WHERE IS THEIR GOD?

Heaven will never help the man who will not help himself - Sophocles

A white male named Dylann Storm Roof aged 21 entered Emanuel African Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot to death nine people on June 17, 2015. The crime occurred during Bible Study while black people meditated on the Bible and concept of God. While the preacher delivered a sermon Dylan killed him. In America the news of this horrific event sent shock waves through the black community; in the house of worship evil struck innocent people. When racists want to harm blacks they do not acknowledge the house of God as sacred : four black girls were killed by a bomb in a church during the Civil Rights movement, churches have been shot up, set on fire and violated by people intent on keeping blacks in their place.

While watching television about the terrorist act in South Carolina the familiar scene of blacks huddling for prayer and deliverance flooded the media channels like CNN or PoliticsNation. As I watched black people praying, singing, dancing or crying the thought occurred to me of how this scene is played out over and over. I have to ask black victims of white terrorism in America this question- where is their God? In theological school people are taught that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob spoke the universe into being ex nihilo [ out of nothing ] this denotes power, it is also taught that this same God can act in history from heaven or wherever the deity resides. Stories in the Bible depict a supreme deity with the ability to save his chosen people when they were in dire need. Yet the black man in America calls upon this same God to deliver them from evil but so far there has been no reply. Is God on some sort of vacation?

Didn’t God save Moses and the Hebrew people from Pharaoh’s army?, what about the story of Daniel being placed in the lion cage- only to have angels shut the animal’s mouth. The prophet Elijah called on God to deliver signs before false prophets and guess what, fire consumed sacrifices set up by the prophet of Jehovah. Now all this and more are written down in the Bible to show how God acts not only in eternity but in time / space. So it would seem that this is a hands on deity who answers cries of the oppressed-except when it comes to lamentations of blacks in America. For over 500 years blacks have suffered all manner of hateful crimes against them by white terrorist : call the roll, slavery, lynchings, beatings, not allowed to read, disenfranchised politically and economically. During this dark period in American history blacks prayed to their God for deliverance. Yet in in recent history racism and acts against people of color continue. Eric Gardner, Michael Brown, James Byrd, Tamir Rice, and now nine people killed in the house of the very God that they were worshipping.

Black people formed outside the AME church in South Carolina to sing, pray, dance and ask for healing or to make sense of this hateful crime. In the midst of all of talk of forgiveness and healing someone please ask black people the question.

WHERE IS THEIR GOD?