Friends, the last few days have been one of heartache with attending one of Kylie’s classmates’ funeral and hearing of many who are suffering and dying. Some from COVID, some from other things. What do you say to your daughter who asks, “Why him? He was such a great guy, so nice, so joyful.” When…
The Oppressed of Turkey Aren’t Turks: Christians, Kurds, and Gülenists
When thinking about the relatively short history of the Republic of Turkey since its inception in 1923, there are many groups who have been persecuted and oppressed by the state. Recently, such oppressed groups also include the influx of over three million Syrian refugees, with whom many Turks are not happy to live in close…
Allah’ın Rızası, Living for God’s Glory, and the Nature of God’s/Allah’s Presence with Believers
Recently, I visited with some of my Muslim friends who speak Turkish. We discussed several things, including, the nature of God’s presence with His people by His Spirit and living for the glory of God. My friends sought to argue that Allah is ‘present’ with Muslims in a similar way to the way Christians think…
Going on the Offense against Islam: The Biblical Place of Polemics in Muslim Ministry
The subject of ‘polemics’ is extremely controversial for many Christians who share the Gospel with Muslims. I was stirred to write this article after sharing Daniel Pipes recent article on Christian ministry to Muslims with a coworker who highlighted the following quote from Pipes which says, “Although some Christian spokesmen (Zakariya Botros, Jay Smith &…
A Brief Overview of Critical Race Theory and a Biblical Response
As of late, there has been much talk within the Evangelical Christian community here in the US regarding Critical Race Theory (CRT) and its impact not only on our society but also our churches. School board meetings across the country are filled with the buzzacronym ‘CRT’ and there have even been outbursts of anger, causing…
UNDERSTANDING ‘FASTING’ AND ‘PURIFICATION’ IN RAMADAN AND EASTER
Easter and Ramadan are very close in proximity in 2021, making a comparison of the two holidays worthwhile. This short article will first provide descriptions of Ramadan and Easter, then it will compare and contrast the Christian holiday of Easter with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. It will particularly compare and contrast the understanding of…
The Story of Easter: Fiction or Nonfiction?
THE ‘BIG’ STORY OF EASTER We all love stories, particularly those stories that have a happy ending. There are fiction and nonfiction stories. Fiction stories may reflect many ‘true’ things but ultimately the storyline originated in the mind of an author and the story did not actually happen in history. Nonfiction stories, however, are…
Going Deeper in Interfaith Dialogue Between Christians and Muslims
Recently, I was thinking about the similar words that both Christians and Muslims use like forgiveness, God, Abraham, and sometimes ‘salvation’. Christians and Muslims must establish bridges of continuity between each other for relational purposes but we must never neglect to go deeper than the surface in our conversations. Often, we relate on the top…
A NEW MUSLIM ‘PEOPLE GROUP’? THE ‘ONLINE’ GEN Z MUSLIM
Today, I read an article about young, Gen Z Muslims on Voice of America, a Turkish-American news outlet. Gen Z compromise ages 6-24 and those born between approximately 1997-2015. Here are some excerpts from the article that stood out to me: GEN Z MUSLIMS “Muslims constitute 1% of the U.S. population, and at least 42%…
My daughter tells me that the only book I ever preach out of is the book of Isaiah! I absolutely love this book and the Lord has always intrigued me with its promises, history, and revelation of His mission to humanity. When I read the Holy Scriptures, I use Pilot Precise V5 0.5 mm multi-colored…
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