Yet Another Response to the Assassination of Osama bin Laden

Whew, I'm glad that's over. That, and sadness. There's also an "I'm glad he's dead" response in there somewhere, but my initial response was a bit more muted than the majority of those celebrating the death of the United States' enemy number one. I was mostly sad for the loss of life.

Please don't misunderstand me, or otherwise judge me as un-American. I grieved and I still grieve for those who died in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 (except for the nineteen terrorists). My heart is still rent by the trauma of the events of that fateful day that changed everything. And I did crave and I still crave revenge on the perpetrators and proponents of an ideology that teaches hatred. And I believe we're doing good with our continued efforts to thwart global terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, etc.

The photo above is from an excellent distraction from the grisly details of bin Laden's demise, one photojournalist's tour of the very same suburb where the U.S. forces found and dispatched our hated nemesis.

I'm not merely sad because Osama bin Laden didn't have a chance to convert to Christianity before he was assassinated. I'm sad that we killed him. I'm sad that he wasn't brought to trial and found guilty and executed according to our system of jurisprudence. I'm sad that 9/11 changed our view of the rules of warfare. I don't know that I can say I believe it's okay to assassinate your enemy. Go into his house and shoot up the place. Bomb them from unmanned drones in the sky by some guy on the ground with a joystick indiscriminately killing women and children. And yet we had to do something after 9/11. We had to quench our bloodlust, our thirst for revenge. And that makes me sad.

Jesus said, "Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Do good to them that hate you." And Paul also wrote, "it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."