Why does God in the Bible glorify a pagan Persian king? Is God bigger than humans' narrow religions? Posted by Sarva at 2/21/2009 5:28 PM CST Cyrus the Great of Persia, also known as Cyrus II, is mentioned in a positive light an astounding 23 times in the Bible, and alluded to a number of other times. About 700 BC, the Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote of Cyrus: "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held... He [Cyrus] is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, 'You shall be built;' and to the Temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid... I have raised him [Cyrus] in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; He shall build my city and let My exiles go free, not for price or reward..." Because religious exclusivism is often preached in the name of major religions, including the Abrahamic ones--Judaism, Christianity and Islam--we might rightly ask why the God of Israel was so broad-minded as to "anoint" a man who many would call a "pagan," "heathen" or "infidel?" Being Persian, Cyrus is likely to have followed the monotheistic Zoroastrian faith. There is no record of him converting to the religion of the Jews. Yet, the Lord of Israel had no problem declaring, "I will direct all his ways." Historians have confirmed that Cyrus was indeed a righteous, tolerant and broad-minded person. According to Richard Ritenbaugh, "The king [Cyrus], as his policy, allowed vassal states to retain their cultural and religious identities. He advanced funds for the repair and restoration of public buildings, particularly temples and shrines, and he reversed the Babylonian policy of forced relocation of conquered people." Thus, history teaches that Cyrus freed the Jews from Babylon in his famous decree in 538 BC, allowing them to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. In fact, to this end, King Cyrus restored to the Jews their sacred Temple articles, which the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon after Jerusalem's fall. On top of that, Cyrus gave the Jews a considerable amount of MONEY to rebuild their sacred Temple! What do you think of this amazing spiritual "bail out" plan? Of course, such acts were not unusual for Cyrus the Great, because he similarly allowed the Babylonians to restore their temples and worship in THEIR own chosen faiths, too. In short, Cyrus was a righteous man who did not preach hate, exclusivity, superiority or intolerance in the name of religion, race or nationality. Although he held power and dominion over the largest empire the world had ever known, he did not seem to abuse his enormous power. Today, in our difficult times of terrorism and strife, what can we learn from such a righteous man as Cyrus? Here are a few thoughts: 1. Iran's fanatical Islamic president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the modern political leader of Iran, the same land which formerly was the homeland of King Cyrus, can learn from Cyrus to see non-Muslims, Christians and Jews as human beings worthy of his respect. He should not desire to eliminate the Jews from the face of the earth through the development of nuclear weapons, but should work hard to achieve a difficult peace. 2. The Jews can learn from Cyrus to see that not all non-Jews are their enemies. They can learn from his even-handed behavior that they should put aside the pains of the past and try to see people of other faiths as inspired by the same God in different ways. Rather than fight by weapons, they should fight to overcome the hate and prejudice that exists in the Middle East. 3. Christians can learn that because God "anointed" a non-Jew thousands of years before Christ, Almighty God, for whom 'all things are possible,' can bless or anoint other servants in other lands and times to do the divine will. From Cyrus we can learn tolerance of other faiths. 4. Hindus can learn to respect the Zoroastrians who left Persia to find their religious freedom in India. Although there are today an estimated 30,000 Zoroastrians in Iran, the largest group of Zoroastrians in the world is in Western India, where they have been allowed for centuries to follow their faith. They are known in India as the Parsees. 5. From the Cyrus Cylinder (housed today at the British Museum in London), which has been described as the first charter of human rights, predating the Magna Carta by nearly two millennia, and which promoted religious and ethnic freedom, banned slavery and oppression, all nations and faiths can learn to act respectfully towards others. 6. We can all learn from Cyrus that we are brothers and sisters of the same divine God, whether we call ourselves Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, American Indians, Hindus, Hare Krishnas, or whatever. What does Cyrus mean to you? Can we use a few more people like him in the world today? Hare Krishna, and may the Lord bless you all. Comments (9) | Permanent Link Tags: Cyrus, the, Great, tolerant, anointed Email this post Recommend Report abuse Report item as: (required) X Comment: (optional) User Image greeneagleseeker wrote: As a Christian, I would like to respectfully disagree with you (especially paragraph number six). The Muslim god is not the same as the Christian God. The Hindus believe in hundreds of gods/goddesses. The Jews do not believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Although we are all brothers and sisters, we do not all worship the same God. Even Christianity is splintered into dozens of denominations. I believe Cyrus did not do anything that God did not plan. He was used to fulfill prophecy, just as King Nebuchadnezzar did before him and the Pharoahs of Egypt did even before. That's not to say that he didn't have his own will, but to emphasize that God controlled the fate of the Jewish people, not the empires of Babylon or Persia or Egypt. Saul was also "annointed" as King over Israel. And we know how his story ended up... 2/21/2009 11:32 PM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image greeneagleseeker wrote: P.S. I respect what you are trying to get across in your article/blog. I wish for more peace on Earth as well and I wish humans would treat each other with dignity. I fear how the world is degenerating; the value of human life is declining and it sickens me to hear of all the shootings and killing going on. Hope things change... 