How many of you have received the "Where was God?" letter in your email? We have... several times. And, it's plastered all over the internet. Try doing a Google search for "Where was your God" and you'll find it on religious sites everywhere. Below, you will find a copy of it that we received. Sept 11th and the aftermath has been a struggle for us all. Maybe this comforts some religious Americans, but we find it naive and entirely insulting. It claims that God was very busy saving some people and keeping some off of the flights. What about all the others? Did God get tired? Or were they not worthy of his effort? We know there were many religious people that died that day from the stories of the families left behind. We wonder if the author considered what a slap in the face this letter is to these families? Were they not worth? Did they not pray enough?We'll dissect this letter providing our rebuttal to its religious absurdity. Sept 11th was an act of religious terrorism. Without religion, it never would have happened. To answer the questions it raises within a religious context should concern you.
|
|
|
|
How many of us have heard that question, "Where was your God when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked?" Well, I know where my God was the morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy. |
"Very busy?" We would claim that he wasn't busy enough. And, an omniscient God would have been completely aware of this and kept it from every happening. |
| He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those four flights held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard. On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers. | Was the omnipotent God not able to "discourage" the ALL? Or were the "266 aboard" not Christians? There were Christians on board. We know this from stories of the families they left behind. And, for those that weren't or had not yet let 'God into their hearts', what about the promise of forgiveness and redemption? |
| He was on four commercial flights giving terrified passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the hijacked planes said that passengers were screaming in the background. | Is this saying that he was there, but just to comfort them? But, not save them? Is this 'proof' that he was there, but just to ensure they died in peace? |
| On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers. | But, he couldn't give enough strength to make them successful? Why only on one flight? Was he just experimenting on this one aircraft with ill-conceived attempts at a response to these horrors? |
| He was busy trying to create obstacles for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays. | Are we to take comfort in the fact
that "only around 20,000" were there and not the full 50,000 capacity?
This is no "miracle".
There are "traffic delays" every day in New York City. Wouldn't most people entering the WTC on any given day say they had traffic delays if only there were media there to interview them? |
| He was holding up two 110 story buildings so that two-thirds of the workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn't topple when the jets impacted. And when they did fall, they fell inward. God didn't allow them to topple over, as many more lives would have been lost. | Why couldn't an omnipotent God "hold
up" the buildings until everyone could get out, not just "two-thirds"?
Didn't God allow Moses to hold open the waters until all of his chosen
were across? How was this different?
The towers falling inward wasn't an act of God or a miracle. It's called "e-n-g-i-n-e-e-r-i-n-g". They were designed to withstand a direct impact from a 747. However, it would be difficult to design anything to survive a hit from a plane loaded with the thousands of gallons of jet fuel they carried or from a 757. |
| And when the buildings went down, my God picked up almost 6,000 of his children and carried them home with him. Reassuring his frightened children that the worst was over and the best was yet to come. | What does this mean, "the worst
was over and the best was yet to come"? It is naive to think that
the people that committed these horrible acts will not strike again.
And, the "best"? How many firefighters and police are now suffering from continual nightmares, post-traumatic stress and divorce? What about all the children missing their parent(s)? |
| He sat down and cried that 19 of his children could have so much hate in their hearts. That they didn't choose him, and now they are lost forever. | Wait a minute. We've heard claim that those 19 weren't his children at all. Weren't they "Allah's" children? Or, if they were his children, couldn't they have chosen the 'right' God later? |
| He sent his children that are best trained for this disaster and had them save the few that were still alive, but unable to help themselves. And then sent many others to help in any way they were needed. | Couldn't he have 'sent his best trained children' to stop the attacks before they ever happened? Those responding to the tragedy were doing so as an act of humanity, an inner desire to do good things and help one's fellow man. They were not following God's orders. |
| He still isn't finished though, He held the loved ones that were left behind in His arms. He comforts them daily. His other children are given the strength to reach out to them and help them in any way they can. | Again, an act of humanity and ethics. If God really existed as claimed, this would never have happened. And, there were many there helping who weren't "God's children". Yes, there were Christians, but there were atheists, Muslims, Jews, agnostics, etc. It was a demonstration that the human race, at times, can rise above the confines and intolerance of religion and work as one. |
| And I believe He will continue to help us in what is to come. He will give the people in charge of this great nation the strength and the wisdom to do the right thing. He would never leave us in our time of need. | "Our time of need" was on Sept 11th, 2001 at 8:41 a.m. I guess "God" doesn't have a watch. |
| So, when anyone asks, "Where was your God on September 11th?", you can say "Everywhere!" And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it. | Well, it's good you find comfort
in this naive religious view. However, we find it insulting and a
slap in the face to all those that lost their lives on that day.
Did everyone that died that day not pray enough? Were they the 'wrong' religion? What about forgiveness? Had he just given up on these people? Did he need more angels? Did he call upon Satan to deliver these angels to him? It scares us to think that religious people among us do not ask themselves these questions. It's a mental deficiency of rational and logical thinking which must adversely impact most of their other 'thinking' as well. And, these are the people that feel they are most capable of running our government... This is yet another example of why we think not! |
In addition, we often hear today that attacks such as Sept 11th are the result of "the peaceful Islamic religion being hijacked". It sounds as if some are trying to push the blame onto "godless humans".
- Ethical Atheist
[Created: 09/13/2002]
[Last Update: 9/16/2002]