Dear FRONTLINE

The wisdom & honesty of the guests on this program far exceeded anything I had ever hoped to see on television. Fait & Doubt At Ground Zero stands head & shoulders above anything - in any media, including print - ever done on 911. Thank you.

Bob Aldo

Dear FRONTLINE

Thank you.

It reminded me of a simple line of Christian Scripture: "Jesus wept." John Chap. 11

Charles Rudolph
Albuquerque, NM

Dear FRONTLINE

I saw many of my own emotions portrayed. As a clergyman in the Christian faith, I realize that exclusivism paves the path to intolerance, hatred and ultimately violence. When will we learn? And, of course, I am a part of "we."

Calvin N. Harrub, III

Dear FRONTLINE

Very thought provoking. I like the discussion of the dark side of religion, how it sometimes encourages absolutist thought, an unwillingness to look at other points of view. I thought it was courageous of Frontline to present so honestly some of this side of religion.

Jody Alford
Ada, OK

Dear FRONTLINE

In the context of religion any religion, the events of 9/11 are incomprehnsible, as are countless events throughout history. In the context of atheism, all such events are completely understandable: very bad things happen, period. Bad things happen to humans, to baby zebras, to ants, to rain forests, etc., etc., etc. Very good things also happen. Most events are in-between. Everything falls somewhere on a bell curve. Religion was, in part, invented to help explain these events, but it always fails.

I've heard interviews with family members of those who were able to thwart the terrorists on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania, saying that god's hand was on those to aid them in heroic acts. No doubt they were heroes. But, if god was going to intervene at some point during that flight, why didn't he cause a traffic jam that would prevent the hijackers from getting to the airport? Or trip and fall and break their arms on their way down the jetway? etc., etc. For those with religion who can make some sense of it, I applaud you, but that does not negate that you are simply deluding yourselves.

Scott John

Dear FRONTLINE

I believe that you should be also listening to Arabs such as Mona Eltahwawy who represents the mainstream of Arabs who have been living in this country and represents, also, the thought that the hijackers of the Islam religion are not only not in the majority but that the majority of Islamists are suffering in this country due to the stereotyping associated with the hijackers.

Steve Berens
Beacon, NY

Dear FRONTLINE

I found those on the program who were not themselves directly affected, either through the loss of a loved one or because of their proximity to the attack, who spoke with such intensity of how 9/11 has challenged their faith, to be astonishingly ignorant. Has their faith been challenged by the slaughter that has been going on in Congo? By the mutiliations in Sierra Leone? By the ongoing, killing poverty that the majority of the world's population suffers? Or is their faith only challenged by the death of Americans?

Lauren Young
Brooklyn, New York

Dear FRONTLINE

I feel that his is an extremely well done documentary. It touches on all of the central themes that these dramatic events forced us to look at. It is respectful to many diverse points of view without shying away from disagreement. I could watch this over and over again.

Todd Foose
Wheeling, WV

Dear FRONTLINE

I can not help but think that this foray into good vs. evil is only a manifestation of what people think they need. That is what it's all about; right? What I need-what I want-what makes me feel good-what justifies my existence. Sure, sometimes that is helpful; but there are so many variances between all faiths that any question of divinity is false. If faith is true; absolute and right-- the atrocities of this blood-soaked earth would not happen. Faith may help an individual...but it does not help humanity.

A spiritual-based articulation or argument will always ring hollow. Where was God? In the holes in downtown Manhattan, in the slice of the Pentagon, and in the gash of a Pennsylvania field. Worship that? I can not do it.

Kris Muhvic
Ferndale, MI, USA

Dear FRONTLINE

Thank you. You have helped me bring together many of my scattered thoughts and emotions. You have helped me understand the reactions and reasoning of others. God is good. He is here. And the proof of his presence is the healing that is happening all over our country and the world. Why did this happen? Why didn't God stop it? All I can say is that I am glad that I am not a puppet, hanging on the end of marionette strings manipulated by some omnipotent being somewhere "up above." But I am also glad that when bad things happen, God is by our side. God can take the sin of the world and turn it to His good purpose.

Sam Warwick
Rock Hill, SC

Dear FRONTLINE

I have several responses to tonight's program:

1 The slant of the program goes against the results of your viewer's poll as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. I saw a strengthening of faith or stability of faith reflected in the poll while your program seemed to show more people who had their faith shaken or who call into question the religious leanings of your responding viewers. Interesting.

2 I am glad to see the program because it showed me still how utterly selfish we are as Americans -- people talked as if THIS experience is a more defining, or more "important" experience than something like the Holocaust or persecution of Christians in Somalia or . . . or. . . or so many other people have suffered and do suffer so much more terror than this one incident. How long will we continue to think we are so special? Yes, this was and remains horrific, but we are not the only people who suffer -- most of the world lives continuously with much more difficulty on a daily basis than us and we are barely register that in our consciousness.