2/21/2009 11:37 PM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image Sarva wrote: Dear greeneagleseeker: Thanks for your respectful comments. However, where's the logic in your statement, "Although we are all brothers and sisters, we do not worship the same God." How can we truly be related to each other if we don't come from the same divine source? You have a first name, middle name, last name and nickname. But are you claiming that God cannot have more than one name? That God cannot have more than one divine form, or cannot provide divine guidance in the form of scripture in more than one language and time and place? If "with God all things are possible," why can't God be great? Although in the Bible the Lord says, "Don't put other gods before Me," and in various cultures some people worship lesser gods, it doesn't mean there is not a supreme Being. And, by the way, it's not true that all Hindus worship many gods. According to scholars, about 75% of the people in India believe in one supreme Being, and they are considered monotheistic. The Bhagavad-gita advises we worship the one supreme Being, but at the same time to understand the difference between the Supreme Godhead and lesser gods, or "demigods," who are like arc-angels in charge of different aspects of the Lord's creation. They exist, but they're not God. 2/22/2009 11:28 AM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image greeneagleseeker wrote: The key to my comment "Although we are all brothers and sisters, we do not worship the same God" is the word worship. For example: I can find a slab of rock on the ground and chisel some form into it with a hammer and tools. I can then proceed to call this my "god" and worship it as so. My brother/sister may come to me and say this is foolish and refuse to worship an inanimate object; this does not make him/her any less than my brother/sister. I believe God is not the author of confusion. I don't claim to know the mind of God, but don't you think it would be really confusing if he appeared to Mohammed as Allah and to the Hindus in one way and to the Mormons in another? Why are there so many different holy books and additions to the Bible etc... I do believe that God has many names to different people in various languages. But is it the same God? You must examine the doctrines of the religion to determine that. If there are contradictions then something is wrong. I was not aware of that aspect about Hindus, thank you for informing me. God Bless! 2/23/2009 10:33 AM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image Sarva wrote: Dear Greeneagleseeker: Here's what Swami Prabhupada wrote: "Each and every incarnation of the Lord has a particular mission, and they are all described in the revealed scriptures... [this assumes there can be more than one scripture; Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, Bhagavad-gita, etc.] It is not a fact that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can manifest Himself anywhere and everywhere, and whenever he desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the particular people under their particular circumstances. [ie: like Jesus said, "There's more that I can tell you, but you cannot bear to hear it now."] But the mission is the same--to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form." 2/23/2009 9:52 PM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image Sarva wrote: Regarding "confusion," a child may be confused about something that an adult understands. Confusion can come from not seeing the broad picture. 2/23/2009 9:55 PM CST Recommend (2) Report abuse Permalink User Image OLDGRAYDOG wrote: THIS IS GOOD !!!!!!!!!!! BOTH HAVE GOOD IDEALS & PRESENT THEM WELL, I BELEIVE IN LOVE & RESPECT. 3/10/2009 12:54 PM CDT Recommend (1) Report abuse Permalink User Image ekendra wrote: I also appreciate the respectful and patient dialogue here. Sarva's point about God having unlimited number of ways that He can manifest as He sees fit makes sense. Even within Christianity there are several forms of God mentioned. The one's I can remember are: a burning bush, tester of Job's faith (very cool story), the Arc of the Covenant and the creator of the Garden of Eden. I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now. If we think of God as the 'eternal parent' (Abba) it isn't so hard to conceive that He would work with people in a variety of ways. Anyone who has more than one kid knows that one approach doesn't always work for everyone in our care. Out of love the parent will connect with the child in the way that will be the most effective. To extend this analogy, the children may fight with each other over who has the 'real' connection to the parent; but a more mature dependent realizes that the same parent loves and appreciates all of his siblings. This perspective resolves the underdeveloped notion that God has created an exclusive elitist club that bans everyone else regardless of how selfless and genuine someone may be in their devotion, albeit under a different name and with different customs. 3/28/2009 5:09 AM CDT Recommend Report abuse Permalink User Image Sarva wrote: Thanks for your valuable comments, Old Gray Dog and Ekendra. I was not able to be on the internet for a while and am just now seeing them. Blessed be the peacemakers. That's how I see you both. Anyone who has the wisdom to see that God is bigger than religion and that we are all brothers and sisters is certainly in a position to help create a more loving and tolerant world. 4/1/2009 2:01 PM CDT original url: http://www.chron.com//channel/houstonbelief/commons/spiritsoulwithsarva.html?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a45487949-d8fc-4aa4-95b6-b4e2794cbc09Post%3a88961821-bb20-4ada-820d-5b58d72979d8