September 11, 2001: Does this attack in the US prove that pure, unadulterated evil exists? Was this truly a diabolical event? Does it disprove the existence of God?

The 11th of September, 2001 started off like any other Tuesday. Parents off to work, children off to school. What made this day different were the events that happened around nine that morning, when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Those buildings were full of innocent people. The death and destruction, the chaos and the pain felt by the people, following the attack, was both a blessing and a curse.

First off, September 11th awoke the American people to something very real. Terrorism is out there. It is a threat. There are people out there who hate Americans, who hate our lives. Some may say it is jealousy, some may say fear, others say religious intolerance. Whatever the reason, it is out there. The American people knew little about terrorism until September 11th. The real question is, have they really learned that much since? We’ve learned about rogue terrorists, people who are religious extremists, rebellious Arab men who hate America. We want to stamp it out. Too many Americans would rather waive their civil liberties than risk another September 11th.

The problem is, the terrorism that grows so steadily in the Middle East is not the only kind of terrorism. There is a larger, more extreme, more known, but less acknowledged sort of terrorism. It is in the form of the United States’ and other countries’ governments and militaries. In the recent war with Iraq, the United States government used “shock and awe” tactics. In other words, they terrorized the enemy into submission. For, what is terrorism, but “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”?

But this paper is not about politics, for if it were, I would surely address the much-needed regime change in our own “land of freedom”. The point I’m trying to make is that terrorism comes in all shapes and forms, not only in the body of an Arab extremist.

We need to understand that to understand the complexity of the issue of terrorism. It isn’t just about God, it isn’t just about politics, it isn’t just about symbolism, conspiracy, and patriotism. It’s about human free will, beliefs, convictions, and how far one will go to prove a point. It’s about spite, it’s about revenge, and it’s about a twisted sense of justice.

A first look at September 11th and any American will tell you it was a horrible event. It killed innocent people, caused more racial profiling, and made us realize that America is not invincible. But look at what good it did: the American people were filled with brotherhood, patriotism, compassion, and love. The world, at least for a while, stopped looking at us as an isolationist country, spoiled rotten and not appreciating freedom, they began to feel compassion, sympathy, hope, love, healing, they worked with our leaders to tighten security, hunt down those responsible, and bring hope back to the American people.

Does pure, adulterated evil exist, and did September 11th prove it? I don’t think so. I am not a believer in absolutes. I don’t believe in a heaven or hell, a God or a Satan, an Evil or a Good. I believe in good and evil, but I don’t believe that there is anything in this world that is purely good or purely evil.

Even if I were to believe in pure good and evil, does September 11th prove its existence? No. September 11th had good consequences, not just bad ones. The terrorists didn’t just wake up, decide to be evil, and begin plotting to kill us. The terrorists claim to be acting with the blessing of their God, Allah. God is behind them. They are set in their convictions that they are right, we are wrong, and I pity their narrow-minded views more than I hate them for it.

September 11th was the product of people who should be pitied, not hated. Humanity has free-will, but in some cultures even free-will can deceive you, since, in most societies, people make decisions based on right and wrong and that’s where free will comes into play, whereas in some culture it is often obey versus disobey, and your free will cannot always tell you right from wrong. I don’t think the terrorists of September 11th were evil. They were strong in their convictions, closed-minded, and made so by culture and up bringing, not really their own fault.

One single event like September 11th or the Holocaust is not going to disprove the existence of God. I am not a God believer and look for any opportunity to disprove his existence, but this doesn’t completely disprove him, just a belief about him. For example, many arguments ask, “if God is so loving and good, how can he let things like this happen?”. Those who oppose that argument say that we have free will to decide, God gave us free will and hopes we use it positively. Taking that argument though, one can notice the three core beliefs about God: omniscient, omnipotent, and omni-benevolent. But how can God be all good and all-powerful and let this happen? It’s not like he doesn’t know about it. It’s not just that God is good therefore should stop evil, the fact is that his goodness makes him have to stop evil, he is all powerful, so he has the ability to, and he’s all-knowing, so he knows what will have to happen as a result of his intervention or non-intervention.

I personally feel that God cannot be all knowing, all-powerful, and all good under the circumstances of this world. If he knows all and is all-powerful, he must prevent evil because he is all-good. It would not be in God’s character to allow evil to happen; yet it does. But was September 11th actually a show of evil? The terrorists believed their God was with them, they were acting for him. After the attacks, Americans asked God to bring justice, to save the lost souls, but if there is but one God, something’s not adding up. The fact that September 11th was primarily carried out for religious reasons makes the idea that it can be evil shaky. I could call the event evil, but was it really? If it was, in fact, the will of God, how can it be evil? But one side says God’s with them; the other says God’s with us. We’ll never know.

