The 9th of September 2001 was a day of horror millions of people around thew world. I sat in my 'safe' suburban home in Sydney late one Tuesday night watching the late night news with my daughter who was 21 at the time. It was an ordinary sort of day, I had just returned from Sydney Missionary Bible College, where I was doing some study, and she had been doing some university work that night. The news was interrupted by reports of a plane hitting a building in New York. What followed was two hours of television horror as we watched the dreadful events unfold.
The memories and shock are still vivid, how much more so for the people directly affected by the tragedy and who were living in New York, Washington or Shanksville Pennsylvania. But in some way everyone who watched those events has been affected in varied ways. The impact continues.
The images below capture the events of the week before, at the time of the attacks and since the tragedy of that day.
A 'Hat Tip' to 'TRIABLOGUE' for pointing to these photos from The Atlantic: In Focus with Alan Taylor. Alan originally created them when he worked at The Boston Globe: The Big Picture
Two Psalms come to mind on this memorial day, Psalm 23 and Psalm 77
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
This guest post has been written by Greg Thiele who is a CASE Associate
A tragic event
Local media have reported, over the last couple of weeks, the sad case of Rebekah Lawrence. In December 2005, Rebekah, an apparently normal, happily married 34-year-old, jumped to her death from a building in the centre of Sydney (see link here). In the minutes immediately preceding her death, she exhibited behaviour that was characterised, in an inquest into her death that concluded last week, as “psychotic”, including removing her clothes, singing and talking in a childlike voice, and other “regressive” behaviour. This was totally out of character for a woman described as “measured and conservative”.
Just two days before her death, Rebekah had concluded a four-day personal development course called the Turning Point, run by Sydney-based Company People Knowhow. The course features "guided meditation, regression therapy and body work”, and promises to take its participants on "a journey to the core of the human spirit". The intention of the course is to improve the quality of people's lives by "developing emotional maturity, intelligence and soulfulness".
Regression Therapy
Forensic psychiatrist Michael Diamond, appearing at the inquest, criticised the use of regression therapy techniques as they are practised on the Turning Point, suggesting that staff involved did not have the training or expertise to deal with the “intense emotional fallout” that could be provoked by the course. It is Dr Diamond’s belief that there was a causal link between what Rebekah underwent during the course, and her bizarre behaviour leading up to her death.
While obviously feeling great sympathy for Rebekah’s Lawrence’s husband, family and friends, I have found the case disturbing on another level: twenty-odd years ago (when I was not a confessing Christian), I attended the Turning Point course myself. The company has since changed hands, and no doubt some of the course components and methodologies have altered somewhat. According to descriptions I have read recently, however, it is substantially the same.
A Personal Reflection
My recollections of the course are that it probably helped me quite a bit at the time with certain personality and relationship issues that I have struggled with. I experienced no obvious negative reaction. That being said, aspects of the course were extremely confronting. The course virtually forced participants to face aspects of themselves that were often not easy to acknowledge or deal with. I can just about imagine that for the “wrong” kind of person, an extreme negative reaction of some sort could be forthcoming (refer to link here).
According to the company’s records, some 40,000 people have completed the Turning Point (over a period of more than 25 years), and this is the first occurrence of a negative reaction of such seriousness (in fact, as came to light during the inquest, another person is believed to have died shortly after completing the Turning Point – possibly due to self-inflicted stab wounds. See link here).
Self-help courses like Turning Point have proliferated over the last three decades. It is a major industry, and one wonders at the reasons for their popularity. While one can (perhaps slightly cynically) note that participants in such courses (in my experience, at least) are overwhelmingly middle class, and professional or quasi-professional, it would be unfair to characterise them as just another “yuppie” luxury item: the need seems to be real. This prompts the question of why so many people seem to experience a need to engage in such extreme therapy methods.Are people really that unhappy? If so, why? And what is the solution?
Biblical Guidance
The Christian answer comes in two parts. The bible teaches that humankind lives in a “fallen” state, meaning essentially that due to the sinful rebellion of mankind against the rightful rule of our creator, we are doomed to live in a state essentially different from the one intended for us (Genesis 3). This will manifest itself in various ways, including the breakdown of relationships, and to a greater or lesser degree the absence of a sense of well-being. The perceived need to re-achieve the sense of “rightness” and right relationships lost at the Fall is likely to result in a ready market for those able to provide courses and therapies aimed at doing that.
