Dr Paul Allen

What is — and isn’t — wrong with Islam? That is the question before us. Since late 2001, when Islam became front-page news, almost everything about it has been criticized: It’s been presented as hostile to progress, anti-democratic, theocratic, patriarchal, misogynistic, and draconian in its punishments. Is that what’s wrong with Islam? I’m here to argue no — none of those are the reasons why non-Muslims should be wary of Islam. Why? Because  they are all things that Muslims do to and amongst each other. They do not involve non-Muslims. What do I care if Muslims agree among themselves to chop off the hands of thieves, whip adulterers, or strictly segregate the sexes? Focusing on the many issues that we might find offensive but which do  not  affect non-Muslims creates confusion concerning those truly problematic aspects of Islam that  do  affect the so-called infidel. The Three Dark Pillars of Islam Once we take a step back and distinguish between the (many) doc...

In the complex realm of international conflicts, seeking a simplified narrative that paints all parties with the same brush is often tempting, leading to the dangerous notion of moral equivalency. We saw this on the weekend rallies by Palestine supporters marching and chanting death to Israel in Melbourne and Sydney. Politicians, police and the media chose moral equivalency.  This concept suggests that both sides in a conflict are equally responsible for the violence and suffering without delving into the nuances and historical context of the situation. One case where this myth often surfaces is in discussions about the Hamas attack on Israel. Understanding the Conflict The conflict between Israel and Hamas has deep historical and political roots that extend far beyond the headlines. It is vital to recognize the complex backdrop against which these incidents occur. The modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early 20th century, and its root causes include land dispute...

Rich Gregory  As the war in Israel ramped up over the past week, social media accounts across the Christian  spectrum exploded with quotations from Psalm 122:8, which commands, “Pray for the peace of  Jerusalem!” That statement raises some critical questions: should we be praying for the  peace of Jerusalem? Or even, Why do we pray for the peace of Jerusalem? I want to answer those questions by covering  1) What is happening in Israel,  2) What it  means, and  3) How we should think about it as followers of Jesus Christ. What is Happening? These following paragraphs represent a rather grotesque oversimplification, but understanding how to think requires a basic understanding of some broad brush strokes in the geopolitical context.  On May 14, 1948, the modern state of Israel was formed. The Jewish people – fresh off the horror of the holocaust – began returning to the land of their forefathers from a multi-millennial exile. While this return ...

Brett McCracken You can understand where a culture is at by paying attention to its hits. What in pop culture is resonating with masses of people right now? This question isn’t only interesting to ponder; for Christians, it’s instructive for mission. Pop culture sensations have explanatory power—revealing the loves, longings, pain points, and paradoxes of the populace we’re called to reach with the gospel. Surveying the pop culture landscape of summer 2023, four big sensations stand out: two movies ( Sound of Freedom  and  Barbie ) and two musical artists (Taylor Swift and Oliver Anthony). Each pair represents our cultural fragmentation in microcosm, its polarities indicative of widening cultural divisions. I’ll consider each of the four “hits” first on its own terms and then as duelling “pairs” that, I argue, map onto contemporary cultural tensions. Taylor Swift We knew Taylor Swift’s Eras tour would be big. But few expected it would be so jaw-droppingly big that  it wou...

I’ve sometimes asked my students what comes to mind when they hear the phrase “The God of the Old Testament.” Words like wrath, anger, violence, judgement, and even hate are often shared.  To be sure, some also associate God with mercy and salvation, but the imbalance toward the “negative” attributes is telling. This image of an angry and violent God features prominently in the intro to Christianity Today’s podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, where Mark Driscoll expresses his desire to “go Old Testament” on a few members of his church—an overt reference to violence.  Many would baulk at the idea of equating the Old Testament with violence. But what of the many texts that show God acting violently or commending violence within Israel? Isn’t the idea of God drowning 99.999% of his creatures in the Flood, or commanding the destruction of the Canaanites, inimical to the teachings of Jesus? The rush to resolve this perceived disconnect between the violence of God in the Old Tes...