Christians Should Not "Celebrate" the Death of Osama Bin Laden

The joyous celebrations that have broken out among Americans over the death of Osama Bin Laden are understandable, but also regrettable. Granted, there are differences between the celebrations of Muslims on September 11, 2001 and the spontaneous expressions of joy that broke out among Americans late in the evening of May 1, 2011, but there are far too many similarities to be ignored by Christians.

Below are five reasons why any expressions of joy over the death of Osama Bin Ladin ought to be muted:

(1). God Himself takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

God says "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 18:32). It would seem that the Judge of all men, the one who passes judgment upon individual sinners, is the One from whom we should receive our example of conduct when a sinner dies. Rather than dancing and chanting "USA," we possibly ought to take a moment of silence and solemnly reflect on the awful condemnation Osama Bin Ladin is receiving from a holy and righteous God for his rebellion against God's laws and his murderous actions on earth. If the judge is not celebrating the punishment He is meting out, we who love the Judge ought not either.

(2). What should be applauded is the redemption of the sinner, not the sinner's death.

Osama's death rings the bell that marks the passing of our own lives, for the "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Anytime we hear of the death of a fellow human, it should remind each of us that we are nearer our own death. The prospects of giving an account of our lives on earth to the One who created us should cause fear in each of us; a fear that drives us to the Deliverer. Those, however, who have mocked the Son in this life should be pitied, not celebrated. It is the unredeemed sinner that gives an account of his actions to God for judgment purposes--an accounting that is necessary, but not celebrated. God's judgment is like the cutting of a surgeon's scalpel before the surgeon heals; nobody is ever seen clapping the scalpel's work, but the cut is necessary for the healing. Only the healing is applauded.

So too, the wicked and their judgment are necessary, but not celebrated. The wicked and their judgment are only part of God's plan for the gathering of His redeemed. We don't clap at the judgment of the wicked, only the redemption of the sinner.

Nature also teaches us that we ought not clap at death and judgment. Herman Hoeksema point out: "When a farmer sows seed in his field, he sows much more than he needs. When the seed falls into the earth and dies, there appear not only the kernels of wheat, for which the seed was planted, but also the stem, the straw, and even the chaff. Without the stem and the chaff the grain could never have germinated and ripened. The stem and the chaff serve the grain, the seed. Yet both will presently be burned by fire in order that the grain may be gathered into the barn. Here also we find election and reprobation, and in such a way that the latter serves the former, and is necessary to it." I would add, necessary, but not celebrated.

(3). Vengeance on earth for the crimes of the wicked is foreign to Christianity.

The book of Romans tells us that "government bears the sword of vengeance," (Romans 13:4) but not individual Christians. In other words, on this earth there will always be a separation of God's kingdom from human kingdoms. The Christian is personally told by God that "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," (Romans 12:19) and that we are to forgive and love our enemies. However, when a Christian finds himself by God's ordination in a position of civic or governmental power (i.e. President, judge, congressman, etc...), there are decisions that must be made for the sake of justice on earth that the individual Christian would never make outside of his position of earthly power. God ordains governmental leaders as "His ministers" to bring about justice on earth through vengeance, but no individual Christian is called upon to exercise such revenge.

But some might object by quoting "...when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness" (Proverbs 11:10). This verse is a statement of fact, not a commandment. God's commandment to His people comes from the same book: ""Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble" (Proverbs 24:17)

The United States government and military can, and should, avenge the death of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001 for the sake of justice on earth. However, any celebration by individual Christians over Osama Bin Laden's death should be muted -- silent satisfaction rather than joyous jubilation.

(4). When we celebrate the death of Osama, we look much to similar to the Muslims who celebrated 9/11.

I know there are differences. Too many to articulate here, but my point is how we look to the Muslims. When we dance in the streets at the death of their hero, we look to them like they looked to us when they danced in the streets on 9/11. The death of Osama Bin Laden was necessary; the celebrations are not. This fourth reason for muted celebrations is only pragmatic, and I have found that many Americans, and sadly even Christians, are more moved by the pragmatic than the theological or philosophical reasons for right behavior. So be it. Don't dance at the death of Osama because you inflame the hearts of Muslims.

(5). The only death that ever should be celebrated is the death of Jesus Christ.

Why celebrate His death? Because in the death of Jesus the Anointed One there is power over death. In short, there is the death of death in the death of Christ. Jesus conquered death, taking upon Himself the punishment of the Creator for sins, rising from the dead, and delivering all those sinners who will trust Him. If you wish to celebrate someone's death, celebrate His death and resurrection, for in it, you will find the righteous and holy punishment of God for your sins satiated.

Someone might object and say, "But the world is safer because Osama is dead!" Yes, it is. But the principles above override any thought of future personal safety, for the truth of the matter is, you are not even guaranteed your next breath. Personal safety on earth is a far inferior motivation for celebration than the understanding of God's infinite and holy justice that should bring a muted and solemn silence from Christians upon hearing of the death of Osama Bin Laden.


In His Grace,


Wade Burleson

Why Every Southern Baptist Should Know and Care About a Woman Named Pamela Wynona Schoen

The Star Fish Insurance Agency in Gulf Shores, Alabama, pictured here, is owned by a former Southern Baptist woman named Pamela Wynona Schoen. I first introduced readers to Pamela in December of 2008, explaining that she had hired, in good faith, a former Southern Baptist missionary named Gray Harvey to be her bookkeeper. Wynona had grown up in a family who regularly gave money to Southern Baptist causes (Lottie Moon, Cooperative Program, etc...). What could be better but to have one of those missionaries as an employee at her office, right?

