Our country has obviously passed a significant historical marker with the death of Osama bin Laden. But if you’ve seen any of the reaction coverage, some people have been celebrating like it’s a party since last night. Others, however, aren’t so sure we should be celebrating anyone’s death, even if he deserved it as richly as bin Laden did. These conflicts are more serious among Christians, and online, I’ve seen everything from “assassination is unchristian” to “Osama bin Laden, rot in hell.” So, in addition to talking about things like the ethics of assassination and the implications for the war on terror, I thought we should try to get a grip on the most Biblical way for Christians to process this news.
2 comments:
I may be a unique style of Christian because I refuse to follow organized religions, however my faith is strong.
From this man's perspective, I am having a hard time with OBL's murder. Yes, I said murder because that's what I feel this was. It was done as an act of revenge for a previous crime committed by the man. It's always been my understanding that as human beings who believe in Christ the only entity entitled to vengence is the Lord.
Can this be justified as self defense? For me to accept that I would have to believe that at the moment he was killed in was in the midst of an act of hurting and killing the soldiers that killed him, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that he was. However, had the soldiers not been sent on a mission to kill him they wouldn't have been in the position to defend themselves in the first place.
I'm sure that part of the questioning comes from the fact that I hold a sadness that man's greatest achievement has been the ability to find more efficient ways to kill one another. I have never been able to understand why, as a species, we have let our fears become so strong that we can justify spending hundreds of billions of dollars per year on our war machines but only a fraction of that on peace and humanity. Seems to me that's our of balance.
Anyway, there is a little background on why I feel the way I do right now. I just can't say that my soul is clear about the righteousness of this action. However, I will keep an open mind and wait until my Creator sends me the wisdom to understand it clearly and whether or not my conclusion is popular, it will be the one I was guided to.
"I may be a unique style of Christian because I refuse to follow organized religions, however my faith is strong."
I don't understand this statement, what do you mean by this?
Post a Comment