Early Sunday morning, an Islamic terrorist shot over a hundred people at a gay night club in Orlando, killing 49 of them. It is the deadliest terror attack in the United States since September 11th, 2001. Much has already been said about this tragedy by reporters, pundits and others, but I have some observations from a religious and Biblical perspective. Some important lessons can be learned from this tragic event:
1. Non-muslims, especially those who subscribe to certain beliefs and practices, continue to be threatened and attacked by some muslims. In the recent Orlando attack, it was gays who were killed and maimed. Ironically, Christians are the ones most commonly targeted by Sharia-motivated muslims. Sharia is the civil law application of passages from the Quran and the Hadith. Both of these books explicitly condemn homosexuality, but certain Hadiths pronounce the death penalty upon those who practice it. This excerpt from Abu Dawud (4462) makes this perfectly clear: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Lot, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.” The “action of the people of Lot” is defined as “sodomy” (section 4448). All muslims who strictly adhere to the Quran and the Hadiths believe in the death penalty for homosexuality. It is said that in several middle eastern countries, the debate is not over whether or not homosexuals should be executed — the debate is over how they are executed (burned, stoned, hanged, beheaded, thrown off buildings…etc). ISIS has been very open about their execution of gays and transgenders, often posting these killings on the internet.
Contrast this teaching and practice with the law of Christ — Homosexuality is condemned in the New Testament (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 7). However, the New Testament does not command or authorize the killing of homosexuals. (Note: the Old Testament did contain the death penalty for homosexuality (Leveticus 20:13), but NO ONE is under that Law TODAY — Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:14-15). Followers of Christ are to teach homosexuals and encourage them to repent, but we are not to kill them. When the Christian’s message is rejected by those whom he attempts to teach, he is to “leave in peace” and be “as harmless as doves” (see Matthew 10:14 & 16). Murder is condemned by the law of Christ (Galatians 5:21 + 6:2). The punishment and fate of the wicked is left in the hands of God (2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Romans 12:19-21).
2. Be careful about where you are and what you are doing. Life can end unexpectedly! Partying at a gay nightclub early on a Sunday morning is not the best way to exit this life. I don’t know if all of the patrons of the “Pulse” night club on Sunday morning were practicing homosexuals, but those who were gay were sexually immoral (per the above N.T. passages). And how many of them were consuming alcohol? (which is equally condemned by God Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:3). How many of them were going to leave the gay nightclub and attend a worship service somewhere later that morning? After all, it was on a Sunday morning that this shooting happened, and Christians are to gather for worship “upon the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; 14:23, 26). Incidentally, Christians should remember that far more of these Islamic attacks have been conducted against churches than against gay nightclubs. Faithful Christians are just as despised by militant muslims as are homosexuals. According to James 4:14, our physical lives are uncertain. We don’t know what might happen tomorrow. Life is but “a vapor that appears for a little time, then vanishes away.” Death can come quickly and unexpectedly, for the saint or for the sinner. The most important thing at the time of one’s death is the condition of his soul. I am not authorized to judge the spiritual fate of the deceased, but I do know that those who “love pleasures more than God” (2 Timothy 3:4) risk far more than the loss of mere physical life — they risk eternal damnation. Mass casualty events should spur reflection. Is your soul right with God? Is mine?
—Tim Haile