I think the two can sometimes be identical, as I believe they are in this case. Bin Laden certainly spent no time pondering moral niceties. And I can certainly do without this guy's sanctimony.
Nonetheless the glee with which some of these celebrations have been done shows us at our worst: glorying in violence, barely civilized, and maybe not so moral as we like to believe.
The definition of justice that I recall from early Bible school is "revenge tempered with mercy." So, sanctimonious tones aside, I don't think you can so simplistically equate justice and revenge as to ignore the necessity for mercy. On the other hand, plenty of folks who call themselves New Testament Christians still prefer Old Testament style eye-for-an-eye justice, so maybe we're just not so morally evolved as we like to think we are, after all.
Well, as Jesus said, the law was made for man, not the other way around. And as a fellow who believed in the lex talionis, I can't see on what grounds Bin Laden could complain. People in the Arab Street cheered when the Twin Towers fell. Back at ya, guys.
I might add that the worst than can be said of those cheering OBL's demise is that they were rude or vulgar, offenses hardly on a scale with OBL's crimes. Perhaps we could find it in our hearts to grant them some indulgence.
We need to think carefully about the difference between justice and revenge.
ReplyDeleteI think the two can sometimes be identical, as I believe they are in this case. Bin Laden certainly spent no time pondering moral niceties. And I can certainly do without this guy's sanctimony.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless the glee with which some of these celebrations have been done shows us at our worst: glorying in violence, barely civilized, and maybe not so moral as we like to believe.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of justice that I recall from early Bible school is "revenge tempered with mercy." So, sanctimonious tones aside, I don't think you can so simplistically equate justice and revenge as to ignore the necessity for mercy. On the other hand, plenty of folks who call themselves New Testament Christians still prefer Old Testament style eye-for-an-eye justice, so maybe we're just not so morally evolved as we like to think we are, after all.
Well, as Jesus said, the law was made for man, not the other way around. And as a fellow who believed in the lex talionis, I can't see on what grounds Bin Laden could complain. People in the Arab Street cheered when the Twin Towers fell. Back at ya, guys.
ReplyDeleteI might add that the worst than can be said of those cheering OBL's demise is that they were rude or vulgar, offenses hardly on a scale with OBL's crimes. Perhaps we could find it in our hearts to grant them some indulgence.
ReplyDelete