Welcome to a special edition of the BreakPoint podcast. In view of the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack on the United States, our team went back and revisited commentaries from our founder Chuck Colson.
I was blown away by the gracious and truthful framing that Chuck offered to the events of that day. In a series of BreakPoint commentaries, Chuck Colson offered a Christian worldview that was, as we often say at the Colson Center, “big enough.” I was also struck by how relevant this wisdom still is.
So, over the course of the next hour or so, as a way of recounting the events of September 11th, we’d like for you to hear directly from Chuck Colson.
I’m John Stonestreet, President of The Colson Center and the voice of BreakPoint. Thank you for joining us.
Like most Americans that were old enough on that day, I remember exactly where I was on September 11th, 2001.
- At 7:59am American Airlines Flight 11 left Boston, bound for Los Angeles.
- At 8:14am the plane was hijacked. At 8:46am Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between the 93rd and 99th floors.
- At the same time, United Airlines flight 175 took off from Boston, also bound for Los Angeles. Flight 175 was hijacked between 8:42 and 8:46am.
- Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03am, Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, between the 77th and 85th floors.
- As New York City was sent into disbelief, American Airlines Flight 77, which took off from Washington Dulles International enroute for Los Angeles, was hijacked, between 8:50 and 8:54am. Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37am.
- At 8:42 am, before any of the hijackings or terrorist activity was realized, United Airlines Flight 93 left Newark International Airport bound for San Francisco.
- Flight 93 was hijacked at 9:28am, and because of the heroic action of the passengers on the flight, at 10:03am, the plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania rather than the destination intended by the terrorists, the White House.
- At 9:59am the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, and twenty-nine minutes later, at 10:28am the North Tower collapsed. The world long remembers the lives lost in that fateful attack on our country.
The day after the attack, Sept 12, 2001, Chuck Colson delivered the following commentary.
I cannot describe how I felt when I heard the news of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
We are partly and appropriately struck silent with the enormous loss of life in the collapse of Twin towers. The explosion at the pentagon and the hijacked airliners that were crashed.
If your loved ones perished yesterday as a result of these acts, Please know you have my deepest sympathy and our heartfelt prayers go out to all involved as the bible says when one suffers, we all suffer as I listened to the reports, I felt the same way I did when President Kennedy was assassinated when President Reagan was shot or Pearl Harbor for that matter, which I'm old enough to remember.
Such acts caused grief not just for the loss of life, but for the assault. They are upon our deepest beliefs. They assault the very soul of America terrorism. The warfare of the new century is engaged in for the specific purpose of destabilizing free societies. The terrorists succeed if free people cower in fear and begin to restrict their treasured freedoms and liberties.
We should never succumb to terrorist inspired fear. We can never allow such people to win. Instead, we must renew our commitment to the most fundamental liberties and the rule of law and we must support our government in its response, God established government to preserve order by punishing evil and seeking justice without this restraint on human sinfulness.
The strong will prey on the weak and seek to impose their will on others. What is true in relations between individuals is also true in relations between nations As ST Augustine wrote 1600 years ago. Loving God and our neighbor will require using force against aggression. And this brings me back to yesterday's events.
For the Christian, we believe government has a special duty to punish those who in effect invaded our soil and committed these dastardly X. But we must do so in a just manner. As Augustine's just war theory teaches any military action must have a reasonable chance of success in our context.
That means being fairly certain as to the identity of the perpetrators. We can't simply strike out for the sake of doing something or in a blind rage. We need to also make sure that our targets are military ones, civilians, even those who applaud the terrorist actions should never be targeted.
Finally, our response should be proportionate after an event like yesterday's. We are understandably tempted to lash out with every weapon in our arsenal. But we must be careful and not let our response to the harm we have suffered. Lead us to commit even greater harm, something that our technological superiority makes possible. But respond we must and quickly less the world and more importantly would be terrorists view us as a paper tiger.
We are the respond appropriately with a sword or invite more of the same. I am sure President Bush is weighing right now, all of the intelligence available to him to find out who's responsible. If any governments are involved and how quickly the U. S. Can retaliate. I have confidence in the President and secretaries Rumsfeld and Powell. They and those who serve with them are competent leaders who find themselves in a time of tremendous crisis.
I urge you to pray with me not only for those who grieve and not only for our enemies, but especially for our leaders as they fulfill the awesome responsibility in this dark hour. May God help us for break point. This is chuck colson in Washington.
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That was Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint commentary for September 12th, 2001.