The problem with such therapy methods, useful though they can be (I am in no way suggesting, for instance, that there is no such thing as legitimate treatment of genuine emotional or psychological ills), is that they treat the symptoms, rather than the disease. If human sinfulness is the root problem, then it stands to reason that the only true solution will be one, which addresses that problem.
Jesus came to earth essentially to die for humankind, and by his sacrifice to remove the barrier of sin that separates us from a holy God. By committing our lives to him, the bible tells us, and by trusting in him, we can enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ atoning death and ensuing resurrection. The results will be improved relationships, a greater sense of “rightness”, and the extraordinary hope that we will enjoy, in eternity, perfect relationship with Jesus and all others who belong to him.
This is not to suggest that Christians will always have wonderful relationships – with each other or with non-Christians. It has been the experience of the faithful through the ages, however, that those in whom the Holy Spirit is at work will experience the fruits of the spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).While courses like Turning Point can be helpful for some people in dealing with certain issues, the far weightier “turning point” Jesus calls us to reach involves turning our lives over to his lordship.
Carmen and I went to see Simon & Garfunkel in concert on Tuesday Night. This iconic musical duo responsible for so many great songs in the 1960s and 70s reunited recently for a limited 'Old Friends' tour of New Zealand, Australia and Japan (here). Whether this is the beginning of a more substantial reunion is unclear but we weren't going to miss the chance to see them together again. However, Art Garfunkel's last words on stage after the 3rd curtain call were "Ask us to come back and we'll do it again". So who knows.
The crowd as you'd expect was decidedly 'more mature' with probably 95% baby boomers and a sprinkling of younger fans who probably first heard Simon and Garfunkel on one of their parents' old vinyls. Or perhaps they'd followed Paul Simon's highly successful individual career post break-up, with highlights like his Graceland Album. I turned to Carmen a few times during the concert with comments like "are we that old?" (looking at the people in the next seats). "Yes!" was the quick reply. And "do they realise just how hard it is for this crowd to get to its feet?", "now that song woke a few of them up" and so on (she showed great tolerance). But what an incredible concert. They've lost little vocally and of course Paul Simon has lost nothing musically. This was a quality concert from beginning to end, with backing musicians who are amongst the best there are, some with 20-30 years performing with Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon as individual artists.
Melancholy, lament and hope
As I sang along to songs that I first loved as a 15-21 year old, and which were the accompaniment to Carmen and my teenage years, a few things about them struck me. Putting to one side the brilliance of lyrics and music, many of the songs suggest a maturity well beyond Paul Simon's years when he wrote them, and lots of them display a tension between melancholy (almost despair at times) and hope as the central implied voices seek truth.
The maturity of Simon's early songs is remarkable. A song like "Leaves that are Green" ('Sounds of Silence' album) displays it with poetic simplicity (full lyrics here). The context might be the ending of relationships but this is cast against the inevitably of time moving on and death being its final destination.
I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song. I’m twenty-two now but I won’t be for long Time hurries on. And the leaves that are green turn to brown, And they wither with the wind, And they crumble in your hand.
Many of Simon & Garfunkel's songs have always had a good dose of melancholy, almost darkness and despair at times. But the despair is well masked by the quiet confidence of youth that gives a sense that most things can be overcome. If there is despair, it is heard in the words of Simon's central voices, rarely 'his own'. While some of his songs are upbeat and bouncy 'light' pop numbers, like 'Feelin Groovy' (Garfunkel groaned when this was chosen as part of the 3rd curtain call - "I hate this song"!), many of his early songs are in the folk genres of the day and include sometimes pessimistic views of the world. Here are a few examples.
In the song 'I am a Rock' the central voice is that of the self-absorbed individual who makes himself into an island to avoid the pain that might result from relationships. It becomes obvious that Simon doesn't see this is as a sensible approach to life, instead giving implied support to John Donne's poetic dictum that no man is an island.
'Sounds of silence' is one of their most famous songs. It was released on their very first 'flop' album (Wednesday Morning, 3 AM) that sold just 2,000 copies, that was followed by their first break-up as a duo. But the recording company had it redone without their knowledge with electric guitar, bass, and drums. This effectively launched their careers. What the song means is open to debate, but with lyrics like the following you immediately sense its depth.
Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence
I think that Simon's has written about a wider search for truth, which is revealed perhaps via a dream. Perhaps it is his search, but we're never sure with most of his songs - is this about him or me? The punch line to the song in the last verse is that perhaps truth is found not in the words of historical prophets and great thinkers, but in the simple (but sometimes profound words) of the subway 'prophets'. Now you need to have lived in the 1960s and 70s to realize just how profound some graffiti was in contrast to the inane and mindless tagging of our present age. This was when the Cold War was raging, an age in which every American (and Australian for that matter) thought that a nuclear war was inevitable and that there was a good chance that we'd destroy the world in the process. This was a time when 2-10 words messages had considerable political and philosophical depth.
And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls" And whispered in the sounds of silence
His words suggest that truth should be obvious to us, that it is there on display every day as we walk through the subway. But of course like any good post modern song (before its time), the meaning is illusive. One of the things that is engaging about Simon and Garfunkel's songs is that they display paradoxes and discontinuities, dots to join, pictures to finished to complete the story. Poetry to be mined and enjoyed.
I'm not sure how I first heard or 'read' Simon and Garfunkel's work in the 1960s and 70s because I listened and sang as an atheist who saw no place for God in my world, no truth in the prophets. There was no God and Jesus was someone's ancient invention. There was no hope for the problems of the world that I saw in religion, but this changed at age 31 (you can read my story here) and my view of the world suddenly shifted.
Paul Simon's history is different to mine. He wrote as one who probably had a stronger understanding of God - given his Jewish heritage and having grown up in a strongly Christian country like America - and yet his songs seem to imply that he finds reliance on faith wanting. His songs have many biblical images and reference to God, but he doesn't seem to find his hope there. And yet, there is always this wonderful tension between the need for hope and the elusiveness of it in many of his songs. He is aware of the sometimes aimless wanderings of youth from one place to another, one person to another, one love to another, one pursuit to another, or even one cause to another. "Cloudy" in the 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' album is a good example of this as it tells the simple story of a young man hitchhiking aimlessly around California.
Homeward Bound
But everywhere in his songs and the musical laments, crafted in melodies as well as in words, we come back time and again to the inner desire to be loved, to have purpose and to be at home.
When they sang 'Homeward Bound' on Tuesday night the significance of this song hit me as never before, for I listened not as a 17 year old, but as a 57 year-old more conscious than ever that my life is on a perpetual homeward bound trajectory. This 1966 song written by Paul Simon and produced by the great Bob Johnston is said to have been written at the Ditton railway station in Widnes (NW England) where Simon's was stuck. His song speaks of his longing to return home to his girlfriend of the time (Kathy Chitty living in Essex) but also to his home country of the USA. The desire to be at home, with people who love you, where all is certain and predictable is basic to all people. But the Bible teaches that this deep desire for relationship reflects a deeper echo of the call of our Jesus who would have us come home to him, for in heaven he has prepared a place for us and will bring home those who place their trust in (John 14:1-14). It is only here that we will be truly home.
Did the concert take Carmen and I back to the images and memories of our teenage and young adult years? Yes? Did it make us pine for a time when bodies were stronger, faculties more complete, our future ahead of us, the mistakes of later life not yet been made? No! For we are now people who seek truth not on the subway wall, not in the experiences of youth or later age, but in the timeless wisdom of God. And we believe that the prophets did speak this wisdom as they pointed to a time when there would be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21), when we would bow before the throne of God as his children who have placed their faith in Jesus his son. Our ultimate citizenship is not in this world but in the next, for we are a chosen people who are sojourners and exiles in this world (1 Peter 2:1-13), our citizenship is in heaven and we truly are homeward bound. While Simon and Garfunkel's song reminds me of the challenges of this world, it also reinforces for me why I long for another. Home is (to quote Simon) where my love is waiting, but there is only one love that has ensured my heavenly home - Jesus. Isaac Watt's great hymn suggest the rightful response in 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross' - Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
CASE stands for the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education. It is an activity of New College, located at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. CASE exists to explore the importance and place of Christianity in today’s world. It carries out Christian apologetics—the activity of defending the Christian faith, engaging with other world views and attracting ‘thinking’ people to the message of the Christian faith.
I am a Professor of Education at The University of Sydney, Australia. I have spent a large part of my adult life as a teacher, academic, researcher and senior university administrator. My interests are varied, including how children learn language and literacy, the nature and construction of meaning, curriculum, pedagogy, and adult learning.
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