SYRIA’S CRY, HEAVEN’S RESPONSE: In a world that turns away, we choose to draw near.
We have been inundated with heart-wrenching updates from Syria, shared by local pastors and dear friends from across the region. The news is devastating, and our hearts ache, consumed by sorrow as we cry out to the Lord for the people of Suweyda in southern Syria. The crisis has escalated into chaos, and civilians are being subjected to horrific acts of systematic extermination. And heartbreakingly, the Church has not been spared from the violence.
CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTIAN ATHEIST: when faith abandons alignment:
I write this essay not as a theologian, not as a preacher—but as someone whose faith has been desecrated by self-proclaimed prophets. This is my confession. I’m a Christian Atheist when faith gets hijacked to endorse injustice, rudeness and hatred. And if this resonates with you, let it echo louder than my own voice. Share it.
REFRAMING PERSECUTION: Who Owns the Narrative?
Over more than four decades of walking alongside the persecuted Church, I’ve come to a sobering realization: for many Christians in the West, the story of persecution often centre’s more on the persecutor than the persecuted. We amplify the pain that fits our worldview and mute the cries that disturb our conscience. TAYBEH is a perfect example
TRUTH INVERSION: in coversation
After publishing an article on the inversion of truth—and reflecting on how a prominent South African missionary raised questions on social media about narratives he considered fake news—I received a gracious response filled with pointed questions and comments. These remarks echoed sentiments I’ve often encountered among pro-Israel supporters: the tendency to conflate advocacy for the people of Gaza with being pro-Hamas or even anti-Semitic. The questions raised are legitimate, and I believe they deserve a thoughtful and measured response.
TOUR DE FRANCE – Tour de life
On Saturday, 5 July 2025, 176 riders, representing 22 teams, lined up for the start of the 112th edition of the Tour de France. At a time when daily news is saturated with wars, nuclear threats, violence, anger and hatred, the TOUR DE FRANCE sporting event offers some ‘life lessons’ that can be extended to the spiritual ‘race set before us’ (Hebrews 12:1). Here are five lessons for the race of life and the journey of faith
WEAPONIZING DOUBT: the toxic practice of truth inversion
When we talk about “fake news,” we usually refer to false or made-up news presented as truth. But an even more corrosive tactic is the opposite: presenting truth as “fake news.” That reversal doesn’t just deceive—it undermines the very idea that some things are knowable, trustworthy, or truthful. Once truth itself is treated as suspect, every story, report or expert analysis becomes fair game for dismissal. It places every heartache, hunger, and killing in Gaza under suspicion. It corrodes compassion and is simply evil.
WITNESSES FROM THE WARZONES: you are invited
Few experiences in life carry the transformative power of hearing firsthand accounts from the very heart of conflict. When someone who’s walked through shattered streets, felt the tremors of distant explosions, and met families rebuilding from the wreckage speaks, their stories cut through every layer of detachment. They pull us out of our comfort zones and plunge us into a reality that demands more than passive sympathy—it calls us to empathy, to prayer, and to action. YOU ARE HEREBY INVITED TO SUCH AN EVENT
FEAR OR FORGIVENESS: The Church in Syria Responds
Christians in Syria were in mourning after a suicide bombing struck a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during a June 22 Divine Liturgy. At least 20 were killed and more than 60 injured after an attacker, reported to be armed and wearing an explosive vest, entered Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox church in the city’s Dweila neighbourhood. But for believers in Syria, and all of the Middle East, persecution is neither a new theology nor an unfamiliar territory. There has always been a deep-rooted understanding that to follow Christ is to share in His suffering. Unlike the responses often seen in the West, this has never diminished their witness—it has only refined it.
DONALD TRUMP: The Pablo Picasso of communication
Now and then, in my research, I stumble across interviews that leave me genuinely perplexed — unsure whether I’m failing to grasp the message, or whether the message itself is failing to be grasped. I listen with a mix of confusion and curiosity, asking whether the fault lies in understanding or in the delivery. These interviews mostly involve Mr. Donald Trump. And yet, Mr. Trump’s art of communication as a system is carefully crafted, viciously effective, and designed to collapse the very idea of shared reality.
THE IRAN-ISRAEL NARRATIVE: is it true, truth, or a double truth?
How we view the war in Iran can contain information that is true, factual, and verifiable, but even though it might be true, it might be void of truth. When the same truth is applied differently in different situations, it creates a double standard – or a double truth. Here are eight geopolitical double truths that highlight the double standards of Western media in the Iran-Israel conflict.