A New Beginning?
The news splashed across the screen last evening that Saddam Hussein had been executed. In fact, the timing of the execution was timed so that it would not interfere with the Muslim Holy Day of Eid. Surprisingly, this is a festival of peace and forgiveness for those who practice Islam.
Here we are facing a new year. This is always a time of promise and joy. According to the press last evening and early this morning, with the execution of Hussein, this may well be a new beginning, of more violence and reprisals. Others hailed it as a new era because closure had happened for the country. Along with the announcement of Hussein's execution, was a side comment that this month 108 Americans died in Iraq, bringing the total at the time of this writing to 2997.
I know that Hussein was a murderous, barbarian. He was a tyrant of the worst kind. He even killed his own family to further his cause. He lived a life of opulence at the expense of the people of his country, suffering poor schools, poverty, lack of necessary infrastructure and health care. He allowed his sons to brutally rape and murder as well. This man definitely caused more suffering than anyone could imagine. We know about this stuff. I wonder what has not been documented? I am glad Hussein was deposed.
I am confused. How does his death make for a new beginning? I understand that this man needed to pay for his crimes. How does more killing make for a new beginning? Doesn't more killing just beget more killing? That seems to be the result. We exact our eye for an eye. At the end of the day what does it bring? Doesn't it just satisfy our need for revenge and blood lust? I would have loved to see Hussein live out his days in solitary confinement, without all of the opulent pleasures to which he had grown accustom. For this man to live his days out in a dank cell, living in servitude with no light, little contact with humanity and the bare essentials would probably have been a fate worse than death for him.
I guess this all comes down to your theology of the death penalty. I know I cannot force my opinion on the Iraqi court system (which was bankrolled and trained by the US). As Christians though, I think we believe in the sanctity of life, no matter how dastardly that life is. I know that comment will probably draw the wrath of some of you. That is fine. I am convicted in my heart that being created in God's image means that all humanity deserves to live and live in dignity without the constraints of poverty, disease and with the opportunity to thrive.
If we are to have a new beginning, I think it means that we value each person and spread the message of the Gospel, by living out a life of mission and peace in the world. I want that for the world. I want a world where we begin to choose life over killing and death. Do you think I am dreaming? Do you think that we as Christians can make it happen?
What do you think?
Here we are facing a new year. This is always a time of promise and joy. According to the press last evening and early this morning, with the execution of Hussein, this may well be a new beginning, of more violence and reprisals. Others hailed it as a new era because closure had happened for the country. Along with the announcement of Hussein's execution, was a side comment that this month 108 Americans died in Iraq, bringing the total at the time of this writing to 2997.
I know that Hussein was a murderous, barbarian. He was a tyrant of the worst kind. He even killed his own family to further his cause. He lived a life of opulence at the expense of the people of his country, suffering poor schools, poverty, lack of necessary infrastructure and health care. He allowed his sons to brutally rape and murder as well. This man definitely caused more suffering than anyone could imagine. We know about this stuff. I wonder what has not been documented? I am glad Hussein was deposed.
I am confused. How does his death make for a new beginning? I understand that this man needed to pay for his crimes. How does more killing make for a new beginning? Doesn't more killing just beget more killing? That seems to be the result. We exact our eye for an eye. At the end of the day what does it bring? Doesn't it just satisfy our need for revenge and blood lust? I would have loved to see Hussein live out his days in solitary confinement, without all of the opulent pleasures to which he had grown accustom. For this man to live his days out in a dank cell, living in servitude with no light, little contact with humanity and the bare essentials would probably have been a fate worse than death for him.
I guess this all comes down to your theology of the death penalty. I know I cannot force my opinion on the Iraqi court system (which was bankrolled and trained by the US). As Christians though, I think we believe in the sanctity of life, no matter how dastardly that life is. I know that comment will probably draw the wrath of some of you. That is fine. I am convicted in my heart that being created in God's image means that all humanity deserves to live and live in dignity without the constraints of poverty, disease and with the opportunity to thrive.
If we are to have a new beginning, I think it means that we value each person and spread the message of the Gospel, by living out a life of mission and peace in the world. I want that for the world. I want a world where we begin to choose life over killing and death. Do you think I am dreaming? Do you think that we as Christians can make it happen?
What do you think?
posted by Larry at 10:04 AM
13 Comments:
This is such a tough topic. I found no joy in watching Saddam be led to the gallows this morning. My heart grieved for the man as I watched him stare death in the eye. No doubt he deserved death, but then, we all do.
I can’t say that I don’t believe in the death penalty. Certainly there are verses throughout the Bible that seem to suggest that it is a Biblical principle. But it’s also equally as easy to find verses disputing the death penalty all throughout the words of Jesus. What I do know is that I could never do it. I could never sentence somebody to death, and I could never flip the switch.
However, even as I think about this topic, I can’t help but think of some of the greater issues surrounding the penal system. As you said, a life where you spend twenty-three hours a day in an 8x8 cell, while only being let out one hour a week for sunlight and exercise, is no life at all. In fact, it’s torture. For me, it would be much worse than death. We are turning those people into mental patients and it’s ugly and cruel.
I say again, I don’t know the answers here. On one hand, I wish our justice system was much tougher. To me, thirty-years (often less) is not long enough for taking a life. And cable tv is not a right. On the other hand, few animals in the world are able to exist without sunlight. I think there’s a line somewhere between justice and cruelty. I think we need to find it and stick very firmly to it.
