 FAN 9-11-2007 |
In this issue: “Homegrown jihadists” and the Big Picture As today is the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, it is appropriate that we join with Americans across this nation in pausing to remember this great, tragic loss of life and the change in American life (and in the world) that the attack brought. “Homegrown jihadist” and the Big Picture As we consider that event, pray for the families devastated by that horrible day, and pray for our nation and peaceable nations everywhere, it is also fitting that we reflect a moment on an article on the front page of last Friday’s Tennessean that was headlined, “Six years after 9/11, homegrown jihadists emerge as threat in U.S.” The fact that terrorists are no longer foreigners having to “come here” to wreak their destruction, but are “homegrown” is bad enough. But a more subtle thing that caught my attention was the motivation or reason that folks in our own country are joining the jihad ranks. Brian Jenkins, identified by the Tennessean as “a noted terrorist expert with the Rand Corp. think tank,” described it this way: The jihadist narrative is very powerful. It has offered a lot of young men meaning and the opportunity to participate in a powerful struggle. The “narrative” is, of course, that there is a god named Allah and he has a purpose and a plan and you can be a part of carrying out God’s purposes in this world which provides meaning. To think that one can be a “partner” with God in achieving something bigger than one’s self can be a source of meaning that is worthy of sacrifice, even unto death. This “narrative” is really what philosophers call, a “meta narrative” (hang in here with me for a minute!) which is another way of saying a “big picture story” about the nature of reality that helps the adherent of that story explain life and life’s corresponding meaning or purpose. In this case, it’s Islam. Of course an alternative meta narrative is Christianity. It also purports to provide a “big picture” story about the nature of reality (“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”) that to its adherents explains life, helps them make sense of their world, and provides meaning. And even a naturalistic evolutionist has his or her own meta narrative. There is no god, nature and you are a product of random chance, and while there is no intrinsic meaning to one’s life, they know there must be some reason for living so they offer the allure of getting to make up your own meaning (scholars call it “existentialism”). But the point upon which we would urge a moment of reflection is that we all have to have some way to make sense of our lives – to find meaning and purpose. We cannot continue on with this life if there is not some form of coherence – some “bigger picture” that makes sense of it all. In the West, for the last several decades (and really since the advent of Darwinism) there has been a long “war” against the Christian meta narrative in our country. Books like “The God Delusion” become best sellers. And the philosophy of naturalism in the guise of evolution becomes the meta narrative. But, as already pointed out, even those who deny the existence of any meta narrative search for one as evidenced by books such as those by noted evolutionists Paul Davies and Stephen Hawking advocating “String Theory” or “Superstrings” as a “Theory of Everything.”[1] But a meta narrative without God and the promise of something beyond this realm really means life is pretty much just about the individual which just doesn’t provide much meaning. And so it is we find ourselves contending with a culture in which to at least some degree, young people are open to and buying into the “jihad story” of Islam. Now some would take this story about “homegrown” jihadist (terrorists) and indiscriminately say that religion in general is the cause of war and violence and without religion, man’s peaceable goodness could and would flourish (just don’t say that too loudly around the immediate relatives of those who died under Mao Se Tung and Stalin). Indicative of this view point is a current best seller by Christopher Hitchens entitled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. But, we respond with the well-stated observation of attorney and former University of California law professor, Phillip Johnson, in his book, The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning and Public Debate: The right question to draw from the terrorist attack is not that no one should have a cause worth dying for, but rather that it is of great importance that such highly motivated persons be dedicated to a good cause rather than an evil one. Of course, in a popular culture whose primary value is tolerance of everything but historic Christianity and in which any distinction between good and evil is just a subjective ‘in the eye of the beholder” valuation, it is hard to answer the questions, “What is a good cause? What is an evil cause?” So, what’s the point? Well, as we remember the events of six years ago, let us also take a moment to consider what “big picture story” informs the way we look at life and whether it provides any meaning and purpose to our lives. And consider where the end of the story we are following will lead. In closing, if you are a Christian interested in a way to share the “Christian meta narrative” with others without having to get a degree in philosophy or theology, you may want to check out The Truth Project, a DVD based series on Christian world-view. There will be a special training session coming up Saturday, September 22nd in Chattanooga for those who would like to get the DVD’s. You can find out more at The Truth Project link at www.FACTn.org. or send an email to info@factn.org. The deadline for registration is September 18th, next Tuesday, just one week away.
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