A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO DONALD TRUMP: when critique becomes a mirror
I must confess that this was not an easy article to write. I must admit that I find the character of Mr. Trump deeply disturbing—at times even highly offensive. No, I do not like him. Yet, likeability was never the central issue when Christ commanded His followers to love. The real issue, according to Christ, is not whether we personally like or dislike Mr. Trump. The deeper question is how we, as Christians, express our discontent – which we should – but without becoming mirrors of the very attitudes we condemn.
POWER AND PARADOX: When the crescent meets the cross
The red carpet is being rolled out in Washington this week for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia as he meets with President Donald Trump in Washington. Yet beneath the spectacle lies a troubling paradox: the leader of a nation where Christianity is suppressed, human rights are curtailed, and dissent is punished was welcomed by the world’s largest Christian democracy, a country that prides itself on religious freedom and political justice. The visit is not only political—it is spiritual, a mirror reflecting the contradictions of our age. The question is not whether MBS and Washington can strike deals. It is whether nations that claim moral leadership can still recognize the cost of their alliances.
TRUMP, PUTIN, AND THE ALASKAN SUMMIT: Peace-seekers or peacemakers?
President Donald Trump said he’ll be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday 15 August in Alaska to discuss a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. The Bible speaks with profound clarity and encouragement about the role of peacemakers, emphasizing both their divine calling and the blessing they carry, BUT it is important to discern true Peace in a world of deals. There is a Gospel difference between peace-seekers for personal gain, and peacemakers as a divine calling.
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 NEW PLAYBOOK: 10 political trends reshaping global leadership
Much has been said about the high-profile meeting on May 21 between the South African delegation, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the American delegation, headed by Donald Trump. The meeting once again underlined the fact that modern politics is now defined by a new set of rules, where the pursuit of power and control often overrides core values, bringing global systems to a dangerous low point. Here are ten new political trends shaping the shift in global leadership.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S MAR-A-GAZA: conceived in cultural ignorance
It appears that President Donald Trump views every situation through the real-estate lenses of Mar-a-Lago, his luxurious 126-room, 5,810-square-meter mansion in Florida. According to Mr. Trump, the solution to the Gaza conflict, which has now claimed nearly 50,000 lives, isn’t based on mercy, as Bishop Budde urged, but rather on transforming Gaza into a Middle Eastern Riviera—a “Mar-a-Gaza,” if you will. This notion not only oversimplifies the complexities of a region entrenched in conflict, but it also highlights the profound ignorance of Western leaders who approach the Middle East with NO understanding of its cultural worldviews. Here are 6 to consider.
THREE-FOLD MERCY: not calling Trump OUT, but calling him IN
President Donald Trump and his allies has introduced a formal resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to condemn and disregard the remarks of Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde when she delivered a sermon at an inaugural prayer service on Jan. 21 on the moral responsibility of leadership and a warning against the culture of contempt. However, she was not calling for his downfall; she was calling for his transformation. While it is true that Budde called him out, she also called him in.
BISHOP BUDDE: the commission, the castle and the coat hanger
The statements by Bishop Budde as she addressed the commander-in-chief of the biggest Christian nation in the world opened a barn door for love to shine in, but sadly we started cursing the darkness (and one another) instead of simply lighting a candle. If there is one commission we need to read over and over again, it is this one in John 13.
THE PRIEST, THE PRESIDENT AND THE PREDICAMENT: A Rubicon moment
When the Bishop of Washington, Bishop Mariann Budde, pleaded with President Donald Trump to show mercy to the marginalised, many Christians across the globe failed to discern between the message and the messenger. And if this was indeed a Biblical message, one that should at least have been considered, it could be a Rubicon moment for the leader of one of the greatest democracies on earth – even more providential than the moment he survived the attempt on his life.