Where was God on 9/11?

On September 11, 2001, God was exactly where He always is – in Heaven in total control of everything that happens in the universe. Why, then, would a good and loving God allow such a tragedy to happen? This is a more difficult question to answer. First, we must remember, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). It is impossible for finite human beings to understand the ways of an infinite God (Romans 11:33-35). Second, we must realize that God is not responsible for the wicked acts of evil men. The Bible tells us that humanity is desperately wicked and sinful (Romans 3:10-18, 23). God allows human beings to commit sin for His own reasons and to fulfill His own purposes. Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought.

God looks at things from an eternal perspective. We look at things from an earthly perspective. Why did God put man on earth, knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in Heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? It must be remembered that the purpose for all creation and all creatures is to glorify God. God is glorified when His nature and attributes are on display. If there were no sin, God would have no opportunity to display His justice and wrath as He punishes sin. Nor would He have the opportunity to show His grace, His mercy, and His love to undeserving creatures. The ultimate display of God’s grace was at the Cross where Jesus died for our sins. Here was unselfishness and obedience displayed in His Son who knew no sin but was “made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This was all to the “praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14).

When thinking of September 11, we tend to forget the thousands of miracles that occurred on that day. Hundreds of people were able to flee the buildings just in the nick of time. A small handful of firemen and one civilian survived in a tiny space in a stairwell as the one of the towers collapsed around them. The passengers on Flight 93 defeating the terrorists was a miracle in and of itself. Yes, September 11 was a terrible day. Sin reared its ugly head and caused great devastation. However, God is still in control. His sovereignty is never to be doubted. Could God have prevented what happened on September 11? Of course He could, but He chose to allow the events to unfold exactly as they did. He prevented that day from being as bad as it could have been. Since September 11, how many lives have been changed for the better? How many people have placed their faith in Christ for salvation as a result of what happened? The words of Romans 8:28 should always be in our minds when we think of 9-11, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.”

www.gotquestions.org/9-11.html

IT'S THOSE DIRTY SANDMONKEYS

He isn´t in control of everything. When Adam chose to take Satans temptation and rebel. God gave us and Satan the chance to see if he could do it better without him, and this is what has come of it.

Of course in prayer we can ask for spiritual help, but God won´t directly take part in insane earthly politics....................................YET!

Originally posted by Bicnarok
He isn´t in control of everything. When Adam chose to take Satans temptation and rebel. God gave us and Satan the chance to see if he could do it better without him, and this is what has come of it.

Of course in prayer we can ask for spiritual help, but God won´t directly take part in insane earthly politics....................................YET!

Maybe God wanted Rudy Giuliani to be president 😆

God was flying the planes. Metaphorically, of course, because belief in a mono-theistic deity is what led to such violent strife between cultures. He wasn't literally flying the plane because he isn't actually anywhere. If the pilots didn't believe in God (Allah in their case), or if they didn't believe in an afterlife filled with virgins and bliss for their actions, they never would have undertaken the flight. No one would have.

But, of course, that's different than traditional faith, right? Not so. Christians, and sane religious individuals everywhere, still believe in a God, an afterlife, eternal bliss, etc. They just haven't yet been called to commit atrocities for the sake of achieving them (though they have in the past, as religious history of any sort will attest to).

And the common denominator for both is faith. The faith of the terrorist pilots was the same same that leads Christians to believe the attacks were part of their God's plan. It's the same faith that is dangerous and violent in this country (and others) not just in the Middle East, but takes the form of bigotry and intolerance, or political influence over morality-driven legislation.

Belief in an afterlife, or faith in general to make it more abstract, is what caused 9/11. I wish more people would see that, because as long as anything is done in the name of blind faith, there will be the potential for atrocities such as 9/11.

ushom, your faith in god is misplaced and clouading your better judgement. try having faith in a good human being or your own goodness or happiness instead.

where was god on 9/11? imaginationland

Originally posted by ushomefree
On September 11, 2001, God was exactly where He always is – in Heaven in total control of everything that happens in the universe. Why, then, would a good and loving God allow such a tragedy to happen? This is a more difficult question to answer. First, we must remember, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). It is impossible for finite human beings to understand the ways of an infinite God (Romans 11:33-35). Second, we must realize that God is not responsible for the wicked acts of evil men. The Bible tells us that humanity is desperately wicked and sinful (Romans 3:10-18, 23). God allows human beings to commit sin for His own reasons and to fulfill His own purposes. Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought.

God looks at things from an eternal perspective. We look at things from an earthly perspective. Why did God put man on earth, knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in Heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? It must be remembered that the purpose for all creation and all creatures is to glorify God. God is glorified when His nature and attributes are on display. If there were no sin, God would have no opportunity to display His justice and wrath as He punishes sin. Nor would He have the opportunity to show His grace, His mercy, and His love to undeserving creatures. The ultimate display of God’s grace was at the Cross where Jesus died for our sins. Here was unselfishness and obedience displayed in His Son who knew no sin but was “made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This was all to the “praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14).

When thinking of September 11, we tend to forget the thousands of miracles that occurred on that day. Hundreds of people were able to flee the buildings just in the nick of time. A small handful of firemen and one civilian survived in a tiny space in a stairwell as the one of the towers collapsed around them. The passengers on Flight 93 defeating the terrorists was a miracle in and of itself. Yes, September 11 was a terrible day. Sin reared its ugly head and caused great devastation. However, God is still in control. His sovereignty is never to be doubted. Could God have prevented what happened on September 11? Of course He could, but He chose to allow the events to unfold exactly as they did. He prevented that day from being as bad as it could have been. Since September 11, how many lives have been changed for the better? How many people have placed their faith in Christ for salvation as a result of what happened? The words of Romans 8:28 should always be in our minds when we think of 9-11, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.”

www.gotquestions.org/9-11.html

The bible is not a good place to look for answers to the problems of today.

