SOCIAL ISSUES

Close-up of a newspaper that says antisemitism.

Denominational Delusion

Toying with the Bible is like a game of Jenga: Rejecting one scriptural doctrine leads to the collapse of a truly biblical worldview…

Close-up of a newspaper that says antisemitism.

The Early Warning System

British physician John Scott Haldane noticed a problem as he observed miners working underground: By the time they…

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Let’s Get Back to Basics!

The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform proposal caused political gridlock in Israel earlier this year…

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Who Rules the Roost?

The Israeli government’s proposal to reform its judiciary drew wide-ranging international criticism earlier this year. In an article titled “Israel unveils…

Jewish World Update May/Jun 2023

The concepts of “Palestinians” and “Palestine” are political tools used to subvert, demonize, and destroy the Jews’…

Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2023

It is almost impossible to grasp the danger of Israel’s present moment. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) agreement with…

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PC(USA): At Odds With God’s Word

My responsibilities at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) have changed over the years, but one of the tasks I enjoy most is…

Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2022

Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream company that started in an old gas station in 1978 and grew into a behemoth…

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Something is Wrong

Pro-choice activists are fuming over the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared abortion is not a constitutional right, overturning its…

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Pointing Our Kids to Truth

The COVID-19 pandemic did more than shed light on the science of infectious diseases in the modern era…

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Managing Misinformation

The blaze has subsided since Whoopi Goldberg insisted the Holocaust “isn’t about race,” but the embers are still burning…

Inside View Jan/Feb 2022

In the book of Ruth, we see the practice of gleaning in action. Boaz first sees Ruth when she goes to his field to glean grain for herself and her mother-in-law…

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We Lost a Mensch

If you’ve ever been called a mensch, consider it a great compliment. The Yiddish word is used to describe someone of noble character…

Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2022

The recent U.S. congressional drama about funding for Iron Dome was merely a sideshow to a proposed amendment by…

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Like William Henry Hechler

Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, considered William Henry Hechler the first Christian Zionist…

Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2021

Israel has announced that Amazon and Google won the tender to provide cloud services to the government as Israel…

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God Doesn’t ‘Cancel’ Us

A missionary and church planter found himself in a difficult position when the members of the so-called cancel culture endeavored to silence him…

Jewish World Update Jul/Aug 2021

Jewish people the world over are still grieving over the loss of more than 45 people who were crushed to death in a horrific…

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The New Middle East

Last December I stumbled across an article that nearly knocked me off my chair. The headline read, “Israel and the UAE working together…

Map of the Middle East.

Nuclear Iran Looms Large

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz recently estimated Iran is a year or two away from building a nuclear bomb…

From Death to Life

Population 4.18 million. Situated like a jewel by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, it beckons to tourists from around the world to enjoy its nonstop nightlife…

Jewish World Update May/Jun 2021

A new group of “Democrats” has emerged in America that intends to wipe Christian values from the nation’s landscape…

Map of the Middle East.

The Win-Win Infuriating Iran

Morocco recently established full diplomatic relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, an effort by the United States…

The Christian Thing to Do

The toxic turn in the nature of the American political system, bitterly pitting factions and friends against one another, has…

Jewish World Update Mar/Apr 2021

Former President Barack Obama’s 768-page memoir, A Promised Land, published in November 2020, continues to garner…

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Goodbye, Year of the Virus

People the world over are probably relieved to say, “Happy New Year!” There is sheer jubilee in knowing the books on 2020 are…

The Absurdity of Idolatry

Sam Coonrod made news last summer when he refused to kneel. The then-27-year-old relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants was the only baseball player…

Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2021

Israel’s failing El Al Airlines, suffering under $2 billion in debt, has been purchased by 27-year-old, New York-born Eli Rozenberg…

Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2020

Jewish journalist Bari Weiss’s recent resignation from The New York Times has fueled a long-running controversy…

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Abuse of Power

The moment I saw Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on the neck of George Floyd as Floyd lay facedown, cuffed, and breathless, I knew…

No Satisfaction Eccl. 4-6

In the 1960s, the English rock group The Rolling Stones shot to stardom with a song titled “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” This thought easily could…

Why??? Eccl. 7-9

In 1969 singer Peggy Lee had a hit song titled “Is That All There Is?” The woman in the song reflects back over her life, which is filled with disappointments…

Inside View Jul/Aug 2020

Our Hesed volunteers left for Israel this year with great hope and anticipation until the coronavirus pandemic caught up with them. Shortly after arriving in Israel…

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What Is Normal?

I think you’ll agree with me that nothing seems normal anymore. COVID-19 has emptied highways, closed schools, turned homes into offices…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2020

April was a terrible month in Nigeria as Muslim Fulani herdsmen again attacked and murdered Christians, including children…

Enter the Greeks

On December 17, 2019, 16 leaders of The United Methodist Church signed the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation

Plato Versus the Bible

At first glance, Plato’s theory of forms seems to have positive traits. It attempts to satisfy the seeking heart’s cry, “There has to be more to life than this!”…

Until He Comes

Many people are bewildered about what is happening in the world today. Why is abortion so prevalent? Why is there so much murder and mayhem?..

