The World Trade Center is a continuing target for God's wrath

Now they're arguing about what they are going to call the building chosen to replace the World Trade Center. The name "Freedom Tower" has been the working name for the last few years, but now ownership of the construction project has changed and the new owner wants to revert to "One World Trade Center" and this has the advocates of "Freedom Tower" upset.

The original architect designed a twisting form he wanted to imitate the Statue of Liberty, with a spire that rose to the deliberate height of 1,776 feet to recognize the year of American independence. Politicians called the tower proof of the country's triumph over terrorism.

Former Gov. George Pataki said visitors to the iconic skyscraper "will know our determination to overcome evil" in a 2003 speech that first gave the Freedom Tower its name.

Human hubris, the whole thing, it seems to me.

"Proof of the country's triumph over terrorism"? Not if it was God's judgment and the "triumph" is really the usual fallen human defiance of God's will, which is going to invite more judgment. "Our determinaton to overcome evil"? Jesus says "Do not resist evil." Jesus has a way of giving us commands that go against our fallen human nature, that seem impossible and even wrong to our fleshly judgment. But the secret to spiritual power is in obeying them. If we want to save America we have to do HIS will, not our own. The weapons He gave us for overcoming evil are not resisting our enemies but loving them, repenting of sin, praying for the nation, not rebuilding what He knocked down.

So many Christians in the West these days are what are sometimes called "carnal Christians." We believe the basics so we're saved, but our daily lives are not ruled by the mind of Christ but by our carnal minds. We decide how to deal with something like the attack on the WTC not by spiritual standards but fleshly fallen standards. No wonder the church is weak and worldly and spiritually limping. No wonder we don't have revival.

A truly spiritual church leadership that is truly obedient to Christ would have the women in the churches cover their heads for one small instance, the way they have the men uncover theirs, but no, this is judged carnally the way the Corinthians were judging it, which is why Paul was writing to them. A spiritual judgment of divorce and remarriage would lead pastors to give the strict interpretation because that is where spiritual strength will be found, but instead they appeal to a worldly fleshly standard of human happiness, attributing it to the mercy of God, to allow all kinds of disobedience of Christ rather than inconvenience anyone. Good grief, you hear Christians justifying "nukin" our enemies. You hear them defending immersing oneself in Harry Potter or sports or television sitcoms or any other worldly or demonic activity as Christian Liberty! And if you suggest there might be a problem wih any of that you get called a legalist. I'm not even mentioning the poor deluded Christians who think God just wants to give us lots of money if we have enough faith for it, and you'll even get upbraided for gossiping or slandering the televangelists if you try to show how they are fleecing the flock while they preach that rot! WAKE UP CHURCH!!!

We shouldn't be rebuilding anything at all on that site. 9/11 was God's judgment on America, a very small judgment compared to what it could have been, and it's fair to think of it as the beginning of worse judgment yet to come, but judgment for our national sins in any case.

With very few exceptions Christian pastors did not preach it as judgment, and there was no call to repentance from the nation's leaders either. Instead, the nation's sins that deserve the judgment were compounded by a sentimental cry of "God bless America," and our President, who should have called for a period of repentance and prayer, as former Presidents have done in times of national woe, instead called together a motley crew of religious leaders to pray for the country, leaders of religions that are the enemies of God and His Christ. Such an act can only be invitation to worse judgment to come.

And what have we been seeing? Plenty of judgment since then. The economic crisis is judgment, Obama's getting the Presidency is judgment. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It can only get worse because the only way to stop it is national repentance, or at least a strong movement of repentance in the churches on behalf of the nation. If it isn't too late, and it may be too late.

The nation was attacked on 9/11 in three major symbols of our national identity -- one is: money/trade/prosperity (and the world itself is judged as well in this symbol, not just the US, boding the worst for our economy plus the world's).

(If we have a "Freedom Tower" and the nation has not already gone under by then, it could be attacked too and would make a fine symbol of the loss of our freedoms as the nation goes more and more Marxist, and why not? We've been through a half century when our freedoms have come to mean freedom for sins of a sort never before officially sanctioned by any government I know of, so freedom itself is now corrupted, and the cry for freedom rings hollow until that is faced).

Second, the Pentagon, symbol of our military, was hit too, but just a nick compared to the symbol of trade and economy -- second on the judgment agenda perhaps. Well, we're certainly taking a battering from world opinion on our military work in Iraq. Yes, I know, our guys are good guys, we have probably the most humane army that was ever mobilized on earth, but if the nation has gone rotten our wars aren't going to be blessed by God any more. The leftist mindset wants to do away with the military altogether, which would be fine if we had a Christian mindset in which to do it, but we don't so it's just another form of God's judgment.

Third symbol the executive branch. Well, the White House didn't actually get hit, we only know it was a target and was spared. But Obama's being there now is certainly judgment on the nation, a judgment more destructive to the nation than demolishing the building would have been.*

(*not that McCain would have been much better, probably just a slower form of God's judgment. And while at first I was a strong fan of Sarah Palin I'm afraid the family's attitude about the daughter's pregnancy has lost me -- Christians must not rationalize or minimize sin as they have done. If you're going to represent the church in public office you need to do better than that. Bush was no Christian representative either. So of COURSE we've got an even worse President following on the officeholders and contenders we've had in recent years).

I'd say the symbolism of 9/11 has been playing out remarkably consistently. It's not yet a major enough crisis to bring the nation to abject misery, but what's to keep it from getting there?

So there shouldn't be ANYTHING constructed on that site. We've offended God enough without adding that offense.