9 /11 Ten Years Later Have we Changed?
There are certain defining moments in a nation¹s existence that everyone alive will remember for the rest of his or her life. My parent¹s generation talked about where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I remember exactly where I was in elementary school when my classmate Maria ran into the classroom screaming that President Kennedy had been shot. 9/11 was one of those days of infamy. Our world will never be the same. Have you changed since 9/11? Has your church changed? When I have asked people that question I normally get a puzzled and thoughtful look. Some of the changes in society may be obvious to us, like increased airport security. But other changes are subtler. Right after 9/11 there was an increase in church attendance. But I wrote back then it would not last and it did not. To attend church on a regular basis people need a deeper reason than just feeling scared or confused. I might be wrong, but I believe I have observed some subtle shifts in our society. I think we have become more suspicious and less trusting, especially towards those from the Middle East and Muslims. For many people the idea that a large group of Muslims hate us and our free society with a deep enough passion to kill thousands of innocent lives was a shock. Our sense of security was shattered. We entered a war like we had never been in before. Deep down I believe we realize that there is no way to stop all future terrorist attacks even though it is reported that over 30 terrorist attacks have be foiled since 2001. People started to learn what Islam taught and that created two opposing responses. Many conservatives, including many Christians, reacted with a great backlash toward anything Muslim. Some considered every Muslim a terrorist when the truth is most are peaceful and glad to be here. I observed a renewed wave of American civil religion, which is a threat to the true Christian faith. American civil religion combines a love for God and a love for country in unhealthy ways. When people talk about how God favors us as a nation and how we are a unique nation destined by God to save the world, that is false civil religion. Civil religion generally has a theme of moral superiority and arrogance. ³We are good people so God has to protect us and provide us a prosperous life where we are free to do anything we want.² That may be the American dream, but it is not Christianity. In fact God calls us to repentance and we may go through hard times. He is also choosing many different peoples to reach the world. Liberals on the other hand tried to white wash Islam. They claim it is a religion of peace when anyone who has read the Quran can tell otherwise. Some refuse to admit that militant Islam is a threat to us as a nation and fought against allowing our intelligence and security forces to wiretap suspected terrorists or ³profile² young Muslim men like all the hijackers. We need to treat all people with respect and at the same time take the necessary precautions when we are threatened. We must not equate a love for country and a love for God. They are not the same. We need to pray for and reach out to Muslims with the love of Christ, for he died for all men. We need to seek God¹s face now and not wait for another tragedy to wake us up.