Jewish World Update Jul/Aug 2020

The Danish Contemporary Bible 2020, the first Danish translation in more than 20 years, has removed the word Israel

Inside View May/Jun 2020

A good friend of mine who is Jewish once told me Jewish history in Christian countries follows a pattern. Initially, Jewish people are welcomed…

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Realistic But Rejected

During the 2016 election cycle, presidential candidate Donald Trump often described an Israeli-Palestinian peace as one of history’s toughest deals…

Open Doors for FOI

Larry is a lover of Israel and the Jewish people. He is also a longtime friend. I met him and his wife, Lori, many years ago when we moved to Chicago…

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Unifying Israel

Israel Railways recently christened the King David Line, a new fast rail connecting the country’s two metropolitan cities: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2020

CHINA—As more government officials in China are empowered to close churches and a “social credit” system threatens to…

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Prioritize Your Heavenly Citizenship

It’s presidential-election year in America; and before you know it, you’ll be casting your ballot for the next commander-in-chief…

Map of the Middle East.

EU’s Bias Shines Brightly

The appointment of Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs…

How to Relieve Stress in 3 Steps

Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the last four years, you probably know 2020 is an important presidential election year…

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Meaningless?

A favorite site on any Holy Land tour is Caesarea Maritima. The views alone from this ancient port city are breathtaking. Situated on the Mediterranean Sea…

A Jewish View of Christmas

“Where were you on Christmas?” The unexpected question from U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to Elena Kagan…

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The Ultra-Orthodox Dilemma

Teens in the Western World usually have the luxury of choosing to attend a college or university, join the workforce, or enter military service after graduating from high school…

Christian Persecution Sep/Oct 2019

Widespread evidence shows that “today, Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion,” according to an interim report…

Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2019

The vast majority of media coverage of anything involving Israel includes false accusations, distortion or omission of facts, or some combination thereof…

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Is Israel’s ‘Left’ Dead?

When Benjamin Netanyahu squeaked out his fifth victory in April, making him the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, eclipsing even legendary leader David Ben-Gurion…

Pay It Forward

Have you ever heard of International Pay It Forward Day? Every April 28, in an attempt to transform the world for the better, a global movement encourages people to…

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Watching the Rapid Decline

You don’t have to be a political science expert to know the American political landscape is deeply divided. It wasn’t that long ago when Democrats and Republicans could rally around an issue…

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2019

EGYPT—A Christian mother who was kidnapped and tortured in Egypt for her faith now fears for her daughter and her pastor-husband…

Who is a Jew?

For centuries, Jewish people have been asking themselves, “Who is a Jew?” Today a new wrinkle has developed, and it involves Christians…

A Look at Life in Israel

Many of our readers have asked us what life is like in Israel, especially for Jewish believers in Jesus. So we asked Meno Kalisher to answer a few questions for us…

The Great Divide

Why should Israelis and American Jews see eye to eye? Americans and Israelis are not alike. They have different concerns, interests, lifestyles, and even a different calendar…

Israel’s Broken Political System

Many Americans scratch their heads trying to figure out Israel’s political system. Here’s an overview of it from someone who truly understands it…

Helping Israel’s Lone Soldiers

What do you do when you have no place to go for Shabbat? That’s when the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin becomes a lifesaver—in more ways than one…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2019

EGYPT—The Egyptian government has rejected a proposed bill to remove the religious designation required on ID cards, reflecting the enormity of the discrimination…

The Hate That Won’t Die

A friend of mine told me a story recently that I think you’ll appreciate. A few years ago, her daughter Andi attended an event at Disney World that called for audience participation…

Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2018

“Holocaust memory and Jews are under attack [in Europe],” said Elisha Wiesel, commenting on the recent desecration of the childhood home of his late father, renowned…

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Freedom of Speech?

Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law and frequent guest lecturer on college campuses, found himself the object of protest at City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law earlier this year. Professor Blackman was…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor May/Jun 2018

As I sat in church a few weeks ago, a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time turned around to tell me how cute my grandchildren are. My first thought was, How would you know what my grandchildren look like? They live 600 miles away. And then it dawned on me: Facebook!

The New Titans

It rarely snows in Washington, DC. So when the big North American blizzard known as Snowmageddon dumped more than two feet of snow in the U.S. capital in February 2010, shutting down the federal government for an unprecedented four days…

Using the New World of Connectivity

Pastor David Lemming logs onto social media almost every day. He stays in touch with his people by encouraging them with a Bible verse, linking last week’s sermon so they can watch it online, and sometimes giving them a glimpse into the sermon he’s preparing for the following Sunday….

The Cyber War Against Israel

Facebook. YouTube. Instagram. Twitter. For most of us, these sites serve as entertaining outlets where we post pictures, share opinions, and watch videos of cats (so I’m told) or of a deer eating a snowman. (That one was viewed several hundred thousand times.) But for Israel, social-media platforms have become…

Echo Chambers of Hate

Every 83 seconds, someone uploads an anti-Semitic post to social media. In 2016 alone, more than 382,000 anti-Semitic posts appeared on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram1—many of which were never removed—denying the Holocaust; portraying the Jewish people as genetically inferior…

Israel in the News May/Jun 2018

A wave of anti-Semitism has been washing over Poland after the country banned all speech that suggests Polish complicity in the Holocaust, and the nation’s Jewish community is worried…

Upside Down

Surveying the current geopolitical landscape can give me a headache. The world is embroiled in a spiritual battle. Right is made to look wrong; wrong is made to look right; security threats loom large; and if we don’t keep our eyes on the Lord…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Sep/Oct 2017

There has always been a generation gap. Growing up, I never felt my parents understood me, my taste in music (Dad said if it wasn’t classical, it wasn’t “real” music), or my desire to…

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Getting Back to Basics

I was sitting in the front row at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC, when Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer made a statement that drew applause from the Christian leaders in the room: “The stronger the Christian identity…

Meet the Millennials

They’ve had more unflattering epithets thrown at them than any previous generation. Who are these young people, and what makes them tick?