Should a Christian Celebrate When an Enemy is Killed?
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
May 15, 2011
On Sunday night, May 1, as I was watching the Phillies baseball game on TV, I became aware that the crowd was yelling something in the background that appeared to be unrelated to the game. Given that these were Phillie fans, I wasn’t too surprised by that, and it soon became clear that they were chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” after receiving the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by Navy SEALS in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Soon, crowds of mostly young people gathered on the streets outside the White House, in downtown NYC, and on college campuses to shout slogans, sing patriotic songs, and drink excessively in celebration of bin Laden’s death. This was certainly an understandable response to the death of the one who was behind the 9-11 attacks which killed over 3000 innocent people, as well as attacks in Kenya and other places that killed and maimed hundreds more. But while understandable, is such a response a Christian response? That’s what I’d like to talk about this morning.
Two moral issues have been raised by the killing of bin Laden and the celebrations which followed. First, was it morally right to target and kill bin Laden in the first place? Dealing with this question would lead us into much larger questions about Christians and war, torture, assassinations, pacificism, etc. I think these are very important questions for us and we dealt with them in some detail in the course on Christian ethics I taught last Fall. At some time in the future, I’ll devote an entire sermon or two to these issues. But for this morning, let’s assume that the killing of bin Laden, a man who perpetrated mass murder and continued to plan the killing of innocent people, was morally justified- that in the name of self-defense or justice, killing this man was morally permissible. I suspect that most folks seated here this morning would agree that it was, but as I said, we’ll delve deeper into those issues at another time.
The second moral issue that has been raised is found in the title of this sermon, “Should a Christian celebrate when an enemy is killed?” There has been a lot written about this over the past two weeks, and you and the person seated nearest you this morning may have very different opinions on that question! And some of you may have very strong feelings about this! However, when Christians are faced with a difficult moral issue, we begin with the Bible, not with our own feelings. And the Bible does have some things to say about this issue.
Those who believe it is entirely proper for Christians to celebrate the death of an enemy can point to several passages. How about this one in Ex. 15? The Hebrews have just left Egypt after 400 years of being slaves there. When Pharaoh’s army pursued them, God arranged the parting of the Red Sea to allow the Hebrews to escape, and then caused the waters to roll back onto the Egyptian army, drowning hundreds and thousands of men. Listen to this song of victory:
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power— your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. (Ex. 15:1-6)
Clearly, the people are celebrating their freedom from slavery, but they are also celebrating the death of their enemies, even though these dead soldiers were someone’s fathers, sons, and husbands. In this case, the Hebrews joyfully celebrated the death of their enemies.
Then, there is the Song of Deborah. That sounds like such a nice little ballad, doesn’t it- “The Song of Deborah.” In fact, it’s a song celebrating the killing of the Canaanite King, Sisera. A woman named Jael invited him into her tent and when he fell asleep, she drove a tent peg through his skull. I’m not making this up. Listen to this excerpt from the “Song of Deborah:”
24 "Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
25 He (Sisera) asked water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a lordly bowl.
26 She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet; at her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead.
31 "So perish all your enemies, O Lord! But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might." And the land had rest forty years. (Judges 5:24-27, 31)
It’s hard to imagine what kind of tune they used to sing that one! And I’ll guessing you didn’t learn this story in Sunday School, either! In both of these songs, there was no hesitation to celebrate the death of the enemies of Israel.
In fact, there are a number of other instances where triumphant Israelites celebrated their victories over their enemies. Now the biblical writers make no judgments as to whether this is good or bad, but they do at least acknowledge the practice as part of the history of God’s people. Conservative columnist Cal Thomas, commenting on the death of bin Laden, echoed this view well when he wrote last week, “The terrorist reaped what he had sown. He has had judgment imposed on him. That’s something to celebrate!”
If this were all that scripture had to say on this subject, we could celebrate unabashedly with no twinge of restraint or conscience. But, of course, there are some other scriptures that suggest that celebrating the death of an enemy is not such a good thing. Consider this insight from Ezekiel, who was carried off into exile by the hated Babylonians around 600 years before Jesus. “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ez. 33:11) Apparently, God doesn’t celebrate the death of evil people. Rather, God would prefer that they turn from their evil and return to him, ceasing to do harm to others. Shouldn’t our hearts be like God’s heart, taking no pleasure in the death of evil people?
Coming to the New Testament, we find these strong words from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount,
43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matt. 5:43-47)
In contrast to the conventional wisdom of his day and ours, Jesus said we are supposed to love our enemies. And Christians have debated exactly what that means for 2000 years! But it would seem to be a real challenge to love your enemies and at the same time celebrate their killing! In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul echoes these words of Jesus when he writes,
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:14-21)
This scripture specifically calls us to leave vengeance up to God. It was clear to me that many of those who were celebrating bin Laden’s death were doing so out of a sense of revenge. He had done a horrible thing to this nation and had gotten away with it for 10 years. Now we finally gave him what he deserved. But Jesus says that vengeance is God’s business, not ours. So celebrating human vengeance would seem out-of-place for a follower of Jesus. Instead, we are to work for peace and leave vengeance up to God.
So, there you have it. You can see how Christians, using the same Bible, could come to different conclusions about this issue. So, let me close with a couple of my own thoughts on this. First, I need to say that I am not a pacifist. I sometimes wish I had the courage to be one, but I don’t. I believe that evil is a real force in the world in which we find ourselves. And I believe there are times when it is morally acceptable to use force, even lethal force, to stop an even great evil. In my opinion, the killing of Osama bin Laden falls under this legitimate use of force.
However, I believe we do so knowing that the use of violence against other human beings is still an evil thing. “Thou shalt not kill,” says the commandment. Killing others is not God’s will for us, but it may be a necessary evil in a fallen world. As such, I’m not sure celebrating it is the best approach. We may experience relief and even satisfaction that this threat to our nation and to many nations can no longer wreak his murderous harm on us. And we may celebrate the bravery and skill of those who carried out the raid. But celebrating the death of an enemy may go a step too far.
I’m also concerned with what such celebration does to our own souls. I believe that God wants to form our hearts to be more like God’s own heart. After all, we’re created in the image of God. Celebrating someone’s death puts our hearts at odds with the heart of God who “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Such celebrations can make us callous toward the sanctity of human life, a gift given by the Creator. Whenever life is taken, it is tragic. Finally, celebrating the death of an enemy tends to nurture parts of ourselves that are prideful and full of revenge, as we gloat about our military power and prowess. God may indeed approve or forgive what we have done, but I believe God does so with a sense of sadness that his beloved creation has fallen so far from God’s intention. Perhaps sadness ought to be part of our response to this killing, too- sadness that we live in a world where this is necessary. I believe we celebrate bin Laden’s death at some peril to our own hearts and souls. What do you think? Let’s keep talking about this and other issues we face today, using the scriptures to help guide us.
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