The Most Evil Political Act in History (Part 1)

There is an issue that is more controversial than any political matter. It’s more contentious than any election or candidate. It’s more challenging than the most profound problems of nuclear physics and space exploration. It’s the cause of more arguments than any other person, idea, or belief.

I’m talking about the cross of Jesus Christ.

Over the past decade, the government of China has removed thousands of crosses from church facilities. In places such as Nigeria and India, Christian churches are targets of Muslim and Hindu extremists.

Why? Why is the cross a source of enmity, a target of hostility? Why does it create rage and hatred?

First, some background. The crucifixion of Jesus was a political act. Members of the Jewish Sanhedrin and Rome’s designated governor, Pontius Pilate, worked together to execute the Messiah-King. As to the Jewish leaders, theologian Mark Strauss notes, in “first-century Judaism … which religion and politics were inseparable. Jesus’s death was no doubt motivated by the perceived threat felt by the religio-political powers of his day.”

What of Pilate? The Jewish writer Philo, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt when Pilate ruled in Jerusalem, described Pilate as being “inflexible, stubborn, and cruel.” Strauss writes that Pilate’s “governorship was characterized by a general disdain toward his Jewish subjects and brutal suppression of opposition. At the same time, his support from Rome was shaky at best, and he feared antagonizing the Jewish leadership lest they complain to the emperor.”

Jewish leaders and a Roman governor fearful of losing power: like authoritarians throughout history, they took the simplest path to maintaining their positions — they eliminated its main threat. In this case, that was the Son of God.   Read More>>>>>>>