When my son and I were hiking through Galilee in October 2009, a burly Palestinian Christian man pulled me aside and whispered. “Do you know who gives us Christians our problems?  Do you think it is the Israeli government?  Don’t be a fool. “It is our Muslim cousins.  It is because of them that so many of us are leaving.  They attack us even in our own Palestinian villages here in Galilee.” (more…) Read more

I was looking out the window of a train the other day, speeding ever-so-smoothly across the green countryside of northern Japan.  The fields were perfectly manicured.  Houses and factories were all neat and in good repair.  All of the Japan I could see, for hundreds of miles,  was prosperous and immaculate. (more…) Read more

Where is God in this crazy political season?  Why does he seem hidden as ISIS and Boko Haram murder Christians?  Does God ever approve of war? Christians can help themselves answer these questions by reading a new book by Jewish political philosopher Yoram Hazony, president of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem.  Hazony might be called the Jewish version of Reinhold Niebuhr or Richard John Neuhaus, two thinkers who in the past century helped millions of Christians understand how to participate... Read more

Garry Kasparov, the great chess master, lived under absolute socialism in the Soviet Union, and has important comments on the “democratic socialisms” of western Europe. There is perhaps no more incisive critique of socialism than in this fascinating article by Kasparov. Here are a few excerpts: (more…) Read more

Some would say so, especially in this election season. Its purpose, they say, is to help the poor and to make things more equal.  Isn’t that what the early church did? Let’s take a look at an incident in the early church that has some relevance: Ananias and Sapphira.   (more…) Read more

Immigration is the issue du jour.  Most of us think (despite what pollsters shout) that it is not right to block all immigration of Muslims, but that some sort of screening, especially for terrorists, is necessary. Most of us think as well that Muslim immigrants must assimilate to American culture and not simply live here while dissenting from basic American social and political values. But what would that assimilation look like? (more…) Read more

Jesus famously said in Matt. 7, “Do not judge” (v. 1). Does that mean Christians should never make judgments about bad teachings, or bad things people have done, or the crazy things presidential candidates have said? It does not mean any of those things.  After all, Jesus also said in John 7, “Don’t judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment”  (v. 24). And Jesus told us to “beware of false prophets” (Matt 7.15).  How can we beware of false prophets unless we make... Read more

Most likely. The Greek word (kraspedon) that is translated in most Bibles as the “fringe” of Jesus’ garment which was touched by the woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years and by the sick in Gennesaret—this is the same Greek word used for the tassels which the Pharisees wore long.  It is the same word used in the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint, which the early church used) for the tassels that God commanded his people (Mt 9:20;... Read more

Barbara Gauthier is perhaps the best orthodox guide these days to happenings in the Anglican communion.  I recommend her blog, which you can sign up for by going here: [email protected] Here are selections from today’s post, which provide a keen overview of what is going on today. (more…) Read more

Here is a fascinating interview with Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist at NYU, who describes the monoculture of the university, where there is virtually no intellectual diversity. Some excerpts: (more…) Read more