Wrong. Gray Harvey began to write fraudulent insurance policies on multi-million dollar condominiums and homes in Gulf Shores, Alabama without Wynona Schoen's knowledge. Harvey scammed dozens and dozens of policy holders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He wrote what looked like legitimate policies on fake Lloyds of London forms, underbid competitors, and pocketed the premiums--all without his boss's knowledge. Harvey was eventually arrested by federal authorities, and will soon face prosecution by the United States attorney for bank fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud in stealing all that money from unsuspecting people. Wynona Schoen's lawyer, Richard Lively, recently told the Alabama insurance regulators that his client, was the worst victim of all, suggesting that Benton Gray Harvey may have poisoned Schoen to keep her away from Starfish Insurance Agency as the scam peaked in the summer of 2008.

What makes this story so sad, and why every Southern Baptist should remember Pamela Wynona Schoen, is because Gray Harvey had previously stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board--but IMB executives and trustees did not wish to criminally prosecute him. The IMB had their reasons for not wanting the authorities to press charges against Gray Harvey in 2004. But, in my opinion, the unwillingness of SBC officials to see Gray Harvey prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law directly led to Wynona Schoen's legal, financial and physical problems. Wynona's life, as she once knew it, has been ruined. Had Gray Harvey had his rear sitting in jail, or at least had it been made public that Gray Harvey was a professional thief, he would have never been hired by Pamela Wynona Schoen and been in a position to defraud her and others in his Alabama scam. When a thief changes his environment by moving from one state to another, nothing in the evil nature of that thief changes. As the old-timers used to say, "Unless there is a change in the atmosphere, what thaws in the sun will once again freeze in the shade."

One year ago, in the fall of 2008, after I visited with Pamela Wynona Schoen's very emotional mother over the phone, I made a vow. I promised myself that if I ever came across another individual who exhibited the gall to deceitfully and intentionally steal money from Southern Baptists, I would do everything within my power to ensure that federal authorities prosecute to the fullest extent of the law--regardless of the desires of SBC leaders, whomever they may be, who might wish the problem to go away lest further "embarrassment" come to Southern Baptists. I call it my "Pamela Promise."

And I aim to fulfill it.

In His Grace,

Wade Burleson

Walking Where SBC Preachers Fail to Tread

The sordid case of former Southern Baptist pastor Darrel Gilyard is coming to a just and appropriate end. Gilyard has entered into a plea deal with prosecuters for multiple sex crimes, and will receive his sentencing this Thursday, May 21, 2009 before a media circus in state court. Gilyard is agreeing to his guilt on all charges and to three years incarceration in a state facility and then three years probation. He will also carry a permanent record identifying him as a sexual predator/offender. The court has also mandated periodic psychiatric evaluations and ongoing counseling.

A handful of leaders in our Convention, as detailed here last September, 2008, neglected to fulfill their God-given responsibilities to shut down Gilyard's ministry and provide help to his victims. Alas, a young Southern Baptist woman, a Gilyard victim herself, approached the unenviable task of bringing Gilyard to justice with the zeal of a modern apostle. Tiffany Croft began her blog with the goal of treading where we Southern Baptist pastors and leaders feared to trod. With all the negative press from official channels in the SBC regarding blogs, it would be great to see someone like Tiffany be given credit using a blog to bring about good in our society.

It has been my privilege to speak with Tiffany on a couple of occasions, and I have followed her blog with interest over the past couple of years. She has sent an email to her friends about the plea agreement, and I reproduce it here, with her permission, to express my heartfelt gratitude to Tiffany.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support - you will never fully understand how much it meant to me! I have really struggled in this journey as it was exhausting and so many things I would rather not even know (details and the depths of this garbage) and though there were many times I wished I could just lay it all down, and forget it all - I am so thankful that we saw it through. I have had the opportunity to "be there" to help carry the weight for so many and I know that it has helped me to heal as well, and has also made sense of the past.

Many of you already know that the blog became a huge source of leads and lead to many other witnesses and victims (many were still to scared to testify) - all of these were passed along by me to the State Attorney and they acted on each and every one, in the early days it was a whirlwind. Eventually it settled into waiting as they pieced all of the pieces together and figured out how the case would actually look. The blog then became a place for people to vent, to ask questions and get information about court hearings etc. It served its purpose, I believe that it was meant to be a tool, and I am thankful.

When I had my dealings with Gilyard all those years ago, as a 17 year old girl, I felt so ashamed and wondered how I could have been so blinded, how could I have trusted so completely this man? I also believed fully in the sovereignty of our Savior, so I questioned Him one night, "I know you have plans for me, I don't understand why you allowed this to happen to me. I can either be angry with you that you allowed this, or I can acknowledge that you allowed it for a purpose that I can't understand." I decided the latter. I dealt with my pain, anger, trust issues, shame....and I decided that I was not going to carry it any longer - whether I ever knew the purpose for it or not, I was surrendering it. All of these years later, it has not consumed me through the years (Hallelujah), I rarely even thought of it other than in ways that I have shared it to help others. When I saw him preaching on television, I was not consumed with anger, I felt fear (for any unwilling victims) but I also felt pity for him, living a lie.

But the night I saw him on the news over a year ago after having been arrested, I felt such a surge of strength rise up within me and I KNEW what I needed to do. I released tears that I hadn't cried in years (as memories surfaced) but I felt so strong and I knew that something had to be done this time to make sure that everyone knew and did not let him get away again - it was time. The warrior within me cried out, not for vengeance, but it was as if my warrior cry lined up and joined the cry of our Heavenly Father - it was time for David to face Goliath, and I was never once afraid - the Rock and my fortress were all around me and I knew that you were all covering me with prayer! So you have all had a mighty hand in all of this. Thank you and God bless you!

Kudos Tiffany Thigpen Croft. May your tribe increase.

In His Grace,

Wade