The obligatory 9/11 post

Thinking back to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I was led to re-examine the reasons behind the attacks. When you dig past the psychology, the political talking points designed to whip people into a frenzy, the cultural differences, and whatever other explanations people try to apply, what everything really boils down to is this:

"I'm right, and you're wrong."

That's the message we were supposed to receive eight years ago. And while I was considering this binary, black/white, right/wrong worldview I was reminded of a message I heard a while back that there are only two religious systems in the world: those based on human achievement, and those not based on human achievement. When everything else is stripped away that's what we're left with - either you can earn salvation based on something you do, or you can't.

No matter what your feelings are regarding such a black and white view, the fact remains only one of these choices can be right. So if it's works based, which set of works is it? Do I only need to be a "good" person? Can I eat ham? Do I go to confession? Kneel and pray at specified times of the day?

Which leads to even further confusion. What happens if I miss a day of prayer? What if I'm killed in a car wreck on the way to confession? How do I know what acts are good, bad, or indifferent? What's the good to bad ratio that gets me into heaven?

More importantly, who decides all of this? A bunch of guys in funny hats? I mean, who died and made them God?

On the other hand, if salvation is not based on anything I can do for myself, what do we have?

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Rom. 10:9-10)

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— (Eph. 2:4-5)

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified...I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Gal. 2:16, 21)

I could go on (and on). Getting back to the original point, who's right and who's wrong? The guys in the funny hats, or the creator of the universe? This is a choice you need to settle now, because we all saw eight years ago that life can end literally in the blink of an eye.