2001 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

COSTA MESA, Calif. (BP)--A leading authority on religious persecution sees a connection between the Osama bin Laden terror network and persecution directed against Christians in a host of countries.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--A hijacked Boeing 767 gets swallowed up -- literally -- by the glass, concrete and steel of New York City's WTC north tower, spewing destructive flames in every direction possible. Immediate reaction by the American media and populace: "What a horrible accident! It's unthinkable! What could be worse than this?" Eighteen minutes later another hijacked aerial torpedo buries itself just as fierily into the neighboring tower to the south. Immediate reaction by the worldwide media and global citizenry: "This was no accident! It couldn't have happened by chance! Who could have done such a thing?"

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Southern Baptist missionaries forced to relocate because of terrorist threats against Americans and Christians worldwide are seeking God's wisdom about how to get the gospel to their people groups in a dramatically different world.

WACO, Texas (BP)--Two Americans on trial in Afghanistan are safe despite continued bombings of Kabul, the capital where they are being held, according to a prayer alert issued the evening of Oct. 9.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--As the United States marks the one-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on its shore, it's clear Americans are re-examining their priorities in life, Richard Land said Oct. 8.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (BP)--The visual images following the horrific assault on America on Sept. 11 spring forth like a thundering reminder of a terrible nightmare from which one longs to awaken, relieved it was only a frightening dream. Yet we're all still dealing with the earth-shaking reality that the events of Sept. 11 were not a dream but indeed a horrible nightmare. Many New Yorkers and others around the world have expressed, in their shock concerning the massacre, "It was so surreal."

EVANSON, Ill. (BP)--Six or seven years ago, I was talking with a gathering of prayer warriors. They observed that a decade earlier there had been two great political opponents to the free spread of the gospel about which they had been praying -- communism and Islam, whether authoritarian or totalitarian. To the surprise of most everyone, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact alliance had broken down and the church was growing dramatically in China despite restrictions. And what of Islam? As one put it, "One down; one to go."

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself...."

      RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--While terrorist attacks and military retaliation create uncertainty about the future for many people, Southern Baptists must "seize the day" for Jesus Christ, said Jerry Rankin, president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.
      "This is not a time for putting missionary activity on hold," Rankin said. "It is a time for seizing the opportunity to proclaim our living Savior in every effort to extend the kingdom of God into the strongholds of darkness."

WASHINGTON (BP)--The Jay Sekulow-led American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced Oct. 9 it is offering to defend any school district or student organization that displays "God Bless America" in school settings.