The day after the attacks, the world watched as survivors were pulled from the rubble. Miraculous stories of survival and heroism began to emerge. Other stories, of postponed meetings, traffic problems, and other providential ways in which plans were changed, therefore saving the lives of those who would’ve otherwise been in harm’s way, also began to emerge.
The final survivor pulled from the rubble was Genelle Gusman McMillan, she was rescued out of the debris of the North Tower 12:30pm.
Chuck Colson believed that Christians should always be prepared to think, to speak, and to act – even in the midst of calamity and devastation. And he called Christians to all of these things, in his BreakPoint commentary for September 13th. Let’s listen:
The terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in new york and damage the pentagon were not just about buildings and airplanes. They are about people, people who survived and people who died. The country grieves.
In the midst of this christians are called as Augustine put it to be the best of citizens. But what should we be doing? Well, let me begin with some practical suggestions. Hospitals in new york and Washington desperately need blood and whether you're in new york or California, if you give blood, it will get to the victims who need it. Christians ought to be the first ones in line.
Second, we can volunteer yesterday has exhausted emotionally spent office workers walked across the Williamsburg bridge to Brooklyn. They were met by workers handing out cups of water. They had hauled five gallon water bottles from all over to offer the proverbial cup of cold water to those suffering. I don't know about the workers motivation. But what a touching example of community spirit and love.
Third we can listen. The magnitude of this terrorist attack cuts to the heart and soul of many american communities. Many neighbors lost friends or loved ones in airplanes and buildings beyond that most americans spent all of Tuesday and the bulk of yesterday glued to the television, as did most of our Children in schools, people are traumatized, confused. They need to talk and we can listen and give a reason for our hope. We can listen and we can be an influence on those around us.
For example, we can love our muslim and Middle Eastern neighbors. Our instinct for self preservation will cause us to see someone in traditional muslim dress or with Arabic features and wonder if he or she represents a threat. At the same time, we know that most Arabs living in America are christians, christians who have fled from the kind of militant Islamic leaders, fanatical extremists who are suspected of Tuesday's terror. Beyond that. The vast majority of Muslims living in the United States are peaceful law abiding people. Christians should be the first to recognize this and befriend those who will find themselves shunned by many.
Finally, and most important, we need to pray. Pray fervently for our leaders. President George Bush is a devout evangelical faith in Christ. I know from our conversations national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice and speechwriter Michael Gerson and others in the administration are strong believers as well. These brothers and sisters need God's wisdom and our prayers.
Tim Russert pointed out what a difficult decision the president faces. If his responses to week, he invites more terrorism. If he orders an all out assault on the terrorists and those who harbor them, it could provoke extreme elements in moderate muslim countries to topple those governments. This would have the net result of turning our allies into rogue nations who are willing to aid and export terrorism. Enormous wisdom. Nothing less than God's wisdom is required.
We can also pray that the quiet, unyielding anger of the American people of which Bush spoke, an anger that is both natural and appropriate does not spill over into rash demands. The president knows he must act swiftly. But for the rest of us this is a time when our anger must be tempered with patience and restraint. God have mercy on us.
For break point. This is chuck colson in Washington.
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A theme that Chuck Colson kept returning to in the days after 9-11, was how we must respond as a nation and, specifically, how Christians should respond by speaking truth and loving neighbor. He consistently warned against responding from out-of-control anger, merely seeking revenge instead of justice.
So, three days after the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil, he directly addressed the many stories, that were emerging at the time, of Muslims, Sikh and others being attacked on American streets.
I was particulary struck by this line: “Evil in this world begets more evil.”
Even in addressing the incredible evil of 9-11, Chuck Colson taught that after the fall, the world doesn’t divide easily into “good guys and bad guys.” And that only by grouding our thoughts and actions in the truth of the Gospel, can we actually avoid the temptations of rage, revenge, and and a response without appropriate restraint.
Here’s Chuck:
Sher Singh was born in India and has lived in the United States for two years. On Wednesday when his train from boston to Washington D. C stopped in providence Rhode island. He was arrested, suspected of involvement in the terrorism that rocked the country. On Tuesday, alerted by television reports, a crowd gathered outside the train station as police led Mr Singh from the station. The crowd whooped and jeered, “kill him” yelled one man, “you killed my brother,” shrieked another. Mr Singh who had absolutely no connection with the terrorism is a seek and wears a turban, a long beard and a ceremonial dagger strapped to his shoulder.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. In Chicago, A crowd marched on a local mosque shouting Usa usa, someone threw a firebomb at an Arab american community center in texas. Arab Americans have been assaulted and harassed across the country.
