9/11 and Polytheism

It’s been 22 years since that fateful morning when 19 al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the United States using planes as weapons.  Twenty-two years since 2,977 people were killed as part of a “holy war” that their leader, Osama Bin Laden was waging against the United States. 

Bin Laden was the same guy who, just a few years prior to the 9/11 attacks, authored an attack on the U.S. embassy after writing a fatwa (a legal ruling of Islamic law) which cited polytheism as one of the reasons for the attacks.

Polytheism - the belief or worship of more than one God.

In Exodus, God gives Moses the 10 commandments, the first of which is “You shall have no other gods before me” - Exodus 20:3.  In the commandment that follows God tells the Israelites not to make or worship any graven images or objects. We read…”I, the Lord your God am a jealous God” - Exodus 20:5

But in the 22 years since the attacks, would you say we’ve become “MORE” or “LESS” polytheistic in nature?….

My money is on more.

Thirty-three year old Taylor Swift is worth 740 million dollars.  Tickets for her concert in Indianapolis next November (2024) have tickets selling for up to $3677 each…

Last year, billionaire basketball player LeBron James made $119.5 million dollars between his contract and endorsements.  For the upcoming November 1st game against rivals, LA Clippers, you could pay up  to $10,379 for a center court ticket.

Ken Jennings has been paid over $5 million dollars answering trivia questions on the 1/2 hour quiz show, Jeopardy.

And yet…WorldVision estimates 10% of the global population is starving, and the USDA says 10.2% of the American population suffers from “food insecurity”.

UNICEF and the W.H.O says that 26% of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water and a whopping 46% lack access to basic sanitation.

And CNBC says that while government sources say that nearly 12% of Americans live in “poverty”, the actual figure may be far worse because the measurement system was created decades ago and doesn’t consider critical factors.

Folks we live in a world (or at least a country) that values entertainment over the health and well being of our neighbors.  One that would rather see Taylor sing “Shake it Off” than it would see people NOT STARVING.

If Jesus said the two most important commandments were to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," and to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39)  I think even He might be disappointed in the polytheism of our current world.