It appears that there's a New Turkey, and it has found New Friends to play with. Some time ago I received negative feedback on my musings about Vladimir Putin's motives. I was informed that Putin was a "flash in the pan." He was a wannabe Czar whose star would eventually fizzle out like a snuffed birthday … [Read more...]
A Love Affair With Islam
The West is entrenched in a love affair with Islam. Islam isn't the official religion of western nations - at least not yet. Arguably, Christianity isn't either. Nevertheless there's a default mechanism in the hearts of many westerners for Islam which over rides any criticism of the faith. This mechanism … [Read more...]
Everybody Loves Iran
Either everybody loves Iran, or they're fibbing. Anyway, that's the impression I often come away with after reading various opinion columns and Iranian apologists. I'd like to hasten to add that I'm not talking about Lonely Planet far-away Iranian destinations here. Nor am I talking about the Iranian … [Read more...]
The Church’s One State Solution
The Church's One State Solution? Read on... Don't let anyone kid you when they talk about the so-called Two State solution to one of the Middle East conflicts. Yes, once upon a time it used to be a singular conflict. Now it's plural - conflicts. As an aside, pay close attention to what has been occurring in … [Read more...]
The Awful Truth About Islam
"The awful truth about Islam is that it isn't a religion of peace and tolerance." About two or three years ago, as we headed into the last week of Christmas, some headlines were full of hopeful promise for a Unified Palestinian State in the coming year. The theory was that a UPS would go a long way to promote peace … [Read more...]
Oh Right, The Crusades!
I've just finished reading ISIS-The Heart of Terror: The Unexpected Response Bringing Hope For Peace *(affiliate link) by Eugene Bach from Back to Jerusalem Honestly, in light of the recent Paris Attacks and ISIS dominating the news, I can't quite decide if the timing of reading this book was perfectly spot on or … [Read more...]
Ignoring Palestinian Responsibility
In some ways, the persistent ignoring of Palestinian responsibility in the never-ending crisis with Israel exhibits cult-like characteristics. My reasoning is simple. Most of the individuals and organizations involved in writing about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and organizing protests and conference events … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Journeys
My wife and I went to a different church last Sunday. The reason we did so was because it was hosting the Back to Jerusalem team and a talk by Brother Yun, also known as The Heavenly Man. Contrary to some misconceptions, Back to Jerusalem is not a movement of the Chinese church specifically designed to evangelize … [Read more...]
Israel under Fire
Those who keep a watchful eye on headlines coming out of the Middle East shouldn't really be surprised at the current attacks on Jewish citizens in Israel. The ingredients for this escalating violence have been cooking in the pot for a long time. However, much of the western world has remained blasé. When it does … [Read more...]
The Russian Ascent
If you've lived long enough or if you pay some attention to near and far history, you might have a notion just how quickly global circumstances can change. Sometimes these changes occur imperceptibly and under our noses without our realizing it. But sometimes changes take place rapidly. Often we're so involved in … [Read more...]
