UPDATE: Jerry Falwell has publicly apologized for the comments I discuss here. He agrees that he jumped to conclusions when he described the attack as God's judgment and erred when he singled out particular people and groups as having "helped this happen." I am relieved that Falwell has apologized for his statements, and I forgive him as a brother in Christ. Nevertheless, I maintain my stand here because (1) one cannot truly take back one's words, especially when presuming to speak for God, and (2) his comments reflect underlying attitudes for which he has not apologized and which lead him to speak offensively quite often.
On September 11, 2001, foreign hijackers flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That weekend, a service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington. There were perhaps as many views of God presented there as there were attendants at the ceremony. Islamic religious leaders, Catholic priests, evangelical spokesmen such as Franklin Graham, and even the President have spoken of their faith and urged prayer for God to be with us.
Less comforting was a conversation between Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on that week's The 700 Club. Falwell claimed that the attack was God's judgment on America for such evils as the ACLU, homosexuals, abortionists, and others. Robertson agreed, but the comments angered many and brought swift responses from human rights organizations.
If we pray for God's protection, we assume that He has the power to avert disasters, or at least to manipulate certain details, such as the timing and what people they affect. If He does not have such power or refuses to use it, then praying does little except give us a false sense of security. But if God is behind these events, what does this imply about Him? Why did God "let" this happen?
Our first step in answering the question is to rid ourselves of preconceived notions about God. Jerry Falwell has been predicting God's judgment for a long time–or to be more precise, the removing of His special protection. And as he copes with these events, the easiest way for him to deal with the tragedy is to conclude that his predictions came true. Robertson believes that God desires health and prosperity to those with faith, and so any evil or misfortune is punishment for sin. The majority of preachers have given assurances that God is not behind such events. God is nice; He doesn't kill people.
We do have a source for understanding God. The Bible is, among other things, a divinely authored commentary on God's dealings with humankind. The Old Testament gives over a thousand years of history between God and the people of one nation. The New Testament in particular makes definite statements about God's character and His disposition toward sin. Ultimately, the words of Scripture are the deciding factor in the matter at hand. Here are some observations from the biblical message:
Having examined the Scriptures, of these things we can be certain: God knew everything about this attack long before it was even planned. He has been in control of the situation without fail, and none of His plans have been thrown off course by the attack. We know that God is merciful, and that He limits the amount of evil our enemies and His can do. We also know that God is just, meaning first that there is some justified purpose in everything that happens, even if we cannot see it; meaning second that He will bring the perpetrators to severe justice.
But what of the attack as judgment? I agree with conservative Christians who say that God often punishes sinful nations. I also agree that the ACLU's activities, the acceptance of homosexuality, and the legalization of abortion are representative of the increase of evil in our own society. But I disagree that we can say this attack is God's judgment on the United States. The Bible says God's purposes are past finding out, but I think we can be fairly sure that this was not an act of judgment. I take issue with Falwell's statements for several reasons.
The first reason is the most important: we have no prophets today to interpret events for us. Not even Falwell would claim to have a personal explanation from God regarding last week's events. (Robertson might, but he hasn't yet.) All we have is the Bible, which tells us about God, about sin, and about the past. This give us clues, and allow us to recognize sin, but it never really shows us how to recognize when an event is God's judgment for sin. This was the disciples' problem in John 9.
The second reason has to do with the severity of the attack. The death toll, whatever it may be, will be in the thousands or at worst, tens of thousands. Compared with biblical examples, and with historical events usually regarded as national judgments, this is almost a surgical strike. If God were to judge a nation this size, we should expect casualties in the millions, or a sustained and substantial loss of freedom, civilization, and reasonable standard of living for nearly everyone.
Consider also that in the Bible, although the guilty and innocent alike often suffer in widespread judgments like the Babylonian captivity, the innocent are often spared or protected in more specific punishments, such as the Egyptian plagues. The World Trade Center is also a dubious target for an attack on political or sexual evils. It would make more sense to suggest corporate greed or materialism as the focus, but that has actually been less serious recently than in the past. In any case, there was no sparing of the innocent last week.
A final reason for my doubts is that the results of this attack are not what one would expect of a nation struck with the wrath of God. There is no specific national repentance on the one hand, nor is there a hardening against God on the other. Instead, we see people focused on hunting down the evildoers who truly did this. We see a nation putting aside petty differences, and improvements in intelligence and security that are long overdue. We see an alertness for terrorism where laxness might have meant many times more casualties a year or two down the road. We see the gospel presented in interviews on national television, and people returning to church. We see thousands reflecting on their priorities, appreciating what is important, and putting their lives in order. We see a Christian given an opportunity to become a great president by facing a great challenge, who otherwise might have had a lackluster term of office. We see something that unites generally unfriendly nations in a good cause. In short order, we may see a generation toughened and matured through responsibility and sacrifice, as was the generation that saw the Great Depression and the second World War. All these offer alternative purposes God may have in mind besides judgment.
There are a few things we should remember in all this. God is not indifferent to our struggles. He did not calculate impassively what our suffering would accomplish and deem it worthwhile without considering what we would go through. God is with us and suffers along with us. When Israel rejected Samuel's leadership, they rejected God. When Paul was persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Christ. I believe God's heart ached when the planes crashed and the buildings came down. And let us not forget that God Himself lost a loved one when He gave up His Son to pay the price for our own horrible deeds. And just as God raised Christ bodily from the dead, so also will He raise those who died last week, and those who were Christians will eternally rejoice and be comforted. I look forward to personally meeting some of those brave firefighters. And as for the terrorists, we may take some appeasement in knowing that–since they were obviously not Christians–God is pouring out more wrath on them than we ever possibly could. God is truly a good, merciful, and just God.
Erwin Lutzer has a book called Ten Lies about God that has several chapters dealing with God's relationship to evil and to human decisions. This year he also wrote Why Good People Do Bad Things, which is excellent for those struggling with the question of how any real person could commit such terrible acts.
Dr. Al Mohler, an outspoken leader who regularly represents conservative Christians on Larry King Live gave perhaps the best response I've heard to the attack. You can read it or listen to it here.
John MacArthur's book Terrorism, Jihad, and the Bible confronts Islamic terrorism from a biblical perspective and shows how the teachings of the Koran relate to the notion of Jihad against non-Muslims.
I ask that everyone here read the biblical book of Habakkuk. It only takes a few minutes, but this little book speaks volumes to our current situation. Let me say first of all that I DO NOT beleive this book predicts the events at the World Trade Center, despite some amazing similarities. Habakkuk is about the Babylonian devastation of Jerusalem from 606 to 586 B.C., and Babylon's eventual fall in 539 B.C. Habakkuk cannot bring himself to believe that God would use the Babylonian pagans to punish His own people. God explains Himself in a way that leaves us with greatest confidence in His care, and in awe of His wisdom.
For a concise statement of my beliefs about God's providence, see my Declaration of Faith.
