ATLANTA-Today my heart is deeply disturbed and troubled. I do not find anything redeeming or an ounce of "good news" with the execution of Saddam Hussein. There is no victory here or anything that resembles "doing justice, acting mercifully and walking humbly with God."
I am sadden this day with our lust for blood, revenge and retribution. Yes, Saddam was a bad leader, a bad dictator, a person who had no respect for life. Yet, what has really been accomplished by putting him to death? Has one dictatorship be prevented? Has the wholesale slaughter of innocence's in Africa stopped? Have the rebels in Iraq laid down their arms and suddenly now we are at peace? I can find no comfort in this act being carried out on my behalf. I have to wonder in the logic of capital punishment; should the one we call St. Paul been hanged until dead?
I believe with all my heart that Jesus set aside capital punishment when he said: "Let the one with no sin cast the first stone." Simply, Jesus implied we cannot do the ultimate and take away another's life unless our plate be totally clean...there was only one that I know who's plate was that clean and that was Jesus himself and when faced with the issue what was his response? "I accuse you not either..."
I know there are some who will say that I am citing a women caught in adultery which is not the same thing as Hussein...yet capital punishment is capital punishment, murder is murder, killing to avenge a wrong, is killing to avenge a wrong.
I am sad today by the outright celebrations over his death. He was disposed from power and no longer could harm people, what "pray tell" more did we need? The celebrating should have been when he was removed from power. My heart says that anytime we decide to kill someone, we have lost the argument for their soul...because we have decided they are no longer worthy of our time. Damn that is a scary thought and seems to go against every thing Jesus taught. Didn't Jesus give us a new command? "A new command I give you, that you love another as I have loved you." Seems to me this is about giving up ones life for another...not taking another's life to extract some kind of perverted justice or revenge.
Dr. Martin Luther King once said: "the choice is not between violence and non-violence, but rather between non-violence and non-existence."
I suppose there are those who will strongly disagree with me and maybe even "flame" me but let us consider for one moment...the cycle of killing does not stop until there are no more to be killed...how sad is that...yes I am sad and reflective today as we have killed a killer to teach the world that killing is wrong...
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