As I write this the media are again full of the images of what we have come to call 9-11. Partly, I guess, we are still trying to come to terms with the full horror of what happened - one of the questions we always try to answer when loved ones die is "why?"

Partly I'm afraid it simply makes good TV drama and we watch again and again, transfixed by the sheer spectacle of it.

But there is a deeper reason, and one we should not lose sight of.
In the wake of the attack on the twin towers many more lives have come under threat, and some thousands have already been taken. Our politicians do not want us to forget the shock and the outrage we felt when we first saw those terrible pictures because they need those feelings to justify future outrages they plan to carry out in the names of justice and of peace.

I wrote about justice last month so I won't say much more about that here, but if you remember, my main point was that justice always includes giving the wrongdoer the chance to repent and to atone for his crimes.

Bombing him to bits does not give him that chance.

Every nation has the right to defend its people against whatever wrong others may plan to inflict on it. But that right has to be exercised very carefully.
Sometimes it will be necessary to act against a threat, even before an actual crime has been committed, but when we go down that road we need to be even more careful not to use the threat as an excuse to do wrong ourselves.

In the international response to the events of last September we are still hearing voices calling for revenge. However understandable that emotion might be it is not just, and it will not lead to peace.

Two wrongs have never made a right, however appalling the first wrong may have been.

And when it come to acting in self defence we should only do what is necessary to prevent a crime, we should be careful not to become the transgressor ourselves. When someone threatens to punch you in the face you would be justified in tying his hands behind his back; but not in cutting his arm off.

So what would be justified in the name of defending ourselves against those who want to terrify us into meeting their demands?

Beefing up our own security - yes, and that may mean restricting peoples' movements. So long as that only frustrates those who would harm us and inconveniences the innocent I cannot see any great harm being done.

Getting to know the enemy - yes, and that may mean some pretty devious undercover work in which some innocent peoples trust will be abused and some of their personal freedoms compromised. Not right, but not indefensibly wrong given the scale of the threat against us.

Taking their weapons away - yes, and innocent people may be hurt or even killed in the process. This would be a grave sin and we should not pretend otherwise, but sometimes we really must choose between two evils.

But remember that some people have no choice but to serve in their armed forces, and while we may need to fight them we should not demonise them for doing what their own people demand of them.

What is not permissible in the name of justice, whether God's or man's?

Returning evil for evil; how many deaths is a fair price for those we have lost? Is murder be a decent tribute to our dead?

Failing to listen honestly to your opponent's grievances; the most heartrending and insightful words I have heard this week were from an American asking, "What have we done, that people hate us this much?" Taking that question seriously will lead us to both justice and peace.

Depriving the innocent of food and medicine while failing to prevent their political masters from access to both.

Letting your sense of outrage or your fear of attack be influenced by economic factors (someone said recently that if all Iraq exported were sausages then we would be happy to let Saddam Hussein get on with it)

In his sermon last Sunday Keith reminded us that God's response to our wrongdoings is to hate the sin but love the sinner. That is the same standard we should apply to those who sin against us, however grievous that sin is.

That must be our Christian response to 9-11 and its aftermath. It won't be easy, but if you're looking for an easy religion then Christianity is not for you.

May God bless you, and give you the strength to fight evil with justice so that all may know peace.

Alan
1st October 2002