Reflections on 9-11, and the tension between Christianity and Nationalism
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:15-17
We are strongest to the extent that we love; and when we build and create and innovate and share generously, then we are planting in good soil
This morning I scanned back through the years to read some of what I have written on anniversaries of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. What I noted was a consistent message about our calling to effect positive change by following Jesus and practicing the teachings of the New Testament.
Twenty-two years ago I did not have a blog, but I wrote something similar in an Op-Ed for the Tampa Tribune. Some of the responses I received (including one of my few death threats as a columnist) illustrate well the huge tension that can exist between our identity as Christians and our citizenship as Americans in a turbulent and dangerous world.
The hybrid religion best described as “Christian Nationalism” is one way that people and even churches have brought the two allegiances together, but it seems a poor and distorted compromise to me. Regardless, I do understand the challenge people are faced with when it comes to faith in Jesus. This is one reason I believe that our separation of church and state is so crucially important, and I am so thankful the U.S. has no state religion.
Being Christian in the Military:
In the years immediately following 9-11 I was fortunate to have several CENTCOM general officers and also “full bird” colonels in my Sunday morning class. Once I asked how – with so much mayhem and destruction – it was possible to move people and weaponry into battle as a Christian? “When you consider what is at stake,” one responded, “the power, the capabilities, and the reach of the U.S. military, you had better be grateful that so many people of prayer and conscience are involved at the very top. If we are not also accountable to God, what then?”
I believe it is important that we remember that God cannot be manipulated to being exclusively on the side of any idea (or country) other than justice, and righteousness, and peace, and goodness, and mercy, and grace. God favors light not darkness. God does not belong exclusively to us; we belong to God.
Let me finish today’s discussion with this, from the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, commenting on the new World Trade Center and the memorial park dedicated that day:
Ultimately, rebuilding becomes an invitation, both to those who are broken and those who have done the breaking. Rebuilding is an invitation to all, to participate in life. And if they spit in our faces, or if they try to destroy – again – what we have built, then we will simply build again and more beautifully still, and always extend the invitation to wholeness.
Because we are strongest to the extent that we love; and when we build and create and innovate and share generously, then we are planting in good soil.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
God bless the USA! The greatest nation in Earth!
There are agents out to destroy us, but we will prevail!