9/11 Attacks: God's Punishment on Americans? Brunson, Falwell, Graham-Lotz Say So

At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this week, Al Mohler moderated a panel discussion on 9/11, in which they touched on the irresponsible statements of Christians like Pat Robertson immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Mohler's panel took several shots at Robertson, but strangely none of them mentioned the nutty statements of Jerry Falwell, who said the following on Pat Robertson's 700 Club on the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks:

"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" Jerry Falwell (click here to listen)

To Falwell's credit, a few days later he did apologize for blaming people for 9/11. But really Falwell wasn't just blaming pagans and gays for the attacks, he was ultimately blaming God. Falwell was saying that these groups of people brought the wrath of God on this nation because of their sin and disbelief.

But Falwell was not alone.

As Dee at Wartburg Watch points out this weekend, even Ann Graham Lotz blames the 9/11 terrorist attacks - and even natural disasters - on the judgment of God:

"From Hurricane Katrina to the record breaking floods, forest fires, tornadoes, droughts,and snow storms; to the collapse of major financial institutions,to the economic recession, to the inability to win the war in Afghanistan. The alarm keeps resounding because so many people have not heeded, or even heard, the warning." Anne Graham Lotz, Christianity Today 9/7/11

Strange. I thought the gospel was that we are all hopeless sinners, for whom Jesus died to cover our sins and separate us from the penalty of our sins. But when disaster strikes, our religious rock stars come up with a different gospel: despite Jesus taking away the sin of the world and establishing a New Covenant, God has to deliver his stored-up wrath every now and then through terrorist attacks, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Back in October 2008, from the pulpit of FBC Jacksonville, Mac Brunson blamed 9/11 directly on God's punishment for the disbelief of Christians and all Americans. He said our failure to repent as a nation caused God to "buffet" us, and even spoke for God in the first person, saying "I've been active all this time. I've been active putting into place all these things."

Here is a quote from the video you can watch at the above hyperlink:

"If [God's] blessings won't get our attention, then maybe buffeting will...what to me was an embarrassing moment in American history was the scandal of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky....and what did we do as a nation? We made jokes about it and we laughed about it and did not repent. Not following far behind that came 9/11 and according to George Barna that had an impact on this nation for approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Then behind that came Katrina, wiped out an entire city. What did we do as a nation?...What did we do? We do NOTHING in the midst of all of it! Nothing! And thousands of people have lost everything, an entire city wiped out. How much louder does the voice of God have to get to America?

We end up in an oil crisis where families can't afford to put $4 a gallon gas in their cars and now in the past week we've had the largest drop on the Wall Street in its 112 year history.... ...You think God hadn't been actively doing something? God says 'I've been active all this time. I've been active putting into place all these things. I've been actively seeing how high I can get gasoline for you Americans. I've been actively seeing how I can cause the economy to crash, because if you will not turn to me in my blessings on you, I will take them away, as Hosea took away the blessings of Gomer. And nobody, the bible says, will be deliver you out of My hands."

He preached this on Sunday October 12, 2008 right at the time when many Americans were very fearful of what was happening to our stock market and economy - especially seniors whose retirement income is directly tied to their hard-earned life savings and investments. The message they got from their preacher was not one of hope, but one of fear. In this sermon Mac builds the case that what we see today is from God, and he even starts it all with the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, 9/11, Katrina, all precursors to God causing our economic crash...its all been God, like the evil magician, working to bring calamity on Americans.

Its amazing really, that this sort of thing is now coming forth from the pulpit of First Baptist Jacksonville. To explain that God is causing this calamity and the suffering of innocent people is beyond the pale. It not only gives people the wrong impression of the nature of God, but it strikes fear into the heart of God's people. Using Mac's logic, I suppose we can explain other calamities and suffering, such as children dying everyday from starvation and malaria - is that God's doing to in an attempt to get our attention?

Since this sermon in 2008, Mac has declared several times that our current economic recession is God's judgment for failing to tithe.

"I want to tell you something. You cannot convince me, that a big portion of the economic downturn in this country doesn't rest squarely on the shoulders of Christians who will not honor God with the tithe. When you come to the place in this country where only 2 to 3 percent of the people tithe that call themselves Christian, we should expect the judgment of God." Mac Brunson, 10/10/10

Some things never change...men are still using religion to instill fear in the hearts of people, to get them to do what they want them to do.

Perhaps THAT is God's judgment on America.