wfn.org | German bishop reflects on Sept. 11 events

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 8, 2001 News media contact: Thomas S. McAnally7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-71BP{520}

NOTE: A photograph of Bishop Walter F. Klaiber is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html online. For further coverage of
the United Methodist Council of Bishops' meeting, see UMNS stories #521,
#522, #523 and #524.

By Tom McAnally*

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) - The semi-annual meeting of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops usually begins with an address by the
president, but this fall's weeklong event began with reflections on the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Bishop Walter F. Klaiber, who supervises the church's work in Germany,
framed his response with three questions which he said are on the minds of
many people in his country:
7	In whom do we trust?
7	What may we still expect from human beings?
7	What kind of hope do we offer to the world?

"These questions do not try to explain why these things happened, but ask
what should be the consequences for us," the bishop said Nov. 5. 

"The dollar says, 'In God We Trust'," he observed. "But that it is the
dollar which tells us this is part of the problem. Money is a very
problematic witness for our trust in God." Churches in Germany were packed
after Sept. 11 with people who were looking for a place to mourn, pray and
regain some sense of trust, he noted.

"For me, events like this are a challenge to test whether I put my
confidence in functioning safety systems or whether I really trust in God.
There are not a few people in Germany who ask themselves, 'What does it mean
for us that these two towers, the symbols of our global economy, were hit?'"

Instead of the frequently expressed observation after Sept. 11 that nothing
will be as it was, the bishop said, "Nothing has ever been as it was thought
to be before." Recalling when his hometown was burning for a night and day
at the end of World War II, he said his teacher told him, "The most cruel
wars between people will always be those where people are convinced to
combat for a great idea."  

The teacher explained that for those people enemies are no longer seen as
just human beings but enemies of the good or even God. Their purposes are
seen as justifying any means. Klaiber noted that no government or movement
is immune from this process of dehumanization.

"No nuclear power has declined to use nuclear weapons for a first strike,"
he observed. "Why not? What may we still expect from one another as human
beings?"

Even though the West is not the same as Christendom, Klaiber said that "from
outside, we are still seen as a Christian society, and we are asked what
kind of hope and perspective we offer to the world." This, he believes, is
the most important question of the future: "Are we able to give people of
the world hope?"  

"I am sure that the long-term effect of these events will be determined by
the fact whether the youth of the world can expect hope and help from the
way we live," he said. "We claim that we stand for human rights and for the
basic values of human life. But what the people experience from us is the
reign of the shareholder values and the Western way of life as sheer
consumerism.  This will still be attractive for those who expect just wealth
and affluence but, I fear, not for those who long for justice and peace.
That is also the decisive question regarding the military action we are in.
Is it aiming at justice or retaliation?"

In closing, Klaiber said history has shown that two kinds of movements are
especially dangerous: "Those who think they alone are the ones who have to
establish the paradise on earth, and those who no longer expect anything
from this life but all from a life to come and paradise in heaven

"Obviously, we have to retain a perspective for heaven as well as a clear
sense of responsibility for what happens now to human beings on earth."

Bishop Elias Galvan, Seattle, is president of the international council,
which includes 50 active bishops in the United States, 17 active bishops in
other countries, and about 50 retired bishops.  The United Methodist Church
has 8.4 million members in the United States and more than 1 million in
other countries. 
# # #
*McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service, the official news
agency of the United Methodist Church.

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United Methodist News Service
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