Sunday evening television brought visions of beer-swilling college students milling about outside the White House and in Times Square, shouting pro-America slogans whilst celebrating the death of a Muslim extremist. So…how does that make YOU feel? For some, such scenes make us a little queasy. Struck a little too close to home. Resemble a bit much a procession of similar celebrations in Islamic countries where citizens cheered on the latest American loss of life. All that was missing was gunfire into the air and effigies engulfed in flames.
A man is dead. To be fair, an evil man who personally ended or planned the end of thousands of lives. A man created in God’s image, just like the rest of us? Now is a time when Christians struggle with the proper response, trying to find a comfortable spot between elation and revulsion. At Solomon Success, we’re not in the habit of telling you how to think. Instead, let’s check in with what some Christians are saying, courtesy of the Christian Post and, of course, Twitter:
“I DO mourn death=The widespread death that Bin Laden’s life created. Today we MUST celebrate the sacrifice & victory of our troops,” Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., tweeted.
“I unapologetically celebrate multitudes of people who will have an opportunity to live b/c of this man’s death. That is good-THAT is victory.”
While celebrating, Furtick also remembered the thousands who became victims of terrorism.
“The thousands of people who Bin Laden sent into a Christless eternity & forced to endure hell on earth receive all my sympathy.” He also tweeted the biblical passage Psalm 9:19-20, which states “Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.”
Some Christians, however, were more cautious in their response to the news.
“Joyfully celebrating the killing of a killer who joyfully celebrated killing carries an irony that I hope will not be lost on us. Are we learning anything, or simply spinning harder in the cycle of violence?”
“I do not understand a world that allows for a man to cause so much pain and I do not understand a world that rejoices in the death of that man who just happens to be created in the image of God.”
Not all were on the same page. Tim Stevens, a pastor at Granger Community Church in Indiana, also took to Twitter to express his emotions. “Some tweets suggest we should feel guilty being happy about this, but I don’t,” he said.
The Solomon Success Team
Flickr / Two Gypsy Hearts
