Is it wrong to be happy when a person we dislike dies?

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benjammin

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For example, would it be wrong for a catholic or a christian to celebrate the death of say Osama Bin LAden, or Hitler? I would think since murder is considered a violation of a commandment, being happy at someone’s death is just as bad.

The reason I ask is because a Prof of mine talked about how when he was teaching in the early 80’s, apparently when the news came that Reagan had been shot, the entire college cafeteria at this small state school in Colorado cheered. I’ve also heard people say they would be happy if a certain president would have died. So is it wrong to be happy at someone’s death, even if we don’t like them or they are evil or against the church?
 
You can be happy and cheerful that the evil source is gone, but you can never be happy at a death of a person.

Death was never foreseen by God until sin came into the world.
 
Do we prove we are a faith of pro-life if we celebrate another person’s death?
 
It depends are you celebrating their death - or their eternal rest in Heaven?

Oh wait a minute - I just noticed you mentioned people like Hitler…Well, in that case I would have to say we should pray for their souls and not rejoice in their deaths but maybe the end of the suffering that they have caused.
 
benjammin said:
For example, would it be wrong for a catholic or a christian to celebrate the death of say Osama Bin LAden, or Hitler? I would think since murder is considered a violation of a commandment, being happy at someone’s death is just as bad.

The reason I ask is because a Prof of mine talked about how when he was teaching in the early 80’s, apparently when the news came that Reagan had been shot, the entire college cafeteria at this small state school in Colorado cheered. I’ve also heard people say they would be happy if a certain president would have died. So is it wrong to be happy at someone’s death, even if we don’t like them or they are evil or against the church?
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From the Book of Proverbs: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falls.” Yes, it is wrong.
 
JD27076 said:
You can be happy and cheerful that the evil source is gone, but you can never be happy at a death of a person.

Death was never foreseen by God until sin came into the world.
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Exactly.
 
There is a difference in being happy that there is justice or a finality of justice but even with evil characters, we shouldn’t take glee in someone else’s death, even if they “had it coming”.
Death is final and when we hear about some “evil person” dying, it should give us a pause and remind us that we should always be in the pursuit of God and following him or we may suffer the same fate as the so called evil person. In the Bible, God say that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezekiel 18:32. and Ezekiel 33:11. When we see those who dance and cheer at Osama Bin Laden death or someone criminal who is executed etc, they really are skating on thin ice with God.
 
JD27076 said:
You can be happy and cheerful that the evil source is gone, but you can never be happy at a death of a person.

Death was never foreseen by God until sin came into the world.
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Well said. And occasionally I have to remind myself of this (such as when I hear of one dying by capital punishment).

I *do *differentiate between feeling *happy *about someone’s death, versus feeling no remorse (or a sense of justification), though. Any thoughts on this??
 
lerapt78 said:
Well said. And occasionally I have to remind myself of this (such as when I hear of one dying by capital punishment).

I *do *differentiate between feeling *happy *about someone’s death, versus feeling no remorse (or a sense of justification), though. Any thoughts on this??
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There is a difference in a sense of relief that justice was served and rejoicing in someone’s death, but when you think about Romans 12:19 “vengence is mine, I will repay” it makes you step back and feel humility.
I think when we see justice, it should have an affect of humility on our part. We need to pause and think about the “fear of the Lord”. Sometimes we forget about God is a God a justice and we just emphasize God is love and mercy. When I watched all those people dancing and shouting at Obama’s death, I felt a sense of sadness in that we should have paused and reflected on the finality of death. Even in the most evil of people, we need to react with humility. The saying be careful what you wish for comes to mind. In obama, he became his own prisoner, held up in some bar wire compound because of his own doing and evil. While he did reap what he did sow, it is a little scary that our government went out to kill one man. It more a time to reflect and think and rejoice and dance.
 
JD27076 said:
You can be happy and cheerful that the evil source is gone, but you can never be happy at a death of a person.

Death was never foreseen by God until sin came into the world.
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What a wonderful response.
 
I think feeling joy at the death of an enemy, especially one you feel is evil, is one of the most difficult emotions to control, but it definitely isn’t right.
 
robwar said:
There is a difference in a sense of relief that justice was served and rejoicing in someone’s death, but when you think about Romans 12:19 “vengence is mine, I will repay” it makes you step back and feel humility.
I think when we see justice, it should have an affect of humility on our part. We need to pause and think about the “fear of the Lord”. Sometimes we forget about God is a God a justice and we just emphasize God is love and mercy. When I watched all those people dancing and shouting at Obama’s death, I felt a sense of sadness in that we should have paused and reflected on the finality of death. Even in the most evil of people, we need to react with humility. The saying be careful what you wish for comes to mind. In obama, he became his own prisoner, held up in some bar wire compound because of his own doing and evil. While he did reap what he did sow, it is a little scary that our government went out to kill one man. It more a time to reflect and think and rejoice and dance.
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Thanks for the thoughtful reply, robwar.

P.S. Don’t you mean Osama, though?😉 When I first read that, I was like “Whaaaa? :eek:”
 
I asked a question similar to this before, is it wrong to ask God to subdue our foes? For example, in the Old Testament you will read about the Israelites repeatedly praying for God to literally crush their enemies, and God’s protection of His people often meant the death of their enemies - yes, it was context-specific however, as in the Israelites were overthrown by a succession of Empires.

I think there is a very fine line, I don’t think it is very clear-cut, I mean think of enemies in our own lives, there may be people intent on making our own personal lives a misery, hurting us, crushing our spirit, leaving us upset, isolated, weakened - would I like them out of my life? If I’m honest, yes. Life would be so much easier without them. But I can’t either be happy when they die. And maybe these people who hurt us are our cross - our path to sanctification may be dependent on them being in our lives.

