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Previous | Next Responding to the terrorist attacks
Jascha Boge
Moderator, Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
On Sept. 11, the world experienced a terrorist attack of unbelievable proportions on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A week earlier, on Sept. 4, the news showed Protestant and Catholic extremists squaring off over the heads of frightened young children on their first day back at school in Ireland. The conflict in the Middle East carries on with occasional interruptions of peace. We live in troubled times. Sadly, much of the trouble appears to be caused by religious extremists, thereby giving all of religion a bad name. By the time you read this, it is difficult to predict where the American, NATO and world reaction to the events of Sept. 11 will have taken us.
What is the Mennonite Brethren response to all of this? There are many theologians and spiritual leaders in our Conference who are better equipped to answer this question than I am, but I would like to give my personal view.
- God is in control of world events, and while the reason for many events is often beyond our understanding, the day will come when all will be made clear.
- This is truly a time to listen to the instruction of Scripture to pray for world leaders and governments. The responsibility of making decisions and leading in times of crisis is heavy, and in spite of the information and advice that leaders and governments get, they all will require God’s special wisdom.
- Mennonite Brethren are known as a people of peace, and we declare this in our Confession of Faith, but that does not mean that we want evil to go unpunished. Let us pray that God will help us to understand and then apply His words found in Romans 12:17-21: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
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It is reasonable to assume that of our 33,400 members in Canada, and of the approximately 55,000 people that regularly attend our church services, some will have had a very personal connection to the tragedy of Sept. 11. For you and your loved ones, brothers and sisters, on behalf of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, I offer our special thoughts and prayers.
Finally to every one of the members, adherents and people who worship in our churches across the country: “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
David Reimer
Chair, US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
I encourage the Mennonite Brethren Church to join with other believers in prayer over the horrifying events of Sept. 11. We pray for peace, we pray for justice, and we pray for comfort in the shadow of a great tragedy.
Our faith calls us to be peacemakers. Mennonite Brethren have a long history of giving witness to peace, sometimes in very difficult situations. Let us continue the struggle to find ways to promote love and non – violence as understood in our Confession of Faith:
“God’s community of peace: We believe that God in Christ reconciles people to himself and to one another, making peace through the cross. The church is a fellowship of redeemed people living by love. Our bond with other believers of Jesus transcends all racial, social and national barriers.
“Christian peacemaking: Believers seek to be agents of reconciliation in all relationships, to practice love of enemies as taught by Christ, to be peacemakers in all situations. We view violence in its many different forms as contradictory to the new nature of the Christian. We believe that the evil and inhumane nature of violence is contrary to the gospel of love and peace. In times of national conscription or war, we believe we are called to give alternative service where possible. Alleviating suffering, reducing strife and promoting justice are ways of demonstrating Christ’s love.”
Let us also realize that Christians differ in how to respond to the events of Sept. 11. As we seek peace in the days ahead, I ask that we pray for all people affected by conflict and be gracious with others that differ from us, using these uncertain days to “bind us together”.
Henry J. Schmidt
President, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary
On this day of national mourning:
- We call all God’s people to intercessory prayer: for the families, friends and co – workers of victims; for our national leaders; for all those associated with the terrorist attacks.
In dying for all of us, Christ showed His love for all. Therefore, Paul urges “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high position, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
- We pray for peace as well as for justice. Strident voices are calling for “an enraged America”. But violence begets violence. Escalation of violence leads to further injustice. Racism blinds the eyes of even the righteous. Pray for restraint. Pray that the church’s voice for peace will not be muted in these days of strong emotions and desire for revenge. Though like the Psalmist (cf. Psalm 109) we will not be spared feelings of anger, let these come to expression in the recognition, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).
- We pray that our nation would repent. Officials are pointing the blaming finger at various outsiders. Few seem to look inward or to the larger flow of God’s providence and guidance. Joseph recognized God’s hand in his brothers’ acts against him (Genesis 45:7,8). Daniel discerned God’s activity in Babylon’s attack on Jerusalem (Daniel 1:1,2). As we interpret the events of the last week, the Scriptures remind us that calamity may be a way to urge us to remember our own actions – Hiroshima, the 500,000 dead strewn across the sands of Iraq, our insatiable need for oil, corporate oppression in Third World countries. Our hands are not clean. Pray that we may see our role in creating the political and social conditions that drive people to such destructive acts of violence. “’Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ . . . Return to the LORD, your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity” (Joel 2:12-13).
