Rating: 
Summary: A Discussion of Post-9/11 Reality
Review: This is the first book that I have read that deals specifically with the 9/11 attacks. I always find Dr. Zacharias' approach to the great and terrible issues of our day to be sound, clear, and well thought out, with the entire logical ramifications in perfect order. Moreover, Dr. Zacharias has that rare ability to meld mind and heart in his theology, so much so, that I prefer his style to many of his more popular peers.So what are we to make of the 9/11 attacks? Dr. Zacharias devotes six chapters, plus an appendix to covering this vexing question. I suggest reading the appendix first, got get a thumbnail of the arguments used in this rather slim book. Chapter One sets the stage for the book, reminding us of what all this worry is about. Our memories too often are like the Short Attention Span Theater, with all segments not being over seven minutes. Sometime reality doesn't make it to the commercial break. Chapter Two is a discussion of moral absolutes. Dr. Zacharias has come up with a concise definition of why moral relativism is bankrupt: "Rarely have I met a true relativist. Hidden somewhere in the words of everyone who argues for complete relativism is a belief that there are, indeed, some acts that are wrong. The bottom line is this: When someone says that all truth is relative, he or she is making either a relative statement or an absolute one. If it is a relative statement, then that statement, by definition, is not always true. On the other hand, if the belief that all truth is relative is absolute, then the very statement itself must be denied, because it denies absolutes. The pure relativist cuts off the branch on which he is sitting while telling you the branch cannot be severed. The landing is mind-shattering." (p. 20) In logic, this is called the "Self Inclusion Fallacy." In Chapter Three, Dr. Zacharias discuses the essential nature of Islam, weather it is good or bad. ... I think that we make sweeping generalizations against Islam, since the key to understanding the two Islams is how one translated "jihad." Dr. Zacharias makes the case that Islam is not inherently evil, but that the fundamentalists have hijacked it He spends some time discussing the blasting cap book of radical Islam, "The Missing Religious Precept," which focused on the negative, violent definition of "jihad." Chapter Four is an interesting chapter that deals with Biblical prophecy about 9/11. We have read the Nostradamus "pious frauds," but this is the first time I have read a specific hermeneutic or theology on the attacks. Dr. Zachairas focuses on the Image of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel, and the incidents surrounding the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. The lineage is important, since so much depends on weather Ishmael or Isaac had the birthright. The question of God's presence or absence during the attack is the subject of Chapter Five. I think Dr. Zacharias raised a poignant question, when he suggested a thought problem. If God appeared to you, and announced his existence in all his glory and fire, would you belie? Well, yes. But then, suppose you then accidentally ran over you child as you were backing up. Would you be content with you sure vision? (p. 84-89) He makes the point that we are not purely intellectual being, and that we need the whispering of the Spirit to our heart even more so. Doesn't the Bible speak of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter? He rounds off his discussion in Chapter Six with confirming our faith in God. The issue isn't death, since we will all die, but on what we do with our allotted days. This book is a very gentle book, yet it has a backbone along with its brain and heart. I recommend it for anyone wanting a strong philosophical answer to the question raised by the falling towers.
| 
