I have yet to offer my thoughts on the election. Instead, last week, I began to offer some thoughts on the present war on Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians. (part 1; part 2). NB: I have expressed in the past that Israel’s assault on Gaza is not good for Israel. I am convinced that it will lead to the demise of Israel in the near future. How near? Time will tell. In my last two posts, I noted... Read more
What do I think about the elections last week? Well, my first concern has been what this means for the war on Gaza. The war has continued to advance for months, and we have tuned it out. As if our elections were more important than the deaths of thousands of women and children. In my last post, I asked, “What would I do if my child were illegally detained and tortured for months?” Although I do not believe in violence,... Read more
Well, I suppose you might be expecting my reaction to the election results. Honestly, I am still processing things. I will say, at this point, that I am deeply grieved—as I have been for some time now—at the state of the Church. I suppose that the election provided more confirmation that the Church is deeply broken and, as I have thought for some time now, maybe even irreparably broken. But more on this in an upcoming post. When I say... Read more
I am going to address a political post, and I ask that you hear me out. I will do my best to keep this post brief (less than 500 words!). I was reading a good friend’s Facebook post this morning. He began by noting that he has been reticent, for good reasons, to make political posts. He proceeded with caution to explain his concerns about one of the presidential candidates’ character and reputation. The post was well-written and respectful in... Read more
The Kingdom of God Isn’t on the Ballot: A Guide to Voting with Purpose “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2). Okay, I am not applying this text to tomorrow’s election. Unfortunately, many Christians do. In saying this, I don’t intend to undermine those with serious convictions about the election. But I would note that the Church existed for well over a thousand years before the US was founded. And the Church thrives today in places like China,... Read more
Imagine a foreign people moving into Texas and confiscating the land and farms of Texans. I suspect that many Texans would resist. And they would resist with violence. Yet, when this happens to the Palestinians, somehow, they are the terrorists. Oh, my bad. I forgot that things are different with the Palestinians. After all, the land belongs to Israel. God said so. Now, let’s assume that God really said this (NB: I have a book coming out in the next... Read more
Two weeks ago, I posted another blog about Christianity Today’s podcast series, “The Promised Land.” To say I was disappointed with the six episodes would be an understatement of monumental proportions. As I noted in my response to the podcast’s first three episodes, I had high hopes for the series. Unfortunately, these hopes were not only unmet; the series does more harm to the prospects of peace than it does good—and this, too, might be an understatement. NB: perhaps I... Read more
Today is the one year . . . (I don’t see how the word “anniversary” is appropriate). Let me reword this. One year ago today, Hamas broke through the security barrier and launched its terror attack on Israel. I will be live tonight (October 7, 2024) at 5:00 pm PST (this link is good even after the live event) to discuss the past year and where we are today. I intend to have several guests to hear their perspectives as... Read more
“The West Bank is unlivable.” These are the words of Palestinian Christian Pastor Munther Isaac. While the world’s focus shifts from the utter destruction of Gaza to the increasing violence in Lebanon, the radicals within the Israeli government and the settler community have seized the opportunity to take more and more control in the West Bank. Has evangelical rhetoric only made matters worse? In the days, weeks, and now months following October 7, it became evidently clear that Evangelical Christians... Read more
A week ago, I was in a meeting in which one of the participants was a colleague in Bethlehem. He noted that he was anxiously awaiting a call from his mother, who was in Gaza. Without her call, he did not know if she was alive, let alone well. Then, earlier this week, we contacted him to inquire whether he had heard from his mother and if she was well. He replied that she indeed was alive, but she had... Read more
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