The Christian response to the killing of Bin Laden

[mattd]

As reports poured in Sunday night that Bin Laden had finally been tracked down and killed, my facebook wall was just as quickly filled with status updates cheering his death and others that seemed a little somber, quoting a passage from Ezekiel saying that "The Lord does not delight in the death of the wicked." So what's the proper theological response to this? Does Ezekiel have the final word here, or should we be glad that justice was done (assuming that we think justice has been done)?

[SAguitar]

Of course, I do believe that Ezekiel's response would be the one I should have to that sort of situation. But I gotta admit that I never once prayed for that man, and I hope that he truly has met his end.

[Micter]

I believe we need to hate what God hates. That being said, we should not rejoice at the death of the wicked but that is easier said than done. My thought is this, he reaped what he had sown.

[scooteraz]

OTOH, I don't see big tears shed over the collapse of Jerico.

[Strat-tastic]

I don't celebrate his death; He died not knowing Jesus (as far as I know). God's grace was big enough for Bin Laden, he just didn't accept it. I am sure Jesus isn't glad to have lost him from the Kingdom of God.

[stephen]

It's a balance. At least it should be. Rejoicing that a worker of iniquity, one that brought pain, suffering, evil and death to 10's of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands has been brought down and his reign of terror has ended.

Yet it is sobering that he fell into the hand of The Living God, and his reward was not majestic as he supposed.

A sense of, "Yes! We got that stinkin Bastard!", while at the same time a sense of, loss, knowing that he, if unrepentant, will never know the Love of God as we do, as children know a loving Father, but rather, he will only know God's Resolve to cast out all evil, of which he was a worker for.......

The children of Israel celebrated their victories, but they always did recognize the tragedy in the loss of their enemies not turning to The Living God.

[jrc]

A Messianic Jewish friend put it as well as any I've read:

"....Praise G-d for deliverance from evil."

[ptrallan01]

JRC you have the best response so far.

I have been disturbed in my spirit over the lavish celebrations of this death. We have the right and more so the responsibility to protect innocents from evil where it is possible to do so. But the celebration aspect disturbs me because I am a fallen man just as well and the fact that I am saved isn't because of me but because of Jesus. Mr. Bin Laden didn't receive that grace or rejected that grace depending on your view point but that is sadder than his elimination as an enemy.

[LesStrat]

It was big news. I don't know how "good" it is. It is good that he no longer leads AQ. It is bad that be rejected grace.

[Zhangliqun]

We never celebrate anyone going to a Christless eternity, but at the same time it's okay to take a victory lap or two because even if it isn't the ideal victory of repentance on his part, it is a major victory nonetheless, and in many ways. For one thing, the illusion of his invincibility in the eyes of sympathizers and followers built up over 9 years has been shattered, and this may lead to repentance for some of them.

[hasserl]

I realize this is an old thread, but I just saw it having recently returned to this cool forum. If anyone is interested, my pastor did a short write-up on this in his blog: http://blog.higherthings.org/wcwirla/article/4848.html

In summary:

The Christian response to such things is necessarily ambiguously ambidextrous. As a left-handed citizen in this world, the Christian will certainly rejoice that a notorious criminal has been brought to justice, and that God’s left hand has done what it was instituted to do, that is, punish those who do evil. Yet as a right-handed citizen of the kingdom of heaven who lives by mercy and not by merit, the Christian does not rejoice in the death of any sinner. Nor does God rejoice, at least from His right hand. The only rejoicing in heaven is over the sinner who repents.

Regarding the quoted verse from Ezekial, "The Lord does not delight in the death of the wicked", (Ezekial 18:23?) I would ask, is this "death" that is discussed in this and the surrounding passages mean physical death, or does it refer instead to a spiritual death, i.e. eternal separation from God. Or as Christ put it in Matthew: Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

As I read it, it seems to me that the 2nd meaning is what is meant.