The evils of ISIS have been regularly portrayed in the news as barbaric and uncivilized, and rightly so. Even today, they took captive Syrian Christians and one can only fathom the terror these men and women will face at their hands. We must not forget, however, that this type of viciousness has been going on since Adam and Eve.
Susan Wise Bauer, in her book The History of the Medieval World, describes the wars of the Persian king Sharpur. One story stood out:
Susan Wise Bauer, in her book The History of the Medieval World, describes the wars of the Persian king Sharpur. One story stood out:
Shapur the Great, who had driven the invading Arabs out of his southern realm at the beginning of his reign, had continued an enthusiastic campaign into the Arabian interior. For his entire reign, al-Tabari tells us, Sharpur was "occupied with great eagerness in killing the Arabs and tearing out their shoulder-blades of their leaders; this was why they called him Dhu al-Aktaf, 'The Man of the Shoulders.'" (p. 30)
That image is so vividly shocking that it seems unimaginable. Yet, we are hearing reports on almost a daily basis of such horrors by ISIS. Perhaps rather than being shocked, we should simply remember that this is the full nature of sin being manifested (Romans 1). Human beings have committed such atrocities for a long time. And whether the West overcomes ISIS or not, such atrocities will continue as long as there are people. This is the reason why John ends the book of Revelation, Maranatha, "Come Lord Jesus." I can't help but pray this prayer more and more as I read about such accounts.