PRAYER AND THE TRAIN BLASTS IN BOMBAY

CHANNING WALKER

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

INITIAL REPORTS on the July 11 bombings of the commuter rail network in Bombay, India—which killed close to 190 at press time and wounded many others—link it to the Kashmir dispute. At this writing no one has claimed responsibility.

If there's any silver lining at all to this tragedy, it might be the speed and forcefulness with which Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist acts. In addition to Mr. Musharraf's words of condolence, the Foreign Ministry added, "Terrorism is a bane of our times, and it must be condemned, rejected, and countered effectively and comprehensively."

How to do that? Perhaps the condemnation of terrorism and even the rejection of it come naturally to most all of us. But how does one truly counter terrorism effectively and comprehensively? Isn't that what pretty much the whole human race has been yearning to know for some time now? As I ponder the questions, I feel a conviction, which has grown over the last few years, that prayer brings an extra dimension to countering terrorism. Prayer, and a spiritual perspective. After all, every terrorism. Prayer, and a spiritual perspective. After all, every available resource is plainly needed. We'd be naive to overlook the power of prayer, the efficacy of a spiritual perspective. Leave aside prayer, and we'd be making a less than comprehensive response.

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