Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

How Charleston’s Response to Violent Hate Proves Prayers DO Matter After Tragedy

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Share Tweet
By CBN News
Contributor

August 5, 2019
By Andrea Morris

In 2015, Charleston, South Carolina was the scene of a horrific mass shooting. Nine people were killed when a 21-year-old white man opened fire on black church members holding a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Race was at the core of his attack. But the event, which was aimed at starting a race riot, actually brought the community together.

Sen. Tim Scott (R – SC) recalled that sad time on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, but he noted prayer actually brought the Charleston community together.

“Our community came together through prayer,” he explained. “A lot of folks say prayers don’t matter but I will disagree with them. Because of prayer the nine family members forgave the shooter and brought unity to our state in ways that we have not seen in the history of the state frankly.”

When asked about the challenges of forgiveness after such a shocking event, he said, “The Civil War started in Charleston and to have a white racist walk into a black church to start a race riot — to have the opposite occur because of the power of faith in that church, in our community, was fantastic and phenomenal.”

Scott explained how the Charleston community has become more unified since the tragic event.

“Walking out of that situation, what we started doing was meeting and talking and finding out where the differences were so that we could challenge ourselves to overcome those differences and we did something that I thought was incredibly important,” he said.

“When we’re looking for ways to address the challenges that our nation is seeing all over the place, we must take individual responsibility and speak up when we hear something,” he added. “Silence in and of itself is a part of the challenge. So we must speak up when we see things that are out of place, when we hear things that are inconsistent with that.”

Scott also discussed the nation’s current atmosphere of hate and hostility and how President Trump is affecting it.

“This is a issue of human hate something that resides in the heart and that is actually, unfortunately because of social technology and the social media we’re seeing it connect it to other folks who have hate in their heart as well,” he continued.

The story of the forgiveness that took place in Charleston was recently told in the documentary Emanuel.

The film examines how hope and faith are emerging out of one of the darkest moments in recent American history.

“The documentary highlights how a horrible tragedy can bring a community together and spreads an important message about the power of forgiveness,” Executive Producer Stephen Curry said. “I hope the film inspires others like it does me.”

To find out more about the documentary, click below.

They Chose ‘to Love a Murderer’: EMANUEL Doc Shows Power of God After Church Massacre

Latest

  • Faith

    ‘Dangerous Ideology’: Christian Summer Camp Takes Gender Stand, Scores Major Victory

  • culture

    BBC Reporter Earns Viral Praise For Abruptly Pausing On-Air to Correct Term ‘Pregnant People’

  • News

    Pastor’s Wife Deported: Family Speaks Out, Pleads for Mercy as Homeland Security Issues Statement

  • Faith

    Does Hamas Have a Diabolical Plan to Hurt Starving Gazans, Spread Lies?

  • Faith

    CCM Artist Rhett Walker Rebukes Those Condemning All Christian Music Amid Michael Tait Allegations


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • ‘Dangerous Ideology’: Christian Summer Camp Takes Gender Stand, Scores Major Victory
  • BBC Reporter Earns Viral Praise For Abruptly Pausing On-Air to Correct Term ‘Pregnant People’
  • Pastor’s Wife Deported: Family Speaks Out, Pleads for Mercy as Homeland Security Issues Statement
  • Does Hamas Have a Diabolical Plan to Hurt Starving Gazans, Spread Lies?
  • CCM Artist Rhett Walker Rebukes Those Condemning All Christian Music Amid Michael Tait Allegations

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.