What do Jesus, Muhammad and Marx have to do with the turmoil in Afghanistan?
by Gavin Ashenden, Christian Today:
Reaching beyond the decisions and the policies of the politicians through the turmoil in Afghanistan, we see the influence and inspiration of three figures; Jesus, Muhammad and Marx.
Much of the world is shaped by either Christianity, Islam or Marxism. Even humanism, atheism and liberal democracy are offshoots of Christendom, if only as rebellious and would-be independent prodigal children of Christendom.
All three figures have developed certain variants amongst their followers. Marxism contains hard and soft versions corresponding to economic and cultural Marxism; hard Islam with fierce political objections is known as Islamism, reflected by both the Taliban and ISIS; soft Islam exists in the form of Muslims quietly practising their faith in cultural and spiritual forms embedded in secular societies.
For these purposes, Christianity also takes two broad forms: those who believe and practise their beliefs, and those who, disbelieving, enjoy the cultural and political fruits of those who have believed.
These are the broadest of brush strokes but they allow us to glimpse a pattern and shape in the geopolitical tensions of the twenty first century as these three civilisations grapple competitively with each other.
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