Wish I could say that you're wrong, but sadly I can't.
Or you can get raw with these strings. Either way, the violin is sweet yet lethal.
Do it!
Posted on 09/12/2011 8:08:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
This is the 10th anniversary of what some have said is a seminal event in our national history. I would argue it was less a seminal event, and more an awakening as to the danger posed to the West since the 17th century when the armies of Kara Mustafa – capitalizing on the previous century’s work of warlord Suleiman the Magnificent – attacked Christian armies across eastern Europe.
Suleiman’s and Mustafa’s wars were Jihads against the West. And though stopped at the Gates of Vienna in 1683, that Jihad has never ceased.
But the enemy has been unable to effectively prosecute the war against us; that is until the 20th century – particularly in the 1970s and 1980s – when we began to see the rise of Jihadist terrorist attacks against Christians and Jews throughout the world.
And then – though we were warned for decades, and were even attacked in 1993 in New York – the single worst series of terrorist attacks to date struck us in New York, Northern Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and frankly in the skies over a much wider range before the four planes actually crashed.
But we’ll leave the discussion of Jihadist history – and the “why” – to the sociologists and political scientists, whose views are framed a bit more ideologically than mine.
I’m a military analyst, and so I see things perhaps less in terms of ideology and politics, and more in terms of tactical or strategic application. Though I am not as black-and-white in my thinking as other military analysts, because my focus is special operations, and that requires a bit of right–and–left brained thinking, as does simply being a professional writer.
But what I want to talk about – and share with you – today is what I witnessed and experienced in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, because I was there at “Ground Zero.” Not when Al Qaeda struck us. But within 48 hours after the attacks.
I was there at the Red Cross recovery station where volunteers were taking DNA swabs from family members who were frantically searching for their missing loved ones.
I was there as the trade center was burning, I watched as shopkeepers near “Ground Zero” stared at their damaged storefronts and the thick powdery gray ash and tiny strips of paper that covered everything several blocks away from the attacks.
I watched as warplanes from the offshore carrier USS George Washington roared overhead, making wide sweeps over the city during their constant patrols, because – remember, at that time – we were anticipating equally devastating follow-up attacks.
And I was physically at “Ground Zero,” standing between what was left of the two towers and the destroyed buildings adjacent to the towers.
In the weeks to follow, when I was asked by television and newspaper reporters to describe what I saw, the one thing I could not get past was the fact that on TV, in the newspapers, and – today on the Internet (Remember, in 2001, the Internet was nothing like as mainstream as it is today) – the one-dimensional images we all saw (and continue to see), did not (and do not) begin to illustrate how horrible it really was. It really was impossible to adequately describe. And I won’t attempt to describe it here either.
By 2001, I already had experienced battlefields as a journalist overseas, and I was destined to witness terrible battlefields during the Iraq War. But never had I stood on such a terrible field as that which I stood on in lower Manhattan in the middle of Sept 2001.
The other thing – and perhaps the most important – was (and is) the question I’ve since been asked; “Where was God on 9/11”?
Fortunately for me, I’ve had a special (and I think somewhat unique) relationship with God since I was a little boy. So the question was something that was easy for me.
It didn’t disturb me at all.
It didn’t shake my faith in the least.
In fact, it enabled me to share God’s love with others and be open – in a non-intrusive way – about what I knew (and know) to be several eternal truths about God.
The answer; God was there on 9/11. And His glory was manifested in myriad ways that stood in stark contrast to the earthly hell of lower Manhattan on that day, and in the days and weeks after the attacks. And I’ll get to that in a moment.
FIRST, we have to understand something about good and evil.
God’s love and infinite power doesn’t mean that there is no darkness in the world.
Darkness is simply the absence of light.
Evil (which we equate with darkness) is the absence of good (which we equate with light).
In fact, in a somewhat scientific sense – where fact is derived not from theory but is based on empirical data – we see it would be impossible to measure goodness in terms of something being good, better, and best, unless we could also reverse the measurement and get to the point where good is less-and-less good. And then we would get to a point where something is simply void of goodness.
If we go along a measuring stick beyond that, we move toward something we would have to eventually say is evil.
