I ran across this handy chart that includes the basics of several religions. It doesn’t appear to include any biases, just the facts. Very handy reference. It’s in the “Online Bibles” link section in the menu. Check it out!
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.
(Dt 7:7-8)
I’ve seen this scripture more times than I can count, and I knew it was a representation of God’s mercy, but today, it seems as if I read it for the first time. God, our God, has ALWAYS wanted to bless people. From the creation of the world, the gift of Eden, the gift of marriage and even the tree of life, God’s will has been that mankind was blessed. Before Christ, God created a way for people to atone for sin through sacrifice, and to restore a relationship with him through obedience. Then, he made promises to one or two men that spanned generations. He made covenants and promises to the Jews, but he included “the foreigner among you” in the promises as well.
Of religions that believe in a God, only the Abrahmic God (ours) appears to love humanity in this way. He is not capricious and does not demand worship for the purpose of asserting his authority and dominion, but calls us to repentance when we sin against him and others and desires worship as obedience and service. Our God desires to lead us on paths of righteousness. Our God desires justice, mercy, and love for him and for one another. While a lot of religions call their adherents to ethical living, these make it seems that the people are capable of perfect lives, and there is no provision for ultimate forgiveness. As a result, many people end up being “good enough” but that leads to pride in their own accomplishments. God says that we are all sinners, because the comparison isn’t to ourselves, it’s to him and he is perfect. This leaves no room for pride, and the good works of Christians are not done to earn God’s love and favor (that is freely given) but to honor the place we have in the divine family as joint-heirs with Christ.
When the bible says that God’s yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matt 11:30), it doesn’t mean that we won’t ever experience life’s troubles. It means the burden of salvation is light and the carrying out of the Christian life is easy. That is because of the quote above in Deuteronomy. God didn’t choose Israel – or us – because of our own accomplishments, qualifications or attributes. In God, the requirements to reconciliation are easy: just believe. It’s already done. It can’t be earned. There is no “burden” on us whatsoever. God, in Christ, has done EVERYTHING already.
Believe God. Receive Christ. Rest in mercy.
I’m going to admit it. When my friend texted me that Osama Bin Laden was dead, the first thing I texted back was “If that is true, Obama just sealed his re-election.” I admit that wasn’t the most Christian response or the most human one.
A few minutes later, news organizations reported that it was confirmed, and President Obama himself held a press conference to give his official proclamation. After that, there were visions of people celebrating at the White House.
When I first saw the celebrators, I thought it was sad that people were celebrating a death and that no one dying, however necessary, is a good thing. Then I thought about where I was on 9/11.
I wasn’t in New York and I don’t know anyone who was killed that day. I was in Los Angeles. Although not near the incident at all, I was terrified as I watched the towers on fire and then fall. I remember the confusion about an accident and then the horror of realizing it was on purpose. I saw the pictures of people who were trapped by the fire and jumped to their deaths. I saw the videos of ash-strewn pilgrims wandering through ground zero, not sure where to go or what to do. I was actually terrorized by Bin Laden.
But not like others.
Although as a Christian I don’t rejoice in Bin Laden’s death, I do want to celebrate his capture. I want to celebrate justice. I want to celebrate that for some people who actually lost loved ones that day, there is closure and relief. I want to celebrate that Bin Laden will never order the death of another person. I do celebrate that a wrong was righted.
As I checked my facebook profile, I read with interest how so many Christians were upset at the revelers and the celebrations regarding Bin Laden’s death – often complete with scripture. I understand the sentiment, but I also think that finger-wagging in a way is just as callous. If you’re emotionally far enough from the incident on 9/11 that you regard it as a political or religious event, then definitely reflect on it and pray rather than celebrate. However, we Christians must also remember that for a lot of people, this is not a political victory. It’s a personal one. Justice was done for them. For their mothers and fathers and sons and daughters, aunts, uncles, children and friends. They aren’t celebrating a war victory, they are celebrating justice for the person in the picture on the lamp stand in the living room that they will never get to speak to again.
If there was a serial killer in a neighborhood who was finally caught and brought to justice, no one in their right mind would go to the courthouse and lecture the victims’ families about how they were supposed to respond. Bin Laden has political motives and his actions affected nations, but essentially he was a mass murderer and the families of his victims don’t need Christians to add to their pain by wagging our sanctimonious fingers.
