Thanks for the opportunity to comment! Although I personally wouldn't rejoice at the thought of anyone's death and 'burning in hell' (whatever that may mean), I wouldn't base God's justice or judgement on my or anyone else's feelings and ideas. I well understand why many people (and yourself now, as you share) may find it difficult or impossible to accept the idea of an 'eternal hell', I feel the alternatives (universalim = everybody saved in the end; conditional mortality = temporary punishment) offer more problems than solutions. I am fully convinced God doesn't send 'people' to hell but those unbelivers for whom He did all He could to save them but they 'would not' as the Lord Jesus often said to the Jews. Whatever we believe on 'hell' we should be clear about WHAT Jesus saves us from. If I have a headache and someone gives me a tablet and I am relieved from the pain, I will thank him and offer a coffee, but if I have a deadly desease and someone offers me a transplant and in the course of events he dies, I will be eternally grateful. No amount of works, tears, or time but Only the eternal, infinite, innocent Son of God and His death and resurrection could take away my sin and I shall eternally be grateful. Love from Italy!
It was very mixed emotions. I knew bin Laden was a threat to so many people through the world and also knew that when you take out someone like him, there’s always someone worse. That it might not stop, but get worse. Low key, I’m not sure what’s worse- the world we lived in then or the world that has become. Now we not only have adversaries abroad, but openly and gleefully on our literal front lawns because of the turmoil that has happened since. Case in point: even before bin Laden, his predecessor wasn’t as bad and now we have people in charge where he had control whom are EVEN WORSE. I didn’t know how to feel about his assassination then and I still don’t know how to feel about it. Would we have not gotten a power that literally tries to make women invisible in the Middle East? Would we have made democrats viewed as more weak, faster? Would democrats have found a way to peacefully deal with the turmoil around the world? Would we have prevented or incurred further global economic obliteration? I, like you, am unsure.
Mixed indeed. Well said, Meg. I cannot pretend to say there was (or is) a "right" decision in matters this complex. Only a spectrum of Good/better/best, bad/worse/worst. And by God's grace, may we try our best to be on the positive side of that equation as often as possible. Humility required.
Colby. I am with you and yes when Bin Laden was killed, there was a sigh of relief but soon after thought Oh no, now we will never know WHY? Why such an evil entity was on this earth. Why he would do what he did. Speculation would prevail. I would prefer as I would have Kirk that they live and tell their stories as to why someone would even consider killing them. And then, hopefully they look inward and see the errs of their ways. But dead, they cannot do that. period. Thanks for your article. Looking foward to next issue.
Yeah, that makes sense. Though I tend to think that we (as humans) over estimate the effect that learning the "why" will have when it comes to acts of violence and great suffering. I often think we THINK it will help, but I'm not so sure it does...?
Dear Colby, I see your point about hell. I did not think or believe that Ben Laden is going to be tormented in hell forever. I was happy that an enemy was taken out. Consider: some of our Christian Churches (doctrines) believe that everyone will be resurreced and given a chance to accept Jesus as Lord. On another note: think of how many more innocent people would have been killed because of Ben Laden's religious beliefs and hate for America and Christians. You do bring up a good point to ponder. Perhaps there was hope for such a human being as Ben Laden to change.
There is a third response, one which I felt on 9/!2/01, and on the day we "got" bin Laden. I did not celebrate bin Laden's demise at all. I tried instead to understand what so thoroughly warps an image bearer of our God. For indeed, Osama bin Laden was a fellow child of God.
My first response when we are the objects of hatred and horrific violence is always to look inward, to examine the history of our own national atrocities, to ponder the question "what has so inflamed the Islamist. Of course, retribution, angry and violence is never justified. But if we fail to understand what prompts such vengefulness, if we fail to consider our own national culpability, and the fact that there has never been national repentance over the many harms of our post-imperial imperialism, that we have never sought the forgiveness of those (particularly the Moslem world) our policies have defiled and traumatized, then we simply perpetuate a distorted view of those who hate us. Bin Laden did not role out of bed one day and decide to be violently evil. He was acting out of his own sense of violation, his own deep-seated pain.
Sadly, May 1, 2011 was a violent reaction to a violent reaction to violence ... this is what the perpetuation of evil looks like.
