Jesus vs. the Taliban
When Taliban gunmen recently shot a 14-year-old girl in the head, it triggered shock and awe across the world, even in Pakistan where the Taliban is favored. The real surprise is why anyone was surprised.
Pakistanis protest girl’s shooting
An organization that suppresses female education and freedom is ruthless towards at least 50% of the population. The little girl wanted the freedom to read, but females are property under Islamic rule, not even allowed to testify in court. So when a Christian girl was raped in Pakistan and jailed for “unlawful sex”, she was unable to refute the charges. Instead, she was repeatedly raped in prison, according to the Washington Post. Incidents like this and worse are common in Pakistan and Islamic countries and well-documented at www.persecution.org, so why is the world shocked by this 14-year-old girl’s tragedy?
Empires of Death
The truth is that savage repression is the heritage of all the world’s governments and religions. Even here in America slavery was codified in the U.S. Constitution and people were treated like property. The tragedy of the 14-year-old girl is a snapshot of how authorities seize power in the World System—their rise to power is always marked by brutal acts, and they stay in power only by increasing their ability to kill. The World System is ruled by “Empires of Death”.
Jesus
Jesus is the only exception in world history to this savage rise to power. Rather than unleashing a bloodbath to carve out a kingdom like Mohammad did, Jesus allowed his enemies to crucify him. Knowing that death awaited him in Jerusalem, Jesus willingly journeyed there, explaining that, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Rather than dominating others, Jesus gave up his life as a sacrifice for our sins, so we can become the children of God,
so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7
Jesus establishes his authority by giving us freedom: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Among all the world religions and philosophies, Jesus is the only one who not only speaks about freedom, but actually establishes freedom. We have the ability to make free-will choices precisely because God is the universal author and advocate of freedom.
Although free will is messy, in the end the authority of Jesus wins because His authority is the only legitimate authority in the universe. All other authorities in this World System are established by raw power, but Jesus’ authority is established by His worthiness. The only reason God still allows “Empires of Death” to continue operating is because He honors free will so much, so He allows us to embrace and follow after illegitimate, unworthy, and savage authorities to their ultimate end.
Yet no other authorities will be left standing, in the end—in the same way the world is repelled by the savage authority of the Taliban, every savage authority will fall by the weight of its injustice and incompetence. Jesus will be left standing by His own Love Authority. In the end, “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44) And how does God “ctush all these kingdoms into nothingness?” Not by raw power, but rather by the undeniable worthiness of His Love Authority:
Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”
And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Revelation 5:11-13