God Vs. Caesar

I like Harry Hagopian’s metaphor of the powers at play after the Arab Spring:

It is in this interplay between the “might” of God (a substantial proportion of religiously conservative men and women) and Caesar (the military) that many indigenous Christian communities are seeking their compasses today. Will the future be better or worse for them? Are the choices of modernity and diversity simply incompatible? Do Christians stay loyal to ruthless regimes in the hope that they will be “safeguarded” from further marginalization? Or will they throw in their lot with the demonstrators calling for change and risk ending up more weakened or even forced out of the region altogether?

That doesn’t apply to Lebanon, but it does apply to Syria. And regardless of what March 14 Christian leaders are publicly saying, this is a real concern for Lebanese Christians too..