I dunno.
 
trials said:
I asked a question similar to this before, is it wrong to ask God to subdue our foes? For example, in the Old Testament you will read about the Israelites repeatedly praying for God to literally crush their enemies, and God’s protection of His people often meant the death of their enemies - yes, it was context-specific however, as in the Israelites were overthrown by a succession of Empires.

I think there is a very fine line, I don’t think it is very clear-cut, I mean think of enemies in our own lives, there may be people intent on making our own personal lives a misery, hurting us, crushing our spirit, leaving us upset, isolated, weakened - would I like them out of my life? If I’m honest, yes. Life would be so much easier without them. But I can’t either be happy when they die. And maybe these people who hurt us are our cross - our path to sanctification may be dependent on them being in our lives.

I dunno.
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you have several things going on here. First of all, we are commanded to pray for our enemies, even if you don’t feel like it and yes that is not easy. Likewise, you may need some counseling and help in dealing with those who are troubling you which I assume is probably family? Again, if you can remove yourself from those who are hurting you, then do so. To wish that they are gone totally (death) will not solve the problems as you think because of the emotional hurts will still be there and you will eventually need to forgive them even if dead. Removing yourself will give you time and help to heal and even deal with emotional trauma you seem to have. I’ll keep you in my prayers.
 
Okay I have a question along this topic, that happened in my hometown. Is it wrong to be glad in this scenario:

‘Bill’ lives in my brother’s neighborhood, has lived there for years, dealing drugs out of his home, causing fights with neighbors, breaking into homes and either stealing or threatening them (extortion-style, like, “Pay me so much or I’ll come back and burn your house down”). Bill is a rapist. Bill was once witnessed chasing a person up the street with a 2x4 and beating him unconscious in what somehow he managed to pass off as self-defense. He’s at the very least what you would call a bad neighbor.

Two, three weeks ago now, the police were called to stop a fight at his home. He was tasered and arrested. A little while later, smoke was seen from his home. By the time the FD got there, it was a lost cause. Bill’s home burned down (local PD suspects arson, probably a ‘friend’ trying to destroy evidence). My brother’s house is across the alley, within a stone’s throw. He and my dad watched the fire and, more surprisingly, the spontaneous block party that sprouted up around it.

I’m not kidding–people cheering and toasting each other, from all over the neighborhood, glad to see Bill in jail and his house (of utmost ill repute) in ashes.

What’s the verdict there? Is it okay to be overjoyed like my brother and his neighbors were because a horrible man was first removed from and then lost his home?

I’ve asked my husband if it’s a sin to be happy he’s gone, and he says no, because we aren’t just feeling for the man whose house has burned down, but for the hundred or more people who have had to live in fear of this man. He’s not dead, so it’s a little different than the OP, but I wonder.

Any thoughts?

PS Someone on the local newspaper website commented how the neighbors are monsters for throwing a party that some poor man lost his home, but I had to reply that for folks who live in constant fear of being robbed, raped, accosted, stolen from, intimidated, or abused by drug addicts in the street, seeing him gone was probably enough to make them pee their pants with joy. After all, what kind of reputation does a house have to have for people to be glad to see it burn? (Including Bill’s uncle who owned the house.)
 
just remember this:
*Eph 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. *
 
adopted_heir said:
Okay I have a question along this topic, that happened in my hometown. Is it wrong to be glad in this scenario:

‘Bill’ lives in my brother’s neighborhood, has lived there for years, dealing drugs out of his home, causing fights with neighbors, breaking into homes and either stealing or threatening them (extortion-style, like, “Pay me so much or I’ll come back and burn your house down”). Bill is a rapist. Bill was once witnessed chasing a person up the street with a 2x4 and beating him unconscious in what somehow he managed to pass off as self-defense. He’s at the very least what you would call a bad neighbor.

Two, three weeks ago now, the police were called to stop a fight at his home. He was tasered and arrested. A little while later, smoke was seen from his home. By the time the FD got there, it was a lost cause. Bill’s home burned down (local PD suspects arson, probably a ‘friend’ trying to destroy evidence). My brother’s house is across the alley, within a stone’s throw. He and my dad watched the fire and, more surprisingly, the spontaneous block party that sprouted up around it.

I’m not kidding–people cheering and toasting each other, from all over the neighborhood, glad to see Bill in jail and his house (of utmost ill repute) in ashes.

What’s the verdict there? Is it okay to be overjoyed like my brother and his neighbors were because a horrible man was first removed from and then lost his home?

I’ve asked my husband if it’s a sin to be happy he’s gone, and he says no, because we aren’t just feeling for the man whose house has burned down, but for the hundred or more people who have had to live in fear of this man. He’s not dead, so it’s a little different than the OP, but I wonder.

Any thoughts?

PS Someone on the local newspaper website commented how the neighbors are monsters for throwing a party that some poor man lost his home, but I had to reply that for folks who live in constant fear of being robbed, raped, accosted, stolen from, intimidated, or abused by drug addicts in the street, seeing him gone was probably enough to make them pee their pants with joy. After all, what kind of reputation does a house have to have for people to be glad to see it burn? (Including Bill’s uncle who owned the house.)
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Again, yes this guy was bad, caused a lot of problems which included a dangerous fire and yes the local paper focuses on the cheering crowd and not the cause which was this man’s life. But to form a cheering crowd to see him thrown in jail is wrong as well. While the paper just focused on the crowd and not this guy’s life, we really need to be careful and check ourselves and not get caught up in reactions like this. what the news published is the crowd and that is the last image in people’s minds (not this guy). So what looks bad is the crowd not Bill. You see stuff like this backfires on those who participate. While Bill might of had it coming to him, it would have been better to take step back, pray for Bill, reflect on what a bad life will get you and stay out of this stuff.
 
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