- Pray for positive steps forward in the spirit of a letter from one of our MBMS International missionaries in a Muslim country: “I strongly discourage the United States or NATO from making a counterattack on Afghanistan or Osama bin Laden. This will perpetuate an endless cycle of retribution; Israel being the prime example of this death trap. More people killed by the US guarantees more radicals and future attacks. . . . The hijackers have unwittingly created a sympathetic climate for partnership with moderate Islamic states to defuse radicalism. Diplomacy, trust and friendship – not militancy – are our only hope for stopping future attacks.” The stunning carnage in New York has made many Muslims sympathize with America and doubt the radicals. This goodwill will immediately evaporate when the first bomb drops.
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Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee expresses great horror and sadness for the events in New York and Washington, Sept. 11. We grieve at the loss of life and the sorrow of families and friends of those injured and killed, and encourage all people to pray for them.
These senseless tragedies can lead a nation and its leaders to react out of frustration and anger, and to make decisions and actions while in a state of trauma. We encourage our leaders to make decisions with wisdom, reflection and deliberation, and encourage all people to resist the upward spiraling of more violence. We call on our leaders to exercise restraint in their response.
We encourage churches to reach out to those within their communities who might become innocent scapegoats and the object of anger and hasty retribution. If need be, we ask that these people be offered support and protection.
As a church rooted in a theology of non – violence and reconciliation, we call on Christians and others to remain prayerful and take positive steps toward healing a nation contorted by such senseless acts of violence.
Even in these most painful moments, we urge people to remember that Christ calls us to seek forgiveness. Only through reconciliation will peace with justice be found, and the humanity of all people be affirmed.
Don Peters
Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
We are horrified by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and join with millions in praying for the victims and their families. Nevertheless, we have very deep concerns about the Western response that seems to be forming. We refer to the possibility of major US military strikes and to the support that other countries, including Canada, might give to such actions. Regardless of which countries the individual perpetrators come from, it is clear these countries include millions of people of many faiths who are as opposed to terrorism as we are. If these people will be made to suffer because of the actions of a few, then the world will become less secure, not more secure. Violence begets violence and, military strikes will likely invite more violence in the future. The best foundation for long – term security is justice. Sadly, this is seriously lacking in contemporary international relations. We urge [the Canadian government] to strengthen Canada’s efforts to promote justice and mutual respect for all people.
Ben Sprunger
President, Mennonite Economic Development Associates
As North Americans, we have empathized with people in other regions who suffer the terrorist’s rage. Now, it is our reality, too.
As I look back over the past week, I am persuaded more than ever that what we are doing through MEDA is the right thing. When people enjoy economic well – being, stability and hope for the future, they usually do not seek to harm others or cause unrest. MEDA isn’t just helping people improve their lives economically – we are also building peace. We are building bridges of hope and understanding across countries and cultures.
Randy Friesen
Director, Youth Mission International
I was invited to share some thoughts at a prayer vigil our church (Waterloo MB) hosted for the city of Waterloo, Ont. following the terrorist attacks last Tuesday. I recalled standing in front of a Protestant congregation in Baghdad, Iraq several years ago and looking out at a sea of malnourished faces, people who were struggling with the serious effects of the embargo following the Gulf War. Many had watched cruise missiles destroy buildings, bridges, friends and neighbours – night after night. What struck me hardest, however, was that they were my brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God – and I hadn’t even known they existed. I was reminded that my first and most important identity was that of a citizen of another Kingdom – a Kingdom shared by many in the Arab world.
This most recent crisis is shaking our identities. We mourn the dead and the many who must go on without them. Death raises the ultimate issues in life. Who are we? Are we followers of Jesus first or merely religious citizens of the kingdoms of this world? Hanging on a cross, Jesus absorbed the wrath of the enemy and His Father’s anger with sin. He looked out and asked His Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing. With God’s grace and Kingdom love, we can do the same.