A 19 year old Chicago commented, “I'm proud to be an american and I hate Arabs and I always have.” Evil in this world begets more evil. It's self perpetuating and we're already seeing that in the rage against Mr Singh and people like him.
By sharp contrast, Paul wrote to the Romans, overcome evil with good. One of the reasons I believe the Christian gospel couldn't be a made up religion, as some people think, is that it tells us to do those things which are contrary to our human nature when evil is done to us. The human instinct is to respond with evil. The result is that evil triumphs in this case, if we respond to the terrorist attacks with evil, the terrorists win. But the Gospel tells us to act exactly contrary to our own nature, to respond to evil with good. The most powerful example of this principle I know is farther Yourpam Holosko catholic priest in Poland.
In the early 1980s, the pale gaunt priest had a twofold message, defend the truth and overcome evil with good. People responded and overflowed his church. The secret police followed him everywhere. He began to receive threats. And finally, one night after celebrating mass and preaching, the Father disappeared. About 10 days later as 50,000 people came to mass to listen to a tape of his last sermon, they heard that his body had been found in the Vistula River badly mutilated by torture.
The secret police braced for an uprising. But on the day of the Father’s funeral, the huge crowd that walked past their headquarters bore a banner and shouted, what it said. “We forgive, we forgive” He taught them well.
Only Christians, men and women who are touched by and understand the present reality of the cross can possibly overcome evil with good and if we don't, rage and anger will carry the day and the terrorists will have won.
This doesn't obviate the government's use of the sword or a military force to swiftly and proportionately respond to those terrorist attacks. We must do that. Our government will. But as the nation's anger rises, there is a great test for American christians. Can we live by the gospel? Will we love our neighbors, even those who look or sound or seem like those who so ruthlessly attacked us? for break point. This is chuck colson in Washington
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As Chuck notes, it is only the Christian worldview that allows the proper pursuit of justice at a national level while instructing all of us to “overcome evil with good.” Later, on the morning of September 14th, a memorial service for the victims of 9-11 was held at the National Cathedral, It was led by Billy Graham, President Bush and others addressed the grief of the nation. Later that afternoon, President Bush delivered his famous “Bullhorn Address” from the rubble of the Twin Towers.
The following Monday, Chuck Colson addressed another aspect of 9-11 from a Christian worldview. He warned Christians against the dangerous and fruitless end-times speculation that was popping up, contrasting that with the true eschatological hope only found in Christ. This hope, Chuck said, is not an invitation to disengage while waiting for the Lord’s return. True Christian hope is, instead, an invitation to engage. An example of this at a national level is Just War Theory – a way that theologians have addressed the rights and responsibilities of governments to serve and protect citizens. With this historic resource, Chuck Colson called Christians to provide accountability and a conscience to America’s response.
This weekend, my wife was in the drugstore. The pharmacist was the first to confront her. “This is obviously the end times” he intoned, “things are going to get much worse, and then the Lord will come. Tell Mr Colson to keep an eye on the king of Spain, Juan Carlos.”
Well, I don't know what Juan Carlos has to do with it. The only thing I know about him is that he read Born Again and loved it, but I guess he's a candidate for the Antichrist.
I might dismiss the pharmacist's response except that in one hour of shopping for groceries, Patty was confronted by two other Christians who told her the end is near. It's finally come, this is it, get ready for the Lord's return. If this is how Christians are thinking about the terrorist attacks on NewYork and Washington, it confirms my worst fears.
During the gulf war, the world was concerned about the proper use of military power. Christians have been vitally concerned with this issue and have advanced the just war doctrine which has shaped the understanding of Western society. Christians in America. However, during the gulf war said nothing choosing instead to speculate about the end Times one book about prophecy on the gulf war shot to the top of the bestseller list only to be forgotten weeks later when it's dramatic speculations proved utterly false.
Meanwhile, we left questions of power, justice and international relations to secular thinkers and in the process gave the impression that we don't know and we don't care. It was a bad witness and must not happen again. Now make no mistake, Jesus is going to return obviously, I believe that, but like C. S. Lewis, I refuse to speculate as to when. Rather than speculate, I want to concentrate on the great and unique contribution christians can make. In this hour, christians need to focus attention on the issues surrounding just war.
The president must respond to the terrorist attacks forcefully and quickly. The bible teaches that the government has the power of the sword to preserve order and do justice. At the same time, the power of the sword has to be tempered by the restraints of the Just war doctrine, beginning with St. Augustine some 1600 years ago.
