Religion News : Renowned Theologian Claims Bush Administration Was Behind 9/11 Attacks And Urges Christians To Respond

RENOWNED THEOLOGIAN CLAIMS BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS BEHIND 9/11 ATTACKS AND URGES CHRISTIANS TO RESPOND

August 7, 2006

Louisville, Kentucky—“One of our main tasks as theologians is to deal with current events in light of the fact that our first allegiance must be to God, who created and loves all people–indeed all forms of life,” argues David Ray Griffin in the preface of his just released and highly controversial Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action. “If we believe that our political and military leaders are acting on the basis of policies that are diametrically opposed to divine purposes, it is incumbent upon us to say so.”

Thus, with a marked departure from his usual research and publications in process theology and religion and science, Griffin, who initially scoffed at “9/11 conspiracy theories,” places his formidable reputation on the line and advances a chilling argument for the Christian scholarly and church communities. Painstakingly laying forth an abundance of evidence and disturbing questions that implicate the Bush administration in 9/11, Griffin charges the administration itself with orchestrating the 9/11 attacks as a pretext for expanding the American empire. He cites evidence that the Twin Towers were brought down by controlled demolition; that military personnel were given stand-down orders not to intercept hijacked flights; and that the 9/11 Commission, ostensibly created to uncover the truth behind the events of 9/11, simply ignored evidence that the administration was involved in the attacks.

As Griffin further explains, events such as that of 9/11 are part of a long history of “false-flag attacks,” attacks orchestrated by governments against their own people to garner popular support for military action. The 9/11 attacks, Griffin argues, are part of the Bush administration’s larger agenda to bring the world and its resources under U.S control. And it is this agenda that has wreaked global havoc, from accelerating global warming to increasing inequality between the haves and the have-nots.

Without hesitation Griffin calls the United States the world’s “chief embodiment of demonic power.” He urges American Christians to stand together and challenge the government’s imperial designs. “There can be no greater distortion of the original Christian message than the use of Christianity to support imperialism.”

Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11 was released in July by Westminster John Knox Press and has already received much praise:

“WARNING: If, like most Americans calling themselves Christian, you prefer the comfort of acquiescing in the official version of 9/11 and the imperial wars it facilitated, DROP THIS BOOK NOW. But if you are open to the grace of honest inquiry and the risk of following the historical Jesus in confronting the evils of empire, this rigorously argued book is a MUST READ.”

—Ray McGovern, CIA veteran analyst now with Tell the Word, a project of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour, Washington, D.C.
“If you are open to recognizing that the United States behaves much as other great powers have behaved, but you get your information through standard American channels, I dare you to expose yourself to the facts Griffin summarizes, facts that have been suppressed by our newspapers and magazines. If you are one who wants to be a disciple of Jesus, you will have some hard thinking to do about what American Christians are called to be and to do at this historical moment.”

—John B. Cobb Jr., coauthor of The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God

“Are we brave enough to read this nerve-wracking book, one of the most important theological texts of our time? Rooted in the long-standing belief that Christians share responsibility for shaping a more justice-loving world, Griffin makes a strong case that the real ‘conspiracy theory’ about 9/11 is the Bush administration’s silly notion that nineteen young Arab men could have pulled it off. Griffin helps us wrestle with questions that are almost too much to bear, yet which may empower us, if we dare, to build a more truthful and, over time, more deeply moral nation and world.”

—The Rev. Carter Heyward, Robbins Professor of Theology Emerita, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and author of Saving Jesus from Those Who Are Right and God in the Balance: Christian Spirituality in Times of Terror

“In two earlier books, David Ray Griffin established himself as one of the foremost researchers into 9/11. This book is of immensely greater scope and importance….It sees the contemporary world clearly and synoptically in an informed Christian perspective, so that it makes questions of theodicy and the roots of evil as contemporary as the events of 9/11. Even though it makes some claims and arguments I disagree with, I consider this one of the most significant and original books I have ever read.”

—Peter Dale Scott, author of Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina

David Ray Griffin is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Theology at Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University, and a codirector of the Center for Process Studies. He is the author of numerous books, including the popular bestsellers The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 and The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions.

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Westminster John Knox Press is the trade and academic publishing imprint of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. With a publishing heritage of more than 160 years, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation publishes more than 75 new works each year, while maintaining a backlist of more than 1,100 active titles. The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is one of the six agencies of the PC(USA) but receives no funding from the denomination. Under the Westminster John Knox Press imprint, PPC publishes a theologically rich and diverse selection of books that extends far beyond the Reformed tradition and the official policies and stances of the PC(USA). Books specifically for the PC(USA) are published under the Geneva Press imprint.

To order Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11, visit our Web site at www.wjkbooks.com.