Is it any wonder that the two most influential definitions of the “good news” in a Western society built on capitalism and retribution would be about people getting paid or being punished? In conservative evangelicalism, we see a heavy emphasis…
New speaker of the House once led never-opened Paul Pressler School of Law
After three weeks of chaos, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives finally elected a new speaker — Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District. While Johnson has served in Congress since 2017, and most recently held the position…
This school shooter is going viral for telling his story, but does it help or hurt?
Note: This article discusses attempted suicide, suicidal ideation and gun violence. In the life of a school shooter, what happens almost 20 years after the crime? On Feb. 9, 2004, 16-year-old Jon Romano left a suicide note at home before…
‘The moment we allow our hearts to go numb to the deaths of any children is the moment we shut down our humanity’
As someone whose ancestors immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, the faces of children suffering in the war in Israel remind me of my own children. The limp body of a 5-year-old girl being carried through the rubble, and…
Now comes the darkness. Perhaps new hope lies beyond
A week ago, I sat with a Palestinian shopkeeper in a country bordering Israel, drinking tea and watching nonstop Arab TV coverage of Israel’s retaliatory pounding of Gaza. Gazans ran in panic. Rescue workers screamed for ambulances and pulled dust-covered…
My heart and my mind are in conflict about Israel and Hamas
The unexpected Hamas incursion into Israel, and the resultant deaths that are yet occurring, bring to mind our own experience of 9/11. The rhetorical choices made after 9/11 included labeling the attackers as “terrorists” rather than “criminals,” designating 9/11 as…
Here are some ways to listen to Palestinian Christians
With war raging once again in Israel and Palestine, it seems far more people have opinions to proclaim about it than openness to listening. After the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas in which more than 1,600 people were killed…
Orange Shirt Day calls attention to the horrors of native boarding schools
When Phyllis Webstad was 6, her grandmother took her to town to buy a new outfit for the first day of school. “I chose a shiny new orange shirt. It was bright and exciting, just how I felt about going…
In this war, there are no ‘good guys’
Normally, I’m a defender of the so-called “mainstream media,” in part because I am one of that group. However, when it comes to understanding and reporting on Israel and Palestine, almost all media outlets have failed Americans who seek clear…