"There is a third response...what so thoroughly warps an image bearer of God." yes and amen. I wholeheartedly agree. For the purposes of this article, I didn't include that kind of response only because it felt in a slightly different category, but I am with you. Before any feelings of relief or celebration (or even grief) at someone like bin Laden being killed, I grieve just how far astray he had wandered from his true identity. "He was acting out from his own deep-seated pain," so say we all. Thanks for sharing this much needed perspective.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment! Although I personally wouldn't rejoice at the thought of anyone's death and 'burning in hell' (whatever that may mean), I wouldn't base God's justice or judgement on my or anyone else's feelings and ideas. I well understand why many people (and yourself now, as you share) may find it difficult or impossible to accept the idea of an 'eternal hell', I feel the alternatives (universalim = everybody saved in the end; conditional mortality = temporary punishment) offer more problems than solutions. I am fully convinced God doesn't send 'people' to hell but those unbelivers for whom He did all He could to save them but they 'would not' as the Lord Jesus often said to the Jews. Whatever we believe on 'hell' we should be clear about WHAT Jesus saves us from. If I have a headache and someone gives me a tablet and I am relieved from the pain, I will thank him and offer a coffee, but if I have a deadly desease and someone offers me a transplant and in the course of events he dies, I will be eternally grateful. No amount of works, tears, or time but Only the eternal, infinite, innocent Son of God and His death and resurrection could take away my sin and I shall eternally be grateful. Love from Italy!
Love hearing your perspective, Giuseppe. Thanks for sharing!
It was very mixed emotions. I knew bin Laden was a threat to so many people through the world and also knew that when you take out someone like him, there’s always someone worse. That it might not stop, but get worse. Low key, I’m not sure what’s worse- the world we lived in then or the world that has become. Now we not only have adversaries abroad, but openly and gleefully on our literal front lawns because of the turmoil that has happened since. Case in point: even before bin Laden, his predecessor wasn’t as bad and now we have people in charge where he had control whom are EVEN WORSE. I didn’t know how to feel about his assassination then and I still don’t know how to feel about it. Would we have not gotten a power that literally tries to make women invisible in the Middle East? Would we have made democrats viewed as more weak, faster? Would democrats have found a way to peacefully deal with the turmoil around the world? Would we have prevented or incurred further global economic obliteration? I, like you, am unsure.
Mixed indeed. Well said, Meg. I cannot pretend to say there was (or is) a "right" decision in matters this complex. Only a spectrum of Good/better/best, bad/worse/worst. And by God's grace, may we try our best to be on the positive side of that equation as often as possible. Humility required.
Colby. I am with you and yes when Bin Laden was killed, there was a sigh of relief but soon after thought Oh no, now we will never know WHY? Why such an evil entity was on this earth. Why he would do what he did. Speculation would prevail. I would prefer as I would have Kirk that they live and tell their stories as to why someone would even consider killing them. And then, hopefully they look inward and see the errs of their ways. But dead, they cannot do that. period. Thanks for your article. Looking foward to next issue.
Yeah, that makes sense. Though I tend to think that we (as humans) over estimate the effect that learning the "why" will have when it comes to acts of violence and great suffering. I often think we THINK it will help, but I'm not so sure it does...?
Dear Colby, I see your point about hell. I did not think or believe that Ben Laden is going to be tormented in hell forever. I was happy that an enemy was taken out. Consider: some of our Christian Churches (doctrines) believe that everyone will be resurreced and given a chance to accept Jesus as Lord. On another note: think of how many more innocent people would have been killed because of Ben Laden's religious beliefs and hate for America and Christians. You do bring up a good point to ponder. Perhaps there was hope for such a human being as Ben Laden to change.
Thanks for sharing, Paul!
There is a third response, one which I felt on 9/!2/01, and on the day we "got" bin Laden. I did not celebrate bin Laden's demise at all. I tried instead to understand what so thoroughly warps an image bearer of our God. For indeed, Osama bin Laden was a fellow child of God.
My first response when we are the objects of hatred and horrific violence is always to look inward, to examine the history of our own national atrocities, to ponder the question "what has so inflamed the Islamist. Of course, retribution, angry and violence is never justified. But if we fail to understand what prompts such vengefulness, if we fail to consider our own national culpability, and the fact that there has never been national repentance over the many harms of our post-imperial imperialism, that we have never sought the forgiveness of those (particularly the Moslem world) our policies have defiled and traumatized, then we simply perpetuate a distorted view of those who hate us. Bin Laden did not role out of bed one day and decide to be violently evil. He was acting out of his own sense of violation, his own deep-seated pain.
Sadly, May 1, 2011 was a violent reaction to a violent reaction to violence ... this is what the perpetuation of evil looks like.
"There is a third response...what so thoroughly warps an image bearer of God." yes and amen. I wholeheartedly agree. For the purposes of this article, I didn't include that kind of response only because it felt in a slightly different category, but I am with you. Before any feelings of relief or celebration (or even grief) at someone like bin Laden being killed, I grieve just how far astray he had wandered from his true identity. "He was acting out from his own deep-seated pain," so say we all. Thanks for sharing this much needed perspective.