What About Osama?

As most of you, I watched the reports unfold about the killing of Osama bin Laden. At first, my reactions were of jubilation and great celebration. I was entirely comfortable with the parade of people celebrating in New York’s, Manhattan. At the same time, however, as a follower of Christ, I was sobered by the reality of what had just happened. How should we as Christians respond?
In order to dissect this question, I believe it’s important to define the situation in which we find ourselves. Were we simply targeting a religious icon in an attempt to squelch an uprising? Were we seeking revenge? Or, were we simply pursuing an enemy combatant? I contend that we were pursuing an enemy combatant of the United States.
If that be the case, then the resulting question is whether or not using force is necessary to remove the threat of this enemy of the United States.

When you study the life of Jesus, you notice that he never called a soldier who came to him in faith out of his military duties. Never once did Jesus say to a Roman Centurion, “Leave the Army!” And in His own life, He was known to use force, such as when clearing the temple.
As a result, the idea of a just act of war has been with Christian thinking from the beginning. But it has been very carefully spelled out. According to James Emery White, the conditions for a conflict to be just are as follows:

*There must be an urgent and imminent threat;
*It must be an act of defense against aggression – never simply for conquest or as an act of aggression – only a defensive war is defensible;
*It must be ordered by one who is in authority to do so;
*It must be for a just cause;
*It must have the right intention – it should not be based on revenge, but as an act of neighbor love and protection, with peace as its goal;
*It should be the last resort; peace and resolution should have been attempted;
*The force used must be proportionate to the desired ends – meaning that the evils caused by the war are less than the evils to be righted;
*It must seek to minimize non-combatant (civilian) casualties;
*It must have a reasonable chance of success.

I agree with James on all of these points...

So, what do you think? Did these things meet the threshold of a “just action of war”? Do you think Osama bin Laden had a direct connection to the attacks on 9/11? Did he pose an imminent threat or, by influence, cause extreme prejudice against the United States of America?

Listen, I do not celebrate the death of any person, but I can celebrate the death of evil. So from my vantage point, this was a justifiable action. May God have mercy on the soul of Osama bin Laden. And may God show much grace to the souls that have died at Osama's hands.

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