9/11 seven years on
Monday, September 22nd, 2008
Ground Zero
It’s hard to think it’s been 7 years since that fateful day in 2001. As the 7 year anniversary came up this month I thought I’d share 4 points I spoke on in a short slot on the topic at Campus Church tonight:
1. 9/11 represents a clash of ideologies.
I was reflecting on Samuel Huntington’s thesis in ‘The Clash of Civilisations’ (written pre 9/11) - that the next major conflict would be between civilisations rather than the traditional East-West tensions.
I spent 2002-2005 studying theology, which was framed by the events of 2001. How do Christians understand the ideology that shapes our society? What aspects of secular western liberal democratic tradition flow out of Christian thought? Are there aspects that are incompatible?
Oliver O’Donovan’s political theology remains a long term exploration project for me - but he would certainly argue that secular democracy comes out of the framework of the Christian tradition - and can only be understood properly within the context of that tradition. The version of secularism that sees religion as a contaminant to a church / state separation is significantly flawed. It stands on top of the intellectual framework inherited from the Christian position yet won’t acknowledge it. It assumes that all agree that secular democracy is the platform we all stand upon. Yet what happens if this is not the reality of the world we live in? What then?
Christians need to think more carefully about these issues if we are not to retreat into isolationism for fear of imposing our values or perhaps worse, engage the political process in a narrow and moralistic way that is highly selective and simply longs for the ‘good old days’ - as if there was a high water mark for Christian culture.
2. 9/11 reminds us that evil exists in this world.
Some worldviews have no category or explanation for evil in this world. The liberal intelligentsia did not even appear to have the ability to name 9/11 as an act of evil.
Christians who know their Bible expect this world to be a place of evil - evil that infects the hearts of individuals as well as the structures of society and government.
Yet this acknowledgment of evil must not be hijacked for political purposes. We must be wary of those who would declare evil as something outside of us, beyond us and ‘over there’. Evil is not something we can declare war on. This may seem decisive and bold, yet it doesn’t see the depth of the problem.
The Abu Ghraib scandals and the reported abuses at Guantanamo Bay remind us that evil must not be used to justify even worse crimes in the protection of ourselves. Moreover, it reminds us that evil is not the preserve of our enemies - it dwells in us. Interrogators found themselves scouring internet sites for techniques to humiliate and to hurt.
The Christian understands something of the depth of the problem and recognises why the cross is required. Education and financial resources can mask the worst of the problem - but they can never solve it at depth. Only the work of Christ can take evil seriously and provide a way forward.
3. Understand the difference between the responsibility of the Christian and the role of the State.
Romans 12:9-21 is one of the clearest passages in the New Testament on forgiveness and failing to take revenge. Christians are to bless those who persecute - to bless and not to curse (v14) - something only possible in the light of the mercy show to us in the gospel (12:1ff).
Yet, straight after in chapter 13 is a very clear statement on the responsibility of the state to promote and reward good behaviour and to punish evil - and for Christians to submit to it willingly. Interestingly it has nothing to do with whether the government is ‘Christian’ or not. Christians ought to have no problem submitting to pagan rulers - for they know they are ultimately under the authority of God - we see his hand at work.
The difference is the recipient of each command. We as individuals are not called to judge our neighbour - nor is the state called to turn the other cheek. That does not mean that the state does not judge with mercy. Yet it has a responsibility to judge - recognising that the final Judge will return and hold them to account for their provisional judgements.
4. Remember that God is sovereign in the midst of an evil world.
The Book of Revelation is one of many places that ought to remind us that even when the most terrible things happen in this world, that God remains on his throne.
Of course we will not be able to explain why God allows particularly evil people to prosper. The suffering of the innocent is not unknown in the pages of Scripture, yet we are not offered simple answers.
We do clearly see the Bible ascribe multiple authorship to a single action - not least in the betrayal of Jesus - which is attributed to Judas, God and the devil. God is clearly able to weave evil into his plans for the universe without becoming evil himself:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Gen 50:20)
Attempts to ‘protect God’ from responsibility for our evil by denying that He is in control of all things, ultimately backfire. It is a strategy that removes the one comfort that a sufferer has - to know that God remains in control - even when we can’t see how God chooses to use events for our good. Much more can and should be said, but the strategy is doomed to failure as well as being unfaithful to Scripture.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-14)
God bless,
Nick