Everything’s Different, Nothing has Changed

9-11. Those numbers mean something different to all of us than they did on September 10. Those three letters were once the easy to remember number for emergency services. Now 9-11 is shorthand for terror. From September 11, forward everything is different.

The reaction to the unimaginable tragedy was immediate. Each of us felt deeply effected as we watched in disbelief. That disbelief turned to shock and then often anger as we watched again and again the video showing first one and then another airplane hitting the World Trade Center Towers. The Pentagon was in flames and somewhere in Pennsylvania a lonely field was strewn with wreckage from a plane carrying some of the day’s first heroes.

Since that fateful day, everything is different. Had you been living the life of a hermit, off in some cave from September 10 until today, you would need only return for a moment to see that something big had happened. Of course, the one-time cave dweller returned to society would have missed the initial reaction. How could the returned hermit know the nation turned briefly to God. Churches were packed. Prayer, real prayer, and not a vague moment of silence, came back in fashion.

However, many differences could not escape even a hermit’s attention. For example, one would only need to drive around the Kings Bay area to see that everything is different. The many flags in front of buildings, hanging in windows, and stickered onto cars would probably catch your attention. Then there are the still ubiquitous God Bless America signs that dot the landscape and decorate businesses.

Nevertheless, with all the differences this hypothetical hermit would discover, what real changes would be found? I think that everything is different, but nothing has changed.

On September 14, there was a national day of prayer. In various houses of worship around the country, we stopped what we were doing long enough to reach out to God. Frankly, many of us gave thanks that it didn’t happen to us or those we love. But something more was happening as well.

One verse of scripture that seemed written just for that occasion is II Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” On that day, many Americans were actively wanting to humble themselves in prayer before God.

Where are we now? According to a recent Gallop poll, we are back to life as usual. The pollsters found no significant changes in religious involvement. Though the numbers briefly spiked in late September, by late November 42 percent of Americans worship together each week, only slightly up from 41 percent this past May.

“I just don't see much indication that there has been a great awakening or a profound change in America's religious practices,” said Frank M. Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. “It looks like people were treating this like a bereavement, a shorter-term funeral kind of thing, where they went to church or synagogue to grieve. But once past that, their normal churchgoing behavior passed back to where it was.”

Church attendance is just one indicator of religious involvement. Another recent survey, this one by the Barna Research Group, revealed that 68 percent of Americans say their religion is important, 85 percent pray regularly to God, and 39 percent say they read the Bible outside of church, but only 13 percent say they rely on the Bible for moral guidance. These numbers are comparable to research before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Despite the initial reaction to the attacks, nothing has changed for religious life in America.

Also suffering are the charitable organizations who depended on our giving before the attacks. Across the board, charities are reporting less giving as the year end approaches.

What could we do different? We could live our lives as if what we read in the Bible is true. Here is the Reader’s Digest version, “Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself.” The rest of scripture is helpful commentary on this easy-to-remember, not-so-easy-to-live two-point plan.

The Bible talks about “the fruit of repentance.” The idea is that if a person has really repented, which means to turn back from wrong behavior, then there lives will bear the fruit of that life change. We, as a nation, gave a lot of lip service to religion in the wake of the attacks, but there is no real fruit of repentance. Our culture remains unchanged, even in the face of great tragedy and during a time of war. Public prayers are now getting passé, even as war continues in Afghanistan and the threat of more acts of terror looms large.

If nothing has changed, why bother with the superficial differences? If we do not intend to bless God, then we should take down the signs that say God Bless America.

(The Rev. Frank Logue is pastor of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland.)

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