02 May 2011

Why I Don't Cheer Bin Laden's Death

"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?" ~ Ezekiel 18:23
The world now knows that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan this past weekend. President Obama gave the order to American military and/or CIA agents to kill him in a compound in Abbottabad.
       I watched CNN before Obama made the announcement last night, and observed as hundreds and then thousands of people gathered outside the White House and at Ground Zero and cheered Bin Laden's death. Somehow those images of Americans cheering was unsettling to me.
       Now before you blast me as anti-patriotic, let me explain my processing about this.
  • Justice on earth has been entrusted to governments, justice in eternity is God's alone. We do well not to mix up these two;
  • To be a powerful and great nation takes humility, not pride. The Roman Empire was incredibly powerful and full of pride. That empire crumbled;
  • I learn much from Dietrich Bonhoeffer who opposed Adolph Hitler and likely would have assassinated Hitler if he had the opportunity. Bonhoeffer was deeply distressed by the possibility of killing someone to save millions of other people's lives. In short, Bonhoeffer never lost sight of the value of every human life;
  • I take no pleasure in the possibility or probability that Osama bin Laden will spend an eternity separated from God in hell. I believe that unless bin Laden repented of his sin and put his faith in Jesus Christ he will be separated from God for eternity. This separation is ultimate torment. This deeply saddens me and I hope that in his last moment or hours or days on earth bin Laden found Jesus Christ as his Lord.
       Please hear me on this. I do not think it was wrong for the American government through the CIA and Navy Seals to kill bin Laden. I seriously doubt that killing bin Laden makes the world a safer place, but that's a debate for another day. I too am grateful for the courageous military servicemen who serve America and the world.
       I too am haunted by images the Twin Towers having planes flown into them. That was in my "hometown" and the terrorist attack on 9/11 is very close to my heart. However, gaining pleasure about bin Laden's death does nothing to change the events of 9/11. Vengeance is a short-lived thrill.
       My friend Sherry, who is from Egypt, quoted Ezekiel 18:23 today: "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?" I am grateful to Sherry for this reminder - it is especially poignant to me that someone from the Middle East quoted this verse.


16 comments:

  1. I the the Bonhoeffer -reference is very applicable and poignant. Thanks for that!
    Rogier

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  2. Well said. It is difficult to prioritize, love, grace and justice.

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  3. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

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  4. Christian OsburnMay 2, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    Hey Brian, thanks for your post. It makes me feel better knowing other Americans felt a bit unsettled after seeing the US reaction. I wish we would cheer steps to deal with the causes of terrorism and crime in the same way we cheer military action against it. Again, I wasn't against the operation, just a bit errked by the response to it.

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  5. Sherie FalkenstineMay 2, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    I've been struggling with this since I heard the news last night. Thanks for your post!

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  6. Well said, Brian. I think too many of us have revenge in view with Bin Laden's death, rather than simply allowing our governments to pursue justice. And where there's a don't-mess-with-the-US kind of giddiness, well I think that's patently unhelpful and mostly prideful (in a bad way).

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  7. Hi Brian, Thanks for writing a reply from a Christian persective. I'm glad That Sherry mentioned that verse. I love that about the Bible, it has a loving viewpoint and reply for nearly every situation we encounter in life. I may wish that Bin Laden had been captured and gone on trial but apparantly that was not possible without causing a big raucus and a lot of protest. Like Saddam Hussein, it might have allowed his followers to think twice what to do with him in the face of the civilized world and he might have had time to think about what he had done if he had to do time in a cell in Den Haag at the Tribune for International Crimes...or maybe this was just something America wanted to handle on it's own?

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  8. "Pacifism Is A Luxury Paid For By Warriors"

    I am a Christian and my Marine Corps son was a Christian who is now in the presence of Jesus Christ in Paradise. Stephen received a 'calling' on 9/11/01 to defend the freedom that he knew came from the Lord God. He was killed in action on October 6, 2006, in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, along with two other Marines. Our pursuit of OBL was not revenge. It was the defense of the sacrifice that has been being made since the Revoluntionary War. Freedom is God's idea not man's. God expects us, equips us to defend the blessing that He has bestowed upon us, Psalm 144:1.

    Please stop critizing the reactions of jubilant Americans. This is a different type war compared to WWII. There were celebrations when the Japanese surrendered and we stopped Hitler. Be patient with people. Their reactions are due to a lack of Biblical knowledge and the full character of God as explained in the Scriptures. Some of that is also evidenced in the above posts.

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  9. Thank you so much for this post. I was feeling incredibly wrong in watching the celebrations of the victory of the truest Evil. Because thats what his death was. An ultimate victory for Evil.
    That man was awful and deserved everything he got... but theres something about it that just feels wrong to me.
    Thanks for putting my feelings into words.

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  10. Amen to this! Anita van den Brink

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  11. Lynn Johnson - Thanks for your reply! Thank you also for your son who fought for us.
    (My 9 year old son's goal in life is to be a Navy Seal, and I hope he will be able to accomplish that dream.)

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  12. I don't think one can pick up a verse like Ezekiel 18:23 and apply to such an evil man and poisoning & brain washing his followers by terrorizing the world and killing Innocent people.

    We need to read the whole chapter of Ezekiel and fit this verse in it's context.
    Ezekiel 18 is about "Individual Retribution", "a justly deserved penalty!" or "an act of correcting for your wrongdoing!" Helloooo !
    Read the whole chapter again and especially from verse 30.

    Thank God the alliance fought in Europe against a small evil man called Hitler.
    War is ugly and I never understand why the US fought destructively in Vietnam with chemicals.
    Children are still born with malfunction body's or retarded.
    My Australian Colleague completely changed after service in Vietnam.
    My cousin committed suicide after serving in Vietnam with many similar soldiers in the US.

    Yes God at the end is the only one to judge but we need to preserve a Godly peace with the knowledge of His Word. Which the church do not do enough!

    I hope many of those who lost a family or love one on 9/11 can put a point to their pain after Bin Laden's death.

    Safety in the future? I doubt. Because we live in the "End Times" and the devil is doing it's outer best to hurt, bring division and more destruction.
    Again the church does not speak and prepare his congregation.

    As follower of Yeshua, wishing more people to know the Gospel and "Disciple" from Genesis to Revelation! Including prophecies and its Revelation!

    Blessings & Wisdom
    Grant

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  13. Greetings from India.
    I am glad I came by your blog and read this post - a very balanced view and I agree with you.

    .

    That verse from Ezk 18 is very fitting.

    I am going to follow your blog.
    I invite you to visit my blog too.

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  15. Was justice done? I myself shall have to wait until the God Who invented Justice tells me what this is all about. I'm remembering stories about the celebrations that broke out in various places in the Mideast on 9/11. It has been said, "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em." Well, I myself have insufficient power to "lick 'em," but like most of the people I've heard on this blog, I refuse to "Join 'em," too!

    I wonder if there might have been one person in recent history who might have been commissioned by God to show Osama a better way... That is also beyond my field of understanding, but I do know one thing! I myself and perhaps someone else who's reading this blog, (maybe you?) have been commissioned by God to show haters a better way. As soon as we can, let's leave the celebrations behind us and get on with carrying on the Great Commission we've all been given. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved THE WORLD, not just us "nice guys," so let's love 'em all and let Gid sort 'em out.

    HillBilly ;~}
    (Cruise Director and Top-Dawg)

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  16. Great word, Brian, I was very unsettled about the celebrations also. Our response should model our Lord who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked or anyone. Frank

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