Pacem in Terris and Mercy Mild
With almost daily reminders that War is Coming, it gets hard to imagine an alternative. Over the last month our media has been banging the drums of war suggesting that Kim Jong-un is borderline psychotic and is ready, at any moment, to drop a bomb. With images of their prison camps, videos of their propaganda, [...]
Palingenesia: You Might be a Lord… But Here Comes the King
Have you heard about Snoop Dogg becoming Snoop Lion? Last year, Snoop Dogg announced his new persona starting with his own Reincarnation. He was no longer going to be the rabble-rousing gangster rapper, but a Rastafarian with a new message. Snoop Lion is here to spread the message of Love over Hate. Yeah, it seems [...]
Caritas de libertati: A People of Hope
Surely you’ve heard the Good News: We Have a Pope. What do you make of it all? So far I’ve heard many different opinions on the matter. Some are excited, but I would say a large majority of those in my circles are fairly upset. While many feel positively towards the fact Pope Francis I [...]
Losing Your Religion? Keep the Faith!
In Terence Nichol’s 2003 book The Sacred Cosmos: Christian Faith and the Challenge of Naturalism he begins with an anecdote where two sets of Catholic children are asked the question “Where is God?” One, a group from the West, and another, a group from the East, answered very differently. The children raised in the West [...]
#King: Who’s the Man with the Master Plan?
April 26th, 1992: there was a riot on the streets. Tell me, where were you? You were sitting home watching your TV… while I was participating in some anarchy. – Sublime – I had only just turned five years old some weeks before this. It was before I had entered kindergarten, which occurred the next [...]
#Martin: Do the Right Thing. Put on the Hood.
On 26 February, exactly one year ago today, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. February is a month dedicated to black history, black pride, and black liberation. It was chosen because it contains the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This is an interesting point on first glance. Why is [...]
V-Day: A Universal Love Story?
When Valentine’s Day rolls around each year, why do you celebrate? I was sitting in class the other day and I glanced over at a fellow student’s daily planner. She was looking at the following week and on the 14th there was a big headline which said: “GROSS.” Is it? I know why she thinks [...]
We Need to Talk About Islam
Given the recent attacks on American, British, and German embassies by Muslim extremists we are confronted by a serious claim. By reflecting on a Redditor’s post about Islam in the midst of a supposedly secular Belgian culture we have to ask, is Islam a religion unlike any other? Are they an exception to otherwise tolerant world-religions? It would seem that extremism is on the Rise. And, as Prince Charles says, “extremism is, by definition, the exception to the rule.” Is Islam the only religion guilty of this charge? Remember, Remember, the Eleventh of September. Where there was once the Two Towers, there will be only One.
A Master is Coming. Let the Right One In.
In 2007 P. T. Anderson released a film many people considered to a masterpiece. The theme of the film can be best summarized by its tagline, “When Ambition Meets Faith… There Will be Blood.” This weekend, his newest movie releases with a similar theme. This time he is focusing not on the dynamic between Faith and Ambition in opposition, but when Faith and Ambition work in accord. This dangerous combination has been used for good and bad. We briefly look at two supposed “Masters” and their approach to this thrust-upon or sought-after position.
Evil Rising From Where We Tried to Bury It
In 1945, as Allied forces were closing in on him, Adolf Hitler took his own life. His death seemed to symbolize the end of the Nazi Empire. In recent times, there appears to be a Rise of the Evil Hitler represented. Through observing the motivations or pressures of Anders Breivik and other various crimes of Hate, we can come to one conclusion: we must do what Anders could not, Love Our Enemies.
Ted Dedon
Seminarian in the City of New York. I come from the land of the ice and snow (and 10,000 lakes). It's Nice.
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Contributing Scholars
Nathan ElmoreProgram coordinator and consultant with Peace Catalyst International. Collegiate minister at Virginia Commonwealth University with the Virginia Baptists. Doctor of Ministry student in Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Member of the Elmore Five. www.nathanfelmore.com.
Zahid Shahab AhmedSince 2003, Zahid Shahab Ahmed has been working with national and international NGOs on peace-related projects, in particular in Asia. He has obtained MA in Peace Education from the United Nations mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica, and presently he is a PhD candidate at the University of New England in Australia.
