9/11 plus 7

There are a few seminal moments in the life of a nation where you ask someone, "where were you when you heard..." and they'll instantly tell you where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt. The assassination of President Kennedy is one of those moments. Those who were alive in 1941 can tell you where they were when they heard that Japan had attacked a place called Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001 one of those moments which sears itself into the memory of a nation occured. On that early fall day, 19 men hijacked four commerical airliners, turning them into flying bombs.

Brief Chronology
-At 7:45am (CT), American Airlines flight 11 out of Boston's Logan Airport crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

-At 8:03am, United Airlines flight 175 (also from Boston) crashes into the World Trade Center South Tower.

-At 8:30am, President Bush speaking from an elementary school in Florida, states that America has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack."

-At 8:40am, the FAA orders all flight operations at U.S. airports to be stopped. This is the first time in American history this has occured.

-At 8:43am, American Airlines flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

-At 8:45am, as President Bush leaves Florida, the White House is evacuated.

-At 9:05am, the WTC South tower collapses.

-At 9:10am, United Airlines flight 93 crashes into a Pennsylvania field.

-At 9:28am, the WTC North tower collapses.

-At 10:02am, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

-At 12:04pm, President Bush speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

-At 1:49pm, Mayor Giuliani was asked about the number of people killed. Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to speculate about that - more than any of us can bear."

-At 3:00pm, news is revealed that Osama bin Laden, suspected of coordinating the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks.

-At 5:54pm, Bush arrives back at the White House where he is to address the nation that evening.

-At 7:30pm, President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's victims. "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them.

-At 9:49pm, it is reported that Attorney General Ashcroft told members of Congress that there were three to five hijackers on each plane armed only with knives.

In closing, two fitting tributes (both from Christian music legends). The first, "There She Stands" by Michael W. Smith (warning: you may need a Kleenex nearby). The second, "The Ones Left Standing" by Wayne Watson.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)

One of the towering figures of the 20th Century has died. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian historian, philosopher, and author whose epic The Gulag Archipelago exposed the West to the horrors of Soviet tyranny inside their forced labor camps. One source described him thusly: "Driven, principled, frequently arrogant, a bearded figure with the fierce visage of a prophet, Mr. Solzhenitsyn (sohl-zheh-NEETS-ihn) was regarded as one of the greatest and most influential writers of the 20th century." Christian leader Charles Colson once compared Solzhenitsyn to the prophet Jeremiah after the Russian sage lambasted his Harvard audience for among other things allowing man to become "the master of this world … who bears no evil within himself...So all the defects of life" are attributed to "wrong social systems."

It's difficult to overestimate the affect The Gulag Archipelago had on shaping the mind of the West toward the Soviet Union. Historians credit Solzhenitsyn along with Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II with framing the moral and ideological case against the Soviet Union. Before you go, read two pieces. One from Charles Colson about Solzhenitsyn at Harvard and the second is an editorial that ran in a Canadian newspaper following his death. It can be found here.

President John Adams on the 4th...

"I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival...it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

Read it...

The document which made July 4, 1776 a notable day in world history:

In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.--We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Read the rest here. Count the mentions of God and the list of grievances against the British Crown.

Notable quote...

"You are guilty; your pardon is of God."
-C.H. Spurgeon, "Prince of Preachers"
(1834-1892)

D-Day plus 64

June 6, 1944: Operation Overlord launched to breach Hitler's "Atlantic Wall" and liberate Europe from Nazi oppression. Some 5,000 ships either carried, escorted, and landed the assault force. Some 130,000 Allied troops landed on the French coast. When it was over, 4,000 brave men were dead. 64 years later- and we remember.

At the moment American, British, and Canadian
forces were slamming the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt made a radio broadcast to the American people. Unlike other broadcasts, FDR's purpose this time was to pray with the American people. His prayer is powerful and poignant, and it's worth repeating here:

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.
Amen.

Forty years after that tumultous day, another American president gave a speech- this time standing on the windswept cliffs of Normandy. Ronald Reagan spoke of the power which sustained those about to fight:

"Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

64 years later- and we'll never forget.

You can listen to President Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer here.

You can listen to President Reagan's D-Day Speech here.

Memorial Day Tribute

Here's my small Memorial Day tribute.

First, this powerful picture (above) of a French girl decorating the graves of fallen American servicemen in France in 1945 shortly after VE Day (May 8, 1945).

Second, this powerful song by Christian musician Ray Boltz. It's called Fallen, Not Forgotten. You can watch the video here. Pay special attention to these lines in the song:

"They left behind their families/And the towns where they were born/For the rice paddies of Vietnam/And the sands of Desert Storm/They were soldiers in Korea/And World War One/And World War Two/They paid the price/Some gave their lives/And they fought for me and you."

Finally, check out these photos of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. I've had the privilage of visiting there. It's truly a wonderful memorial, located on the Mall adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial.

Memorial Day: More than a Monday off...

Memorial Day. A Monday's rest from work? A day for baseball? Just what is the history of Memorial Day?

"Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead".

"Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country."

That's a brief synopsis of Memorial Day.

(Source: Merchant, David M. "Memorial Day" (1994).)

Notable quote...

"My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour."

-John Newton (1725-1807), writer, theologian, and author of "Amazing Grace"

Fun, Frivolous Historical Fact...

On this day in history, April 27th, the universe was created. At least that was the view of German mathematician Johannes Kepler (right). Kepler's belief was that the universe came into being on April 27, 4977 (BC). Big wig scientists in the 20th Century later discounted Kepler's view while promulgating their own "Big Bang" theory.

New to "Linkworthy"

Welcome the Church History Timeline to the "Linkworthy" section (bottom at left). Since the launch of this blog, I've been looking for a good site with a good, solid overview of church history. I believe I've found it, with this disclaimer: just because an event may be listed as noteworthy in church history doesn't mean our church or myself personally agrees with that event. This being said, this website is all in all informative and well done. So, click the above link or the one under "Linkworthy" below and enjoy the journey through church history.

Oh, and the individual at left? That's John Wycliffe, a man who fervently believed that the Bible should be available in everyday language- not Latin. He is reported to have once told a church bigwig: If God shall spare my life, I will make it so that a plow boy in England will know more of Holy Scripture than thou.” For his courage, the pope ordered his bones dug up and burned- 44 years after his death.