Ballot Boxing: Backlash against prayer in wake of mass shootings

Welcome to Ballot Boxing, WORLD’s political roundup of news and views from the presidential campaign trail.

Presidential candidates took to Twitter and television to react to the shooting massacre that killed 14 people and wounded 21 others in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday.

Authorities said Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on Farook’s co-workers at a holiday party for county government employees. Farook and Malik died in a shootout with police hours after their rampage, and authorities are exploring the shooters’ possible links to Islamic State terrorists.

Democratic candidates responded to the massacre by calling for tighter gun control laws. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Twitter followers:

I refuse to accept this as normal. We must take action to stop gun violence now. -H https://t.co/SkKglwQycb

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 2, 2015

But even as fellow Democratic contenders former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont made similar calls for gun control, authorities said the guns used by the assailants already were illegal under California law.

Republican presidential contenders said tighter gun control laws were unlikely to stop mass shootings, particularly if the gunmen were motivated by terrorism or extremism.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas pressed forward with an already-scheduled event in Iowa on Friday slated to showcase his support for gun ownership. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said the massacre underscored “the risk of home-grown violent extremism—which is the most challenging terrorism problem we have ever faced.”

Other GOP candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, offered online condolences and pledged prayers for victims’ families and survivors of the shootings.

In a woeful twist, those calls for prayers drew vicious backlash from some gun control supporters who scorned the idea of praying instead of passing laws.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. tweeted:

Your "thoughts" should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your "prayers" should be for forgiveness if you do nothing - again.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 2, 2015

The New York Daily News went further, running a giant headline on its front page: “GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS.”

Those weren’t the sentiments of some of the survivors in San Bernardino who had huddled in offices and cubicles while the assailants hunted their victims on Wednesday. Family members reported receiving texts from those inside the building with an urgent plea: “Pray for us.”

It’s true that God calls Christians to pray and act, as citizens of whatever nation they call home. But scorn for calling on God in a moment of tragedy signals a longtime trend among secularists: Looking to self as savior instead of acknowledging God as Supreme. In the New Testament, Christ often commended needy sinners who offered the humblest prayer: “Have mercy on me.”

In a Christmas season when Salvation Army workers ring bells outside of shopping malls, this week’s dynamic brings to mind a quote from Salvation Army founder William Booth at the turn of the last century about the greatest dangers facing mankind:

“The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”