Gary R. Walsh
President, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
We were horrified by the events of Sept. 11. We condemn all acts of terror. We have also been moved by the heroic efforts of rescue workers, family members and private citizen volunteers.
As Christians, we pray for peace. We pray for wisdom for world leaders, that they would be just in their response to the acts of violence. We pray for the families of those who were killed. We also pray for the perpetrators of the violence, that God will touch their hearts and that they will turn away from violence. We pray that people’s minds and hearts will not turn to violence when faced with violence, but that love will overcome evil.
We call on our government, and all world leaders, to seek an appropriate and just response to these acts of terror – that the perpetrators be brought to justice, that innocent persons not be harmed, and that the rule of law and due process be respected. We seek justice, not vengeance.
An appropriate and just response will include police, security and intelligence initiatives as well as initiatives that address political, economic and social conditions and the religious extremism that often gives rise to acts of violence.
To our neighbours in the Muslim community, we extend our hand of understanding and friendship. People of faith, and indeed all Canadians, have reason to be deeply concerned with recent acts of violence suffered by the Muslim community in Canada.
Assigning blame to a group for the actions of a few, whether the group is characterized by race, country of origin or religion, is contrary to the principles of justice, the rule of law, and the right to be free from oppression. Those who verbally or physically assault innocent persons mirror the acts of terrorism.
Tolerance and religious freedom are the cornerstone of a free society. We call upon all Canadians to be respectful of the faith beliefs of others and to treat them with dignity and sensitivity.
E.D. Solomon
Church Leader, India MB Conference
I would like to record my sorrow for my American brothers and sisters.
The question one needs to ask is: What makes a nation mighty? It is not its wealth or its technology, but the grace of God. The justification for a counterattack is that an enemy of humanity has to be subdued with force. Are governments not ordained by God to deal with the bad elements? Why should there be no response? Yes, there needs to be one, not one of revenge, but of trying to win over the mind of the enemy. This is what Gandhi successfully practised in India with “truth – force”.
The great difficulty is to locate Osama bin Laden. Is he in Afghanistan now? If not, whom are we striking but the poor and the needy in one of the most wartorn nations of Asia?
If America uses Pakistan as a base, this is a matter of choice for Pakistan, which will be transforming an ally (Afghanistan) into an enemy. The US helped the Taliban win the war against the USSR, a decade ago. So in a war there are no morals – friends can easily become enemies and enemies become friends. By opening its bases to the US, Pakistan may be seeking US military, economic and political support in order to guard itself against possible attacks from India. What is just and unjust is very difficult to determine, because in a war the aim is victory and the method is cruelty. The truth of the matter is in a war we choose to live with defeat – defeat in the sense of vulnerability to evil.
The worst is not the fighting but the dislocation after the war is over – the chaos, the degraded environment, the unforgivable war crimes, the dehumanizing effect of prolonged sanctions (as in Iraq).
Therefore we must seek restraint. The question is not only whether the enemy will change, but whether we will repent of our own deeds. Humanity needs to grasp the fact that we are brothers and sisters born to love and live together. Giving God the task of revenge is best.
Eddy Sutjipto, Chair, and Timotius Adhi Dharma, General Secretary,
GKMI Mennonite Synod, Indonesia
The horrible incident which took place a few days ago in the US is a great tragedy for humanity, as terrorism looms again amid our common efforts to establish a moral, civil and democratic society based on love, truth, justice and peace. The GKMI Mennonite churches in Indonesia grieve for our brothers and sisters in the United States.
We pray for reconciliation and peace on earth. We urge the political leaders as well as the families of the victims to refrain from reprisal. To forgive is divine. We must regenerate shalom in a world ravaged by violence. We must say no to retaliation, and to stereotyping and discrimination against a specific religion or social group.
As a minority in a predominantly Muslim country, our hearts are deeply troubled. We learn from history that acts of violence, if not redeemed, forgiven and divinely forgotten, beget more retaliatory violence, and the snowball effect leads to war. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among all human beings must now be reinstated.
