Take for example the fact that the hijacked flights that day could have accommodated 1000 passengers but took just over a quarter of that-266. Or little uncanny miracles like the man who had just bought a new pair of shoes that very morning and made his way to work but got a blister on his way there. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid and was there when the attack took place. Many religious people believe that that blister-through God-saved his live. Another man was saved because it was his turn to buy donuts! 50, 000 people worked at that centre but 20, 000 were present when the jets hit. All these little inconveniences which saved people’s lives would have most likely frustrated them and upset them at the time but it seemed that God had His plan.
Some believe that we should put our trust in God and that just as these problems saved those peoples lives in a way they couldn’t have comprehended, other problems-including 9/11-may eventually turn into a miracle.
But the question still remains if God is truly omnipotent and omniscient why did he stop at that? Why didn’t he save the 266 that were on the plane and the other many casualties? Why didn’t he stop every one from going to work that day? Or better yet why didn’t he just stop the whole thing from happening?
According to the Bible, God caused his children, the Israelites, to defeat many, large armies. But he didn’t save the people at the pentagon or World Trade Centre.
He even once sent a flood to wipe out the evil people in the world, yet on 9/11 he allowed evil to prevail, killing innocents in abundance. 9/11 clearly isn’t a victory to be recorded in the Bible. Nothing good is yet to come of it. If we were meant to be taught a lesson, it hasn’t worked. America is in fact currently dropping bombs on Afghanistan.
Those more sceptical than religious believers will view their belief in God as being overly submissive to their religion and possibly blind to reality. Despite the uncanny, heart-warming miracles, the cold, hard facts remain: 13, 000 children became orphans in one day, 17 babies were born after 9/11, with fathers who had perished due to the horrors of that day, 10, 000 school children suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result and there was a loss of approximately 1.8 million jobs by the end of 2002 also solely due-you guessed it-to 9/11.
So where was God when this happened? Where was God when thousands lost their loved ones and were left with only nightmares? The answer varies for all- he was busy performing miracles, busy allowing horrors or simply not their, depending on one’s belief.
I personally can’t ever view it as a miracle in which God saved some lives; I will always see it as a tragedy in which God-if he truly is there allowed, a massacre to happen.
