GAZA – A PANDEMIC OF THE MIND
There is a new pandemic sweeping the globe. I suffer from it, you, as reader, suffer from it and every other human being suffer from it. This time, unlike the 2019 COVID pandemic that affected the lungs and restricted human movement, it affects the mind and restricts human reasoning. It’s called CONFIRMATION BIAS, perhaps better described as MYSIDE BIAS.
ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF: The 3 laws of a just war
Many Christians, with firm convictions that Israel is acting purely out of self-defence in Gaza, are good people acting in good faith. However, most of our thinking is often, for various reasons, warped by motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, and this leads us to replace complexity with simplicity. This is just human nature. The answer is not that simple though.
THE GAZA CONFLICT AND BUBBLE-BASED-BELIEVERS
We now live in a season of bubble-based-believers. The conflict in Gaza has subtly turned Bible-based believers into bubble-based believers. It has alienated followers of Christ and firmly placed us into “bubbles” of allegiances. If you are in the crowds today don’t disregard the words of your Saviour. It still applies today to Hamas as much as it did to Nero and the Roman persecutors. Times might have changed but Christ didn’t, and neither did His teachings.
HIS LAW IS LOVE AND HIS GOSPEL IS PEACE: A Palestinian Israeli Christian reflects on Christmas, justice, and war in Gaza.
We are now celebrating Christmas. How can we embody the Prince of Peace for both Palestinians and Israelis? This essay was written by Dr. Yohanna Katanacho, a Palestinian Israeli Christian. The essay brings Christmas in dialogue with the current painful realities in Israel/Palestine. Remember to pray for us this Christmas!
THE “GOSPEL” ACCORDING TO ISRAEL: A message conceived in hell.
Extremely disturbing from a Christian perspective is the terminology used by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) for their latest AI weapons system used in the conflict in Gaza. It is named “Habsora” (“The Gospel”), a system that is aimed to quickly and automatically identify and eliminate targets, much faster than older methods.
THEM VERSUS US: Vices that the Gaza conflict exposed
A Christian vice that is currently under a magnifying lens for all to see is how believers look at wars through dualistic lenses. For many believers, the killing of a baby in Israel is more detestable than the dismembered body of a baby in Gaza. We seem to obtain the unbiblical ability to view the value of life based on our cultural preferences and preconceived biases. We divide people, nations, religions, and even the value of souls into “them” and “us”. Dualism is the sin of our season.
CLAY VERSUS WAX: what the Gaza conflict exposed
Our response to the conflict in Gaza has more to do with the content of our hearts than the convictions of our faith. Yes, how we respond to the conflict in Gaza reveals more about us than the conflict itself. This is a sobering thought, especially once we start examining our own hearts.
THE GUILTY versus THE INNOCENT: Vices that the Gaza conflict exposed.
Over the past few days, we have been contemplating vices that the conflict in Gaza has exposed within the Christian community. To make sense of the senseless events in Gaza, there has to be a guilty party. Today we look at how we view the guilty versus our response to the innocent
A THEOPOLITICAL KINGDOM versus A GEOPOLITICAL NATION: what the Gaza conflict exposed
Observing Gaza, it seems like Christians have taken on the role of aggressor while Muslims talk peace. Over the next week, I would love to explore five vices that the conflict has exposed and five reasons why Christians in the West have lost their influence in one of the most opportune seasons in history. Today we look at the vice of embracing a Geopolitical allegiance instead of pursuing a Theopolitical Kingdom
COLLATERAL DAMAGE, COLLECTIVE REDEMPTION – Christmas hope for Gaza
For those who suffered in Israel in the early hours of October 7, there is hope. For those who have suffered in Palestine since then, there is hope. How God will use this present darkness to shine forth the light of His redemption we don’t know. But what we do know is that God favours no one and His hands are never too far away for anyone who reaches out.