Polling data and widespread media coverage indicate the Biden-Harris Administration has a problem: Long a bastion of support and a key voting bloc for the Democratic Party, support among Arab-American voters for the party is the lowest since party identification…
Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the U.S. Congress for a record fourth time today. Netanyahu — who has been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump — easily demonstrated his ability to speak more coherently, in complete sentences,…
Faith without justice: Baptist blind spots in Palestine
As a concerned believer, I am deeply troubled by the recent resolutions of the Southern Baptist Convention against my family, my people and my homeland, Palestine. Despite professing to uphold Christian values of compassion and justice, the SBC’s approach in…
When discussing the war in Gaza, we must ask the question about genocide
Invocation “Schindler’s List” — violin solo by Braimah Kanneh-Mason § § § Following Hamas’ brutal execution of nearly 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s words have become infamous: “I have ordered a complete siege…
A troubling question: Has Southern Baptist mission work among Palestinians been a bad investment?
Troub, short for Troublemaker, is the well-earned nickname of a fellow I got to know some years back. You say “up” and “hot,” he says “down” and “cold. Probably comes from his stormy days while studying at one of our…
The sad consequences of the end times theology and entertainment of my youth
When I was growing up in a Baptist church, I was fascinated with end times theology. It was not until later in life that I realized how ahistorical and unscholarly most of that theology was. I read the Left Behind…
The canary in the American judicial mine Christians are ignoring
With so many warning signs of rising theocracy being ignored, what’s one more? Metaphorically speaking, in terms of U.S. religion and politics, we might pass off our “shortness of breath” over politicians’ chronic dishonesty as our just being out of…
Framing the conflict: How religion is a factor of Hamas war
After the International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for their crimes against humanity, it is becoming clearer that the war between Israel and Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks has reached…
ABC Chicago adopts resolution calling for Gaza cease-fire
American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago unanimously adopted a resolution May 18 calling for an end to genocide in Gaza, the end of Israeli occupation of Palestine and an immediate cease-fire and rebuilding of Gaza. The Chicago group is the…