Iran’s Theocracy Is Killing Its Own People

I don’t think it’s possible to read the reports coming out of Iran right now without feeling a deep sense of grief and moral urgency. Thousands of people are reportedly dead, according to reporting from CBN News. Millions more are risking everything to stand against a regime that has decided its own survival matters more than human life. This is not political theater. This is bloodshed. This is state violence carried out in the name of God, and it demands clarity from anyone who claims to care about truth, justice, or human dignity.

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Iran theocracy has reportedly left thousands dead as a religious regime enforces belief through fear and force rather than accountability, justice, or human dignity.

What we are witnessing is not simply unrest or protest fatigue. It is a brutal crackdown by a religious regime that rules through fear, force, and enforced belief. The Iranian government has reportedly used military weapons against its own people, cutting off the internet, silencing dissent, and killing civilians who are pleading for freedom. These are not foreign invaders or armed combatants. These are ordinary men and women who have reached a breaking point under decades of oppression.

This is what happens when power cloaks itself in divine authority and then refuses accountability.

A theocracy that rules by fear, not faith

The Iranian regime is often described as a theocracy, but that word can sound abstract until you see its fruit. A true measure of any system is not what it claims to represent, but what it produces. In this case, the Iran theocracy has produced mass graves, terrorized citizens, and a government willing to slaughter its own people rather than loosen its grip on power.

Scripture repeatedly warns against rulers who claim moral authority while crushing those made in God’s image. Isaiah condemns leaders who make unjust laws and deprive the vulnerable while pretending to act righteously. Jesus Himself confronted religious leaders who burdened people with rules while showing no mercy, calling them blind guides and whitewashed tombs.

What is happening in Iran is not a failure of the people. It is the inevitable outcome of a system that confuses forced obedience with faith, and submission with righteousness.

Faith cannot be coerced. Worship cannot be enforced at gunpoint. When a government kills dissenters in the name of God, it is not honoring Him. It is blaspheming Him.

The people paying the price

The most heartbreaking part of this story is not the political analysis. It is the human cost. Families who will never see their loved ones again. Parents burying children. Citizens who know they may die simply for speaking truth or stepping into the street.

These are image-bearers of God. Their lives matter. Their suffering matters. And Christians should be among the first to say so clearly, without hesitation or caveat.

The Bible does not teach indifference toward oppression. God hears the cries of the afflicted. He sees injustice carried out by rulers who believe themselves untouchable. From Pharaoh to the empires confronted by the prophets, Scripture consistently shows that God is not impressed by power that tramples the weak.

Silence in moments like this is not neutrality. It is moral failure.

Addressing the accusation Christians always hear

Whenever Christians speak about moral truth or engage in public life, the accusation is predictable: “This is what happens when religion mixes with politics.” Iran is often held up as the warning. The implication is that Christian involvement in American politics is just one step away from religious tyranny.

That comparison collapses under even minimal scrutiny.

Iran is not an example of Christianity in power. It is an example of authoritarian religion enforced by violence. The Iranian regime does not allow freedom of conscience. It does not permit dissent. It does not persuade. It punishes. It kills.

Biblical Christianity teaches something fundamentally different. Christians do not look to government to save souls or enforce belief. Scripture gives civil authority a limited role, restraining evil and promoting justice, not replacing the gospel. Faith informs conscience and public engagement, a point I’ve explored more fully in Faith in Politics: Should Christians Be Involved in Government?, but it is never advanced through coercion or violence.

There is a vast difference between citizens voting according to moral conviction and a regime executing dissenters in the streets.

If critics truly opposed religious tyranny, they would be among the loudest voices condemning what is happening in Iran. Too often, outrage is selective. The issue is not religion in politics. The issue is hostility toward Christianity itself, something I’ve also addressed in Christianity & Cancel Culture: How Should Believers Respond?.

Considering action through a Christian lens

With the current administration discussing possible responses to the crisis in Iran, Christians should approach the question of action with seriousness and restraint. Scripture affirms that governments have a God-given responsibility to restrain evil and protect innocent life. At the same time, wisdom matters. Not every evil is confronted the same way, and rash action can multiply suffering rather than reduce it.

Christians should pray that leaders act with moral clarity, humility, and prudence. The goal is not vengeance or domination, but the preservation of human life and the restraint of those committing violence. This is a moment that calls for discernment, not slogans.

A call for prayer and moral clarity

This is not a moment for vague prayers or detached commentary. It is a moment for clear-eyed intercession and moral resolve. Pray for the people of Iran, for protection, courage, and endurance. Pray that evil would be restrained and that lies used to justify violence would be exposed. Pray for leaders who fear God more than they fear losing power.

Comfort can dull urgency. Distance can make suffering feel theoretical. But Scripture does not permit selective concern. We are called to remember those who suffer as if we were suffering with them.

The Iran theocracy is killing its own people. That fact alone should cut through dishonest narratives and remind us why truth matters. God is not honored by regimes that murder in His name. He stands with the oppressed, the broken, and the voiceless, and He will not be mocked forever.

Arch Kennedy
Bold, Unfiltered, and Unafraid

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