The other night I watched most of PBS' Frontline episode from 2002 titled "Faith and Doubt At Ground Zero." A common theme was people either barely clinging to or losing their faith because, to paraphrase, "how could God let something like that happen." Not that it's a surprising reaction, but I couldn't help thinking, "Do these people think this is the first time ever that something terrible happened to a believer?" The other really weird thing was hearing the Jewish rabbi (Irwin Kula) chanting (singing) the last words (as heard from cell phone calls or voice mail recordings) of people who died on 9/11. Speaking of last words, an admonition from a recent blog post from Mike Cope:
For the past few days, as we've remember the tragedy of 9/11 five years later, I've been moved again by all the calls made to loved ones - some from jets and some from the twin towers. They were good-bye calls to make sure that people knew they were loved. And again it makes me ask myself: Am I holding anything back? Is there something I'd say if I had just a couple minutes to live that I'm not saying now? Why would we hold back? There are no guarantees in life. I might live another three decades; I might not live through 9-14-06. How about you? Are there words you need to speak to your parents? kids? spouse? friends? enemies? Maybe this is the time to say them.
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re: Faith and Doubt At Ground Zero
Although Amy and I weren't here (Northern VA/DC) yet on 9/11/01, it was interesting being here for the 5 year anniversary and getting a first-hand look at how it affected people that were so close to it. A large part of our church service on 9/10 was devoted to honoring our current local police and firefighters, who had been specially invited to the service. I thought this was a pretty uplifting gesture and it was nice to honor the past and present by appreciating these folks.Also, Amy and I found it interesting (and thoughtful) when the administration at her school sent out an email insisting that teachers not make special comments or devote class time to the subject, seeing as how the whole thing had potentially very directly affected kids in the school.It was tough to watch (on TV) the kids of parents who had died, and to see where they were in their thoughts and development today. It made me remember just how long 5 years is in the life of a kid, and I was impressed with how these kids seem to be dealing with it all.