Posts in Conflict
What Is Christian about (Swedish) Christian Democrats?

(OPINION) Given the insistence of this party that it is based on Christian values, it is worth exploring what those values are, is there a coherent set of ideas that this party stands for, and how these values and ideas relate to something we could meaningfully call Christianity.

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Templeton Charity Foundation Expands Work On Forgiveness And Mental Health

While the concept of what forgiveness entails precisely seems to vary by region and people group, a part of the foundation’s research suggests that it can be broadly categorized as “a process in which positive other-oriented affective responses (e.g., compassion or love) supplant the negative affective responses that characterize unforgiveness (e.g., vengeful or avoidant motives, anger and fear) and are associated with stress.”

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The Disturbing Truth: Illinois Bishops Still Hiding Child-Molesting Clergy

(OPINION) Haven’t bishops — in Illinois and across the U.S. — learned that despite the best efforts of their high-priced lawyers and public relations professionals, victims are becoming increasingly empowered, civil attorneys are becoming more aggressive and creative, law enforcement is becoming more determined, and those who commit and conceal assaults on children are becoming “outed” more and more?

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Fighting for Peace: Russians Use Faith to Protest Invasion of Ukraine Despite Risks

Eduard Charov criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on social media, asking, “Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?” The FSB alerted the Prosecutor's Office. A Sverdlovsk Region court fined him for “discrediting” the Armed Forces and “inciting hatred” towards state authorities.

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Judge Rules Observant Sikhs Can Wear Beards, Turbans And Serve In The US Marines

The issue is one that not only impacts Sikhs but Jews, Muslims and some members of neo-Nordic faiths that prescribe facial hair for men. The U.S. Army in 2017 and the Air Force in 2020 enacted new uniform policies respectively to allow beards, hijabs, turbans and other articles of faith to be worn while in military uniform. The U.S. Navy and Marines still only provide limited religious accommodations for sailors or marines who would like to practice their faith.

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Hulu Series Shows The Gravity Of Hillsong’s High And Low Notes

(REVIEW) “The Secrets of Hillsong” uncovers Hillsong culture, abuse and Carl Lentz. The four-part documentary dropped on May 19th. Since Carl Lentz’s fall from grace due to his affair with Ranin Karim, many celebrity gossip and media voices have chimed in to tell Lentz’s story. For the first time since the scandals, both Carl and Laura Lentz tell their own stories in the documentary. 

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South Africa And The Legacy Of Jackrollers

The gangsterism style of rape dwindled when South Africa gained its freedom on April 27, 1994. Yet, rape is coming to a rise in a different dimension. Many homes are affected by fathers and brothers who are victimizing and raping their own wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. What is now appalling is the reported recurring incidents of rapes that women and children suffer at the hands of some of the clergy. 

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Should Israel Outlaw The Antiquities Trade?

JERUSALEM — Israel’s central — and arguably shameful — role in the global antiquities business was the subject of a Zoom lecture on May 2 sponsored by the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and the Palestine Exploration Fund headquartered in London.

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Kashmiri Muslims Slam Social Media Influencers For Violating Faith And Sentiments

Canon India uploaded a picture from Kashmir on its social media handles last year. As soon as it reached the audience in Muslim-dominant region, a wave of anger and outrage swept across people after they saw a couple posing for a memorable picture in the backdrop of Hazratbal shrine, which is believed to be the most revered religious place in Kashmir.

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LGBTQ+ Dreams By Some In Today’s American Catholic Church

(OPINION) Referring to the “wedding banquet at Cana,” when Jesus turned water into wine, the Jesuit theologian called for a changed church in which “people of all races, genders and sexualities rejoice at the presence of love” and a world in which “spiritual wounds will be healed, where faith-based violence will be no more, where fear and intolerance are relics of history.”

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Pakistan Encroaches On International Ahmadi Web Site Content

(ANALYSIS) Since 2008, the PTA has repeatedly banned or taken steps to ban online Ahmadi content inside Pakistan. However, the PTA has now extended its efforts to block or remove content that is hosted outside of Pakistan in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Singapore and Switzerland.

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Latter-day Saints Whistleblower Gives First National TV Interview

A former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave an interview on national TV program “60 Minutes” about his experience working at the Salt Lake City-based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. and what drove him to file a whistleblower complaint with the IRS and other government entities.

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The Broken: ‘Dalit’ Sikhs Fight Back Against Land Discrimination In Punjab

The caste system's historical legacy has prohibited dalits from owning land nationwide, and this pattern remains prominent in India's Sikh-majority state of Punjab, which has a population of about 30 million.

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Pope Francis’ Secret Peace Mission in the European Stronghold of Illiberalism

(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis’ recent apostolic journey to Hungary (my home) was at once exciting and disconcerting. A papal visit is always exciting, and like other Christians in Hungary (Catholic and not), I was encouraged by the Holy Father’s presence among us. Conversely it was hard not to be worried about the apparent imprimatur that might be given to the “political Christianity” championed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government.

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The Global South Starts Cutting Ties With Canterbury (Part 2)

(OPINION) During the recent Global Anglican Future Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, Raffel was one of several bishops — 315 attended, from 52 nations — who stressed that traditionalists now need to look forward. It's time to focus on life in their rapidly growing churches while dedicating less time and energy to clashes with declining churches in England, America, Canada and elsewhere.

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Changing The World Through Love — A Better Alternative To Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

(OPINION) Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are good things. But DEI is like trying to change the world through law. There’s a better way: love. I think love is UEE: unity, equality and exclusions.

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Anglicans Begin The Long Anticipated Divorce Over Same Sex Unions, Ordination of Gays

“We are now going to have two Communions of Anglicans going forward, the Global South Anglicans who are keeping to the teachings of the scripture and the Global North Anglicans who are preaching and practicing a watered-down gospel,” said the Rev. Tom Otieno, the vicar of Saint Barnabas Anglican Church of Kenya in Nairobi.

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Schism Or Not, What’s Next For The Huge, Disrupted Global Anglican Communion?

(OPINION) If the Anglican Communion did not suffer schism on April 21, it’s the next best thing. A declaration issued that day at the conclusion of an international church assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, means the media and other religion-watchers should gird loins for years of maneuvers, legalities, confusion and acrimony.

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Global South Anglicans Start Cutting Ties With Canterbury (Part 1)

(OPINION) The archbishop of Canterbury is attempting a classic Anglican maneuver in which the words of core doctrines remain unchanged, but bishops have the option to offer local pastoral policies that change what doctrines mean in real life, according to Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

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Kenyans in shock, demand regulation of churches as 98 dead in cult inspired fasting

Now the woman, known as Betty, is among the 98 people who fasted to death in the doomsday cult headed by Pastor Paul Mackenzie which has left Kenyans — and the world — shocked. With the Kenya Red Cross reporting more than 100 people still missing, the toll could reach 200 and beyond. From President William Ruto to church leaders and the public, Kenyans are now calling on the government to tighten laws governing the opening and operation of churches.

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