What Do I Think?
(12-08-2001)

I was sitting in the dentist's chair on the morning of September 11, listening with the hygienist to the local pop radio station. The DJ came on the air to say that a plane had run into one of the World Trade Center towers. I wondered what dunce in his little private plane had gotten close enough to hit a tower. When I got home, I began to realize that the situation was far more serious than I imagined. The television showed smoke pouring out of the towers. Then the towers fell. God, save us.

The television had magnetic appeal for the next few days. I would take a glance for the latest news and then stay transfixed. Part of me didn't want to know any more, but the rest of me wanted to drink in every detail. That was a long week. The rescue work continued. News came in about the perpetrators and their supposed motives. Like most Americans I felt a range of emotions -- sadness for the death and destruction, anger at the evil deeds, wonder about the implications. I have heard many people voice their thoughts on the situation, but I have been reticent about expressing my opinions. Now, three months after the event, I have collected a smattering of thoughts.

1) Punishing the Guilty

Suppose that a man accused of several murders sought refuge in your neighborhood. One of your neighbors was sympathetic to him, and gave him shelter. In an effort to isolate and destroy the criminal, the local police brought out their assault weapons and utilized the tanks, missiles, and bombs of the National Guard. Let's say they got him after taking out a dozen houses and killing a few of your neighbors and two of your children. How would you feel about the net result? What if they caused all that damage and did not catch their prey? Then how would you feel?

Romans 13 indicates that the state may rightly bear the sword against evil doers. I believe that the United States are right to seek justice against the perpetrators of this crime, even with the measured use of force. Those who personally caused the destruction perished in their work, but if others were involved in the preparations, then they deserve appropriate punishment. However, I fear that we are exceeding the limits of propriety in our actual response.

President Bush has said that our war is not against the people of Afghanistan. We dropped packs of non-sectarian food for the masses. But in our efforts to root out the terrorists and their cronies, innocent Afghanis have apparently perished. How much "collateral damage" is too much?

Now that the Taliban are practically neutralized, what terrorist hotbed is next? Lebanon? Iraq? Will we have to go back and destroy the next Afghan government in a few years when it goes against our wishes? Let us seek justice wisely. We may punish the guilty. But let us take care of the innocent.

2) Our President and Tolerance

"Aren't you glad Bush is President rather than Gore?" I have heard that question often. I accept the decrees of God who allowed Bush to lead our country at this time, but frankly I am not "glad" that Bush is President. Would Gore be worse? Perhaps. But perhaps the followers of Christ would not be so enamored with him that they would ignore serious problems.

Back in his September 20th address to Congress, Bush described the teachings of Islam as "good and peaceful" . This is simply not true. Isolated teachings of Islam -- those that encourage regular prayer and charity, for instance -- might be described as good. But since the teachings of Islam contradict the teachings of Christ, we who follow Christ cannot call them good and peaceful.

In a November 15th statement, Bush referred to Ramadan as a "holy month", and he also described the Quran as "holy" when quoting it. Is this blasphemy? How can he label the writings of another religion as sacred, as set apart? Does he believe in the uniqueness of the Bible as God's word?

I have seen evidence that President Bush is a man of faith who reads the Bible and prays. He has made a few commendable references to God in the past three months, even quoting from Psalm 23, but I fear that overall he has shown too much "tolerance" towards other religions, especially Islam, of course. He seems to be fooling himself that civil pluralism is acceptable, listening to bad advice from his companions and speech writers. I try to pray daily for the President and our leaders that they will make wise decisions. May God remind them all of their responsibility first to him.

3) One Nation Under God

Let's say that 4,000 people in all have died in the terrorist attacks. That is a terrible loss of life. And each of those lives was precious to God and to the people who knew them. But did you know that on average some 4,000 children are killed every _day_ in the United States? And their deaths are ignored by the government that claims to protect us. Like the victims in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, these children are surprised by attacks from the outside. But the killers are not secretive terrorists with box cutters. The killers are licensed doctors with advanced equipment. And their terrorism goes by the euphemistic name of "induced abortion." Why isn't this on the evening news? The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit, regardless of his country or his profession (Psalm 5:6b).

I do not worship an unknown god who goes by a generic name. I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who revealed himself to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Many of our forefathers on this continent worshiped that same God. If America no longer wishes to be good, then she will no longer be great. If we tolerate the intolerable, then we must expect the inevitable. Destruction may come from outside attackers who catch us in a moment of weakness, or destruction may come from inside as our country wastes away with moral depravity.

Maybe the United States will realize their direction before it is too late. By God's grace, I want to do what I can to help stem the tide of darkness that is enveloping her. But those of us who know Jesus Christ need not fear when nation rises up against nation and we hear of wars and rumors of wars. Our Lord possess a kingdom that will never end. We are citizens of a heavenly country that has no borders, no disease, no threats.