It’s been 17 years since the tragic events of 9/11. I remember I was taking the Indiana state standardized test as a sophomore in high school. While on a scheduled break, when all the students were in the school’s gym, a friend told me both World Trade Center buildings were down. Of course as a 15 year old largely unconnected from the world outside of my small town (unless it had to do with basketball or TV), the weight of the matter didn’t bear down on me yet. But then as the day went on more information came out, more videos were posted, and I started understanding the frenzy. I watched on CNN as they played a witness video which contained expletives that usually were not allowed on TV then (or now). I remember thinking about all of this, “This is insane – why would someone do that?”
Ideological Mind-Shaping
It’s interesting how events like this shape the developing minds of even kids. I had never experienced anything like 9/11 or any other national catastrophe. But upon witnessing it and the aftermath, I began developing my own opinions about what happened. So did everyone else. People who lean more conservative took it as a clear sign of the evils of Middle Eastern culture with its Islamic militancy. People who lean more liberal took it as the inevitable effect of America having been involved in the turmoil of a part of the world where we had no business being. It is staggering how easily we fall into an ideological camp once we find people who share our immediate convictions about what seems obvious.
But even after we’ve fallen into certain ideologies, we know we have blind spots. We know we may be missing certain things. But we insulate ourselves and judge new information by how it matches up to the old information and our conclusions about it, and we do it all to protect ourselves from the notion that maybe we need to rethink some things.
Hope only in holding to Christ
Conversation about political or social issues appears to be impossible today, because we are each firmly fixed in our camp. But I am a little encouraged at some recent events that have transpired.
You may be aware that there has been a movement led by some among conservative evangelicals to bring a greater awareness to the church of its need to engage with social justice issues. The debate on this topic has been fierce between they and other conservative evangelicals who hold that the church’s main drive is to emphasize gospel witness. At times, the debate has been demoralizing. Last week, the latter group released a statement attempting to clarify certain convictions regarding how the church should engage with social justice, and why gospel witness is the only way to truly address society’s problems (a statement of which I am a signer). The response was explosive. And Union Seminary (a historically liberal-leaning school) released a response statement via a Twitter thread that was entirely opposed not only to the earlier statement, but to evangelical Christianity entirely. Well the first group above – the evangelicals who have been working for a greater engagement of the church in social justice – has now responded, not collectively, but decidedly en masse, by saying that while they disagree with the first statement, they adamantly oppose the second, one leader even calling the Union statement “heresy”. And this has had a surprising (but perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising) effect, in that it has caused the conversation among true evangelicals* to actually begin. There seems to be a little more engagement among the first two groups above than there was before. I’m hopeful it will continue.
And herein lies the point. Those who believe the gospel, even if they disagree in what is to be the church’s emphasis (or emphases), can engage together, because the goal in moving forward isn’t a negative but a positive. It seems to me that non-evangelical Christian movements (and by “non-evangelical” I mean those who would appear to fall into the evangelical camp just by being non-Catholic Christians, yet show that they are not evangelical based on their modern convictions contra historic Christian Biblical orthodoxy; i.e. the Union Seminary group) are essentially negative. They’re trying to shake off certain things from the past, and change culture from how it has been and who it has been “ruled” by into something new, with a new set of rules and a new kind of "ruler" (a paradigm which I take as antithetical to God's paradigm). But evangelical Christians aren’t pursuing a negative – rather the goal is to pursue the positive of God’s reality, and the absolute best that he has for us, as revealed in His Word. Therefore there is a humility among adherents because it isn’t about us or our desires and goals. It is about Jesus reigning supreme over the world which He rules by the Word of His power (Heb. 1:3).
Of course there are many among the evangelical camp – especially in the social justice camp – who have made some staggering claims implying that evangelicals who disagree with them aren’t even Christians. But there have also been some from the other side who have made questionable and accusatory claims as well. But the thing that both sides have in common is the gospel of reconciliation to God through Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17-21), which then has the effect of working reconciliation among people (see 1 John 3-4). And therefore even if the conversation is difficult, and at times explosive, Jesus’ sheep are those who are following Him and doing so together. So they’ll work it out. I'm encouraged to see this happening.
Jesus is still the issue
All of this to say that 17 years post 9/11, Jesus is still the issue. If those involved in the terrorist attack knew the real Jesus, it would have never happened. Of course, Peter knew Jesus and he cut a guy’s ear off (John 18:10). But that happened as an example so that we’d understand our natural propensity to try to get people out of our way if they stand there; the goal of telling the account is that the reader will repent of needing to be in control, and let the risen Jesus rule as only only He can, ordering events, controlling the outcomes, and working His perfect will even amidst a fallen and wicked world.
Since He does indeed rule as Lord of all (Acts 10:36), our goal must always be to get behind Him and follow. And He promises that, as dark as the night may be, He is with us as light and is leading us into His light. But we can only have the light if we acknowledge Him as Lord. So therefore Jesus' Word to those on the fence is the same as it was in John 12:36: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
**Christians who hold to: 1. The authority of Scripture as it is written; 2. The doctrine of the Trinity including the full divinity and full humanity of Christ; and 3. The gospel of justification by faith alone
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