The U.S. State Department twice declared ISIS responsible for genocide. Despite this, government bureaucrats still have not allocated a single dollar of federal money to support victims in the region. In the final appropriations bill at the end of the last fiscal year, Congress required the executive branch to fund assistance efforts.   (WNS)–Religious minorities... Continue Reading

We frequently live in self-reinforcing bubbles; we erect strawmen; we Bulverise; we divide the world into heroes and villains, “defenders of the faith” and “repugnant cultural others”; we find it easy to react and hard to listen; we valorize and demonize; we put ourselves on the side of the angels and find it hard to see good in... Continue Reading

“If someone suggested a Christian population in 200 as ten thousand, or as ten million, then they would assuredly be wrong. But a range anywhere from (say) 150,000 to 350,000 would be quite plausible.”   I have been involved in a project on the early church, around the year 200 AD. My first basic question... Continue Reading

The term liberal Christian is used in a theological and moral context, and not necessarily a political one. It comes from the 19th century in which Christians sought to liberate themselves from traditional orthodoxy in favor of a more progressive interpretation of doctrine in a modern world.    There is so little that distinguishes today’s liberal... Continue Reading

“In establishing the society of inquiry as a communal economic unit, Noyes was no doubt influenced by the tradition of Christian socialism, as well as by the more general fad for associationist models in forward-thinking reform circles of the 1840s. But what Noyes was after was a much more radical.”   In Oneida—a runner-up for... Continue Reading

After Iraqi troops liberated Mosul in January, archaeologists were dismayed to see the extent of tomb’s damage—but then they discovered a priceless treasure. Buried beneath the shrine they found the 2,600-year-old palace of King Sennacherib of Assyria. After the Islamic militants demolished the shrine with dynamite, they dug deep tunnels into Sennacherib’s palace and presumably... Continue Reading

Speaking of force, it strikes me that those who desire only to raise their families and run their businesses according to their personal belief systems are the ones so often accused of “forcing their morality” on the world.   The headline of an article in The New York Times poses an interesting question: “Cake is... Continue Reading

Christians wouldn’t murder someone they disagree with in the name of standing for the truth. Yet some believers use social media to assassinate an individual’s character, going far beyond the critique of a specific action or words. As James writes, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so”... Continue Reading

Petitions, protests, and popular rallies reveal our deeply ingrained belief that voices shouting loudly in unison can shape reality. In today’s climate, many of us crave clear battle lines between good and evil and abhor anyone who dares admit that complex problems don’t have simple answers. And heaven help any poor public figures foolish enough... Continue Reading

In Western culture, self is king. We judge the merits of almost everything by the degree to which it brings us self-realization and self-advancement. Ralph Waldo Emerson charged, “It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.” And we have. The pursuit of dreams and the fulfillment... Continue Reading