This incident puts us to a test on how deep our commitment is, as disciples of Christ, to manifest the love of Christ. We pray that all of us would kneel before the cross of Christ and seek absolution and mercy for our enemies. This is a cross we have to bear. Sorrow will surely pass; joy and relief will prevail. Through our perseverance in demonstrating Christian values, we will glorify the name of Christ Jesus while we are sojourners on earth.
James Toews
Senior Pastor, Neighbourhood Church, Nanaimo, B.C.
For years, the hijackers “lived the American dream . . . in tranquil neighbourhoods driving minivans, watching their children playing in the streets” reported the National Post four days after Sept. 11. It was not how we would have pictured the 19 terrorists who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. What sort of person could fly an airplane full of screaming passengers into a tower full of unsuspecting people? Surely these must have been the actions of deranged madmen whose spirits had been twisted by poverty, abuse and oppression. And surely if such people moved into our neighbourhood, we would easily recognize them by their psychotic behaviour.
In the days that followed, we were to receive a shocking education. We learned that the 19 men in the planes were neither mindless, uneducated drones, deranged madmen nor pathetic, impressionable children manipulated into undertaking a desperate mission. These were well educated, highly trained individuals who, had they chosen, could have had anything that our culture offers its citizens. Though all appear to have come from broadly Arabic cultures and the Islamic faith, they were by all appearances “normal” members of the richest, most technologically advanced nation in history. They had friends they visited, children for whom they must have dreamed dreams and wives they presumably loved. They had lived among us and seen the best our culture has to offer. They were our neighbours. The enemy has moved into our very lives – and remains there. Protecting ourselves from such an invasive, secretive enemy is a daunting task. In the flurry of activity against this new enemy, a nagging detail can easily be overlooked – the real enemy is even closer than we have just now come to realize. In fact, the real enemy does not originate in a desperate Arabic culture at all – it actually lives, not as an immigrant, but as a native son in our “tranquil neighbourhoods”. Timothy McVeigh could have been an American poster boy, and yet within his spirit was a smouldering anger as deep as that of any of the 19 terrorists. David Koresh in Waco, Texas and Jim Jones in Guyana had once been respected leaders in our churches, and yet they were willing to spend years making carefully detailed plans for destruction. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were our children, and yet they were willing to slaughter the innocent in Columbine High School. In each of these was a destructive rage limited only by their imaginations and the resources they had access to. None had any connection to Osama bin Ladan, Palestinians or the Taliban warriors of Afghanistan. They were truly the enemy within, and their kind has not disappeared. There is an enemy outside our gates that has attacked everything our culture stands for – but unless we also face the enemy within, we will have sealed our borders in vain.
Elaine Matzek
Member, North Langley Community Church, Langley, B.C.
At 6:45 a.m., my alarm went off and I first heard the news of the Twin Towers collapsing. I spent the morning getting my kids ready for school and carpooling. At the grocery store, a few ladies were discussing the events and the fear they had aroused. I could have spoken up but remained silent.
When I arrived home and turned on the TV, the full impact of what had happened hit me. As I watched a plane crash into the tower, I broke down in tears over the death of thousands of people. I cried out to God and said, “What can I possibly do to help? I am so far away and feel so helpless.”
God’s answer came instantly. It was that I could pray. I know that prayer changes things from having experienced many answers to prayer in my life, and so I started to pray.
Then another thought hit me. At a time of death, destruction, despair, loss, grief and hopelessness, I can offer the hope and inner peace that come from knowing Jesus. I had chosen to remain silent in the grocery store. I repented of my cowardice and asked God for another opportunity. God answered that prayer an hour later, in a conversation with my neighbour; I hope that he went away thinking about where he would spend eternity. The next day, the Lord brought another opportunity with a different neighbour.
When people experience disasters, death, loss or circumstances beyond their control, they search for answers. It is at those times that people are the most open to spiritual things, and I as a Christian need to see and respond to the opportunities that God sends my way. We don’t have all the answers, but we do know the Creator who is in control of everything, and we can point them to the One who has all the answers. If there was ever a time to pray and share the love of Jesus with others, that time is now.
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Last modified November 5, 2001.
© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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