can’t find the decency to be nice when loss is felt.<\/p>\n

May God help us because He is the only one who can change hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First let me say, how sorry I am for the people in that Texas church who were shot and killed. The pain of loss must be so great right now for their families and friends. At the time of this writing, there is very little information. 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