Where Was God on 9/11?

When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the question people asked was, “Where were you when it happened?” Thirty-eight years later, after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, a deeper question was asked. The new question was, “Where was God when it happened?”

The heart of this question is one posed by the prayer I gave as a child before every meal.  God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food, Amen. In other words, if God is great, or all powerful, and God is good, or all good, why do tragedies like Sept. 11 happen? God is powerful enough to prevent them, and His goodness should motivate Him to prevent them, so why do they still happen? This question is known as the problem of evil.

The problem of evil is not limited to 9/11 exclusively.  Some of you have suffered through the loss of loved ones, have suffered physical ailments or the wear-and-tear of aging, have suffered emotional pain from parents, co-workers or spouses, or have felt the sting of injustice. All these situations beg the question “Where was God when it happened?”

This article will give the Christian perspective on the problem of evil by giving a framework for the suffering we see around us. I will not be able to cover the whole topic in one blog entry, so stay tuned for future articles.

The first point to understand is that God did not create a world with suffering in it. He created a world free of death, disease, war, poverty, racism, and natural disasters. It was a world where doctors, funeral directors, policemen, FEMA, and the Pentagon were unnecessary. Genesis 1:31 says about the creation “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”

It was not God, but man who brought suffering and death into the world.  When man sinned against God, his sin alienated him from God, it alienated him from his fellow man, and it alienated him from creation. It is sin and the corruption it brings to all creation that is responsible for the suffering of events like 9/11.

Though suffering has entered the world because of man’s sin, God does not remain detached and indifferent to man’s plight. The Bible tells the story of how God entered this world of suffering as the man Jesus, and took man’s sin upon Himself on the cross to deliver man from suffering and death. As Isaiah 53:4-5 prophesies about Christ, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Three days after His death, Jesus rose from the dead, showing that by His death He had defeated the powers of sin and death. And at His return, He will raise all of humanity from the dead and restore creation to its original, uncorrupted goodness. Revelation 21:3-4 describes this event in these words: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

So, in answer to the problem of evil, God’s good purpose and power are not demonstrated in preventing all suffering this side of eternity; His good purpose and power are demonstrated in delivering man from this world of suffering through the death, resurrection, and return of Christ.

And in answer to the question “Where was God on 9/11”, He was suffering on the cross at Calvary, wearing a crown of thorns, with pierced hands and pierced feet, mocked by spectators, proclaiming, “It is finished!” as He defeated the sin that is behind all suffering and death.

(You’re invited to a 9/11 Memorial Service and meal at this Sunday starting at 11 a.m.)