Obama's Pastor Is Not the Only One Making Crazy Comments About 9/11

Recently Sen. Barack Obama has been facing a lot of heat based on comments by his pastor about 9/11. In August 2005, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said:

"In the 21st Century, white America got a wake up call after 9/11/01. White America and the Western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just "disappeared" as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring Black concerns."

In a sermon on September 16, 2001, he said:

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. American's chickens are coming home to roost."

While Rev. Wright has gotten a lot of attention recently because of his prominent parishioner, he is hardly the only clergyman to blame America for 9/11 or to cast the tragedy in terms of religious judgment.

On September 17, 2001, the Rev. Jerry Falwell appeared on Pat Robertson's program, the 700 Club. In the space of a few minutes, Rev. Falwell made a number of pointed comments. First, he stated that the effects of 9/11 would appear "miniscule if, in fact God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve." He then went on to blame the ACLU, pagans, abortionists, gays, lesbians and feminists for trying to secularize America and said, "I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

In response, the Rev. Pat Robertson said, "Well, I totally concur . . . ." In a press release, Rev. Robertson stated:

"We have insulted God at the highest level of our government. Then, we say, 'Why does this happen?' It is happening because God Almight is lifting His protection from us. Once that protection is gone, we are vulnerable because we live in a free society."

The Rev. Steve Wilkins, a pastor in Monroe, Louisiana said that, "We have had a horrible judgment visited upon us this week." After listing sinful practices in America, such as abortion and fornication, he said, "We have loved things and been worshippers of mannon. . . . It was no accident that the terrorists chose to target the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."

However, Fred Phelps, the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas made the most outrageous statements. His church's website proclaims, "Thank God for September 11! The towers fell as punishment for your sins, America!" Rev. Phelps also claimed that "The rod of God has smitten (gay) America!" and that "The multitudes slain Sept. 11, 2001, are in Hell--forever!"

Davidson Loehr, a Unitarian pastor from Austin, Texas preached a sermon on February 12, 2006 in which he blamed the Bush administration for orchestrating 9/11.

What can we conclude from this recitation of unbalanced rhetoric? While Rev. Wright's comments are disturbing and lack a certain logical consistency, he is hardly alone. Many of his ministerial colleagues have made comments which are far more incendiary. The same "blame America" rhetoric can also be seen across a wide range of secular America as well.

It seems that 9/11 has become like a mirror for many Americans, reflecting back and magnifyng their preconceived notions. If a person is concerned with treatment of African Americans, 9/11 is seen as a judgment on that account. For persons concerned with sexual morality and the secularization of American society, 9/11 reflects God's judgment for immorality. The problem with this approach is that the speaker is imposing their view of the world on an event rather than trying to understand it and learn from it.

What is the antidote to all of this crazy preaching? First, in this Easter season, Christians would do well to remember John 3:17, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." Second, anyone interested in the real causes of 9/11 would do well to read Lawrence Wright's book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Mr. Wright does an excellent job of getting inside Al Qaeda's head and explaining why the attacks occurred.