So you might say, well, why doesn’t God make everything good? But if that was the case, and there was no benchmark or standard by which we could recognize goodness, then it would be impossible to achieve better and best.
Goodness would be utterly unrecognizable. So there would be no “goodness” by definition. There would be no love (true, there would be no hate). But there would also be no light (and there would be no darkness). There would be no free will to choose between what we know to be good and evil. We would all be robots.
But God didn’t make us just to be wind-up toys. He made us in His own image.
We are able to reason and choose, and, yes, recognize goodness and the infinite levels of that which is good.
And I believe, God wants us to choose to be good because “goodness” is what He is, and when we choose goodness we draw closer to the infinite power and greatness of God.
SECOND, we have to understand something about the nature of God before we are able to recognize His presence.
There are certain qualities or characteristics about human beings that we too-often take for granted as being conditioned into our personalities – virtues like courage, commitment, sacrifice, selflessness, love, compassion, mercy, honesty and loyalty – when they have in fact been imbedded into our DNA by God who created us in His own image.
This doesn’t mean that we are always courageous and merciful in our actions. But we do know that these virtues I speak of – conditioned or not – are prized in every culture anywhere in the world at any time in history. And we – as human beings – seem to demonstrate them most in times of crisis. These are the manifestations of God.
Doesn’t mean evil – to include cowardice, cruelty, laziness, disloyalty, and selfishness (to include egocentrism) – isn’t also on the prowl. It is. But those things are not the manifestations of God. They are human degradations reflecting the rejection or absence of God.
We might think it is easier to be bad. And when there is no crisis, the cowardly and selfish devil will try to convince us that we don’t need God. The devil wants us to believe that the world revolves around us. That WE are the most important. That WE should take all we can. That it’s better to serve ourselves than to serve others.
But when a terrible event strikes, ever notice how most of us reject our own personal comforts and want to serve others? Take care of others? Protect others? In a crisis, it seems to be much easier to embrace God (and those qualities wired-into-us because we are created in the image of God) than it is to do otherwise.
Ever wonder why in the heat of battle, most men advance forward instead of running away? Why they take care of their buddies? Why they give their last sip of water to their fellow soldiers? Yes, training and conditioning to be sure. But also because God’s virtues of courage, sacrifice, and selflessness (which are hard-wired into us) come far more naturally to us than cowardice and selfishness. It’s also why when we act against our nature, we feel a sense of guilt.
The devil doesn’t want us to understand this. That’s why he is known as “the father of lies.”
We know right from wrong. And we sometimes go to great pains to convince ourselves that a wrong action or bad behavior is not really wrong or bad. We try to justify our wrongs. But isn’t it interesting that we never have to convince ourselves about what is right?
Righteousness is an easy thing to come to grips with, even though doing right may not always seem to be the easy thing to do.
On 9/11, firefighters, policemen, and soldiers did what came natural to them. They raced into burning buildings to save others. Were they afraid? Of course, but that’s where courage, instinct, and conditioning kicked in.
The courage and instinct came naturally. And the conditioning enhanced what was natural.
But it wasn’t just firefighters, policemen, and soldiers. It was ordinary people who were trying to save others.
And for days afterwards, New Yorkers – famous for their brashness because they live in the world’s toughest, most competitive city – were as warm, friendly, giving, and self-sacrificial as any people I had ever encountered.
I could give you examples for days on this –
from people opening up their homes to others
to restaurants offering free meals
to everyone sharing cabs
and comforting one another’s children on the streets.
In that hell of Sept. 11, 2001, it was far easier to embrace God – far more of a natural thing to do – because we are created in His image.
Christ Himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As a boy I used to wonder, “How is His yoke easy, and how is His burden light”?
But I now know that – though there are forces in this world that want us to resist His yoke and His burden – those are the things that come most naturally to us. And that nature – in times of crisis – loses its inhibition, and we become that which God intended for us to be.
And so when people ask me, “Where was God on 9/11?” my answer always is, “God was everywhere I turned, everywhere I looked. His eyes, His voice, His arms, His sheer presence was inescapable.”
Evil struck us hard on 9/11. But God profoundly carried the day.
jboot: Ahh, mmmmkay.
