Dr Paul Allen

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...

Saul’s destruction of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 is a tough passage of Scripture. God commands Saul to destroy an entire city—women and children included—and rebukes Saul for showing mercy to some residents. Many have called this a “text of terror” that condones a massacre and depicts a genocidal God. While I have no desire to dodge this being a difficult passage, I do want to offer five observations that give a more nuanced understanding of what’s happening. 1. History of the Amalekites The Amalekites were not your friendly next-door neighbours. They’re depicted throughout the Bible as muggers preying on the vulnerable. In Exodus 17, they attack Israel—a defenceless nation of homeless, wandering slaves who’ve just left Egypt. In Numbers 14, they attack Israel in the wilderness again. In Deuteronomy 25:17–18, Israel is told, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked a...

At a Christian conference center in the mountains of northern Slovakia, staff members recently shifted from hosting local families for weeklong retreats to providing emergency shelter for refugees fleeing Ukraine for the foreseeable future. Pavel Sinko is an elder at a Baptist church in the Slovakian city of Lucenec and a coordinator for the conference center in Rackova Dolina through his work with the Christian organization International Needs. Lately, the needs have been great. Small Nation, Sudden Shelter A month after Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 3.6 million people have fled the war-torn country. Another 6.5 million are internally displaced inside Ukraine. Even as Ukrainians defy Russian attempts to capture their capital, Russian forces have inflicted relentless attacks. In the southeastern city of Mariupol, officials said a brutal bombardment killed at least 2,000 civilians and destroyed 80 percent of homes. Most refugees fleeing Ukraine have crossed into Poland, though many ...