Listen to this piece. Last week, I wrote a post requesting prayer for Richard Twiss. Now that he has passed into the presence of his Lord and needs no further prayer, I am requesting prayer for us, as we mourn this great loss. Of course, in Christ, Richard wins: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) Richard has gone on to his eternal reward. Death and the grave hold no power over this warrior,... Read more

  Listen to this piece. Please pray for Richard Twiss, Co-Founder and President of Wiconi International. Wiconi (“we-cho-nee”) means “Life” in the Lakota/Sioux language. Richard had a heart attack on Wednesday. Pray for his heartbeat, which beats for Wiconi—life. An update on Wiconi International’s Facebook page last night read: “Richard is on full life support for his heart and lungs. Right now the doctors are neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the situation, but they agree it is a serious situation.... Read more

Listen to this piece. You may have watched the third presidential debate a few months back in which Governor Romney confronted President Obama on his dealings with Israel. Governor Romney argued strongly that the President had failed to sustain and strengthen strategic connections with Israel. Such negligence would impact negatively and dramatically America’s foreign policy in the Middle East. I wonder what the six men charged with overseeing Shin Bet—Israel’s intelligence agency focused on protecting Israel from terrorism—would say of... Read more

I often see bumper stickers with a Jesus fish and a Darwin fish devouring one another. But I have never seen a bumper sticker depicting a Jesus fish fighting for its life with a Donald Trump fish. Regardless of how Charles Darwin or Donald Trump view(ed) Jesus or the Bible, they represent dominant systems of thought and life respectively: evolution-survival of the fittest; and market economics-survival of the economic fittest. The Scopes Monkey trial in Dayton, Tennessee back in 1925 served as a key symbol of... Read more

According to a recent Barna study, a strong percentage of Evangelical Christians believe their religious freedom is under threat. But is our religious freedom under threat, or simply our dominance? In view of the study, David Kinnaman, Barna’s president argues, “Evangelicals have to be careful of embracing a double standard: to call for religious freedoms, but then desire the dominant religious influence to be Judeo-Christian. They cannot have it both ways. This does not mean putting Judeo-Christian values aside, but... Read more

Are Christian and Muslim convictions compatible with American values? I suppose it depends on which convictions one is talking about, and what American values one has in mind. I find it inconceivable that Christianity and Islam could ever affirm secularism as a reigning ideology. Here I am referring to the attempt to bracket consideration of God from public life. The more secularism as articulated here becomes entrenched in American society as a reigning value system the less compatible Christian and... Read more

Christianity is not one-dimensional or monolithic. Nor is Islam. I don’t like it when all Christians are lumped into one category. For example, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants differ on substantial points concerning Christianity. While many Christians will acknowledge that there are different Muslim communities (such as the Sunnis and Shiites), they may not be willing to account for differences concerning how various Muslims live. For example, given how the news media and Hollywood at times portray Muslims as hostile and... Read more

Listen to this piece. According to the Public Religion Research Institute’s survey, “What it Means to be American: Attitudes towards Increasing Diversity in America Ten Years after 9/11,” “Nearly 6-in-10 white evangelical Protestants believe the values of Islam are at odds with American values, but majorities of Catholics, non-Christian religiously unaffiliated Americans, and religiously unaffiliated Americans disagree.” If the percentage is accurate, what does this say about American Evangelicalism? That white Evangelicals’ skin color often shapes their perception of Islam?... Read more

Listen to this piece. You may know the song “People Are Strange” by The Doors that sings of people being strange and looking ugly when you are a stranger and alone. How people view you and me often shapes our views of them. Do you ever encounter people who view you as strange? If so, how do such encounters make you feel? I would assume that such experiences don’t generate pretty feelings. Encounters I have where I am viewed as... Read more

Listen to this piece. How can violence ever bring closure to violence? I considered this question while watching Zero Dark Thirty—the controversial movie on the hunt and killing of Osama Bin Laden. So much of the controversy around the movie centers on factuality and on whether or not it glorifies torture. From the standpoint of acting and cinematography, the movie is a great success. Moreover, regardless of whether or not the movie is accurate, it can prove beneficial for fostering... Read more