Just How Awful Were Those Assyrians?

Many of the Minor Prophets lived under that shadow of the Assyrian Empire with its capital city Ninevah.  Think - Jonah, Micah, Nahum and others.

In our sermon series, I refer to the Assyrians as "Brutal Conquerors" who did "unspeakable things" in their pride and power.  This seems like a good setting to get more specific and actually write - or quote - for the forewarned reader some details about those "unspeakable things."

The best single succinct statement we know is from Tim Keller's book, Jonah: The Prodigal Prophet.

Assyria was one of the cruelest and most violent empires of ancient times. Assyrian kings often recorded the results of their military victories, gloating of whole plains littered with corpses and of cities burned completely to the ground. The emperor Shalmaneser III is well known for depicting torture, dismembering, and decapitations of enemies in grisly detail on large stone relief panels. Assyrian history is “as gory and bloodcurdling a history as we know.” (Drika Bleibtreu, Biblical Archaelogy Review, Jan/Feb 1991) After capturing enemies, the Assyrians would typically cut off their legs and one arm, leaving the other arm and hand so they could shake the victim’s hand in mockery as he was dying. They forced friends and family members to parade with the decapitated heads of their loved ones elevated on poles. They pulled out prisoners’ tongues and stretched their bodies with ropes so they could be flayed alive and their skins displayed on city walls. They burned adolescents alive. (NIV Application Commentary. pp. 28-29) Those who survived the destruction of their cities were fated to endure cruel and violent forms of slavery. The Assyrians have been called a “terrorist state.” (NIV Application Commentary. pp. 28-30)

The empire had begun exacting heavy tribute from Israel during the reign of King Jehu (842–815 BC) and continued to threaten the Jewish northern kingdom throughout the lifetime of Jonah. In 722 BC it finally invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital, Samaria. 

Yet it was this nation that was the object of God’s missionary outreach. Though God told Jonah to “proclaim against” the city for its wickedness, there would have been no reason to send a warning unless there was a chance of judgment being averted, as Jonah knew very well (Jonah 4:1–2).

Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy (pp. 10-12). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

 

Grace - "the chance of judgement being averted."  May we know and speak of that as well. 

"No Evidence" - The Vexing Reality of Medical Gender Transition for Minors

In my role as a pastor, I've been quietly - or as quietly as is possible for my temperament  - concerned about the circumstances around the sudden wave of transgender considerations that have flooded in on families and friends over the past few years.  There has been hot debate, loud advocacy and heart-rending stories on both sides that make it hard to sort out reality and from there prayerfully share life in the Gospel.  To see previous posts of mine about this, click HERE, and HERE.

A recent case before the Supreme Court regarding restrictions in Tennessee on medical gender transition for minors extended that same sound and fury.  Below, I offer an extended quotation from an analysis of that decision that expresses my own understanding and convictions in words better than my own.

These five opening paragraphs from a June 29 article in the Atlantic Monthly caught my attention in a BIG way:

Allow children to transition (gender identity), or they will kill themselves.  For more than a decade, this has been the strongest argument in favor of youth gender medicine—a scenario so awful that it stifled any doubts or questions about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

“We often ask parents, ‘Would you rather have a dead son than a live daughter?’” Johanna Olson-Kennedy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles once explained to ABC News. Variations on the phrase crop up in innumerable media articles and public statements by influencers, activists, and LGBTQ groups. The same idea—that the choice is transition or death—appeared in the arguments made by Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s solicitor general, before the Supreme Court last year. Tennessee’s law prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat minors with gender dysphoria would, she said, “increase the risk of suicide.”

But there is a huge problem with this emotive formulation: It isn’t true. When Justice Samuel Alito challenged the ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio on such claims during oral arguments, Strangio made a startling admission. He conceded that there is no evidence to support the idea that medical transition reduces adolescent suicide rates.

At first, Strangio dodged the question, saying that research shows that blockers and hormones reduce “depression, anxiety, and suicidality”—that is, suicidal thoughts. (Even that is debatable, according to reviews of the research literature.) But when Alito referenced a systematic review conducted for the Cass report in England, Strangio conceded the point. “There is no evidence in some—in the studies that this treatment reduces completed suicide,” he said. “And the reason for that is completed suicide, thankfully and admittedly, is rare, and we’re talking about a very small population of individuals with studies that don’t necessarily have completed suicides within them.”

Here was the trans-rights movement’s greatest legal brain, speaking in front of the nation’s highest court.  And what he was saying was that the strongest argument for a hotly debated treatment was, in fact, not supported by the evidence.

"It's not true .  .  .  There is no evidence .  .  . Not supported by the evidence."  WOW!  Those are strong statements from a source - The Atlantic Monthly - that has a long history and consistent reputation.  I encourage you to read the entire article - CLICK HERE.  It is called The Liberal Misinformation Bubble About Youth Gender Medicine by Helen Lewis posted June 29, 2025 on the TheAtlantic.com site.  There may be a paywall, but take the steps to get a free look.  Or call the Harderwyk office and I can get you a hard copy to read for yourself.

CLICK HERE for a link to the the British medical paper - the "Cass Report" -  mentioned above.  CLICK HERE for a helpful summary of that from Rebecca MacLaughlin, a favorite mother/speaker/theologian of mine.

What Would I Recommend You Do Next?

We all will or do have family, friends, neighbors, or congregation members who have been told or will pass along the "transition or death" statement.  How would I recommend  you respond when that happens to you?

First, stop, take a deep breath and pray in your heart.  You want to begin by listening deeply to the person speaking.  

Next, realize that it it may not be helpful or appreciated for you to engage them with a "you-must-do-this" demand - and even if a response is asked for, certainly do not respond in an argumentative or condemning way.  But I am writing this because I think it is important for you, the reader, to know for yourself that this statement has no evidence on which it is based.

If you are asked for input or your opinion, you know the truth about the evidence for this statement - namely it's glaring lack.  If they are open to hearing about that lack of evidence, then this blog has the information and resources.

As you do that, recognize this as a "God-moment" for them, and commit to be available to them.  They need more than a two-minute information transfer.  They need a friend.  Someone who will pray, listen and think through all the next steps in their circumstances WITH them, not FOR them.  Most espcially, they will be well-served by a friend who will help them look for and find the guidance, comfort and insight of Jesus along the way.

As For My Part

Feel free to call me through the Harderwyk office.  I will find a time to talk with you or with both you and your friend.

I am committing myself to being available with empathy, agape love and relationship along the journey of navigating the issues of a person's life.  Truth is certainly truth, I can not change that.  But my attitude?  My willingness to walk with someone through both their decisions and any consequences?  A heart of welcome even when someone chooses something that I might not recommend?  I have concluded that those attitudes are on me.  I'll speak truth as I honestly as I know it, but my relationship towards people is based on the love that Jesus has showed me, not on their agreeing with me, listening to me or following my recommendations.

I hope you will join me in that, or at least pray for me as I step out in that journey.