Christians have thought and written about the appropriate use of military force today. We need to be the ones who insist that the response to the terrorist attacks be proportionate, that they do not create a greater evil and that civilians are not targeted. I've been watching the television and I have yet to hear the question of just war raised. If we don't bring these issues into public discourse, no one will now don't get me wrong.
Of course, as christians, we are the community of scatological hope. We live in the constant expectation of jesus return. That will be the most glorious day in all of human history, but it's our hope, and though we may talk about it among ourselves, this is not the time to inject it into secular discourse. People will simply dismiss us as a fringe group. The fact is, this country is hurting and grieving, perplexed, frustrated, confused about what needs to be done next.
This is the time for us to come alongside. Offer compassion, mercy, understanding good instead of evil and we can contribute to the public debate that will inform our nation's actions in a way that reflects God's standard of justice for break point. This is chuck colson in Washington
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On September 18, a week after 9/11, Chuck Colson addressed one of the great obstacles Christian faith, a perennial challenge Christians have had to answer in most cultural moments, but which always is a front and central question in the wake of calamity, evil, or disaster. It’s known as the problem of evil.
This weekend, I received a frantic call from a christian friend, deeply troubled the husband of the woman to whom she had been witnessing had been killed in the World Trade Center attack. The woman called my friend and demanded bitterly. Where was your God that you've been telling me about this week everywhere, people are raising the same question, How could a good God have allowed such massive evil and no question poses the greatest stumbling block to the christian faith?
No question more difficult for christians to answer. Yet the biblical worldview does give us a good answer. The simple answer to why bad things happen to so called good people is that God loved us so much that he made us free moral agents in his image.
He designed creatures with the ability to make choices to choose either good or evil. The original humans Adam and Eve exercised that choice and chose to disobey God in doing so. They rejected God's good, thus creating sin and opening the door to death and evil. What happened last week was raw naked evil committed by men who had made evil choices. But it was something else as well. It was merely a consequence of the fact that there is sin in the world. God could erase the consequences of sin immediately. But then we'd no longer be free moral agents. We'd be robots without consequences. There is no real choice.
God cannot simultaneously offer us free choice and then compel one choice over another. Which is what would happen if he stopped all evil, Jesus himself was asked why bad things happen to good people. In Luke 13, we read that people asked him if the galleons who were killed while worshipping at the older were worse sinners than anyone else know, Jesus answered, and then he added, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Jesus then reinforced his point recently, a tower in the nearby city had fallen, 18 people have been crushed to death, Jesus said, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. This is one of the hard sayings of Jesus, but there's great truth in it. We are in no position to ask God why terrible things happen. We're only to seek forgiveness ourselves.
What happened last week was one of the worst tragedies in American history. But God can bring good out of evil. And he often works through adversity. Since the terrorist attacks, we have seen the nation come together with greater unity that I've witnessed since Pearl Harbor and this sunday my church was filled to capacity for all services, very unusual in Florida at this time of year. Churches all over the country were packed out as they were in England as well.
People may be angry at God, but they're also asking questions about the meaning of life and God's role in it. You and I need to be prepared to answer the questions of people in pain. Where was God last week? He was with us just as he always is, He gave us everything we need to cope with this or any other evil. He gave us himself at the cross at calvary for break point. This is chuck colson in Washington.
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There was one more aspect of 9-11 that Chuck Colson would address, the week after 9-11. A couple of evangelical leaders, attempting to offer a prophetic response to the attack, famously blamed the terrorist attacks on, as Chuck diplomatically put it, “people and groups who have had a secularizing effect on American society.”
Of course, Chuck spoke about these groups, their bad ideas, and the consequences of those ideas, all the time. What he refused to do was to use this national tragedy inappropriately. He refused to abandon a Biblical understanding of sin and the fall, and what we offered was a brilliant, Biblical understanding of judgment.
Since the terrorist attacks in new york and Washington last week, breakpoint commentaries have focused on the christian worldview response and we've ignored are scheduled commentaries correctly. So the attacks were of such magnitude that no one could think of anything else. But barring additional developments, we will resume our regular breakpoint scheduled tomorrow with a three part commentary on the program evolution that will be presented next week on PBS you need to know what PBS is up to but before we leave the topic of the terrorist attacks.
I want to comment on the meaning of a prophetic response to this national disaster. Christians are called to speak prophetically to the world calling for repentance. The reaction of some evangelicals, however, was unfortunately to put the blame for the attacks on people and groups who have had a secularizing effect on American society. I don't associate myself with those comments, nor do I believe most American christians do. These remarks were ill timed and inappropriate as those who made them to their credit have acknowledged and they've apologized for them.
