October 14, 2021
By Wissam Al Saliby Imagine that a Christian or a church in the U.S. or in Europe is eager to partner with Syrians in Syria for church ministry and to serve the poor. They get in touch with a small group of faithful believers who are actively ministering in their […]
September 2, 2021
by Mike Kuhn No need to review recent events in Afghanistan. We all know. The result is agonizing for much of the world, elating, perhaps, for some. No claim to a comprehensive treatment here…there’s far too much to consider—the massive toll in human lives from 20 years of military occupation, […]
August 19, 2021
By Elie Haddad The stated purpose of our blog is to “provide theological reflections by ABTS voices about pressing matters of faith and witness in the Middle East and beyond.” There is no shortage of high-quality theological reflections on pressing matters of faith and witness around the globe. We read […]
July 1, 2021
By Emad Botros During a recent visit to Egypt, I found that the debate over the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was intense. Ethiopia’s hydroelectric power plant on the historic Nile River threatens the water availability for populations downstream in Sudan and Egypt. As I listened to […]
June 24, 2021
by Mike Kuhn This is a revised version of a post that was published by IMES in 2016 A commodity—something that is bought and sold. Mission—the loving and joyful response of Christ’s followers to disciple the nations, holding forth Jesus’ life and teaching among all the peoples of the world. […]
June 10, 2021
by Martin Accad and Caleb Hutcherson In an interview with Time magazine in 1963, Karl Barth recalled advising young theologians 40 years previous “to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” It seems he often used variations of this figure of […]
May 27, 2021
By Martin Accad “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2) As Juliet agonizes over her love for Romeo, forbidden to her merely because he bears the Montague name, the family which is […]
May 6, 2021
By Abed El Kareem Zien El Dien Muslims around the world are in the final week of Ramadan. Many Christians I know, and Evangelicals particularly, are not positively inclined toward Muslims. Islam and Muslims are widely demonized and essentialized in their eyes. But why and how can we care about […]