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{"id":28509,"date":"2015-02-20T07:11:08","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T12:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=28509"},"modified":"2015-02-20T07:11:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-20T12:11:08","slug":"invaders-from-the-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2015\/02\/invaders-from-the-east.html","title":{"rendered":"Invaders from the East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

They came from far in the East, thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n

And they took over a land that did not previously belong to them.<\/p>\n

Their arrival changed the religious, cultural, and political makeup of the territory dramatically.<\/p>\n

Is this right? How\u00a0should we view something like this, when it happened hundreds of years ago \u2013 indeed, more than half a millennium ago?<\/p>\n

Does it matter whether you think I am talking about America, or Turkey?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m considering\u00a0developing a short term summer study abroad experience to Turkey. It is a great place to look at ancient Christian history, and a great place to learn about modern Islam.<\/p>\n

But I wonder whether there might not be other things that American students can learn by reflecting on the similarities and differences between that nation and their own.<\/p>\n

$\"turkey\"$ <\/p>\n

Photo from the Neptune Shipping Agency website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"