Should we have mixed feelings about the death of bin Laden? This is a topic in the Christian blogosphere. For now I’d just make one brief point: there’s a time and place for analyticity, yet there is also a time and place for spontaneity.
We don’t always need to second-guess our feelings. Sometimes an instinctive reaction is perfectly appropriate.
Take a wedding reception where guests laugh, chat, hug, dance, eat, and drink. You could sit there and study the proceedings from an analytic standpoint, considering the theology of marriage. Or you could enter into the festivities.
I think it’s appropriate for some Christians to be analytical about the death of bin Laden. We need to place it in a theological context. I myself may do some of that.
I prayed God would have mercy on Bin Laden, and I prayed God would bring this murderer to justice. He was brought to justice, and it's a good thing indeed. And it doesn't seem he truted in Christ, so this man has gone to his place. The same place all sons of wrath deserve. Eph. 2
ReplyDeleteNot even the most soft-headed leftist wonk would begrudge you an imprecatory psalm. If God has no pleasure in the deaths of the wicked, I'm sure he has even less in the deaths of the innocent, so no one should fail to see anything wrong with stopping someone who has probably been helping to deal out death before and after 9/11.
ReplyDeleteUsama Bin Laden did more to drive people AWAY from religion than anyone I can think of.
ReplyDeleteThe one who muslims call "shaytan" wont be rejoicing.
Jesus was right (again!)
Those who live by the sword...
It is indeed not hard to be analytical in this case or react so spontaneously as we witnessed many did last evening as this drama was unfolding across the national consciousness of the United States and with many groups of U.S. diplomatic, civilian and military personnel and citizens around the world. The world's media system has been relentless in its pursuit in reporting both the initial devastation and the years of evil aftermath because of it, it seems the media has primed the world's population to react so spontaneously.
ReplyDeleteThe broad brush stroke across the souls of the diverse men and women and their ability to process or not to process the loss and devastations brought upon them by this very demented and confused ideologue ordering equally demented souls to forcefully fly airplanes into buildings or blow up buildings or innocent bystanders in the market places of the world seems to me to have produced such extreme spontaneity as the reality was settling in that the President's ordering action determined the end of Bin Laden's life.
Justice has been done and dancing in the streets does seem a bit much to some and not enough to others.
Oh well, here we are now, facing the same dilemmas as before the military action that brought about Bin Laden's justice in his sojourn in this life.
For me, I go to one side and then to the other as I weigh out these things today; the sides being Proverbs 11:10 and 24:17.
"But we shouldn’t fault other Christians who simply rejoice to see justice done."
ReplyDeleteSteve, for once, I agree with you.
It does bring to mind the verse:"When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation."
I think that we are also called to love our enemies, and not to rejoice when they "stumble." While the enemy is alive, it is proper to hope for their salvation and not to rejoice when they are hurt.
After a person is dead, though, there is no more hope or prayer for their repentance. Rather, we can be thankful that God has chosen to remove their evil influence from the world.
Proverbs 28:28
When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.