A federal agency is urging the United States to be more assertive in pressuring Iraq to improve religious freedom conditions for Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities. “Although Iraq’s federal government has made some overtures toward the country’s diverse religious…
Angel wings and devil tails: Meditation on the Feast of the Holy Innocents
“This is no time for a child to be born, With the Earth betrayed by war and hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That time runs out and the sun burns late.” —Madeleine L’Engle, “The Risk of…
Afghanistan: A tragic example of an unjust war
I was born in the waning years of the Vietnam War. I don’t recall the war itself, but one of my earliest childhood memories dates to about 1970 and, for some reason, it is remarkably vivid. I had tagged along…
Reflecting on the effects of 9/11 and the disarray of America foreign policy
Nineteen years ago tomorrow, terrorists directed by Osama bin Laden successfully orchestrated an unforgettable attack that defined the next decade of American life. Hijacking four commercial jets, terrorists flew two into the World Trade Center towers and one into the…
Muslims held to double standard in cases of faith-based violence
Americans hold double standards about cases of religiously motivated violence, with white evangelicals most inconsistent and the religiously unaffiliated the most consistent. In a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, Americans were asked if people who perpetrate acts…
Belgium-based minister helping Syrian families to safety
Four years into a multi-faceted and sustained response to “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era,” the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is continuing its efforts to serve Syrian refugees through field personnel and ministry partners in five countries. Belgium-based field personnel…
How rival Gardens of Eden in Iraq survived ISIS, dwindling tourists, and each other
Believers have alternately placed the garden in Armenia, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, and in Bahrain. Even those who accept the mythological nature of the Garden of Eden still have the desire to locate it.
Not forgotten, Christians tell embattled Yazidis
By Ken Camp and Buckner International communications For most, the dramatic events constantly unfolding in places like Iraq and Syria are far-off tragedies to worry or pray about. But for some Americans, it’s much more than that. Some have decided…
An airman reflects: don’t thank me this Memorial Day
I was talking to one of our Air Force senior leaders the other day who said, “Everyone who has served on the front lines of this war has been forever changed.” That was cool, because “Forever Changed” is the name…