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Christ, why do you allow wars and massacres on earth? By what mysterious judgment do you allow innocent people to be cruelly slaughtered? I cannot know. I can only find assurance in the promise that your people will find peace in heaven, where no one makes war. As gold is purified by fire, so you purify souls by these bodily tribulations, making them ready to be received above the stars in your heavenly home.
—Alcuin of York (c.735-804) (quoted in 2000 Years of Christian Prayer)

As noted briefly yesterday, President Bush has declared today a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. "I ask that the people of the United States and places of worship mark this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance with noontime memorial services, the ringing of bells at that hour, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils," he said. "I encourage employers to permit their workers time off during the lunch hour to attend the noontime services to pray for our land. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in these solemn observances." Starting at 11:45 EST, you'll be able to catch streaming video of the National Cathedral service at C-SPAN's Web site and elsewhere. After that, C-SPAN will probably have the video archived.

Likewise, The Mission America Coalition, America's National Prayer Committee, National Association Of Evangelicals, and The National Day Of Prayer Task Force are asking churches to join in another National Day of Mourning and Prayer on Sunday. A full-page ad in USA Today has a "A prayer by the nation for the nation, in an hour of unprecedented sorrow, to help America speak to God with one voice." The prayer is clearly Trinitarian and largely evangelistic, praying, "In the place of destruction, pour out the full extent of Jesus' life … In the midst of our great troubles, give us Christ's victory over all the terrors of Hell." Certainly some folks might protest that many Americans won't be comfortable with that prayer—especially as several news outlets are reporting widespread interfaith services between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. "As the dust settled around the rubble of the World Trade Center, there were signs that the terror in New York may be nurturing the interfaith movement in Northern California," reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Other media continue reporting on local prayer vigils around the country.

But will secularist groups and strict separationists complain about today's state-sponsored prayer services? Probably not. But they might want to respond to Jerry Falwell's comments 45 minutes into Thursday morning's 700Club broadcast regarding the terrorist attack: "The ACLU has got to take a lot of blame for this … I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'" Falwell's rationale is that the secularization of America has provoked God "to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

700 Club host Pat Robertson, who said he "totally concurs" with Falwell's assessment, has been preaching a similar message for days. "It [terrorism] is happening because God Almighty is lifting his protection from us," he said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. "We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye. … We have insulted God at the highest level of our government. Then, we say, 'Why does this happen?'"

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September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45