This certainly is quite a stretch. What in the world does a Babylonian dictator have to do with our civil liberties, and what does any of this have to do with our religions, our morals, our commerce, or anything else important? Without begging the question further, they all have a great deal to do with each other. We will get to that point of how our civil liberties are tightly entwined with our religions, morals and our economy, but are going to save part of that discussion for next month. For now, let’s address how our civil liberties got started, and what influence those liberties had over the world’s first superpower empire That means we have to begin with a discussion of Cyrus the Great, and the Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE.
Cyrus the Great was one in a series of Cyrus rulers of Persia. He was born in about 585 BCE as the grandson of the King of Media, Astyages. The legend has it that Astyages had a dream that at some time in the future, Cyrus would overthrow him, to become the ruler in his place. He ordered the death of his grandson for that reason. His chief adviser, however, who was entrusted to carry out this murder, instead gave this child to a shepherd to raise. As Cyrus grew, it became obvious to all that he had exceptional qualities. Astyages became aware that Cyrus, when he reached the age of ten, had survived. Yet Astyages was persuaded to allow him to live, because it was clear that Cyrus was an outstanding young man. Astyages later paid dearly for not following his dreams. Cyrus and his army defeated the army of Astyages in 550 BCE, and Cyrus became the ruler of the incipient Persian empire.
It is not entirely clear how much of this story is true. It follows the same patterns of many epic tales. The baby or young person of immense value is condemned to death by an oppressive ruler, who is able to see what is coming in the future. This hero or heroine is saved, because the designee for killing can’t bring him or herself to eliminate such a valuable person. That young hero or heroine then returns triumphantly when he or she reaches adulthood, usually revolting against an evil ruler, that ruler often being a father or mother. There are many other similar examples in our mythology of childhood exile, sparing of life and triumphant return. Those include Moses laid in a basket in the river, Muhammad sent to a nursemaid in the desert as an infant, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Oedipus Rex.
Cyrus did not waste time after becoming ruler of the Median territory. He proceeded, in rapid order, to conquer Lydia, Ionia and Babylonia. After conquering Babylonia, he freed the Jews, in 539 BCE, and additionally gave them money to rebuild their temple after they had returned to their homeland. He then turned to the East, also conquering most of Central Asia. By this time, he had extended the Achaemenid empire to include all lands from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River. He established the world’s first superpower, which included what is today Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Jordan, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and the Caucasus region.
Establishing this first great world empire was in itself remarkable. What is more remarkable, however, is how Cyrus ruled over this empire, The evidence is that he did not force any certain belief system or religious dogma on his subjects. He borrowed from the customs of those who were now his subjects, took the best of what they had to offer, and assimilated those advances into the Persian empire he had created. This attitiude of tolerance and civil liberties is found in the Cyrus cylinder, a corncob shaped clay body which has inscribed upon it the first Charter of Human Rights. This cuneiform message calls for religious and ethnic freedom, bans slavery and oppression of any kind, and bans the taking of property by force or without compensation. It offers all the member states the right to subject themselves to Cyrus’ reign, or not. He shaped the culture and civilization that he had established with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from suppression, right of property, and respect for ethnicity. This is what was exceedingly remarkable about Cyrus the Great. He treasured civil liberties. The result, even after his death, was a flowering of the Persian empire, extending even further in size, for many centuries, in a civilization of peace and prosperity. Cyrus got it right, 2000 years before the Magna Carta was written. Cyrus is said to have stated, “I never resolve on war to reign.”
Cyrus is the Latin translation of the Persian name Kurash. The fiery evangelist, David Koresh, considered this, his name, to be prophetic. He was dyslexic, could not read well, and did poorly in school, but by age 13, could quote the New Testament from memory. He joined the Branch Davidians in l983, and soon married their leader, Lois Roden, who was then in her late sixties. Upon her death in l986, he assumed leadership of the Branch Davidians. He believed that he was the modern day Cyrus, who would lead the Jews and Christians to freedom from their captivity. He also preached an apocalyptic end to the earth, and believed that he would become a martyr in this mission. He claimed 140 wives, specializing in young girls down to the age of 11, impregnating 15 of them, in addition to many of the older women. The flamboyant lifestyle of Mr. Koresh attracted the attention of the authorities, and eventually led to an FBI siege on their religious compound. After 51 days, Attorney General Janet Reno ordered an attack on the compound. It ended in a fiery conflagration, in which Koresh and 76 Davidians were burned to death. Seventeen of those dead were children under the age of 12.
The only reason to place the “Cyrus’ David Koresh of the twentieth century, in juxtaposition to Cyrus the Great of 539 BCE, is to highlight the difference in their approach to religion. Cyrus will always have the great admiration of the human race for showing that freedom from and freedom of religion is necessary to have civil liberties. Only civil liberties can produce a stable and prosperous society. Koresh, on the other hand, believed in religious imprisonment. The result was an apocalyptic, burning, destructive end. It is the end that always happens when there is religious suppression and intolerance.
Those who wish that America will become a Christian nation, do not realize that they are asking for the demise of democracy and the demise of prosperity. It is no mystery that, as religious conservatives have assumed power in our country, our civil liberties are eliminated, and our economy falls into deep depression. Christianity has lost its way. We have lost our way from the enlightenment of Cyrus the Great, the Magna Carta, and the founders of this nation.