Bishop Brown
Responds to Terrorism 

Episcopal Statement on September 11

Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr.
Resident Bishop of the Denver Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church.

The horrific events of September 11 are now a little behind us, but they will always be with us. While some mourn loved ones lost, the rest of us try to recover our normal lives. However, our view of the world is changed forever by that unforgettable day. We have witnessed the worst and the best of human behavior.

We humans can be so evil when we see ourselves and our aspirations as superior to all others. When we are willing to sacrifice the lives of innocent people to serve our purposes, we dishonor life and disrespect God. We are most heroic and loving when we are willing instead to offer our lives to save lives.

Acts of terrorism are as old as humankind: as horrific as the events of September 11 are, fundamentally, they are not new to us. This is part of the grief for all thoughtful, compassionate people. Such acts persist because of our own brokenness, one from another, and nations from nations. This brokenness keeps us caught in a pattern of retribution that perpetuates brokenness and violence.

Shall there be justice? It is important, in the course of these affairs, for justice to be done, for indeed a great and horrible injustice has been done. But we must be equally clear that ultimate ("infinite") justice can never be ours, but only God's. This must temper our yearning for justice, so that our acts reflect God's greater desire for all the children of the earth.

As Christians and United Methodists, we are called into wholeness. Christ makes us whole, one family under God. From this wholeness, instead of brokenness, we become free to see the world, specifically our brothers and sisters in every place, in new ways. We are "set free in Christ" (Romans 8:2) according to Paul to move beyond the old law, the ancient compulsion for reciprocity, and free to see new ways for the people of the world to be in relationship, to be free of the terror and brokenness that so many have suffered, and so many continue to suffer.

In the Gospel of John, 8:32, Jesus says, "The truth shall set you free." This truth is that God's love is for all and for each one: we are called to live in such a way that reflects this ultimate truth. If truth is what sets us free, then it is falsehood that binds us; a false seeing of the world and those around us traps us in attitudes and actions that falsify the world that God first called into being out of love.

Therefore, I call upon all United Methodists to avoid blaming people of Arab or Middle-Eastern descent, or the Islamic faith. Clearly, acts of intimidation or other violence carried out because of race or religion are acts committed against all Americans: such actions violate our commitment to ethnic diversity and religious freedom. There is nothing either in our Christian faith or in the faith of Islam that justifies last month's terrorist acts, for love is at the heart of true religion.

All of us have experienced the agony of watching the Towers fall and people die. This extraordinary act has not just touched, but deeply impacted people around the world. Many of us will be effected - are being effected - by the developing response to this tragedy: we have sons and daughters, neighbors and friends whose work or duty will call them into active participation in our government's response. But all of us, every last one of us who has been touched by this tragedy, is directly responsible to develop our own innermost, prayerful response. How shall I see the world from now on, from today into tomorrow? How shall I see my neighbor? How shall I understand my brother and sister, whether they live under the American flag, or the flag of another nation halfway around the world? Others must plan the military and political response: the people of God are called to a more long term, transformational response.

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