Quote of the day...

"I'm not a hoarder,

I'm just a half-assed environmentalist."

- Me

Quote of the day...

"We do no have to think alike to love alike."

-John Wesley

The Christian response to Bin Laden's death.

By Jonathan Merritt, for Relevant Magazine.

The snuffing of Osama bin Laden’s life has left White House officials beaming, news reporters busy and the thumbs of Twitterers raw. I can’t blame any of them. After all, this is one of the biggest events of the last decade. When I got the call Sunday night and turned on the television, I could hardly believe it was true, even though it was in bold print across the bottom of the screen: “Bin Laden Killed by Navy Seals.” My heart leapt with joy.

But as the night rolled on and I watched the reports come in and then President Obama speak, I found myself flooded with twin emotions. On the one hand, I was elated that a man responsible for so many deaths was finally brought to justice. On the other hand, I was deeply saddened knowing that someone who by all accounts never confessed Christ had passed from life to death.

I began to question my reactions, asking myself which emotion was more appropriate, more Christian? Should I rejoice at bin Laden’s death ... or mourn it?

After the announcement was made that the world’s most infamous terrorist was indeed dead, the Twitter-sphere blew up. As many as 4,000 tweets per second posted to the social networking site—each one a 140-character reaction to an event that undoubtedly deserved more. For many Christians, it seemed they were not wrestling with how they should feel. Celebration was their clear choice.

Pastor Rick Warren sent out Proverbs 21:15, which says, "When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers." Coincidentally, The Atlantic reported that Warren’s Scripture choice became the #3 most tweeted verse on this subject. Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice tweeted: “Crank this up as you celebrate the termination of bin Laden http://t.co/N7K9X8u.”

I admit that there's a part of me that wants to pump my fist, signal a flyover and spit on the dead man’s corpse. But is this an appropriate response for a Christian, to celebrate the death of the wicked? Or, to push it further, can a Christian ever celebrate the death of a non-believer?

I’m reminded of the words of Ezekiel: “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (33:11, TNIV). The outcome that God desired and we should have too is that while Osama bin Laden was still breathing, he would have rejected doing any more evil and confessed Christ. This would have been cause for a true celebration—even the angels in heaven would have rejoiced (Luke 15:7). Anything short of this is a tragedy.

If nothing else, the propensity we feel to celebrate his death unveils the human tendency to want retributive justice for the sins of others but not for our own sins. Christians claim to believe all humans—yes, even Jesus-followers—deserve death (Romans 6:23). Justice demands such a penalty from each one of us. But we don’t want justice for ourselves; we want grace. Luckily, God has provided such grace through Christ.

“Rejoicing in the death of another, however wicked, involves forgetting the depths of our own depravity and the astonishing reality of our own salvation,” wrote Gideon Strauss of the Center for Public Justice in response to bin Laden’s death.

When a Christian points her finger in the face of the wicked getting what they deserve and shouts for joy, she is only revealing that she has forgotten her own need for grace. How can we celebrate God’s saving grace in our own lives on Sunday morning and celebrate retributive justice for others on Sunday evening? Is this not the ultimate hypocrisy?

While the situation will be clearer as more details are revealed, it seems the operation that killed bin Laden was likely in the bounds of government (Romans 13). Yet when a government must bear the sword, its Christian citizens must stand behind it weeping.

And when justice is served to those who wish only to harm others—as it was last night—we may perhaps express relief. Relief in knowing innocent people woke up to a safer world this morning. But relief ... not celebration. God loves those innocents, and I believe He desires to see them free from fear and violence. Yet even as our spirits lift knowing that this man will do no more evil, our eyes should burst forth with weeping knowing that bin Laden will likely spend eternity like he spent his life: separated from the true God.

Bin Laden DRT...

So tonight I received a text message that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Immediately I felt sick to my stomach. And that nauseous feeling grows as I sit here watching the news coverage.

When 9/11 happened I was FURIOUS. And rightfully so, almost 3000 people were killed in the attacks. But I let hate and anger influence me. That same day I went to the store and bought one of those big paint markers for cars and wrote on my back window "NUKE EM!" In the following days I had so many people honk and give me a thumbs up.

My anger and the anger of our nation is what lead us to war across the middle east. We didn't stop to ask anything, we had that KILL THEM attitude. Our blood was boiling and our hearts were filled with vengeance. At what cost? Over 4400 US troops have died, and over 100,000 civilians have died in Iraq (from all acts of violence, not just military action).

Now tonight across our nation people are dancing in the streets because Bin Laden has been killed by US Special Forces operators. First off, doesn't it strike you as hypocritical that Americans are celebrating someone's death and we reel at any news coverage of Muslims celebrating deaths of US soldiers???

I'm not celebrating. I'm not scared either, but I'm emotionally and mentally preparing for what's destined to follow. There are bound to be retaliatory attacks, and merely attacks to prove that Bin Laden's death doesn't change anything; that we're still as vulnerable. Even FBI officials have already said that this heightens the terrorist threat.

Do you really think that the military action in the middle east is what's keeping us free of attacks? Or maybe those who wish us harm are laying low like they did for years prior to 9/11.

Love well and keep your heart free of vengeance.