What Babel Can Teach a World Obsessed With Power
How an ancient story exposes the dangers of domination, technology and unchecked ambition.
Welcome to today’s reflection. As Advent unfolds, we turn to an ancient story that still exposes our modern hunger for power and control.
I am really enjoying exploring some of the ancient stories in Genesis and applying them to our current-day situations. One recurring theme is the pursuit of power and control.
Today, if you were a global superpower looking to flex in front of your neighbours, you would likely do so through military capability.
The USA currently leads the way in this regard, spending over $800 billion annually on defence. That’s a serious flex. China has been rapidly expanding in recent years, now spending the equivalent of $290 billion. Meanwhile, Russia, despite being economically weaker than these two, maintains 5,800 nuclear warheads, a constant source of global tension.
Of course, nations flexing their power is nothing new. In fact, there is an ancient story in the Bible that speaks right into the heart of this.