All over the Tri-State on Tuesday, religious leaders across the faith spectrum pleaded the same prayer — do not let outrage turn to hatred.
While acknowledging the feelings of rage and desire for revenge after Tuesday’s terrorist attacks, they urged prayers for peace.
“God is not the author of confusion,” said the Rev. Gerald Arnold, pastor of Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Newburgh. “God is the author of reconciliation and peace.”
As millions of Americans were transfixed by the televised images of chaos and horror Tuesday, religious leaders advised patience and calm.
They encouraged people to do something positive to counteract their fears and frustrations. They organized prayer services and vigils so people could pray communally.
“When we feel our lives are out of equilibrium, so out of balance by something so unexpected like this, we have an instinctive need to reach out,” said Rabbi David Feder. “It’s a way to acknowledge that we need each other.”
Many religious leaders expressed fears that both individuals and the nation would seek a rush to retaliation and revenge to satisfy moral outrage.
At an interfaith prayer service at the Four Freedoms Monument, Evansville Catholic Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger warned that “dehumanizing” other people makes retribution easier.
He and the city’s Muslim leaders expressed concern that Americans who associate terrorism with Islam will blame all Muslim- and Arab-Americans for Tuesday’s terrorist attacks.
He and other religious leaders urged people to pray.
“We ask God to give our nation’s leaders wisdom in this time of terrible strife,” said the Rev. W.R. Brown Sr. “And we ask him to help us deal with our own sins of hatred.”
The Rev. Bob Coleman of Methodist Temple predicted people will have difficulty dealing with any moral outrage this soon because we have yet to discover who is responsible for the attacks.
He said now is a time to support those who have lost someone in the attacks and to begin to understand the impact of violence.
While the magnitude of this is “hard to grasp,” Coleman said, “we have to understand that other countries have gone through atrocities and massacres. Now we understand something of their great loss, which may help us to be more open to the pain of the world overall.”
At Oakland City University in Oakland City, Ind., Tom Leuze, an assistant professor of religious studies, said it’s normal for people to feel helpless at times like this.
“You want to take some action that’s worthwhile,” he says, recommending prayer, giving blood or “thinking of others.”
“We need to recognize that hysteria comes easy … you need to keep your head and come to some sort of calm decision.”