In the face of an evil and a tragedy like the Orlando club massacre [http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/orlando-nightclub-shooting-emergency-services-respond-reports-gunman-n590446], what does one do? What can one do?
Thoughts and prayers are a fine first step … but when they are the only step, then they become more a way to wave off the need to actually act [http://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/06/12/thoughts-and-prayers/, and, also, James 2:14-20 http://wist.info/bible/4934/].
But what actions can one take? The immediate desire is to do something, to keep such a thing from happening again. But what?
– Political scaremongering and lobbying shenanigans aside, it's not yet clear that this is an obvious gun control thang; that information may change, but the knee-jerk "Ban all guns! / All guns must remain free!" reaction doesn't strike me as practical or useful.
– Lurid headlines and (again) political scaremongering aside, there's no sign that the perpetrator is sufficiently representative of Muslims in the United States to draw any sort of message as to What Group to Blame (any more than considering the perp as male, heterosexual, and/or a Southerner is).
– Simply giving up faith in humanity, bolting the doors, and living in fear and depression, tempting though it may be, doesn't seem particularly productive or worthwhile.
About all I can see to do, concretely, right now, is to try to reach out to help the victims of this particular tragedy. Equality Florida is collecting money to assist the victims and victims' families [https://www.gofundme.com/2942a444]. That, at least, or something simiilar, would seem to be works to go along with thoughts/faith.
Dave: You pray like nobody's business and cry out to JESUS!!
+Lawrence Espinoza That;s not the worst of ideas, but it's clearly insufficient. The idea that prayers to Jesus will somehow keep things like this from happening this is self-evidently untrue, unless you're positing that insufficient people are praying to Jesus about it already.
Or take it back to that passage from James I cited, faith without works is dead.
Thank you for the link to donate.
I observe that one can pray and also give charitably at the same time.
I read somewhere they go together.
+dervish spin I have no problem with actually praying and keeping the suffering of others in mind — as a motivation for and a first step toward doing something more within one's powers.
Precisely.