Well, I am breaking radio silence. What a story. Sixty-one years to the day that Hitler killed himself in an underground hideout lest he face American justice, Osama Bin Laden faces that justice.
You know how everyone can tell you where they were when they first heard about 9/11? Hopefully we will never forget this moment either. I was home last night working on one of my term papers due in the next week, when I checked cnn.com for a mental health break when I saw the news. Not that I am particularly proud of this, but my first thought was one of joy. Frankly, I was happy we got the bastard.
My facebook news feed quickly filled up with people reacting to the news. Most were jubilant and thanked our troops and asked for God to bless America. Others were more reserved. Some expressed distaste at the way people were reacting, seeing exulting over another human being’s death as classless and uncharitable: God loves all so how can we celebrate death. Some people quoted Exodus 33:11 which states that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.
I sympathize with this latter position. It seems tasteless for a Christian to delight in a man being shot in the head. However, Paul tells us in Romans that “rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (13:4 ESV). It is our government’s job to protect its citizens. It is their job to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. This man they killed was responsible for the murder of thousands and the devastation of millions.
I therefore do not celebrate bin Laden's death, but justice. There is a difference between the two, to be clear. Our same God who is a God of love is also a God of justice. We must not forget this. Justice is a fearful thing, sometimes a consuming fire, but imagine a world where no justice existed at all, where the death of thousands inspired more compassion for the killer and hand-wringing over his death than delight in temporal justice which is but an echo of the justice to come.
You know how everyone can tell you where they were when they first heard about 9/11? Hopefully we will never forget this moment either. I was home last night working on one of my term papers due in the next week, when I checked cnn.com for a mental health break when I saw the news. Not that I am particularly proud of this, but my first thought was one of joy. Frankly, I was happy we got the bastard.
My facebook news feed quickly filled up with people reacting to the news. Most were jubilant and thanked our troops and asked for God to bless America. Others were more reserved. Some expressed distaste at the way people were reacting, seeing exulting over another human being’s death as classless and uncharitable: God loves all so how can we celebrate death. Some people quoted Exodus 33:11 which states that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.
I sympathize with this latter position. It seems tasteless for a Christian to delight in a man being shot in the head. However, Paul tells us in Romans that “rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (13:4 ESV). It is our government’s job to protect its citizens. It is their job to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. This man they killed was responsible for the murder of thousands and the devastation of millions.
I therefore do not celebrate bin Laden's death, but justice. There is a difference between the two, to be clear. Our same God who is a God of love is also a God of justice. We must not forget this. Justice is a fearful thing, sometimes a consuming fire, but imagine a world where no justice existed at all, where the death of thousands inspired more compassion for the killer and hand-wringing over his death than delight in temporal justice which is but an echo of the justice to come.
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