Yes, I know what you all are thinking after reading the thread title: "Did Baz drink a whole bottle of Moscato again?
Why would we waste our time praying for a bunch of hellbound heathens?!?"
Well, hear me out.
1. Our prayer will be
the cheapest way to express our solidarity with people who were slaughtered in an
unlawful mass murder. It is true that the Bible condones mass violence when appropriate (e.g., Deuteronomy 7:2, Deuteronomy 20:13-14, 16-18, 1 Samuel 15:3) however, it also teaches us that we need to follow secular laws (e.g., Titus 3:1, Hebrews 13:17-18, 1 Peter 2:13-14). What that gunman did was contrary to the New Zealand laws (I'm going on a limb here assuming New Zealand does have some laws prohibiting shooting in mosques, otherwise, I don't think their Prime Minister would have acted as surprised as she did), therefore, an injustice has happened, therefore,
our prayer is the simplest way to address and alleviate the injustice.
2. Thanks to Pastor Bathfire's excellent essay on the
quantum mechanics of prayer, we know that
power of prayer can be retroactive, albeit in a rather oblique way. Let's cite the appropriate passage from the aforementioned essay:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezekiel Bathfire
The Past Prayer II:
Prayers are nevertheless said for a past event, the outcome of which is not known:
“I pray that my wife has survived the hurricane that has just torn through the town which she was visiting.”
Like Schrödinger’s cat, before news reaches the praying husband, his wife is in a state of superposition – both alive and dead and remains so until, for the husband, the probability wave collapses. However, for those who know the state of the wife when the prayer is said* there is either no need to pray (she is alive) or no point (she is dead.)
Such a prayer is not really a prayer, it is simply a malformed request to God to let you know the outcome – which He does in the usual way – a telephone call from the police.
I hope this has helped.
* The probability wave has already collapsed for them.
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Now, I have no idea who Schrödinger is and why we should care about his cat, but the point is, that
prayer for the outcome of something that has already happened makes perfect sense. Hence, we can and should pray to God, that some of the shooting victims have repented right before their death, and accepted Jesus into their heathen Muslim hearts, thus being spared from an eternity in Hell.
Therefore, I ask again - please do join me in a prayer for the 49 victims of the New Zealand shooting. You'll feel much better about yourself, knowing that you did
everything that was necessary to address suffering of fellow human beings.
Quote:
At least 49 people were killed and more than 40 people are being treated for injuries after at least one shooter opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, according to New Zealand police.
Two of those injured are in critical condition, one of which is a 4-year-old child who is being transported to Starship Hospital.
A 28-year-old man who was charged with murder is set to appear in Christchurch District Court, while two others remain in police custody. NBC’s Australian subsidiary, Channel 7, say police sources have named one of the suspects as Brenton Tarrant...
In a “manifesto” the gunman published online, he denounced immigrants and called them “invaders.” In the manifesto, the gunman praised Trump calling him “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”
“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” said the country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. “Clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.”
“It is clear that this can only be described as a terrorist attack,” the prime minister said, according to a transcript of her address. 
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