Luigi Mangione’s Vigilantism
Today in Manhattan Federal Court, Luigi Mangione, after pleading guilty to one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, publicly attested to his guilt. He said to the judge, "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died. I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal." Mangione’s legal team had briefly considered pursuing the strategy called extreme emotional disturbance, but soon after, they abandoned that course. He stood today, leaving no doubt about his role in one of the most high-profile vigilante cases of our time. Perhaps his explicit declaration that he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson with a clear head while showing no remorse for his actions will only bolster his folk-hero status. A strange byproduct of the grisly execution was an outpouring of sympathy and a cult following, both online and in-person since the murder. I want to offer three meaning reflections on the case from a Christian perspective.
The first is that a feature of human depravity is to approve of others’ sins. Perhaps regarded as a “respectable sin” because we are able to maintain distance from the offense, yet, God’s Word affirms that to approve of evil deeds is to provoke God to wrath. In Romans 1, Paul offers his indictment on the unbelieving Gentiles—a searing list of abominable acts flowing from a rejection of God’s authority and in the place of worshipping Him, worshipping the creature. But in verse 32, Paul highlights the evil, not merely of doing, but of approving the evil deeds of others. “Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” As observed in some of the social media responses to the execution of Thompson, a response of glee, maybe the highest form of approval, is grotesque in response to the atrocities committed against others made in God’s image.
A second reflection is that our culture has largely rejected God’s plan for justice in the world. Mangione seems to be, in the eyes of some of his supporters, as a real life Frank Castle, better known by Marvel fans at The Punisher. In the fictional story, Castle’s family is killed in a crossfire by mobsters. The Punisher, concluding that the justice system is a failure, goes on a personal extermination campaign. Our culture is ripe for a real world example of The Punisher. To be clear, the justice system often seems nearly worthless. But filling the apparent lack with the wiles of the so-called “anti-hero” is no wise solution. For the anti-hero, the ends justify the means. Do away with courage, honesty, or high moral principles. Who needs those? They’re just liabilities that get in the way of justice. The sinful culture loves the anti-hero not in the least because we find complex characters interesting. But even more significant, the rise of the anti-hero signals a rejection of God’s means of justice in the world, the government, and an embrace of justice by any means. In this way, the Mangione fan club demonstrates how broken our culture’s moral compass has become in terms of justice. Do not miss out on an opportunity with your justice-jaded neighbor to point out how God has dealt with his own justice towards sinners like us in the gospel.
A final, admittedly on-the-nose refection from the case is that vigilantism is never the answer. A surprising number of the comments on social media sympathize with Mangione and have signaled that the murder was understandable, even justifiable. Some of those people report that they too have been treated unfairly by insurance companies. Let’s be clear. There are countless cases of “bad faith denials” as they are often called. A bogus denial is a grave injustice and brings immense suffering on those who are already hampered by the issue that prompted the claim. It’s a serious problem, and if we’re honest with our neighbors, we need to point that out. But such grandiose displays of approval of Mangione’s actions seem to indicate that for many of the commenters online, this murder serves to gratify their desires for revenge. Yet, revenge is forbidden by God. Christians in the face of every injustice are called to cast our cares on the Lord, who cares for us. As the Apostle Paul in Romans 12 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To commit injustice in the face of injustice is to join in with the evildoers. Instead, as the Apostle Peter urges—be like Jesus, the innocent one who was hung on a cross—the greatest injustice ever perpetrated—yet he “entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23). A godly alternative to taking justice into our own hands is pursuing meaningful work in the healthcare sector or in government. Certainly it means praying for God’s justice to be enacted in the world. It also looks like praying, “Come Lord Jesus” for when we pray that, we are praying for Jesus to return to bring justice.
