Jeff,
Very well written and touching.
My epiphany came from events surrounding 9/11 also- although not at that exact time. I was listening to an interview with a muslim extremist on National Public Radio some years later. The fellow was asked about his view on the death of innocents- and he basically said "there are no innocents" The Christians and Jews deserve to die and should die because they oppose Islam. The interviewer went further and asked about fellow Muslims who die. He said that Muslims who are from a different creed or background (Sunni, Wahabi, Shia, etc) are also not true believers and must die according to the holy books.
I thought- "Thats what we think!" People who do not believe the same as we do should die- and will die in Armageddon!! The rididulous-ness of it hit me like a load of bricks- that someone should allow or condone the death of another based on their interpretation of an old document- is insanity. Why is Mother Theresa considered an evil person by the Witnesses? Because of her thoughts on the trinity or cross or the roman heirarchy- meanwhile she is universally known as a selfless, charitable individual.
That epiphany did more for my exit than anything else.
Thanks for the post Jeff- it brought back my thoughts.
Lrkr