God is a man-made being. Man attempted to explain the unexplainable and found himself worshipping a deity that started as a legend and then became a huge mythological fairy tale of which more than 26% of the world believes. Religion, unfortunately, has become an obsession among politicians and leaders, and seems to cause war, rather than creating the everlasting-peace humanity seeks. In a way, you could say God is responsible for evil, for war, for intolerance. God is human-made, and we’ve used him as our excuse to wage war, kill those different from us, and act in ways that seem rather unethical at times.

So, does September 11th disprove the existence of God? No. I’m also taking the assumption that the God referred to is the God of Abraham, but even with other deities from other religions, the events of September 11th fail to disprove their existence. We have to take into account the debatable idea that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omni-benevolent. Though some say that is misrepresented and misinterpreted text from the Bible, that does happen to be the basic idea and one can argue that most believers do seem to have faith that their God does, in fact, hold true to those descriptions. If he is, however, then September 11th was a factor to disprove his existence or his lack of omniscience, omnipotence, and omni-benevolence. It cannot completely disprove his existence, however, because the characteristics I’ve described are debatable and only theories. God is a mystery, the ultimate enigma, therefore making complete knowledge of him impossible.

The other argument, though, if you wish to turn tables, is that God is the cause of September 11th. God is man-made, as previously stated, therefore man acts of his own will and idea, using God as the excuse. If that is true, then when someone does something in the name of their deity, they’re attempting to excuse their actions. Usama Bin Laden, his terrorist network, and the people behind September 11th, hide behind the excuse of God. “It was God’s Will,” or “In the name of Allah.” -Such statements are excuses to not take responsibility for their own actions. But through the man-made God, people are so convicted in their beliefs that it is God’s fault when they do such a thing as flying planes into buildings.

Many websites and books promoting Atheism consider it a cure for intolerance and the best step towards world peace. Think about it, humans kill each other over religion. The crusades, terrorist attacks, government invaders and conquerors, they’re all human activities often backed by man’s belief that this is God’s will. Millions upon millions of people have died because of intolerance, because of religion. If there were no religion, there would be no intolerance.

Most religions promote peace and understanding, but some actually criminalize disbelief in the said deity, especially in religious-based governments. But religions like Christianity belief that only those who believe will find happiness and eternal life with God, which means the rest will be going to Hell or Purgatory, depending on their life and depending on which Christian belief you follow. But the exclusiveness of so many of these religions makes tolerance impossible. People are arrogant, they don’t want to accept other religions, they’ll preach their religion without understanding or compassion for others’ beliefs, and such actions prove to be the cause of war, hatred, intolerance, and will likely be the downfall of humanity.

Humans have reason but we seem to so seldom use it. We rely on religious convictions for our ethical and moral standards. But if we let go of religious principles we might find ourselves agreeing on something, which may lead to tolerance and understanding.

Another point is the idea that September 11th was a diabolical event. Given that the term “diabolical” means “devilish” or has other means of going to Satan or the Devil or Evil, I’d have to say I disagree with it. Satan didn’t tempt the terrorists to attack us, in fact, the terrorists would likely claim that they were attempting to rid the world of Satan, seeing as they view us as a nation of infidels and compromised morals. The terrorists were acting of their own free will, towards what they saw as a Good. Can what they did really be seen as Evil?

What sickens me is the results of September 11th. We, as a nation, came together, united, and our politicians took advantage of that. All (P)resident Bush has to do now is wave a flag, remind of us 9-11, in other words: exploit our patriotism, to get his way. He wants to rid the world of terrorism. Let us not forget that terrorism isn’t just the rogue workings of Arab extremists, but of men in power in powerful places, like the President’s podium in America. But even forgetting for a moment that America’s actions can be seen as terrorist, there’s also the fact that war will tear a country apart, homes, lives, families will be destroyed. We’ve bombed Iraq and Afghanistan. Do we really think that will help? Now we’ve created a state of chaos and a state of resentment. Put the two together, that’s how terrorism began in the first place. Bush’s policies do not fight terror but rather support it. Taking that into consideration, September 11th is what is letting him get away with what he is doing and therefore has a negative impact on humanity itself.

In other words: September 11th had positive effect on Americans. It woke us up, it made us aware, and it created a new rush of patriotism that was severely lacking just a month before. But the events of September 11th also caused our politicians to become corrupt, exploiting our patriotism and open hearts by putting a face on terrorism to turn our vulnerability into hatred. The world will suffer, lives will be lost, and I fear that mankind has reached a state of ignorance, intolerance, and misunderstanding of its own kind that this could be the beginning of the end.

It may be depressing to think about, but it’s coming to the point where I wish we’d get our war over and done with, then another event similar to September 11th comes along that makes people realize that terrorism will not be silenced by war, but rather fertilized and further supported by it. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

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