One lunchtime my wife and I were celebrating the decision to give London the 2012 Olympics. The next lunchtime we were stunned to hear the terrible news of the London terrorist attacks. Our hearts went out to those involved and those who had lost loved ones.
In the space of one hour, four bombs went off on Thursday July 7. Three were on the Underground and one in a double-decker red London bus. Hundreds of people were injured and at least 50 are dead. Police have made unexpectedly quick progress in their investigation, and it is now believed the attacks were carried out by extremist Muslim young men, mostly from Leeds, who acted as suicide bombers.
Political responses
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, was in Singapore for the Olympic decision when the news of the explosions broke. Speaking on The World at One on Radio 4 he addressed the perpetrators. He acknowledged their terrible commitment to the cause of terrorism shown by their willingness even to become suicide bombers if necessary. But he said that they would never win. He said that the reason for this was ordinary people’s love of freedom. He said that one of the reasons many people come to live in London is to enjoy liberty, whereas the terrorists want to dictate and ‘tell people how to live’. He spoke to the effect that people’s love of freedom is greater than the fear that terrorism can inspire.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …