Saddam Executed

[MaxSeven]

Knowing that God loves everyone and does not want anyone to perish...I wonder how the Christian community can use this event to share the good news??

Here is a man who evidently did not love God by the way he lived his life and the atrocious decisions he made to take many lives.

Any thoughts????

 

[stephen]

I disagree with the death penalty. I am not saying that some do not disserve such. Some because of their abuse of mankind etc. etc. deserve to die.

But death leaves no opportunity for change, no opportunity for repentance.

Many will rejoice at the death of Saddam. He has caused so much human pain and suffering. Now he is gone and many will be glad.

The magnificent jewel in the Christian Message, is that there is hope in Jesus. "Though your sins be scarlet, they can be white as snow, though they be red like crimson they can be as wool" No other message in this world today can offer such hope, as the Christian Message in Jesus.

We could talk on......... Lets go on......lets go on, talking about this good way....Lets go on, talking about the Lord. Christians are different.

Many years ago God said "I have put a difference between you and the Egyptian" The difference still remains.

 

[Tonyb]

Hello Maxseven,

In regards to Saddam Hussein's execution the scripture that came to my mind was Ezekiel 8:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Concerning Saddam there seems to have been no evidence of him turning whatsoever. So I would suggest that Romans 9:13 ...”Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” May be a appropriate scripture here.

This would seem to fit in with the life he led. He was a long term enemy of Israel (Jacob) just like Esau and his decedents, he murdered his brothers and scriptures such as John 8:44; You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. 1 John 3:12; Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.

As for the Lord loving this man I think it is more likely to be “...Esau I hated.” And come the day of judgment the wrath of God will fall on this man and be given it's full vent, as with all unrepentant men of blood.

As for using this event to share the gospel that could be problematic. The prayer I believe that Iraq needs now is for the men of blood to be paralyzed so that the gospel and the reconstruction of the country can go ahead.

To night I saw a vision in my spirit of a column of Holy Fire in the capital Baghdad, which represents a place of refuge, comfort and peace amongst all the evil and suffering there, that the Lord wants to establish.

Blessings,
Tonyb

 

[Chad]

I agree with Tony on this. The Scripture quoted pretty much sums it up. Saddam is a sinner who did not repent and I truly believe that (only GOD knows) if you continue murdering people like he did, there is a line that only GOD determines that is considered 'crossing the line' and no return (due to no repentance). How many innocent people can you kill and blood can you shed before GOD says in His heart it is too late for this person to repent? I think the death penalty for him was justified. He actually lived long enough for a "full life" per se to have repented. No excuses whatsoever. He got what deserved, he'll get more of what he deserves on Judgment day. Its sad, but he made his poor choices out of his own will.

 

[Mouse]

Revenge is forbidden by the Lord.
Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Proverbs 24:
16 For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth
18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Those who killed saddam are also murderers. Killing is killing and thou shalt not kill. I know it's hard to believe that saddam could become a changed man by finding God and to be reborn, but that's not in our power to say yes or no. Maybe he would have.

What I find truly disgusting are the hungry eyes lookig to watch the actual murder. What kind of people are we who watch that?

 

[Chad]

GOD also says to obey the laws as they are from Him and He also says that revenge is His. How do you know GOD did not allow this event to happen as a result of Saddam's own consequences?

I believe the Scripture you quoted is about people in a personal matter not government. I think it refers to basically a one on one generally speaking. As in, do not revenge on someone who did you wrong or do not revenge on a policeman for giving you a ticket rightfully. Just small examples.

Romans 13:1-7

Submit to Government

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.

6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.

7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

 

[Tonyb]

Mercy is preferable but ...

Hi Folks,

Ultimately, as Christians we would like to see mercy triumph over justice. Justice gives people what they deserve.
Since no one is righteous and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the whole world is guilty before God. That is why mercy is preferable over justice. God is merciful to all who turn to Him in repentance. But for those who are unrepentant there is God's justice.

Blessings,

Tonyb

 

[johnpaul]

Saddam

No excuses whatsoever. He got what deserved, he'll get more of what he deserves on Judgment day. Its sad, but he made his poor choices out of his own will.

I agree with Chad, Saddam got what he deserved. Now it is up to Jesus to complete his judgement.
Remember, only those who repent in Christ will be saved in the next life. Being a muslim when he died, there is no way Saddam could go to heaven.
:lightning

 

[Mouse]

I dont know what to say about it but inside my heart I feel it's wrong for people to give a death penalty and kill a person. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I'm tired of hearing it on the news.
Remember that saddam isn't the only one with innocent blood on his hands.

 

[Chad]

Of course he is not the only one with innocent blood on his hands, but that does not justify what he did at all nor the others. Do you think it would have been wrong to execute hitler assuming he did not commit suicide? I cannot imagine you say yes it would be wrong.

 

[Manal_Tayar]

yes, God is Merciful...

hey everyone!
i want to emphasize on the fact that we are not the ones who are here to judge other people.
i know that Saddam has done things that don't please God and that he murderred many innocent people, but that does not give us the authority to end someone's life, that is god's decision to make, remember, God is the ONLY one who has the power to jugde, He is the judge.
in fact, non of us is clean from sin, and jesus came for weak people like us, he never said there is an exception, all men are equal to God, no matter how good we are, we are not good enough, and no matter how bad we've been, NO one cannot be reached by the mercy of God...
i say again, our God is a God of love and mercy. we should reflect what He is. we live in this world but we are not from this world, we stand against murder don't we? if we think Saddam shouldn't have murrderd people, then why do we murder him?
personly, i have no solution to how these kind of men (like Saddam and Hitler) should be "handled", but i am more than sure violence cannot be resolved with violence. what have people learnt from this?
have they seen the loving and merciful face of our God?
have they seen that NOTHING is impossible with Christ?
i could give examples of scriptures where Christ says all these things,
and one more thing, as Dr.Johnson said:"God Himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days."
Why should you and i?

 

[Mouse]

Good post Manal Taynar.

<st1:country-region><st1lace>Chad</st1lace></st1:country-region>, I do understand. saddam and hitler were two evil people and I feel most times that these evil people deserve death. But then I always hear the commandment "Thou shalt not kill".
The 6th commandment was not written "Thou shalt not kill (unless it's an enemy)". My question is, Is God happy we killed saddam? And are we allowed to kill people like him in the future? I'm confused because maybe I take the Ten Commandments too literally?
<!-- v3 Arcade -->

 

[Chad]

Good point Mouse, I actually agree on that. I think this is a very difficult situation. Remember that we do not know GOD fully to assume what He decides on. We can go by Scripture but no further of course - otherwise it becomes religious or opinionated.

Isaiah 55:9
“ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Remember that we are not under the law (OT) but keep in mind people are not even believers in Jesus Christ as well to be "under the law" or "grace" in their views/beliefs.

Matthew 5:38-39
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

I honestly do not think this applies to such a drastic case such as Saddam's. Do you think this would apply to Hitler, Stalin and other mass murderers? Maybe I'm wrong, but may the Holy Spirit guide us all so that we understand and teach correctly according to the Word of GOD

 

[BecuzHeLives]

I think I understand mouse's feeling. Rather than executed Hassain for justice. People just carried it out in a wrong way, and make it seem like it was done for revenge. If we can look at the execution as justice then we will see nothing wrong with this execution, because this man kill thousands of people. Does he feel sorry for all those people?? The answer is no, so he deserve what have coming to him. I do feel sorry for him when they show the video though, they carried the execution in a very wrong way. They make the whole execution about revenge that's what wrong. Nothing wrong with killing this man for justice.

 

[stephen]

There is no decorous way to execute a fallen head of state. However, the failure to prevent the circulation of film footage of Saddam Hussain being taunted as he contemplated the noose has probably aided his pretensions to Sunni martyrdom.

It is unfortunate that some of the more successful dispatches of supposed rulers -- from King Edward II to Benito Mussolini and Nicolae Ceusescu -- were squalid affairs, carried out with minimal attention to due process of law. In contrast going through the motions of formally trying Charles I and Louis XVI prior to public execution succeeded only in highlighting their dignity rather than demonstrating their guilt.

Yet while Edward IIs death sentence was carried out behind closed doors -- leading to lurid stories about how he came a cropper -- prints were soon published of the demise of Charles and Louis. The abused corpses of Mussolini and Ceausecu were photographed and widely publicized.......

A global view on world, UK and business news and comment from The Times and Sunday Times.

 

[MaxSeven]

I was reading Galatians 6:7 when I came across this well known verse..."Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

It certainly has been an emotional roller coaster for me when presented with news of Saddam. Angry for his atrocities and somewhat sad to see this man at the end of his life and completely rejecting God.

According to the translation of his last words (from the video taken) He stubbornly held on to his traditions by intoning the shahada, the Islamic creed, saying "there is no God but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God. There is no God but Allah and I testify that Muhammad" - at which point he is cut off as the trapdoor opens and he falls." BBC

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 16:25

Allow me to confess that during this whole time I never prayed for this man and have repented. I would be interested to see If others prayed for him.?

1 Timothy 2:1-4
1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—
2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

 

[Manal_Tayar]

waw, max7, i admire your reflection, this shows that it is certainly God who has spoken to your heart...God will bless you for hearing his gentle voice!

yes acctually, in our church, many people hated Saddam so the paster asked us to pray for those who have persicuted us and for those that we hate, so, we had to pray for saddam for about 3 or 4 months, some even fasted(that was about a year ago)...

i really respect my paster and i think he has done a great thing, he has tought us to pray and love our "enemies"

again, Max7, i am very surprised (in a positive way), your reflection shows how sensitive you are to God's voice!
bless you!

 

[HouseofJudah]

Hi all,

All I can say about this topic is that we as humans cannot decide to take another's life if we had nothing to do with that life being created and formed. GOD is the judge and HE is the giver of life. We than cannot be god and take what GOD has given.

 

[MaxSeven]

Hi all,

All I can say about this topic is that we as humans cannot decide to take another's life if we had nothing to do with that life being created and formed. GOD is the judge and HE is the giver of life. We than cannot be god and take what GOD has given.

HouseofJuda,
I would be interested to hear your position in the armed forces at war. I completely understand your point, but have christian brothers in Iraq defending them selves and following orders of our Commander in Chief and struggle with your comment. I don't have any military experience so I don't have any insight as to what the troops go through out there. Thanks.

 

[janelle4christ]

Knowing that God loves everyone and does not want anyone to perish...I wonder how the Christian community can use this event to share the good news??

Here is a man who evidently did not love God by the way he lived his life and the atrocious decisions he made to take many lives.

Any thoughts????

thall shall not murder oi?