• Happy Frikkiday

    On Sunday we had the happy coincidence of Dedication Sunday and Frikki Sunday – it was the Director of Music’s 50th birthday. This meant much joyful music throughout the day and a megasong service at night when some of those who have sung with him before or who sing with him elsewhere came along to enjoy the fun and wish him well. The choir numbered about 60 voices and thoroughly enjoyed belting its way through Kelly in C and And When the Builders by Richard Shepherd.

    Here’s a picture of me, caught by Stewart Macfarlane, giving the notices at the end whilst similtaneously getting the congregation to get ready for singing a surprise final accapela anthem.

    FWBirth

    And here’s the Forum I did with Frikki earlier this year when we talked a bit about what inspires him and some of the elements that go into making the worshp here so exciting. Worth a second look if you’ve seen it before and worth looking at for the first time if you havn’t.

8 responses to “Bin Ladin”

  1. Hermano David | Brother Dah•veed Avatar
    Hermano David | Brother Dah•veed

    I agree with him entirely.

    Then I think my friend that you join him in a conclusion that at this moment cannot be substantiated by fact. There is no evidence that bin Laden was executed. He died in a fire fight when the team tasked with his capture tried to do so. To claim more than the facts currently state is to jump to a conclusion based in personal prejudice.

    Aside from that one discrepancy, I also agree with much of what he said.

  2. Agatha Avatar
    Agatha

    It did occur to me that the UK does public rejoicing (see Friday) better than the US (see this morning).

  3. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    We have no room for complacency – remember ‘Gotcha’ in the Falklands war???

    1. kelvin Avatar

      Yes, that was vulgar too.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    Irrespective of the terrible atrocities masterminded by individuals such as Osama Bin-Laden…and…regardless of the improbable scenario of his being captured alive and put on trial, the rejoicing that followed his death was both tacky and tactless. Comments (albeit by family members of 9/11 victims) alluding to …”God placing him in Hell to rot for eternity…” similarly did nobody any favours. If anything, the backlash from extremists eager to avenge his death (martyrdom?) will now cost further innocent lives. The phrase that jumps to mind is: ‘least said soonest mended…’

  5. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    I’m not sure that pacifist prooftexting is any lbetter than the other kinds. It’s surely morally permissable to celebrate the death of a legitimate, significant military target. And much of the “fanning the flames” rhetoric is inane – people can argue over whether nominally Islamic terrorism can be appeased , but the idea of Al-Queda dialing back their actions or reforming their ethos because (say) the world didn’t overly celebrate killing Bin Laden is ridiculous. Wouldn’t capturing him alive and forcing him to endure infidel courts be even more provocative than a martyr’s bullet and burial at sea?

    1. kelvin Avatar

      I don’t think I like the idea of celebrating the death of anyone, Ryan.

      That’s the kind of thing we find too often in the Bible, isn’t it? And it is vulgar there too.

      I don’t like lynch mob mentality no matter who is on the receiving end.

  6. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    Indeed – I agree that the “get it up ye!” response very much does not represent humankind at its best. But not celebrating *anyone’s* death is quite different, to me, to the most popular current arguments that largely emphasise that Bin Ladin personally is an inappropriate figure for Sic Semper Tyrannis triumphalism.

    I found the Vatican’s reaction interesting:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactions_to_the_death_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Europe

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