The one thing I do know is this; if you found joy in today’s hanging scene, you need to pray for compassion and that God will allow you to see humanity through His eyes.
Very bold of you to introduce this topic, my friend. To answer your question, I do think you are dreaming, but can enough people share the dream?
Combining thoughts from this post and your last, I'm reminded of watching on TV the concert at MSG in the days following 9/11. In introducing an act, Richard Gere, a confirmed Buddhist, spoke words of peace and forgiveness and was promptly booed off the stage. The sanctity of all life is a radical concept and I believe that it is a cornerstone of the Kingdom of God. However, maybe the question is not, "Can we as Christians make it happen," but rather, "Do we as Christians want it to happen?" There are doubts...
BTW, I saw a photo today in our local paper. The caption said it was of a Muslim vendor selling balloons to celebrate the Holy Day of Eid. I couldn't see all the balloons, but the two I could make out were in the shapes of Bugs Bunny and SpongeBob Squarepants' buddy Patrick. Interesting Muslim icons, I thought...
We have an Iraqi couple who worship at our church (corps). They’re here (London) on asylum. I approached them this morning and asked them how they felt about yesterday’s news. They said that, while he deserved it, we all deserve it and, as Christians, we’re called to forgive. They also said that they found no joy in watching the video.
This couple came to England because of how they were persecuted under Saddam’s regime, yet here they were, reminding me that, as Christians, we’re called to forgive.
Hhhmmm…so Christianity isn’t just about attending church and judging those around us?
Thanks for the perspective Tim. Forgiveness from the persecuted. Maybe we could all learn a lesson.
Hi Larry from Evie in Latvia. Thanks for these good thoughts. It's interesting for me to get the news from a non US perspective but that's for another time. For now, Happy New Year and many blessings!
Evie,
Just think three years ago we were in Urbana. I hope your New Year is a good one and that the mission of the Gospel will prosper through your ministry this year.
Hi all,
I believe that love for enemies is no easy task, especially for those who suffer directly.
With that said, I also believe that Jesus' instructions were made, not because we already and instinctively knew them, but because we needed to be taught the concept.
Though it is not popular to love our enemies, and loving them can be confused with pardoning without justice, I believe that we still deserve the opportunity to treat our enemies humanely and with the common dignity of being children of God, right or wrong, criminal or contributing citizen.
I would not push a dogmatic philosophy in this area, though I do believe that loving our enemy does not mean killing them.
To add to Tim's wonderful insights, I would assume that turning criminals into mental patients is not the answer either.
Finding the answer probably has more to do with developing a healthy community, even for criminals in order to show them the love of God and allow them to see their errors, repent, and, based on the nature of their crime, find some way to be rehabilitated to some level, even if it means joining a community within confinement. This may not satisfy our lust for payment by criminals, but it will probably satisfy our Lord.
In His dust,
Johnny
Johnny,
Thanks. I would think you may have a point. There is a real issue of justice here as well. I am not sure that solitary confinement turns one into a mental patient. In fact, solitary may actually save the life of one from people who would harm them.
I am in agreement with you that loving our enemies is does not mean killing them.
Interesting take there Larry. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a criminal suggest that he felt “safer” in solitary confinement, but I’ve seen more than one who became a totally different person there after a period of time.
Johnny, your idea of creating a community, even within confinement, is an interesting one. I wonder if it’s been looked at?
I think one of the problems, and maybe the biggest, is that we’re attempting to view this from a Christian perspective, but the United States government cannot really be considered a Christian government. I know we all like to claim “Christian forefathers” and love to think of our Republican politicians as Christian, but few of them really have any Christian values whatsoever outside of the handful of so-called “family values” that get them elected. So what is it that we’re hoping for here? Christians usually vote for religious values and laws that support religious institutions, but they don’t necessarily vote for values and laws that are “Christ like”, and our politicians certainly aren’t in a big hurry to vote for “love your brother laws”, they usually cost way too much money. So I wonder what exactly we’re hoping for here?
What are we hoping for?
I would hope that finally Christians would not allow the extreme right to co-opt the values message. I would hope that we would not give up and join with people of like minds. I think there is a slow turning here in the States with Christians. Rick Warren's recent conference on AIDS gives me hope. Sojourners/Call to Renewal gives me hope. Polls showing that Christians who vote are now more concerned with poverty than what the right has defined as the family values.
I guess we would hope that we would have hope.
Larry,
I agree that prison doesn't necessarily turn a criminal into a mental patient. But I would suggest that prison, in many cases, does little to rehabilitate.
In many ways, it may help to use a parental attitude in thinking about what to do with people who don't live according to law. When my child does something that requires "home incarceration", I don't ground him without doing something to teach him to make better decisions. Unfortunately, that is not always the agenda of the prison system.
I know a few people who have been in prison, and quite often they tell me that it is the friendships and close bonds with groups that help them through the time.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
I've been thinking a bit about how I feel about capital punishment. For the moment these are questions I seek to answer.
Can anyone name the last five people who were executed in their state/country and what their crimes were?
More than likely not. We have to be told.
Does capital punishment really deter crime, are we safer, or are we more bloodthirsty?
Does God telling his people to kill a person in the old testament make him bloodthirsty?
Is this what Jesus meant by turning the other cheek, so we could not sink to the level of one who would kill?
I'm glad Saddam and his sons are dead, what does that make me?
Hey Nate,
I'd say it makes you human. All of us want justice; that's a godly trait. The balance between justice and mercy is the tricky part.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
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