Osama Party

Like many, I was relieved to find out that they finally got bin Laden. Was it worth the money, human effort and sacrifice of so many? I'm sure the jury is still out on that (in mind anyway). It seems that protecting innocent people by exacting justice on perpetrators is never something that should be taken lightly or flippantly.

That's why I was rather shocked by the photographs capturing the reactions of some of the groups around the country after the announcement that bin Laden had been killed. Now, while there were many people showing an outpouring of support, love, and relief to those who had been directly affected by the 9/11 attacks, some of the celebrations seemed uncomfortably inappropriate. First off were several pictures of different college campuses where students had decided to strip to the waste and run whooping into the streets like they had just won the championship. Let me just point out that by-in-large these students were in the range of 8-10 years old during 9/11, and I can't recall the last time I saw the family of the victim throwing a drunken frat brawl at the execution of the murder. Perhaps the most upsetting display in connection with the announcement of bin Laden's death was this guy:

Was this guy just holding onto this particularly atrocious piece of full body spandex waiting for a chance to use it!?!? A word to the wise: full body spandex is NEVER appropriate. I have at least one friend who will back me up on that.

Some quotes that I think do a fair job explaining why these reactions might not be the best, for Christians at least:

Catholic News Service reported , "The Vatican said the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a man who sowed division and hatred and who caused 'innumerable' deaths, should prompt serious reflection about one's responsibility before God, not rejoicing." Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, acknowledged in a statement that bin Laden bears serious responsibility for spreading hate and death, "In the face of a man's death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."
Joe Carter wrote on First Things that, "We have a tendency to want to think of our enemies as sub-human vermin, as being so distant from ourselves that they are almost a different species. … Yet our relief at his death must be tempered by a Christian view of humanity. We must never forget that the evil comes not from the actions of 'subhuman vermin' but from the heart of a fallen, sacred yet degraded, human being. If we are to preserve our own humanity we must not forget that our enemy differs from us in degree, not in kind. Like us, they are human, all too human."

Is the world a little bit of a better place without Osama bin Laden? Yes
Did bin Laden have it coming to him? Of Course!
Do those facts (and I'm sure a host of other good reasons) void our Christianity? I wouldn't think so.