Lee's Blog: World Trade Center Redux

October 09, 2001

World Trade Center Redux

Tuesday, October 9, 2001

I've seen this sentiment a couple times, and I sorta want to take it apart. It was sent to me by somebody I like and respect very much, but I didn't want to reply directly because I wasn't sure I could make clear my objections. I'm going to write them and refine them here, and then maybe send my friend the link. This notion really troubles me, and I want to put my finger on why it troubles me so.

Billy Graham's daughter being interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "how could God let something like this happen?" and Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response, she said "I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives, and being the gentleman that he is, I believe that he has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us his blessing and his protection if we demand he leave us alone?"

Let me state bluntly. I think this is an inappropriate and tasteless sales pitch for Christianity. At best, it's preaching to the choir (the sentiment on the face of it appeals to Christians) but at worst it's a condemnation of religious freedom.

The Christian leaders who say that schools are trying to stamp out prayer are grinding an ideological axe. There is nobody walking around in the classroom, telling children that they are not allowed to pray in class. They ARE telling grown-ups that it is inappropriate for teachers in secular schools to lead the children in prayer. There's a WORLD of difference! Since the schools are funded by the public (vouchers are a topic for another day), it's imperative that they provide a healthy environment for all students. Teachers leading students in Western-style (Judeo-Christian) prayers is certain to cause alienation.

I am a Christian. I believe in God, and in Jesus. I do not believe, however, that I have a monopoly on Ultimate Truth. I don't believe that any mortal is wise enough to say to a person "Your religion is wrong. Everything you have been taught from childhood is incorrect, and if you don't believe the way I say this book tells you to, you are going to languish in everlasting torment." The God I believe in gave us free will and reason, not so that we could choose to do what we are told, but to explore our faith and our life, and find the right thing to do.

I have personal experience with this sort of low-key oppression. When I was in third and fourth grade, I attended the Canyon Creek Christian Academy, a Baptist private school not far from my home. I was talking at recess with some friends of mine, who had been raised in the Baptist faith, and we were discussing evolution versus creation. I had been raised in the Methodist faith, which is rather a lot more liberal than most Baptist dogmas. My classmates and I were actually having a pretty civil discussion. I was explaining my (then limited) understanding of evolution, and how it fits into what the Bible says, and they were taking a more literalist interpretation. Later, the teachers spoke to me (alone. I remember specifically standing with my back in a corner with two teachers towering over me, glaring at me) instructing me to never, ever talk about such things at school again.

I was devastated.

I didn't understand what I had done wrong. I was absolutely sincere in my beliefs, and in my desire to talk and learn with my classmates. I couldn't understand why that was wrong. I remember praying that morning in class for God to fix whatever was wrong with me that I didn't think the same way everybody else did. Thankfully, that prayer was not answered...at least not the way I thought it would be.

I took away from that encounter an iron resolve: I will take responsibility for my own faith, and I will choose my beliefs based on my knowledge, and my personal relationship with God. I will listen to the viewpoints of others, and strive always for a closer understanding of Truth, but I will not compromise my God-given reason by simply accepting what an authority figure SAYS is true.

Although I was fortunate in the fact that my self-esteem allowed me to rise to the challenge and take a strong (but, after that, quiet) stand for myself, it is easy for me to understand why a young student might feel like they HAD to do what the teachers say God wants them to.

I don't believe that God wants converts this way. I believe that God wants His children to love Him because of His grace, and His mercy, and His great love for us. I do not believe that He wants us to fear his wrath. I do not believe that He needs to intimidate us into following His teachings.

I certainly do not believe that He allows six thousand innocents to be murdered by an evil psychopath to frighten us into changing our ways.

So no, Ms. Graham, I must respectfully disagree. The arrogant belief that our way is the only way is the first step on the Devil's path. It's the first step on the path to zealotry. That path ends in horrible deeds that offend God. Deeds like the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials, and the terrorist attacks of September 11th.

The problem is not that we don't institutionalize prayer. The problem is that we (the world) are deluded into thinking that the people around us are so different, and our beliefs are so incompatible, that we must kill one another in order to be beautiful in God's eyes.

To this, I say no. Never. This is not the way. This perversion of God's will may not stand.

OK. Now for some levity.

One of my guilty pleasures is The Onion. It's absolutely brutal satire, with scathing diatribes and horrible language. It's also brilliantly written. Think George Carlin.

Below is an edited post from their coverage of the World Trade Center attacks. I would have linked directly to the story, but it DOES have God using the F word, and I just couldn't do that. My grandparents read this site, for heaven's sake! (Hi Grandma and Granddad!) So, I bleeped out the harsh language. If you want to read my version, click here. If you're interested in reading the original (unedited) story, or the other stuff they've done on this tragedy, click here. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Posted by Lee at October 9, 2001 01:04 AM

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