There has been a lot of discussion about the Orthodox response one should have to the killing of
the terrorist, Osama bin Laden of which two vocal sides seem to have emerged. The first says, "Good riddance to bad rubbish." A dangerous man is gone and he can't hurt us any more even if his cohorts are still alive to do so. The other (often quoting Scripture in support of this position) side believes that we should always lament the killing of anyone. There is always the chance for repentance even in the last seconds of life.
If my opinion merits any thought it would be this: It is understandable to be happy. One shouldn't have a "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out." opinion, but people can naturally feel some relief at the removal of a highly-visible portion of a very dangerous situation. Bin Laden personified evil to many. It is then understandable that when the person himself dies we can conflate our elation at escaping unharmed from his many machinations with elation at the death of the person himself. I understand the opinion of both sides, but am on the wrong side of the veil to know what God will do with him. I am at the same time unwilling to (as I have seen done quite regularly today) belittle the joy many people around the world have for his passing.
Below is a post from the Orthodox Christian Network's blog The Sounding:
(The Sounding) - What is the Orthodox response to the death of Osama Bin Laden? As Christians, how are we supposed to react to an event like this? Is it wrong to be happy and cheer about the news of his death? He did such despicable acts and was responsible for so many innocent deaths. Does God condone the action of us killing bad people?
In the Ten Commandments, we read in the 6th Commandment--"Thou Shalt not Murder." The commandment does not say "Thou shalt not kill." There is a difference in killing and murdering. Murdering is senseless killing. There are some examples of killing that are justified. The Orthodox Church prays for "all those in civil authority" which includes the men and women of law enforcement and the military, people who carry weapons and occasionally have to use them to protect us. We are also told in Matthew 22:20-22, "to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."
Thus, the state is within its right to set up laws and ways to enforce the laws, i.e. police and military. If a person were to walk into a school and start shooting, i.e. Columbine, Virginia Tech, etc., murdering innocent people, it would certainly be justified "killing" for the civil authorities to kill such a person, to prevent them from murdering others. We shouldn't jump for joy, like "hey, we off-ed that guy." This is a sad but necessary response to an even sadder situation.
Osama Bin Laden has terrorized our world for decades. He led an organization that has no regard for human life and dignity. He espoused what it is to be EVIL. He is also a symbol of evil and hate, an icon, a hero, to those who share his ideologies. And so, perhaps to them it is a blow now that he is no longer living among us. Is the world a safer place now that Bin Laden is no longer on it? No, because in his stead, there are others who will murder and terrorize. But this insures that the terror PERSONALLY inflicted upon this world by a truly evil man will stop. Another may pick up where Bin Laden left off, but Bin Laden is done terrorizing the civilized world.
On May 1, he faced the justice of man. Today, he faces the justice of God, which is permanent, and severe to those who wantonly murder God's children without repentance and without regard. Unfortunately, whether it is a person robbing a bank, a mass murderer shooting on a school campus, or a terrorist leading a world-wide terror network that is bent on destroying civilized and decent society, it does become necessary at times to kill such individuals so that many others might live freely.
This is something that we should not be joyful about, but be sad over--that there are some among us who threaten us to a degree that there is no other choice than to eliminate them from among us, so that they can no longer harm us. Murder is wrong. Killing to prevent murder is sometimes a sad but necessary choice.
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Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ - "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
ReplyDeleteSt. Silouan - "The grace of God is not in the man who does not love his enemies."
Really excellent post, Joseph...both your comments and the quote from "The Sounding". They seem to echo what so many Christians have been saying these last few days, including the remarks from The Vatican.
ReplyDeleteI think the important thing to remember is that we are all in need of God's mercy. It is easy to compare ourselves to other people and begin to think that we aren't that bad. However, when we compare ourselves to the standard, that is Christ, then we begin to see how we really are and how far we have to go.
Christ is risen, and may He have mercy on us all!
Peace and blessings,
Scott
I don't know. This is why I shy away from the OCN more often than not. It sounds so much like a typical (while thoughtful) evangelical response veiled with Orthodox language.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Osama was a "truly evil man." He certainly was guilty of truly evil things. But the man has been more or less a has-been the majority of the last decade, unable to do much while in hiding. His persuasion had faded even in much of the Arab world, among those who had previously feared him. This isn't to say that he should have been "let off the hook," to roam free and reignite a campaign of terror. But the hunt for bin Laden had of late become nothing more than a chip on the shoulder, and his death little more than an honor-killing.
That his death has been so widely celebrated and heralded as a "service to justice," is truly a sign of just how out of touch we are, both in terms of his actual significance, as well as the weight of a man's death, no matter how evil he was.
I don't think to say this is belittling anyone's joy. It may be a true comfort to know that he's beyond the ability to hurt anyone else. I hope, however, we can overcome the temptation to let that relief be the end of the story for us, and instead pray even more fervently now for the man who caused so much pain to so many people.
Tolerance has come a long way in only 500 years since there was little sypathy for those who were burned at the stake or worse as heretics.
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