Lots of emotions right now. I don't expect to win over everybody with what I am going to write. As soon as the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced I felt very strange. As I watched people celebrate in the streets of DC (on the news) something didn't feel right.
Celebrating the fact that somebody was killed just doesn't seem like something Jesus would have us do.
I think what I found most interesting was the fact that we were so thankful that no Americans were harmed in this operation. I don't think that God looks at Americans and is happy that they survived any more than He is happy when somebody from Saudi Arabia or anywhere else lives to see another day. We are all people of God. There is no American or Pakistani. There is only those that God loves.
I stole this piece of scripture from Megan Duhon's facebook.
Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right - really living? -Ezekiel 18:23
And this piece from Richard Doe's
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.” Proverbs 24:17
It sucks when somebody is killed. My heart hurts right now.
One thing I do want to add is that I am very happy to see that more people are reacting negatively to the celebration of this death than positively.
http://blog.familymatters.net/2011/05/03/celebrating-the-death-of-evil-is-it-acceptable-for-christians-to-party-over-the-death-of-osama-bin-laden/
ReplyDeletethis is an interesting article talking about the difference about rejoicing over justice vs. death. worth a read.
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135957207/cheering-the-end-of-bin-laden-let-the-kids-yell
ReplyDeleteAnd this, she argues that the celebrations were not merely a celebration of the death of an evil hate-filled man, but the celebration of comfort and the release of fear. Who are we to say what they are celebrating?
Thanks for your comment, Kyle.
ReplyDeleteI think what made my heart hurt the most was the fact that we hold the death of Americans at a different standard than the death of non Americans. Several other people died in this operation, they just weren't Americans.
I guess we're not to judge why everybody is celebrating, but I've seen a lot of stuff on facebook with people who are celebrating his death.
Nate,
ReplyDeleteI think that this article is focusing a lot on how we see things through the eyes of the world. I think that the death of Osama is an opportunity for the followers of Jesus to engage in the backwards, countercultural way of life that Jesus calls us to live. The fact of the matter is that the way Jesus deals with evil doesn't make sense.
He tells us if somebody sues you for the coat off of your back, give them all of your clothes. If a soldier humiliates you and says carry my stuff for a mile, carry it for two. If somebody hits you, turn the other cheek and say hit me like an equal.
I imagine that Jesus would say in a situation like this, "If somebody kills a bunch of your people and that person is killed, mourn their death and do not celebrate it."
see more below...
cont'd
ReplyDeleteWhat this article says to me is, "Yeah, we should love our enemies but this guy was really evil and deserved to die." This is all so backwards to me, especially this sentence, "We need to continue to pray for the military personnel and their families as they sacrifice so much in order to try to bring an end to this evil."
Jesus tells us that while trying to pull weeds we might accidentally uproot the wheat. He is talking about that while getting rid of evil you might destroy good.
Last thought: No man is beyond redemption and we are all evil.
I like that you take the side the idea of being counter cultural and doing what Jesus would do, and I and really like your 'last thought'.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like justice is a biblical principle as well though, and we would do well to celebrate that fact. Our God is a god of mercy and grace, but he's also just and unchanging.
I completely understand when you talk about how it pains you to see someone rejoicing in the death of someone else, regardless of whether he was our enemy or not, so don't think I'm hating on that.
The only thing I'm saying is agreeing with kyle, that some people are celebrating finally receiving catharsis from 9/11, and the death of an icon of fear.