“I’m scared. I swear, I’m scared. I just want to leave.” These are the tear-filled words of a child walking away from the rubble in Gaza. Another viral YouTube video shows a child climbing an electrical pole. When the father asks what he is doing up there, the boy responds, “I want to die.” I posted on my Facebook page a few days ago a brief video of two young children (ages 2-3?) sitting in a hospital room in Gaza.... Read more
Let me make this clear: War is bad! If you need proof, please read this article titled, “People are hoping that Israel nukes us so we can get rid of this pain” (if you don’t need proof, read the article anyway). Now, I am amazed that as soon as I make such an assertion, I have to immediately follow it up with something like, “No, I am not a pacifist.” And “Yes, I believe that self-defense and defending the oppressed... Read more
This week Determinetruth will begin a series of livestream events over the next 8 months to discuss the Church and politics. In this series, we will address a wide variety of issues. My conviction is that Jesus’ kingdom radically undermines the whole system. Yep, Jesus was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Now, I am confident that I could say this in most churches or Christian communities and find little/no objections. The irony is that most American Christians’ understanding of... Read more
In the past few weeks, we have seen two worlds collide. And I’m not sure that most people noticed. Ironically, they both took place in Russia. Now, I must preface this post by reminding us that despite our most noble intentions our thoughts and opinions are not as objective as we would like to think. Consequently, our convictions regarding these two worlds are colored by a variety of factors. What I hope to do, within my limited capacities, is to... Read more
Several years ago, I was in the home of Roni Keidar. Roni is an Israeli who lives less than one mile from the border of Gaza. As we indulged in Roni’s hospitality, we sat in her living room and listened. NB: See this YouTube video made by Roni a few weeks ago. Roni spoke of her experiences living so close to Gaza. She noted that rockets fired from Gaza had landed in her front yard. She told us that on... Read more
“The biggest problem facing the seven churches [of the book of Revelation] was Babylon. And the biggest problem we still face in our churches today is Babylon” (McKnight, Scot; Matchett, Cody. Revelation, 50). I recently watched a documentary that described conditions in a country during the 43-year reign of a brutal dictatorship. The narrator begins, “Imagine that you and your family live in one of the poorest regions of the world. . . . And two or three times you... Read more
Is it possible that America’s foreign interventions have served the aims of America’s politicians and its major corporations more than it has served the interests of the American people? NB: This post has been edited for the accuracy of its content. NB: After the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua, the US gave Samosa $57million in emergency aid. The Nicaraguan national treasury only reported $16million. Samosa apparently kept $41million. The IMF gave Samosa another $65million. Most of this money went to Samosa.... Read more
Well, they did it—though I don’t believe this is something to be celebrated. Israel has officially inflicted 20 times more casualties on Gaza than the damnable attack of Oct 7 leveled on Israel. According to Al Jazeera, the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 25,000. This, of course, does not include the 8,000+ that are missing—likely dead—under the rubble. Nor does it account for the 62,000+ that are injured. But death does not even begin to address the human... Read more
The International Court of Justice has issued its ruling on the South African charge that Israel’s war on Gaza is on its way to genocide. One of the more common mistakes in the reporting on this case has to do with the actual charge. The claim is often made that in order to prove genocide one must be able to determine Israel’s “intent.” It is argued that since “intent” is hard to prove, the claim of genocide is baseless. The... Read more
The Pax Romana (~27 BC-AD 180). Did you know that the Roman Peace was established by bloodshed? What Rome called peace meant slavery, rape, devastation, and even death for virtually everyone else. In chapter 3 of The Business of War, Myles Werntz argues that one of the reasons why Achan (see Joshua 7) was punished by God was because he took the spoils of war in order to profit personally. Werntz contends, “The wealth gained cannot be for one’s private... Read more
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