the horror in the USA
Posted by Mark Greene Fri, 14/09/2001 - 9:49am :: News and Current Affairs | more by Mark Greene
Tony Blair rightly called it an act of barbarism which showed no regard for the sanctity of life.
And you could see the mixture of grief and anger in his face.
How could anyone deliberately fly planes full of passengers into buildings full of people? What was there to gain, except infamy and retaliation? What cause could be worth the suicidal sacrifice of self and the lives of thousands of civilians? We didn't know. The enemy was faceless. And an unidentified enemy felt more frightening. As I watched the TV I wanted to be able to understand the motive. To name and blame - perhaps a militant Islamic group? But I couldn't. We were faced only with the emerging enormity of the horror.
But the shudder we felt at the depth of this evil is one that many of us have felt before. When we were confronted with how James Bulger died at the hands of other children. Or when we first read about the killing fields of Cambodia. Or the napalmed paddy fields of Vietnam. Or, in my case, when I've dwelt for more than a moment on the thought that it might have been my little children being led to a bunker by an SS Guard and gassed with Zyklon B.
Ideas can liberate and they can destroy. One of the dangers to civilisation and to the cause of the Gospel of this massacre is that all those with strong beliefs - those ready to die for Christ, as well as for Osama bin Laden - will be viewed with the same suspicion. Belief kills. And so people become more resistant to the deep commitment that is both the demand and the joy of living the abundant life in Jesus.
The Prime Minister has pledged Britain's support in eradicating this gruesome strain of terrorism. We might pray that the democracies succeed in this task - as we also pray for the families and friends of the dead and injured. Of course, as Christians we know that justice will be done, if not in time, then in eternity. And we know in our heads the reasons for human evil. But as the death toll continues to rise, such a massive jolt will cause many hearts to protest with the question, 'Why was this allowed to happen?'
Now is a time to comfort.
Mark Greene
And you could see the mixture of grief and anger in his face.
How could anyone deliberately fly planes full of passengers into buildings full of people? What was there to gain, except infamy and retaliation? What cause could be worth the suicidal sacrifice of self and the lives of thousands of civilians? We didn't know. The enemy was faceless. And an unidentified enemy felt more frightening. As I watched the TV I wanted to be able to understand the motive. To name and blame - perhaps a militant Islamic group? But I couldn't. We were faced only with the emerging enormity of the horror.
But the shudder we felt at the depth of this evil is one that many of us have felt before. When we were confronted with how James Bulger died at the hands of other children. Or when we first read about the killing fields of Cambodia. Or the napalmed paddy fields of Vietnam. Or, in my case, when I've dwelt for more than a moment on the thought that it might have been my little children being led to a bunker by an SS Guard and gassed with Zyklon B.
Ideas can liberate and they can destroy. One of the dangers to civilisation and to the cause of the Gospel of this massacre is that all those with strong beliefs - those ready to die for Christ, as well as for Osama bin Laden - will be viewed with the same suspicion. Belief kills. And so people become more resistant to the deep commitment that is both the demand and the joy of living the abundant life in Jesus.
The Prime Minister has pledged Britain's support in eradicating this gruesome strain of terrorism. We might pray that the democracies succeed in this task - as we also pray for the families and friends of the dead and injured. Of course, as Christians we know that justice will be done, if not in time, then in eternity. And we know in our heads the reasons for human evil. But as the death toll continues to rise, such a massive jolt will cause many hearts to protest with the question, 'Why was this allowed to happen?'
Now is a time to comfort.
Mark Greene
