"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles"
Father Federico Lombardi from the Roman Catholic Church stated:
"Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before God and man, and hopes and pledges that every event is not an opportunity for a further growth of hatred, but of peace."
We can all remember where we were when we learned that planes were high-jacked and deliberately crashed into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. It was all we would talk about in the days to follow. As information came out after the attacks, we found out that a group called 'Al-Qaeda' was behind it, and their leader Osama Bin Laden became the most wanted man in the world. I distinctly remember conversing with my friends in honors study hall two days after the attacks, and we took bets as to how long it would take for the U.S. government to track down and find Bin Laden. I guess I won the bet, and everyone's 5 dollars. My prediction? 4 months. Everyone else predicted less than that. It's hard to believe it took us 10 years to find the man, and I want my 25 bucks.
On Sunday night, President Barack Obama so boldly interrupted 'Celebrity Apprentice' to make an important announcement to the nation (probably much to possible presidential candidate Donald Trump's disappointment). After announcing that the U.S. government tracked down and killed Osama Bin Laden, I imagined in my head him throwing down the microphone and strutting back into the White House much like a rap artist after free styling a sick rhyme. After almost a decade of hunting, the U.S. government had killed Bin Laden, and they have to feel pretty good about it.
In less than 48 hours of the announcement, people around the world have already formed their thoughts and opinions about the events of the past decade, and I suppose I am no different. I am very torn in my thoughts about the assassination of Bin Laden, and I hope you will join me in the conversation, because I believe it matters.
I will start with common responses that I have read or heard:
-"Osama deserves to be in Hell."
To this, I would agree. I cannot fully grasp the hate, evil, and blatant rebellion against God that was embodied in Bin Laden. But don't I deserve hell too? Don't you? To say that someone deserves to burn in hell is to say that someone needs air to breathe. We all do. How easy it is to say that someone else deserves hell and to forget that it is only by the grace of God that we are saved from the flames.
-"Osama was the modern day Hilter, and we should celebrate."
This comparison is legitimate, but does not have much meaning to me. Wasn't the apostle Paul the Hitler of his day? What a story of redemption Paul was. Was Bin Laden beyond God's redemptive power? I can't believe that he was beyond redemption, though his heart may have been so hardened that he never let the love of Christ change him.
-"God brought about justice through the U.S. armed forces."
Nine years ago, I would have believed this. Today, I am not so convinced. Does God bring justice through the sword? Through violence? Through murder? Is there a difference between what we perceive as justice and what God perceives?
-"Osama’s assassination was designed by God, and God directed the U.S. operation".
For those that take this stance, you must also believe that God directed Osama's actions in orchestrating the attacks on September 11th. A Calvinistic, completely sovereign God is in control of everything - both America's actions and Al-Qaeda's actions fall underneath a God who is in complete control. If you believe everything is predestined, you have to believe everything. Tough pill to swallow...
-"I am celebrating Osama's death because it is justice!"
Celebrating justice is one thing, but celebrating someone's death is another. To me, the videos and photos of people dancing in the streets, jumping in the fountains, and drinking in celebration are no different than the celebration in the streets in the Arab world after the September 11th attacks. For people who feel this way, would you still feel this way if Osama was captured and locked up for the rest of his life? Or would you hunger and thirst for his suffering and death? I suppose this is getting into the death sentence debate, in which I am against the death sentence in every situation. It's simply not Biblical.
Here is an example of an exchange (or lack thereof) I had with a well-known voice in the Youth Ministry community over Twitter.
Right. Let's not use Scripture to form our thoughts. Let's just give high fives. Give me a break. (Ezekiel 18:24 reads: "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?")
Further things to consider
Two Kingdoms
For us as Christians, there are always two kingdoms. The kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of heaven. The assassination of Bin Laden appears to be a good thing for the kingdom of this world. In the heavenly kingdom, it is a loss. A sinful soul has crossed over into eternal damnation. Can we celebrate that? Which kingdom is more important to us?
The dangerous union of Church and State
For years I have struggled with the union of Church and State in our country and in our churches. I hear things like 'America is the greatest country on earth', 'America is God's country', and 'America is a Christian nation'. Last time I checked, America was founded on freedom of religion, not on the Christian religion. You cannot have both. Combining Church and State, in my mind, has very dangerous consequences. In believing that we are 'God's nation', we imply that we can do no wrong, for God is behind our actions. Does America really have the hand of God behind us in war? Can we do no wrong?
If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword
In Matthew 26:52, Peter draws his sword to fight and save Jesus from his capture. Jesus says, "Put away your sword...Those who use the sword will die by the sword." Osama Bin Laden did. He lived by the sword and therefore died by the sword. When we fight violence with violence, however, don't we live and die by the sword too?
The circle of violence
When does violence end? In Matthew 24:6, Jesus reminds us that there will always be war? How does he know this? Because he knows all, and he knows human nature. The circle of violence never ends, does it? Do we think there wont be retaliation from Osama's death (however pleased we are from it)? Hate cannot defeat hate. Violence will never be defeated with more violence.
Was it worth it?
I do not know claim to know the answer to this, though I am troubled by the amount of deaths that has led up to this. We must ask ourselves, has the money spent and number of lives lost in Iraq and Afghanistan wars been worth it so far?
Source: http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html photosThe major distinction
We must make the difference between the following:
1) Seeking justice and being grateful that communities may be safer today than they were yesterday.
2) Celebrating and rejoicing a man's death.
Can we possess both an attitude of peace, love and reconciliation AND war, hate and revenge?
Closing questions
Would Jesus Christ have pulled the trigger, killing Osama Bin Laden? Would Jesus ever ask his followers to do something that He himself would not do?
Are there any examples in the New Testament where celebrating our ‘enemies’ death resulted in salvation or in bringing God pleasure?
What is the difference between earthly justice and heavenly justice? Which ‘justice’ is this death?
Do we truthfully, honestly even care if people are going to hell? If so, why haven't we mourned over the thousands of Al-Qaeda members, and tens of thousands of Muslims who have died this decade not knowing the redemptive love of Jesus Christ?
After all the murderous atrocities Bin Laden orchestrated, is our desire that he burn in hell for eternity? Or do we wish that he came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at the end of his days?
Concluding thoughts
-I am so torn about this event. I so desperately desire peace and justice in our world. I also desire for it to come about in nonviolent ways.
-I wish 9/11 never happened.
-Jesus commands us to love our enemies. I don't know why, and it's one of the hardest things to do, but we must DO IT if we want to follow him.
-In order to be consistent with anti-violence, I must be against this assassination. It would be much easier to be supportive of this action. I am fully aware of the despicable acts Osama Bin Laden has committed, and a part of me hates him. So I have a decision to make. Am I filled with hate toward him, or do I mourn the perversion of a soul that God himself created and at one point called ‘good’?
Thank you for reading.
-Josh
