Every person reading this commentary probably remembers where he was, and what he was doing, five years ago this morning. As we reflect on the horror and heroism of September 11th, let’s remember that, as Christians, we have questions to answer: how does one respond to this kind of evil? What does our response to September 11th have to do with the Apostle Paul’s teaching about government’s responsibility to wield the sword against evildoers, and with Jesus’ admonition to turn the other cheek when attacked?
A few weeks after September 11, 2001, the Henry Institute hosted the first Henry Institute forum, “Onward Christian Soldiers? Christian Witness in a Time of Terror.” On the panel were Mark Coppenger, now professor of apologetics at Southern Seminary, Southern Seminary ethicist Ken Magnuson, Southern Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr., pacifist Baptist pastor Joe Phelps, ethicist Henlee Barnette, and me.
Since that time, Henlee Barnette, a legendary figure in Southern Baptist ethics, has died. I still remember how shocked I was to hear this “moderate” Baptist speaking so strongly against Islam, calling for the evangelism of the Islamic world, and advocating a tough military response to al-Qaeda and the states that shelter it. Barnette was influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr, and he understood, rightly I think, that an ethic of love demands an ethic of justice. He understood that temporal governments are not messianic, conquering all evil with the sword, ushering in kingdoms of peace and righteousness. He also understood that governments have a God-mandated responsibility in this fallen epoch to protect the innocent from murderers. And he was willing to recognize that the worship of Allah is far from the worship of the Father of Jesus. On that, as on some other things, he was prophetic.
The forum audio is available here.
