Pope Leo Denounces “Christian Nationalism”

Last updated on: June 10, 2025 at 2:21 pm By Kermit Zarley

On Sunday, June 8th, Roman Catholic Pope Leo XIV led a Mass at St. Peter’s Square asking God to “open borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred.” He further denounced “prejudice … we now see emerging also in political nationalisms.” It was obvious that he implied what is called “Christian nationalism” advocated by some evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics in the U.S. who are strong supporters of Republican President Donald Trump. His spiritual advisor Paula White-Cain is a Charismatic televangelist, church... Read more

Scottie Scheffler Wins Memorial Tournament Again

Last updated on: June 2, 2025 at 11:27 am By Kermit Zarley

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Scottie Scheffler Continues to Dominate the PGA Tour Scottie Scheffler won The Memorial Tournament yesterday in Columbus, Ohio, by four strokes over Ben Griffin as a repeat of last year. It was Scheffler’s third win in his last four starts, and Griffin had won The Colonial last week in Fort Worth, Texas. The Memorial is played at Muirfield Village Golf Club. It is called Jack’s Place because Jack Nicklaus—the guy with the most major wins in golf, with eighteen—designed it,... Read more

Hail to Pope Leo XIV in Calling for Christians to Unite

Last updated on: May 30, 2025 at 10:03 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Mennonite Anabaptists Celebrate Their 500th Anniversary Christian Mennonites are gathering in Zurich, Switzerland, to celebrate the 500th year of their origin, which occurred in that city. Although they number less than 2 million people, Mennonites are the largest church denomination among the Anabaptist movement that they started. Anabaptist means to be baptized “again” (ana) or “re-baptized,” although they did not accept either of those terms. These terms refer to Christians who had been baptized as infants in especially state church... Read more

Some Israeli Leaders Want to Annex the West Bank and Gaza

Last updated on: May 28, 2025 at 2:15 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Israel Is Making Life Difficult for West Bank Palestinians According to Forensic Architecture—a research group at Goldsmith’s, University of London—the IDF forces of Israel are using some of the same tactics in the West Bank in a military campaign called Operation Iron Wall that it uses in the ongoing Gaza war. According to some of Israel’s foremost political leaders, its purpose is to seize control of Palestinian territory in the West Bank and eventually include it with Jewish settlements in... Read more

Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza?

Last updated on: May 20, 2025 at 10:18 pm By Kermit Zarley

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The present Gaza war started in October 2023 because Hamas—the Muslim terrorist organization that governs the Gaza Strip—foolishly attacked the western flank of Israel on October 7 that year, killing about 1,200 Jews. The Israel Defense Force then invaded Gaza to wage a war in an effort to root out Hamas which was dug into an intricate system of tunnels. The result has been that the IDF has now killed over 53,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Most of them... Read more

Why Is This Pope Called “Leo”

Last updated on: May 19, 2025 at 10:53 pm By Kermit Zarley

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There’ve Been Fourteen Pope Leos On May 8th, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago was chosen as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first American pope as well. In accordance with the tradition of popes taking the name of a previous honored saint, he chose to be called Pope Leo XIV. Thus, the Church has had fourteen popes who have called themselves Leo. What does Leo mean? And why did this pope choose Leo? Leo is... Read more

Scottie Scheffler Wins the PGA Championship

Last updated on: May 19, 2025 at 12:57 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Yesterday, Scottie Scheffler shot an even-par 71 to win the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, by five strokes over second place finishers Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, and Davis Riley. It was Scheffler’s 15th win on the PGA Tour and his third major title alongside his two Masters wins in 2022 and 2024. The PGA Tour announced that 28-year-old Scheffler has now reached rarefied territory by joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only... Read more

Palestinians in Gaza Are Uprising Against Hamas

Last updated on: May 17, 2025 at 8:13 pm By Kermit Zarley

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The war in Gaza continues despite a temporary cease-fire that failed. Donald Trump, the former real estate mogul and now U.S. president, last month called for an outlandish proposal for solving the Gaza war if not the larger conflict between Palestinians and the State of Israel—to remove Palestinians from Gaza and turn the place into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” And this week he has called for them to be removed to Libya. Uprising in Beit Layiha The Wall... Read more

A New Book about Mark Twain from Hannibal, Missouri

Last updated on: May 14, 2025 at 10:52 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Just Published—Mark Twain Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow has written a 1,200-page biography of the famous novelist, satirist, essayist, and humorist who built his famed literary career by using the pen name Mark Twain. Chernow’s Mark Twain was published Monday, two day ago, in hardcover by Penguin Press. Mark Twain lived in Hannibal, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. My book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, entitled Palestine Is Coming: The Revival of Ancient Philistia, (269 pp.) was published in 1990 as... Read more

When Romans 13 Meets Tyranny: Interpreting Obedience

Last updated on: May 14, 2025 at 2:14 pm By Kermit Zarley

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Paul Did Not Teach Unconditional Obedience to Civil Rulers The apostle Paul wrote in his magisterial, theologically in-depth, and lengthy letter to “all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints” (Romans 1.7 NRSV), that they should do the following: Romans 13:1-7 1“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and... Read more