9/11 reaffirmed for me how sad it is that we are still using religion as reason to kill, when all religions teach peace.
I will always look back on 9/11 as an extremely ironic day for me. I had been researching and writing a book about the commonalities between the world's religions for years, and I finally finished. The books actually arrived Sept. 10, the day before it all happened. On the morning of the 11th, I had 4,000 books in boxes, stacked up in my bedroom, and I was counting the books and checking how they came out. I was actually listening to VPR radio as I was doing all this, and the news started pouring in about the towers. I will forever have an image in my mind of this: In the foreground there are boxes of books I had just written, about how the religions could coexist harmoniously if they would just focus more on the common teachings they share. In the center of this image is the TV showing the towers on fire. It was hard for me to process. In the weeks and months that followed, I found that the events of 9/11 were very relevant to my research. As I appeared on radio programs to discuss my book, it was an obvious question to ask and discuss: how and why does religion play a role in the problems in the world, and how can also it be a solution? When I wrote the book, I had no idea that 9/11 was going to happen or that the ideas in the book would relate to such a horrific and historic event. And I certainly didn't imagine that the book would be released on the exact same day. I believe the events that took place that day make the message of my book even more relevant and important. Now 20 years later, I continue to hope that people of all religions will focus more on our common bonds and we can take more steps towards a peaceful world.
Gary Beckwith