Maybe God thought it was a good thing. For all we know God was sitting on a cloud cheering on the "terrorists".

Originally posted by DigiMark007
God was flying the planes. Metaphorically, of course, because belief in a mono-theistic deity is what led to such violent strife between cultures. He wasn't literally flying the plane because he isn't actually anywhere. If the pilots didn't believe in God (Allah in their case), or if they didn't believe in an afterlife filled with virgins and bliss for their actions, they never would have undertaken the flight. No one would have.

But, of course, that's different than traditional faith, right? Not so. Christians, and sane religious individuals everywhere, still believe in a God, an afterlife, eternal bliss, etc. They just haven't yet been called to commit atrocities for the sake of achieving them (though they have in the past, as religious history of any sort will attest to).

And the common denominator for both is faith. The faith of the terrorist pilots was the same same that leads Christians to believe the attacks were part of their God's plan. It's the same faith that is dangerous and violent in this country (and others) not just in the Middle East, but takes the form of bigotry and intolerance, or political influence over morality-driven legislation.

Belief in an afterlife, or faith in general to make it more abstract, is what caused 9/11. I wish more people would see that, because as long as anything is done in the name of blind faith, there will be the potential for atrocities such as 9/11.

You make it sound like if we banned religion, the world would suddenly be free of senseless killings. But Atheists are responsible for more death than religion: Stalin, Polpot, Mao etc. 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 in the name of a religion.....3,000 was good day for Stalin.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
You make it sound like if we banned religion, the world would suddenly be free of senseless killings. But Atheists are responsible for more death than religion: Stalin, Polpot, Mao etc. 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 in the name of a religion.....3,000 was good day for Stalin.

Atheists don't kill senselessly. They always have a very logical reason why all those people need to die (such "they questioned why I killed all those people"😉

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
You make it sound like if we banned religion, the world would suddenly be free of senseless killings. But Atheists are responsible for more death than religion: Stalin, Polpot, Mao etc. 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 in the name of a religion.....3,000 was good day for Stalin.

Are you considering all the people who have been killed over religion over recorded history? The number is much higher...

However, you are correct, banning religion would not stop senseless killings. To get rid of senseless killings we would have to remove all attachments. Both Religious and Atheistic people have attachments that lead to evil and suffering.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Atheists don't kill senselessly. They always have a very logical reason why all those people need to die (such "they questioned why I killed all those people"😉

I mean, I think extremism is showing the negatives of faith and religion with the belief of a religion being superior to all others but we should not die because of a belief. It is far from logical killing people because of faith. And believe it or not, Atheist have killed alot more that religious people have throughout history.

the thing is that atheISM isnt responsible for those deaths. just the individual preferences of the atheists who did it, while a lot of the stuff done by theists IS motibated by relegion. {i.e. ud never blame the cold blooded murder of a family by a christian on CHRISTIANITY unless that faith actually played a part in the incidence of the murder}

Originally posted by JacopeX
That sounded horrible.

I can imagine.

Originally posted by JacopeX
I mean, I think extremism is showing the negatives of faith and religion with the belief of a religion being superior to all others but we should not die because of a belief. It is far from logical killing people because of faith. And believe it or not, Atheist have killed alot more that religious people have throughout history.

I think you missed my point and my prodding at the tendency of atheists on this board to act like Vulcans.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
You make it sound like if we banned religion, the world would suddenly be free of senseless killings. But Atheists are responsible for more death than religion: Stalin, Polpot, Mao etc. 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 in the name of a religion.....3,000 was good day for Stalin.

hitler was a christian. he incinerated six million jews. he was also a vegetarian. shud i blame those acts on him being christian and vegetarianism then?

relegion is responsible for more deaths that atheism, simply because atheism never starts anything and at any given time in the ancient world, the number of beleivers{due to ancient superstitiion and stronger social pressure} was greater than number of proclaimed non beleivers in anything. so how can you say atheists have killed far more?

Originally posted by leonheartmm
the thing is that atheISM isnt responsible for those deaths. just the individual preferences of the atheists who did it, while a lot of the stuff done by theists IS motibated by relegion. {i.e. ud never blame the cold blooded murder of a family by a christian on CHRISTIANITY unless that faith actually played a part in the incidence of the murder}

Your example seems to defeat your first point. Theists are individuals too and the fact that they have a set of common beliefs does not mean that they kill because of those shared beliefs.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Your example seems to defeat your first point. Theists are individuals too and the fact that they have a set of common beliefs does not mean that they kill because of those shared beliefs.

However, remember the quote "kill them all and let god sort them out". Arnaud-Armaury, the Abbot of Citeaux, and "spiritual advisor" to the Albigensian Crusade.

You will never hear an Atheist use a god to rationalize their killing. They will use some other excuse, but the trump card of "god told me to" is not there.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Your example seems to defeat your first point. Theists are individuals too and the fact that they have a set of common beliefs does not mean that they kill because of those shared beliefs.

and i never claimed they did{infact i think that is what the example of a christian is there for} . but WHEN they kill or harm due to relegious beleifs, than you can and SHUD blame the relegion. but u cant blame ATHEISM if an atheist kills beause "atheism" has no doctrines.