EDITORIAL

September 11 and the Bible
Seeing that hijacked plane fly directly into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11 was, I think, the most horrible thing I have ever seen. In an instant hundreds of persons, those in the plane and those in the building, were crushed and incinerated before my eyes.

For years I have been a student of the Bible. One of the key themes running through the whole Bible is sin and its consequences. The murderous attacks on September 11, plus the fear of bioterrorism connected with the ensuing cases of anthrax infection through the U.S. Mail system, make me wonder, on the basis of the biblical evidence, whether or not this is divine punishment of America for her sins of atheism, selfism, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, pornography, media violence, and arrogance about the American way of life.

Read the Bible, which is inspired by God, contains divine revelation and therefore is without error, and you will see that God is infinite love and mercy but he is also a God of justice. He is patient and kind; he gives the sinner plenty of time to repent, but at some point he punishes sinners, often severely, because he is infinitely just. His purpose in punishing sinners is not to destroy them, but to bring them to repentance.

The sequence in this relationship between God and man is: sin-punishment, repentance-restoration. This sequence is stated explicitly in the book of Judges and runs all through what is called the Deuteronomic History, that is, Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings. Thus, David and his whole kingdom were punished because of his adultery with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband. Solomon and the House of David were punished by division and war for hundreds of years because of their sins.

The prophets Amos, Hosea and Isaiah warn Samaria and the Northern Kingdom, that they will be destroyed by the Assyrians if they do not repent of their idol worship and sins of injustice. Jeremiah and Ezechiel warn Jerusalem and the kings of Juda that they will be conquered, enslaved and killed if they do not abandon the worship of false gods. The Israelites did not heed the warnings of the prophets so God punished them through the instrumentality of Assyria and Babylon.

Ever since September 11 these thoughts have been going through my mind. I cannot help but wonder whether or not God is punishing us for our sins. Thus, according to the Bible, there will be no end to terrorism and fear unless there is repentance and a change of heart. America needs to examine her conscience, admit her sins, change her ways, and have a firm purpose of amendment.

First, there are the domestic sins. This means negatively: stop abortion, stop contracepting, stop pornography and media violence, stop promoting homosexuality as a legitimate alternative to heterosexual marriage. Positively it means: support the family, teach the Ten Commandments in our public schools, put religion and prayer in our schools and in public life. It means making “In God We Trust” a reality, and not just a slogan on our coins.

Next, there are sins in foreign relations. We should insist on justice for the Palestinians in a way that satisfies them. We must ask why young Arabs are willing to blow themselves up in order to inflict damage on others. Why such hatred? Is it because of injustice on our part? We should stop trying to impose American corruption in things like contraceptives, abortion and pornography on foreign countries and different cultures.

If America were to repent and have a change of heart on these and similar areas, we would have peace at home and we would not have to worry about hijacked planes and bioterrorism because of Moslem hatred of America. Peace is not the absence of war. Peace comes from doing the will of God and treating others with respect and justice. May God give us a change of heart and the peace that goes with it.

Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor

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