Death Begets Death ☀
I am really hoping that we can get into a broad conversation about what constitutes “justice” and whether killing OBL constitutes justice (for who? for what?) and if not why not…
I’d like to hear from a few others on this topic, particularlyly AZSpot and Ari Kohen. (Edit: Ari is already on the topic)
No.
I do not think war killing is ever justified (assuming one accepts the designation of “war” for what is at best a declaration against a nebulous abstraction, not nation pitted against nation).
Was justice served when the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killed a quarter of a million civilians?
These articles accurately represent my thoughts on the bin Laden killing.
I realize I am in a minority, for failing to subscribe to this myth of redemptive violence.
The myth of redemptive violence is, in short, nationalism become absolute. This myth speaks for God; it does not listen for God to speak. It invokes the sovereignty of God as its own; it does not entertain the prophetic possibility of radical judgment by God. It misappropriates the language, symbols, and scriptures of Christianity. It does not seek God in order to change; it embraces God in order to prevent change. Its God is not the impartial ruler of all nations but a tribal god worshiped as an idol. Its metaphor is not the journey but the fortress. Its symbol is not the cross but the cross hairs of a gun. Its offer is not forgiveness but victory. Its good news is not the unconditional love of enemies but their final elimination. Its salvation not a new heart but a successful foreign policy. It usurps the revelation of God’s purposes for humanity in Jesus. It is blasphemous.
It is idolatrous. And it is immensely popular.
