Columnist Peggy Noonan wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal editorial page of September 28 titled "God Is Back." She was reacting to the many references to God by politicians and pundits, as well as high attendance figures for religious services since September 11. However, just the mention of or holding meetings in His name doesn't mean that God is truly back in the hearts, minds-and consequently, reflected in the actions-of the Americans, British, Canadians, Australians, South Africans or other Western peoples.

Seeking to rally support for the U.S.-led war on international terrorism, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "Whatever faults we have, Britain is a very moral nation with a strong sense of right and wrong. That moral fibre will defeat the fanaticism of these terrorists and their supporters" ("Blair Rallies Britain as War Nerves Fray," The Observer, October 28, 2001, emphasis added throughout).

There is evidence to the contrary.

Less than a week before September 11, The Times of London ran this headline: "Christianity Almost Beaten Says Cardinal." In the body of the article, religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill quoted the Archbishop of Westminster: "Christianity has almost been vanquished in Britain.... Christ [is] being replaced by music, New Age beliefs, the environmental movement, the occult and the free-market economy" (September 6, 2001).

Is Britain "a very moral nation"? According to the leader of the 4.1 million Roman Catholics in England and Wales: "It does seem...that Christianity, as a sort of backdrop to people's lives and moral decisions-and to the Government, the social life of the country-has now almost been vanquished" (ibid.).

Morality isn't a quality that can be turned on or off at will. Neither is the requisite spiritual strength lying dormant within every citizen of the Western world, merely because our nations once respected and, more importantly, responded to God. Our nations do not have moral strength simply because they need to have it. Will our people rise to the critical occasion? Will they turn back to God and find His strength in this time of trouble?