Christian nationalism in the United States seems more alive than ever. Project 2025 threatens to erode the separation of church and state, Donald Trump is hailed as a messiah following his assassination attempt, and at the state level, Ten Commandments…
Bibi and the Bible
In his recent speech at a joint session of (most of) Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced the Bible in a description of the Israel Defense Forces, even giving the Hebrew: “As the Bible says, “עם כלביא יקום” —…
SBC leader joins other evangelicals in private meeting with Netanyahu
One day after being not fired by his board of trustees, Brent Leatherwood joined a select group of evangelical leaders for a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C. Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention…
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,…
How Zionism poisoned Western Christianity
As a Semitic Palestinian Christian, I am deeply troubled by the pernicious influence of Zionist ideology on Western Christian theology. This ideology has ensnared many Western Christians, who cynically leverage the suffering of the Jewish people, especially during the Holocaust,…
PC(USA) continues protest against Israel with more divestment
The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly has continued its decade-long protest of Israeli occupation of Palestine by voting to divesting from Israeli bonds. The unanimous consent vote of the 500-member assembly marks a continuation of a protest begun in 2014…
No crystal ball needed to see a second Trump term: Look at Israel
There’s already a clear picture of what a second Donald Trump presidency would entail: Just look at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Yossi Klein Halevi, in “Netanyahu’s Betrayal of Democracy Is a Betrayal of Israel,” provides a stark picture of…
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…
It’s complicated: Naming our bias
I began my work as senior editor of Good Faith Media almost three weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel. I never have been an expert on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Still, I have followed…