Responding to tragedy
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Presentations and Handouts: Cooper-White (Pastoral Resources; Responding to Children) | Davidson (Responding as Seminarians) | Pahl (Online Resources)

(Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2001)--On the one hand, the events of September 11 in New York and Washington left Americans with an ultimate sense of abandonment by God with its horror of evil and death, Professor Robert B. Robinson told a hushed community gathering at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia today. On the other hand, signs of God's presence and the risen Christ are visible today and in the words of Scripture, Robinson said.

Robert B. Robinson

"I don't want to make any sense of this evil," Robinson said. "It's not that sense that I am seeking. Rather I am trying these days to make sense of my faith, seeing Christ risen in crazy things." Those things have included "the return of baseball, and noticing that the son I am proud of has grown to be taller than his father." He said he had also discerned the risen Christ in the removal from the rubble of the body of a lifeless priest who had made such a difference for New York City firefighters. Robinson said the words of the Bible and God's Word speak to us today through the psalms and Old and New Testament verses the way they have always spoken, depicting the suffering of God's people, their laments, and the promises of God to be present in life. "There's no magic in the verses," he said. "There is not the end of despair. The destruction remains along with the heroism of firefighters. But the words of the Bible give us the steps to rebuild. They buttress us with the promises of God."

Robinson explained that he had found it especially painful to view the World Trade Center images that depicted the "precise moment" when so many people "lost their lives without a chance for a last, loving look" at their loved ones. He noted their experience was in sharp contrast to that of Abraham in Genesis 25, when the patriarch died at a ripe old age with loved ones gathered around.

Seminar participants, from left: Jennifer Davidson, Robert B. Robinson, J. Paul Rajashekar, Pamela Cooper-White, John Hoffmeyer, Philip D. W. Krey

Robinson offered a Biblical perspective on tragic recent events. President Philip D. W. Krey offered a historical perspective. The Rev. Dr. John Hoffmeyer, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, offered a theological perspective. The Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, offered a pastoral care perspective, and Jennifer Davidson, Student Body President, provided a seminarian's perspective.

Philip D. W. Krey

Saying he was "deeply offended" by the tragic events that unfolded in his native New York City, Krey reminded the audience that in the light of recent calamities Jesus calls upon his people to repent as Christ always has. Historically, Krey said, regardless of the age, people have often made use of terroristic acts "when they feel disempowered by the political system around them." Terrorism, he said, can be administered from the "top down" or can "rise from below." So, he said, terrorism was practiced against the Roman Empire by the Maccabeans, "a people we often admire today." He reminded his audience in offering a historical perspective on acts of terror, sometimes perpetrated by Christians throughout history, that many view America today as an "empire." "That fact does not explain the heinous events of last week," he said. "But it is an occasion for us to rethink our role in the world." Krey said acts of terror are in sharp contrast to the non-violent solutions urged by such historic figures as Dr. Martin Luther King. "We have to ask ourselves at a time like this, can that kind of non-violent response to a human condition change us? Are acts of non-violence capable of changing you and me?"

John Hoffmeyer

Hoffmeyer offered a perspective in terms of language, by describing an "eschatological banquet," and by "being realistic."

"People often use the term terrorism to separate 'us' from 'them'," he said. And it is a term used to put people down in a kind of "political game." He urged people to be cautious about use of the word. He also questioned the use of "collateral damage" as a callous way of describing the indiscriminate loss of civilian life in times of battle. "We need to recognize," Hoffmeyer said, "that even though last week's events were expressions of horrific cruelty that some around the world would not describe them precisely as acts of terror but attacks on symbols of military and financial power that they have come to despise." He said that these tragic times are an occasion to envision a kind of banquet setting in which "the world's people can practice being together….We need each other."

In asking for a realistic view, Hoffmeyer said a key question is, "What will be the most effective steps to take for us to refuse let evil have its way" in the world? In referencing the Lutheran tradition of embracing a "just" war" theory, he discussed two just war categories. "One way to measure a strategy for 'just war' is to consider the approach's chances for success. Is there truly a reasonable hope that what we say will be accomplished may be accomplished? A second category involves asking whether an action will confine the individuals who are the object of attack. "Will the approach put a stop to things or heighten matters? Will we end up destroying the city in order to save it?"

Pamela Cooper-White

Cooper-White described the impact of disastrous events on people's thoughts, feelings, bodies and behavior. She repeatedly urged members of the community not to judge each other by their responses to recent events. "We are in a post-traumatic state," she said, "and we are not as rational as we think we are. We need perspective at a time like this. We need to be gentle with each other."

She said that the impact of disaster is often to call up old griefs and crises in the lives of individuals. "We respond individually. We process things differently, in different speeds and ways," she said.

"We also have different reactions and we enter and leave the circumstances of tragedy at different times and points. We shouldn't judge our feelings or the feelings of others," she said. "We shouldn't have shoulds."

Cooper-White said people are also most aware when they feel most secure, and people don't feel very safe right now. Their emotions are constantly shifting. "We need to remember that when our feelings are all over the map and we are somewhat irrational that these are normal reactions to abnormal events," she said. At such times anger can be displaced and taken out on a co-worker or a spouse or a national leader.

She also noted that at times of crisis "people revert to type. We come to the world in different ways. Sensing vs. intuitive, contemplative vs. activist, thinkers vs. feelers. At a time like this we need to expand our awareness of each other as a community of people and embrace our differences."

Jennifer Davidson

Student Body President Davidson spoke as a seminarian who is also the mother of a 3-year-old and a wife. "What can our approach be as seminarians?" she asked. She discussed her acquaintanceship with terror in recent days and urged her audience to acknowledge that "evil exists and moves well over the face of the earth." She called on the community to "stand at the abyss with eyes wide open," recognizing that the destructive spirits of evil exist at every level and scale ranging from national and international events to domestic violence. She urged others to "trust in God's mercy" in response to homophobia, racism, sexism, colonialism or acts of terror worldwide. "God grieves for us even when we are too numb to grieve for ourselves," she said. "We need to be prepared to speak the Word of God down into the abyss when we face it. We need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God and take on our studies here as if they really matter." She said becoming familiar with the Word of God will prepare seminarians to deal in the future with difficult times.