It is the first few days of Ramadan, the month of fasting that Muslims all over the world are participating in. As an act of love, faith and hope, an estimated one million Christians are praying for their Muslim friends and neighbours during these same 30 days. What is not often considered is that those… Read More Praying Not Only For Muslims But With Them
Peter Frankopan and the Sogdians? Sounds like an Indie music group that would appear at international music festivals in places like Coachella, Croatia, and the Isle of Wight. Wrong. Peter Frankopan is an Oxford-based researcher who wrote in 2015 perhaps the most comprehensive book to date on trade routes in Asia, titled The Silk Roads:… Read More Peter Frankopan and the Sogdians
At least some of those reading this would be honest to say that they don’t love Muslims. Maybe not hate, more like ignorance or possibly fear is what is experienced. But when we have even one Muslim friend, everything changes. And for those of you who pray, regularly remembering Muslims in love, faith and hope… Read More Want to Change Your Heart Toward Muslims?
For those of you who love coffee, and even those who don’t, the Kona version is a globally known brand. But how many readers know the connection of Kona Coffee to racial harmony and reconciliation? Read on. A few weeks ago I was in Kailua-Kona, a small city on the big island of Hawaii. I… Read More From Kona Coffee to Racial Harmony
Have you reached for your smartphone in the last six and a half minutes? In my last post on Isaac the Qatari, I wrote that according to one study, people are checking their phones over 150 times a day! I ended the post reaching for my own phone once again. Much of the earth is… Read More The Antidote to 24/7 Connectivity: Isaac the Qatari, Part 2
Did you celebrate St. Patrick’s day yesterday? We were visiting one of our daughters in Los Angeles (who was wearing a green sweater) and my wife and I were wearing blue. All around us people streamed toward restaurants and bars dressed in green hats, shirts, and dresses. We didn’t get the green dress memo. I… Read More Celebrating St. Patrick
Last week I got to be the former Bishop of Constantinople, Nestorius, who died in 450 A.D. Really. Yes, it was only for a little while, as part of a “friends of the past” presentation at a Masters program I’m helping with in Switzerland. To play the part of this man, condemned as a heretic… Read More Being Nestorius
Imagine being present at a dinner party, where around the table were people who had lived at different periods over two hundred years. People who considered each other “heretics” and would have eliminated the other viewpoints if given a chance. What kind of dinner party would this be? Last week while visiting Geneva I went… Read More A Dinner Party for “Heretics”
Have you ever had your writings burned? Probably not, but many have been silenced, ignored or patronized by those in power positions. I have seen seven of my articles and three chapters for books published, and am presently working on my first book on the Church of the East. I can’t imagine the pain of… Read More Have You Ever Had Your Writings Burned?
Have you ever gone against an accepted belief or opinion? Have you ever held to something strongly that was not the norm or majority view? You are a heretic. According to the Merriam-Webster definition, a heretic is someone who “goes against accepted or official beliefs.” Another definition of heresy is “any provocative belief or theory… Read More Who is a Heretic? Who Decides?
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