ClearCase_guy: All Believers have a special and unique relationship with God.
jboot: Yes, but that is not how it comes off in the context of the peice. The author is claiming to be a prophet. As a rhetorical device it isn't such a good idea, unless you goal is to get 98% of your audience to tune out.
Fascinating interaction. jboot openly declares his opinion stands for 98% of the population, while simultaneously conflating the ideas of prophecy and personal experience of God - and denigrating the truth-telling as a "rhetorical mechanism" if it pans out.
That's pretty deft, if you think about it. Not just one flimsy piece of logic, but three, all intertwined into one and topped by the social denegration sound of "Ahh, mmmmkay." Sounds like jboot went to jschool.
While jboot doesn't say whether he believes in God at all, it's clear that if he does, his belief does not include a God who would actually talk to anyone, or have a personal relationship with anyone where communication is made. And why reject this? Well obviously, because it hasn't happened to jboot. And also because crazy people have claimed similiar things. Of course, crazy people have also claimed to be doctors, but I don't think that will stop jboot from dialing 911 in an emergency.
In addition, what if the guy is also a prophet? I guess the old drown-the-woman-to-see-if-she's-not-a-witch test would work there pretty well, eh jboot?
Always is.
And that's because the final word of God is found in the Bible, right jboot? Which is why you can show us the chapter and verse of the Bible which states that God will never contact anyone outside what is included in the Bible.
Right?
Good. Please provide the cite.
It’s better when it’s brought to my attention that I didn’t pay attention .... :):)LOL
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK..I am ready to go.'
I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.
I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'
I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.
I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.
I was in Texas , Virginia , California, Michigan, Afghanistan .
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?
I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do.. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?
Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you . But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God
I remember seeing this beautiful poem posted online right after 9/11
Sooooo....YOU TOO got in trouble a lot as a child?
;)
STRESSING...”Seek Me now while I may be found...”!!!!
Ooooh yeah ... was home schooled and when I’d drift off into space by getting this blank look on my face my mom would quickly bring me back by slamming her hand on the kitchen table. When I finally explained to her that I was visualizing what she was saying she relented ... sorta.
A friend sent it to me last week. I thought it was very appropriate, since the title of the thread was “where was God on Sep.11”
he never made such a claim........And for what it's worth, do you also criticize your own pastor, priest or whatever, for his/her sermon? After all, in your own words, he/she is professing the same "unique insight"........are they not?
Tell you what, why don't you tell us how YOU REALLY FEEL about Christianity and those who chose to share their own insights about it. Pastors, priests and rabbi's included........
Wish I could say that you're wrong, but sadly I can't.
Or you can get raw with these strings. Either way, the violin is sweet yet lethal.
Do it!
That’s an ignorant tagline, or are you being sarcastic? The church has been hated for eons. Feared? Maybe. Hated? Definitely.
Matthew 10:22
22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. (KJV)
***
You’re right. I need to reconsider.
I was counting up all the countries that hate our guts, and I also counted up the sins in the American church, and I remembered that ancient Israel had peace so long as it followed the Law, and that “[all scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, teaching, ...]” and thought the murderous hatred was due to the our collective sins.
In Acts they were feared because of the power and Holiness, but you’re right Jesus himself said they would be hated.
LOL!!!!
Excellent!!
God hasn’t spoken to me, as He apparently has to the author of this unpersuasive self-promoting sermon, and to the resident expressors of gratuitous nastiness.
Hi rdb3, long time no chat. :)
Yeah, it is sad. In general, conservatives fancy themselves to be the "adults in the room," but something about the relative anonymity of the internet seems to bring out the worst in people. FR is no exception, that's for sure.
Scary to think how much sheer mindless hostility is lurking just under the surface of so many millions of people.
Furthermore, if my pastor asserts something complicated and controversial and doesn't bother to back it up with scripture (which he has done) I definitely call him on it.
Those are my opinions. Your mileage may vary.
Still grieving over January 22, 1973?
|
September 11th, 2001
It was a retirement morning like any other -
waking up, cleaning up and getting ready
to go to Bob’s for breakfast.
The TODAY program was on TV,
a familiar noise at this time;
Just like any other morning,
but today seemed different:
Something was happening in New York...
