Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Has God made Himself known through the Tragedies of September 11th?

This is again a school assignment. I'm not sure I understood the assignment well, so if my writing seems confusing and off topic, that may explain it. This is the second topic in a mini series (3 posts) on 9/11 (yesterday I posted on my memory of that day, incase you didn't read that). Correct me if any of my theology is off, or if there are any grammar mistakes.

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September 11, 2001, God made himself more known to Americans than any other time in recent history. There is no way that someone could honestly deny that God had anything to do with the tragedy that fell upon our country that fateful day.
First, God knows everything before it even happens. He knew before the creation of the world that on September 11, 2001, these attacks would take place. It did not surprise him. He did not sit back and say, “Whoa! What happened down there? I do not remember planning that.” He was not only well aware it would happen, he allowed it to happen. Obviously he was not the villain behind the incident, but he was willing to let it happen. No one may ever be exactly sure why something like that would happen, but it was not bad, and good will come out of it. So, if people find themselves asking God why he did it, that in itself shows that he made himself known to those people. They may not have recognized God (even if their recognition of him is negative, it is nonetheless recognition) had it not been for this tragic happening.
Second, God did not abandon America after this tragedy. He did not take the attitude of “you brought this upon yourselves, now fend for yourselves.” He comforted the mourning, he became the Savior of the dying, and he revealed his power in a great way. Some believers had never had an experience to see God’s power manifested that greatly. Americans were able to see how much grace he could bestow, how much love he could cast upon them, how many blessing he could let flow mercilessly. While the attacks were devastatingly great, they will never surpass the greatness of the Lord.
Last, God made himself known by allowing America to recover from such a tragedy. Some countries may not have been able to recover an attack like that in such a short period of time. While certain individuals may have yet to get over the loss of a loved one, America in general seems to have “gotten back on their feet,” and that is definitely by God lavishing his grace on our country, not because our government is wonderful, or because the people of this country are unemotional and resourceful.
Although a tragic day, September 11, 2001 can still be remembered as a day that God made himself known in a powerful way. Hopefully believers can continue to draw closer to their powerful Savior, and unbelievers will recognize the majesty of the Lord, and be saved, so that the next time a tragedy occurs, they will find their comfort in Jesus Christ, the great comforter.

2 comments:

Zoanna said...

It's your mother/English teacher here, honey, and since this is an assignment to blog, I am going to evaluate it here.

MY COMMENTS WILL IN ALL CAPS.

1)September 11, 2001, God made himself more known to Americans than any other time in recent history. I WOULD INSERT AN "ON" BEFORE "SEPT" AND AN "AT" AFTER "THAN" B/C YOU'RE COMPARING ONE TIME TO ANOTHER.

2) GOOD STRONG HOOK. BRAVO.

3) There is no way that ....
AVOID STARTING SENTENCES WITH 'THERE IS" OR "THERE ARE" BECAUSE THOSE PHRASES ARE LIKE USELESS CALORIES. THEY FILL UP THE SENTENCE BUT SLOW DOWN ITS FLOW. TRY, INSTEAD, TO START WITH STRONG NOUNS OR PHONOUNS, AND PERHAPS MAKE A RHETOORICAL QUESTION OF IT. (E.G. WHO CAN HONESTLY DENY THAT GOD HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH ....").


4)He knew before the creation of the world that on September 11, 2001, these attacks would take place. It did not surprise him. He did not sit back and say, “Whoa! What happened down there? I do not remember planning that.”

WELL SAID. DIALOGUE OR QUOTED BITS OF MONOLOGUE, WHETHER MADE UP OR NOT, COMMAND A READER'S ATTENTION.

5)So, if people find themselves asking God why he did it, that in itself shows that he made himself known to those people.
GOOD OBSERVATION.

6)They may not have recognized God (even if their recognition of him is negative, it is nonetheless recognition) had it not been for this tragic happening.

GOOD POINT. I THINK THE SENTENCE WOULD BE STRONGER AS TWO. They may not have recognized God HAD IT had it not been for this tragic happening. (Even if their recognition of him is negative, it is nonetheless recognition.)

"TRAGEDY" INSTEAD OF "TRAGIC HAPPENING"

7)Americans were able to see how much grace he could bestow, how much love he could cast upon them, how many blessing he could let flow mercilessly.

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE? YOU NEED TO DEFINE GRACE AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF IT. DON'T ASSUME THAT ALL OF YOUR READERS UNDERSTAND YOUR TERMS. REMEMBER, THIS IS THE WORLD WIDE WEB:).

8)While certain individuals may have yet to get over the loss of a loved one, America in general seems to have “gotten back on their feet,”

PERHAPS YOU COULD CHOOSE MORE SENSITIVE PHRASING IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS SENTENCE. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE EVER GET OVER THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE.

ALSO, AMERICA IS A SINGULAR NOUN, SO NEEDS THE SINGULAR PRONOOUN "ITS" (NOT 'THEIR") BEFORE "FEET." I THINK YOU ALSO MEANT "MERCIFULLY" NOT "MERCILESSLY"?

8)While the attacks were devastatingly great, they will never surpass the greatness of the Lord.

WELL SAID.

9)Last, God made himself known by allowing America to recover from such a tragedy. Some countries may not have been able to recover an attack. I WOULD SAY "FINALLY" INSTEAD OF "LAST" BUT IT'S OKAY.

SECOND SENTENCE IS REDUNDANT OF FIRST. HOW ABOUT
"I DOUBT OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD HAVE OUR STRENGTH, OUR RESOLVE, AND OUR ABUNDANT RESOURCES THAT HELPED US RECOVER"?

10) Although a tragic day, September 11, 2001 can still be remembered as a day that God made himself known in a powerful way.

BEAUTIFUL PERSpECTIVE, SARAH. THAT'S EXCELLENT.

11)Hopefully believers
WHAT ARE HOPEFULLY BELIEVERS? THE WORD "HOPEFULLY" IS AN ADVERB MEANING "FULL OF HOPE," YET MOST WRITERS MEAN "I HOPE THAT...."

12) PLEASE PUT OBVIOUS SPACES BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. IT HELPS YOUR READERS VISUALLY AND MENTALLY TO PROCESS YOUR WORDS WHEN THERE IS WHITE SPACE AROUND DISTINCT PARAGRAPHS.

THIS ROUGH DRAFT IS FULL OF MATURE INSIGHTS AND SUBSTANCE. WELL WRITTEN. B+.

PLEASE REWRITE AND REPOST BY SEPT 27TH. THANKS, LOVE.

Zoanna said...

*WILL appear IN ALL CAPS"

*Phonouns? ARe they pronouns with cell phones?

*rhetoorical?" OOH, ooh, Rhetorical!

*singular pronooun" Unmarrieds rising at the crack of noon)

We all need the help of an editor, eh?