As a Christian, I find it hard to come to terms with the justification and with the death/murder of anyone, whether they are a Hindu, a terrorist, a morally good Atheist, a clergyman etc..; any death of any kind, from my point of view, is a sad and dreadful occurrence. I'm sure I'm not alone in this view but I know some people will see this death as justification for the murder of nearly 3,000 US Citizens in the 9/11 attacks and the attacks in London which killed 56 British Citizens (Source: Wikipedia) and many more in countless other attacks. But is death of another going to solve anything, let alone be justification?
'Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.' (Colossians 3:13)
^This is the morality and teaching I am faced with and grown up to know and made a conscious decision to follow. I know that I can't just rely on scripture, I must use prayer and interaction with God to come to my decision. As you can probably tell, it is hard to come to a final decision on my thoughts as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. So from this I would say we need to forgive someone for such a terrible act such as 9/11.
I have to take into account the fact I thankfully didn't lose anyone in the attacks, and I pray for any families who did. This means for me I don't feel any personal justification for this killing. I feel for the people who lost and can see perfectly why many people will be rejoicing in this news.
I could look at it from a different angle, however, and say that God works in ways that I don't understand and know that I don't understand fully! This means that God could have been working through Obama to kill this man and bring him to 'justice'. God is 'the only judge' and he is 'all powerful'.
This is a hard one for many Christians and over the past day I've talked to some Christians and I don't think there is a final conclusive answer for this act. Only God knows what has happened and why it has happened this way. I pray and hope that no retributive acts to follow in the weeks and months to come!
Any comments would be appreciated, thank you!
Thank you for reading,
OG~
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Great post. I think it's sad when anyone meets their maker prematurely - particularly when all the signs would point to a heart which doesn't know Jesus. It's a tragic waste of available grace.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about whether he should have been forgiven and allowed to live, or forgiven and executed as a consequence of his actions, but I know that we must forgive. Our responsibility is to forgive so that we can be forgiven, but the bible does speak of justice going hand in hand with mercy. Can you tell I'm conflicted? ;-)
Nice one Ollie, love the "I know that I can't just rely on scripture, I must use prayer and interaction with God to come to my decision" part....we serve a God who listens and responds, pretty unique in that way.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that we are taught to forgive and not one of us is without blemish and able to pass judgement. I find myself being glad that Osama has gone from this world, however this is purely from an optimistic view that it will result in good and not cause a reaction of hatred and violence.
Nice post!
@thisischristine - Yeah totally agree with you :) It's hard what to think and I totally understand the conflicting thoughts! :P ha
ReplyDeleteWill - Thank you! :) Which Will is this? :)
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ReplyDeleteNice Ollie :) great read! x
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad to hear this - this is pretty much what I was thinking, hearing it on the news sometime. It's hard to condemn either side in a case as difficult as this, for a christian; we're stuck in an ethical shades of grey where the right way and the wrong way aren't clear and the only hope is to trust in God. Thanks for posting :)
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