Osama bin Laden & the Kingdom of God

For some Osama bin Laden's death has brought "closure," for others there seems to be real triumph.  The reaction in the Middle East has been mostly, "Don't bother us, we're dealing with much more important things."  Some Pakistanis are defensive, others are defiant.  There have been, of course, the threats of mass destruction sung to the old tune of "Death to America."  Some Republicans have been almost gracious, others have had to swallow bile.  The Administration has quietly milked this cow for all its worth—with some dignity but a clear note of self-satisfaction.

In the religious media, meanwhile, there has been a much more subdued reaction to bin Laden's death—less talk of justice, of closure, of success and more of a sense of the inherent ongoing tragedy of 9/11 and the violent decade it spawned.  It's not that religious Americans are less patriotic but, rather, that they measure their patriotism in different ways—and with a much more mixed sense of loyalties.  Bin Laden's death seems, in a faith context, to have accomplished much less than  it did in a political or military context.  It was much less of a successful operation because, fundamentally, it didn't achieve justice or peace.

The death of Osama bin Laden did not achieve justice.  He was not tried by a jury of his peers but assassinated in a military operation of debatable international legality.  As we listened to various relatives of the victims of 9/ll, it is not even clear that for many of them it achieved closure.  They spoke with many different voices and expressed many different feelings.  Short term, we have been warned that the U.S. is less secure because of his death, and the jury is still out on whether or not it will make much difference in the war on terror, so-called.  It is hard to see how it makes the world more peaceful even by the world's narrow understanding of peace as "not violence."

The bottom line, for us as Christians, is that this death does not bring us closer to the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom is built on justice and peace.  There is a reason why the God of the Old Testament demanded vengeance as his sole right.  As long as vengeance is in human hands, the cycles of hate do not come to an end.  The other thing about God in the Old Testament is that he was "slow to anger" and quick to forgive, which is why divine vengeance is the only dependable kind.  It does not proceed by violence and has a whole different standard for "pay back."  In our context, in sum, there is little if anything to cheer about in bin Laden's death—much to be sad about.

Along these lines, please also see Erin Lane's posting, "Mourning the Dead."