An atheist meme on the internet in the wake of the Paris attacks caught my attention. An image compares the biblical character of Samson with modern day terrorists such as the suicide attacks of September 11.

Atheist meme: Samson’s final act compared to that of the 9-11 hijackers.

Samson’s final act was to literally bring the house down on about three thousand Philistines, killing them all as well as himself.

On face value, the stories seem analogous. Yet is this really just a cheap shot?

Popular Western culture regards Canadian John Gallagher as a hero for dying a couple of months ago in similar circumstances to Samson. Gallagher was fighting ISIS in Syria.

I say similar because this may well be a better modern-day parallel for Samson when considering the back story to Samson and the Philistines. Could it be that Samson was just as much a hero as John Gallagher?

But the greatest hero of the Bible was Jesus, who died Himself that others may have life.

Looking more closely at the story of Jesus, He actually took on a known ‘terrorist’ (i.e., traitor) in Judas into his inner circle. Not for His own benefit. His inclusive tolerance cost Jesus His own life.

Jesus’ embracing of Judas is in stark contrast to the closed-minded, closed-hearts and closed-borders stance of many professed Christians towards Muslims today.

Perhaps a better parallel image for terrorism in the Christian Bible is the following, which shows Jesus as the innocent victim of treachery worse than that of Australian teenager turned ISIS suicide bomber Jihad Jake.

A better comparison between the Bible and terrorism. Jesus took on a known traitor in Judas leading to His own betrayal and death. “Jihad Jake” is regarded by his parents as a traitor for joining ISIS prior to his death in Iraq as a suicide bomber.