Last night, Americans rejoiced at the announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Since 2001, the United States and their allies have been on a worldwide manhunt for this man responsible for the attacks that killed thousands of Americans on September 11th. It is also relevant to remember that he was behind the two African embassy attacks, as well as supporting those that assaulted the U.S.S. Cole; both of these events occurred years before 9/11/01. More than a few incidents strung together, it is important to remember that these are only lightning bolts in a storm of anti-American fury that Osama Bin Laden had unleashed on Western civilization over the last twenty years. But is all of this reason to rejoice at the death of a human being, despite how terrible he is?
The short answer is no. We should not rejoice in the death of any person, no matter who they are. Jesus commanded us to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. Jesus is unconditional love, not matter what a person has done to the contrary. We all deserve judgement and hell. That being said, we are also called to be protectors of the weak and those who speak up for justice to be done. This IS reason to rejoice. Bin Laden has become more than just a "bad" man. He has become a symbol of terrorism, injustice, and hatred. When the wicked are punished, the righteous rejoice. Rejoicing in justice and that the Lord has trodden down our enemies would be the correct response. But please, remember that we should not rejoice that "we finally got the SOB." Not cool. I can't picture Jesus ever saying those words about anyone.
Politically, this is a victory shared by many. It is a HUGE victory for American foreign policy around the world, proving that our strategy of counter terrorism is actually working and has triumphed in the face of worldwide criticism.
I think our President has done a wonderful job continuing the war on terror that President Bush began after the September 11 attacks. He has authorized more troops and a greater time commitment to Afghanistan, making the location of Osama Bin Laden one of his top priorities. I am proud of his commitment to follow through on this and not lose ground in Afghanistan.
However, I believe that President Obama was considerably amiss in taking almost all of the credit for Osama Bin Laden's elimination. President Bush by far has the greatest responsibility in paving the way for these circumstances to play out like they did, and President Obama did not even give him an ounce of credit. Bad form, and badly done. This should be viewed as a campaign move and an attempt to restore faith in the Obama presidency. President Obama's role should has been primarily to give a head nod for the continuation of Bush doctrine policies. Hopefully, this will all become clear as time goes by.
-Braden
Feel free to leave me any comments below with your thoughts.
Thank you for your comments, Braden. During the speech I couldn't help but remember Obama's campaign when he promised to "bring our men" home... if that campaign promise had been fulfilled, he would not be making this speech. Ironic.
ReplyDeleteAs for rejoicing, I couldn't agree more. I would put the death of Osama in the "necessary military tactic" category. For the people of God to rejoice and celebrate in his death is immature at BEST.
Thank you for posting your thoughts on this. I've been frustrated at the way people have been making jokes about Osama's death and laughing about his being in Hell. I have a hard time believing that that is something that God finds funny.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time this IS a good thing, because justice has been served, and I don't want to seem ungrateful for what President Obama and Former President Bush, and our Military and Counter-Terrorism Personal have worked so hard at for so long. I guess it's that our victory is to be celebrated, not our enemies loss.
I like your perspective.
Also this verse helped me a lot in my processing of this whole event.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the Lord will see it and be displeased and turn his anger away from him. Proverbs 24:17-18
Braden! I echo your thoughts exactly! Every time I would see people cheering and pumped on the news, i have had these on-going conflicting feelings--should we really be celebrating this? Thanks for articulating these thoughts in such a way that brings reality.
ReplyDeleteThis was good to read!
ReplyDeleteI was also torn between celebrating justice being served and honoring life that has been created by God.