While I obviously believe that the forces of secularism have done a miserable harm, it's unfair to associate this tragedy with those groups. Nor can we lay the blame at the feet of Arabs or Muslims in general as some want to do.
The hijackers who crashed airplanes into the World trade center and the pentagon were muslim in name only, several of them were involved in drunk driving and visiting strip bars, things no religious muslim would ever do. In reality, they were anarchists seeking to destroy, destabilize and make us slaves to fear, but you ask, aren't christians supposed to be prophetic within the culture and point out sin of course, but there are Biblical guidelines first remember the words of the Apostle Peter, it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God, the sins of christians and of the church.
Our our first order of business is materialism. Pride, disunity, gossip and lack of love are as much a cause for judgment as anyone else's behavior to single out the transgressions of others while ignoring our own is to turn biblical teaching on its head.
Second, the biblical prophets who pronounced God's judgment upon the people were careful to count themselves among those being judged, and when judgment came, they shared in the suffering of the people. Jeremiah wept and wrote laments. When Jerusalem fell, Ezekiel went into exile moses through his light in with the people. When God told him of his intention to wipe out Israel and begin again with him, we always speak as fellow sinners, and are the first to repent.
Third. If we would be prophetic, we need to speak out for the right reasons not to find scapegoats or condemn or denounced, but out of our love for our neighbors, rather than demonizing others. We offer an alternative to destructive worldviews that have left many victims, including the victims of last Tuesday in their wake, comments that sound self righteous and point the finger at others, make it hard for ordinary people to see how the christian message differs from the condemning message of the hijackers.
Christians should be measured and balanced in all. We say a word of caution for all of us for break point, this is chuck Colson in Washington.
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Here’s one last commentary from Chuck Colson, from a year after the attacks, in which he reflects on national memory. Why is it important to remember, not only to honor those who served well in the past but in order to motivate our own ongoing, faithful service.
September 11 is and will remain a day of solemn mourning and remembrance that much is clear. But why should we memorialize the event. Find out next on break point
No one who is old enough to take it in will ever forget september 11th 2001. We see passenger jets flying out of a clear September morning. The flashes of flame, the destruction, the death and the valiant acts of heroism. It's well to remember and to mourn the victims on this day. But let me raise the question of why we memorialize those who have sacrificed for us. What's our object in doing so, the answer is gratitude as we mourn and remember the sacrifices of those who went before us.
We ourselves out of gratitude for what they did, commit ourselves to defend those values for which they died. Principles we hold so dear, freedom, human dignity, and gratitude. John Calvin said gratitude was at the center of the christian life and G. K. Chesterton called it the mother of all virtues. It was gratitude for living in a free country that caused me to put on the uniform of the United States Marine officer during the korean war. We do our duty to our country out of gratitude for those who went before us to defend the liberties we hold so precious.
I love the scene at the end of the movie Saving Private Ryan. Ryan, who is now 70 years old returns to Normandy and he's looking at the grave marker of Captain Miller, the man who died to save him during World war two. Ryan's on his knees. The grave marker is a stark white cross. He addresses Miller now Long dead. I've tried every day to live up to what you did for me. I hope I've lived a life worthy of your sacrifice.
On this anniversary of the attacks. We ought to be looking at the sacrifices people made for us and asking ourselves whether we are living lives worthy of their sacrifice is in addition to gratitude and duty, we remember because good can come out of those vicious terrorist attacks.
It's of course a biblical principle that God works through human suffering tragedies and defeats sometimes to do his greatest work. These acts of war served as a wake up call. There was a lot of utopian discussion going on in the nineties about how western liberal democracy had won the great ideological contest of the 20th century.
We forget that this is a dangerous world, that evil is real now we know better and even the postmodernist has to agree there is evil. And just as the great World War two generation saved the world from Hitler's evil. So this generation must become great for this moment. It's our calling to be great in defense of liberty and freedom and human rights to defend good against evil.
Today, the war on terrorism is by its nature slow and treacherous. We must not allow ourselves to become discouraged or fatigued On this September 11 after looking back with gratitude, we need to look ahead. Our hope lies in our resolve to do our duty, that our gratitude inspires. Our hope lies in the lessons we've learned for the future and our hope lies in our confidence in a sovereign God. That in the end right will prevail, that civilization can be preserved and that America and her allies in defense of freedom and an opposition to evil will triumph. And just like that scene in saving private Ryan. Let us also this day, look at the cross as Ryan did may we live lives worthy of the supreme sacrifice christ made for us for break point. This is chuck colson in Washington.
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