3 My heart sinks and aches so for our whole world that is so out of touch with the idea of a loving God who weeps and suffers with us. We like our image of Him as a good, benevolent being as long as all is basically going well, but take a horrific experience and He becomes THE immediate bad guy because He didn't stop it rather than realizing that people make decisions to do wrong, evil things -- that is not God! Maybe they'd really rather have a God who doesn't allow free choice? People choose evil. One man made a really good point -- that the people who perpetrated this are fanatics -- they are beyond the call of their basic tradition. Yes, they did it in the name of God/Allah, but abortion clinic bombers do their crimes in the name of God, supposedly the same God I believe in, but I say, no, that is fanaticism and a misinterpretation on that person's part -- these acts of evil may be done in the name of God, but not everything that is done in the name of God is OF GOD.

4 Why only perspectives of religion that stem from Catholocism and virtually none from mainline Protesantism? There were Rabbis, Muslims, psychologists, academic theologians, etc.,. In some ways I am thankful for this, however, because usually the choices of the media for representation of these viewpoints make me just as unsettled and many times angry because they give woefully inadequeate responses -- however, there are evangelical, Protestant theologians out there who speak well, who don't make the rest of us look vapid and wishy-washy or entrenched and stupid. Billy and Franklin Graham are not the only spiritually intelligent Protestants in the country.

5 I can't imagine the emptiness that people must feel who don't believe that we are connected together by a Spirit and Being who is better and stronger and more intelligent than all of us put together. People are just too disappointing to put my faith and belief in. And yet we are such an amazing creation that I can't imagine that we came from nothing. In this world there is no human being who can know me fully or appreciate me fully -- if there is no God that is unbearable. Thankfully, I have deep experience that God's spirit can and does live in me and know me and loves me still.

Debbie Almasy

Dear FRONTLINE

I was distressed by the obvious liberal slant taken on your program. The parade of doubters and those saying how they had lost faith in God reaffirmed for me the liberal bias of your programming. We live in a fallen world, humans are, by nature, evil. God was there, He is everywhere-caring for us. Evil is present as well. God gave each of us free will, to choose to follow Him or to choose evil and death. Obviously, those hijackers chose not to follow Him, they chose death. Those who choose to doubt, even disrespecet God after what happened, have fallen victim to the evil of that day-they only hurt themselves and God's heart. Our task, as humans is to trust in God, follow Him, and if we are chosen to leave this earth, we will be saved-regardless of how we leave this earth. The fact that atheists and doubters question whether or not evil exists does not suprise me at all. It proves that they are blinded by worldliness, accepting of all "alternative points of view". There is evil, and we saw it that day. God knows all, sees all, and protects His sheep.

johnson michael
Jackson, MS

Dear FRONTLINE

Excellent, soul-dredging film. The images and discussions in the show helped reinforce my belief that the goodness of God dwells in each of us. Just as the potential of hatred, and the ignorance of evil also dwell in us. I am sad all over again that 3,000 fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters died for nothing.

David L
Topeka, Ks

Dear FRONTLINE

I just finished watching your show and I had to turn it off. It made me so sad. I don't know if I have the right answer to why it happened but here is what I believe. I know that before Sept. 11 I didn't give a second thought to the fireman or the policeman who was doing his job. I didn't give a second thought to the freedoms I had. It was expected. Everthing was expected. My food at the restaurant had to be just so, the dress I bought at the store had to be a name brand, the house I lived in had to be up to snuff with my colleagues. I took things for granted. My home, my children,my life. I don't any longer - after Sept. 11 I realized that there was more to life than these small things. I watched the tv hour after hour, day after day the faces of those missing and those who missed them totally heartbreaking - I felt as if I lost them too. Yet out of the sorrow came a determination and faith so strong. The material things don't mean so much the realization that there are people left that are selfless and so giving that they would without giving it a second thought as to how it would affect them to give their life for a stranger. I believe that God didn't abandon us, that each and every one that passed away were not alone - that God stood with them. To me each and every one of them is a hero and without knowing it they saved me.

Beanie o

Dear FRONTLINE

I think this program is even more important than its subject IF enough people watch it to cause enough to examine what they think and believe. It can be scary to question what we feel safe in believing. I believe that much of religion is a safety net for all the things in this world that we can't understand. I haven't seen religion discussed like this and really appreciate all the different views. I plan to buy the video and ask my children to watch it. It has given me more to think about than I can possibly take in all in one viewing. Thank you for an excellent piece of work. I simply cannot thank you enough.

Marsha Voss

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