Unimagineable! A deed dark and EVIL.
We were suddenly at war; not with a Nation – but an ideology.
Around 3,000 of us died that day – 19 of our attackers did as well.
September 11th, 2011
Life is different now.
Unknown men handle me in public places that I could not have imagined just 10 years ago.
EVERYONE is suspect in a way that Orwell had written about, 62 years ago.
Grandmothers and toddlers are
scrutinized and inspected;
their bags and their bottles:
empty or not.
Today, we worry about and prepare for a possible repeat of that fateful day, 10 years ago.
While the head of the beast is allegedly gone, the serpent writhes on:
spitting it’s venom from multiple sources.
We rightly lament the loss of those lives; snatched away by those with other ideas.
3,000 in one day by terrorists?
Why; that is HORRIBLE!!! Unspeakable – Satanic even.
But we have ideas in this country, ideas that are incorporated into LAW,
that snatch away life before it has a chance to begin.
More than half again as many in this country die - every working day - since then.
All because of a thing called: CHOICE.
It, too, is unspeakable.
Guttmacher Institute, compiling data from around the country,
says around 1.2 MILLION die yearly.
Right here in “GOD Bless America”
50 weeks a year (one must get a vacation);
5 days a week; yields 250 days that a CHOICE is made.
A CHOICE that abruptly terminates another human’s life
just as suddenly as those taken on 9/11.
An average of 4 thousand, 8 hundred lives: each and every DAY!
Oh; we still have our buildings after all of this; but what has been ripped from our souls?
3,000 cry out for VENGENCE! for 9/11 2001; while 12,000,000 have no voice, 10 years later...
|
Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth on this continent,
a new nation, conceived in Liberty,
and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal.
EQUALITY. It is found in Christ. Lincoln must have had that in mind when he penned ‘CREATED’.
|
St. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, said:
It’s too bad he didn’t add born and unborn: perhaps todays world would be different.
|
|
|
|||
|
September 11th, 2001
It was a retirement morning like any other -
waking up, cleaning up and getting ready
to go to Bob’s for breakfast.
The TODAY program was on TV,
a familiar noise at this time;
Just like any other morning,
but today seemed different:
Something was happening in New York...
Unimagineable! A deed dark and EVIL.
We were suddenly at war; not with a Nation – but an ideology.
Around 3,000 of us died that day – 19 of our attackers did as well.
September 11th, 2011
Life is different now.
Unknown men handle me in public places that I could not have imagined just 10 years ago.
EVERYONE is suspect in a way that Orwell had written about, 62 years ago.
Grandmothers and toddlers are
scrutinized and inspected;
their bags and their bottles:
empty or not.
Today, we worry about and prepare for a possible repeat of that fateful day, 10 years ago.
While the head of the beast is allegedly gone, the serpent writhes on:
spitting it’s venom from multiple sources.
We rightly lament the loss of those lives; snatched away by those with other ideas.
3,000 in one day by terrorists?
Why; that is HORRIBLE!!! Unspeakable – Satanic even.
But we have ideas in this country, ideas that are incorporated into LAW,
that snatch away life before it has a chance to begin.
More than half again as many in this country die - every working day - since then.
All because of a thing called: CHOICE.
It, too, is unspeakable.
Guttmacher Institute, compiling data from around the country,
says around 1.2 MILLION die yearly.
Right here in “GOD Bless America”
50 weeks a year (one must get a vacation);
5 days a week; yields 250 days that a CHOICE is made.
A CHOICE that abruptly terminates another human’s life
just as suddenly as those taken on 9/11.
An average of 4 thousand, 8 hundred lives: each and every DAY!
Oh; we still have our buildings after all of this; but what has been ripped from our souls?
3,000 cry out for VENGENCE! for 9/11 2001; while 12,000,000 have no voice, 10 years later...
|
Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth on this continent,
a new nation, conceived in Liberty,
and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal.
EQUALITY. It is found in Christ. Lincoln must have had that in mind when he penned ‘CREATED’.
|
St. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, said:
It’s too bad he didn’t add born and unborn: perhaps todays world would be different.
|
|
|
|||
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