I don't think there is an American

today, regardless of his or her faith, background, or ethnic origin, who

wouldn't say that Sept. 11 has had a profoundly effect on our lives and

forever changed us.

A Reverend Charles Stanley

of North Carolina writes an open letter to newspapers around the world.

I share it with you here.

An open letter to terrorists

and those who harbor and support you, from an American grandfather:

I am told by the leaders of

my government that you are intelligent people. In light of your actions,

I am having growing difficulty believing that. At the very least, it has

become increasingly obvious that you lack a fundamental comprehension

of my psychology as an American.

I hear on our news broadcasts

that your rage is fueled by my support of Israel. It has never been about

nationality or religious faith - never about Jew vs. Arab.

I thought you would finally

have figured that out when I sent my children into harm's way in order

to protect the innocent citizens of Arab Kuwait from the savage wolf who

would devour them for his own gain. It has everything to do with the lessons

taught to me by my father - and his before him for many generations before

the white man came to this land we call America.

I have a vivid memory of coming

home, as a boy of about nine years of age, and telling my father of feeling

helpless horror as I watched the neighborhood bully unmercifully torment

a boy even smaller than myself. My father reflected for a long moment,

then quietly inquired of me as to what I had done about it. I said that

I had watched until it was over and had then come home.

The look in his eyes penetrated

me to my core for he had never looked at me in that way before. He said

that he was deeply ashamed of me and he sent me to my room with instructions

to think about what had happened. It seemed hours before he came to my

door. He sat beside me on my bed and, for a painfully long while, he said

nothing.

When finally he spoke, he explained:

"There will always be

among us dishonorable men who are devoid of humanity and compassion. They

are but naked animals and an empty shell of what truly is a man. They

attempt to fill their emptiness by the exercise of power over others,

thinking that it makes them whole men. Often they are enraged that they

do not even understand their own emptiness, what it is that they lack.

"When these men are also

cowards, they disguise themselves as sheep among the flock and attack

from the shadows. This is the vilest form of sub-human behavior for even

animals attack openly when they must attack.

"When humanity and integrity

are present in a man, he expresses them as compassion. When compassion

and strength achieve perfect balance within a man, they manifest as wisdom.

The compassionate man feels the pain of others. The wise man protects

others from pain. For, if you watch and do nothing to protect others,

who will come to your aid when you alone remain and the bully comes for

you.

"Some things are far more

important than your personal safety and freedom from pain. If ever again

you see someone being hurt, protect him, even if you are certain to be

injured in the process. Then I will know that I have truly raised a man."

Anyone who understands the

impact of this lesson, and how deeply it runs in the man I have become,

will understand my unflinching willingness to sacrifice my children in

defense of Arab and Jew alike when they are threatened by the bullies

and cowards of the world. And please do not insult my intelligence with

claims of Jewish treatment of Palestinians. I am old enough to retain

vivid memories of 1948. I remember the excitement of the Jews over the

prospect of governing "with" them. Their reaction, and that

of their neighbors, was to attempt to finish what the Nazis could not.

I, for one, am stunned by the

monumental stupidity of your arrogance. Did you actually think that only

Americans would occupy the World Trade Center? You have but fired the

first pitiful salvo of World War III for the entire world is now preparing

to come after you, your host, your financiers and your supporters.

And please, do not listen to

what I say. You would do far better to watch the sky. I must say that

I owe you a profound debt of gratitude. Not for what you have done or

what you have unleashed upon the world, but for what you have accompolished,

for not one among us could have accomplished it.

On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001,

we were a divisive, apathetic nation. Our young people had nothing by

which to identify with our history or heritage; our people were divided

paralyzed by political party affiliation, able to agree upon nothing;

the military had difficulty obtaining volunteers and most of us simply

changed TV channels in response to Red Cross pleas for blood donations.

Your actions have changed all

of that in a way that has occurred only twice before in the history of

this nation - once in 1776 and again on December 7, 1941. The worst in

the worst of Allah's children has brought out the best in the best of

Allah's children and, for this, I thank you.

Since your cowardly act, Muslim,

Jew, Christian, black, white, yellow and brown have stood shoulder to

shoulder for hours in the hot sun to donate blood for the injured. Our

government has suddenly become totally united in its purpose. Our military

is having difficulty handling the flood of volunteers from among our young

people. Our flag makers report that there is no way humanly possible that

they can keep up with the demand -shipments are sold out within minutes.

You have accomplished a miracle that only God could have anticipated.

And, it would seem, the hand

of God was present even in the date that you selected for your attack,

for you could not have chosen a date more in keeping with a reawakening

of American pride and purpose. There is in America a nationwide system

for seeking help in times of emergency. Every American knows that, when

threatened, he can pick up any telephone and dial 911 and help is immediately

on the way to assist and protect him.

9th month), 11, 2001 to exhibit your cowardice, you unwittingly placed

a 911 call that has brought all of America together in a way that brings

tears of joy and pride to my eyes. No longer is our battle cry, "Remember

Pearl Harbor!" Thanks to you and your kind it will now and forevermore

be, "Remember 911!" whenever the innocents of any nation find

themselves threatened by cowards with guns.

I do not, for a moment, deny

that you hurt me. Far too many parents and children now go to bed wondering

where their loved ones are. And, yes, I am momentarily reeling. But it

is from the sudden realization that I share the planet with anyone capable

of such an atrocity against the humanity of so many nations.

In his Inaugural Address in

Washington, D.C. on January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy said,

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we

shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend,

oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

He was talking about the liberty of all men, of all faiths, of all nations.

You need to understand that

the truth of that statement is the very fabric of who and what I am. I

wish neither to rule nor to inflict injury upon the innocents of any nation.

I am the lion who sleeps with God's lambs to protect them from ravenous

wolves that would devour them. Your 911 call has awakened the lion and

now I hunger for the flesh of wolves.

In closing, let me state, Mohammed

taught that Allah is a God of love - yet you have the unmitigated gall

to bastardize Islam to suit your own personal, unholy agenda. Who now

is the infidel?"

Sincerely,

The Reverend Charles Stanley

Hertford, North Carolina, USA

[Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor

of His House Community Church (SBC), located on Ga. Highway 85 south of

Senoia. Go one mile past Ga. Highway 16 and the church is on the right,

just past the fire station. Visitors are welcome. Church office and Prayer

line number is 770-719-2365. E-mail address is [email protected] .]

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