On the Power of Judgment

I believe you are aware that the premise of Death Note is the power the protagonist, Light Yagami, has; namely, to kill anyone he wishes. He wishes to use this power to rid the world of crime and thus he has the best of intentions. However, is an inevitable result of this power tragedy? And what are its implications for Justice and morality? Is it just to kill a criminal? Would it be just for me, if I had this power, to kill men like Osama ben Laden, Muqada al-Sadr, O.J. Simpson, and the like?

I ask this question primarily because the greatest reason I am drawn to Death Note is the similarity to Light that I have - I am worried that did I have this power, I would act precisely as he acts. It may turn out that this is just fine and therefore this is a good thing. But if it is evil and unjust then I truly have something to worry about.

I know that followers of the Way are forbidden to take revenge, as clearly stated by St. Paul and other apostles and even by Our Lord Himself. But is this really revenge? It is killing men who should die! It is killing men who are destroying our world and rotting its very core! How is this so wrong? Do we not authorize the State to do such things? Why then would we forbid such vigilante justice?

The largest impasse that can be raised against using the power of a Death Note for me is the assertion that it is nothing more than another attempt at playing God. Once again, if God does not factor into the equation, I think it is perfectly justified. If I had the opportunity to kill Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Hitler, Hussein, or renegades like al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, I would do so in a second and without hesitation. But God is in the picture and it is His presence that makes me uneasy. Would it be justified for a Christian to act in this way, playing God? I am inclined to say no but am worried that I would kill them anyway if I had the chance.

Am I a potential mass murderer? Or is it absurd to even speak of it as murder, at least in an unjustified sense since anyone would accept a very clear distinction between killing Pol Pot or others like him and killing innocent people for sport. When a State executes a criminal, is it murder?