March 23, 2013
by Martin Accad Two weeks ago, on 13 March 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the papacy. The media highlighted right away the newness that the 266th pope ushers in for the Catholic Church, even simply by virtue of who he is: the first Jesuit pope, the first pope […]
March 22, 2013
IMES welcomes guest contributor Matthew Lumpkin. This painting is about the deep unrest I feel about my government’s increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s or drones) to assassinate people we assert are a threat to us and our interests. We assert that we have intelligence linking them to the […]
March 15, 2013
Eschatology, literally the study of the last things, anywhere is a difficult topic. Nevertheless, the topic is of such magnitude and, whether we realize it or not, such real-world relevance that we must attempt to unravel the complexities [or dare I say absurdities] we too often find associated with ‘The End’. […]
March 5, 2013
IMES welcomes guest contributor Derek Rishmawy. Arabs are not the result of Abraham’s mistake: Derek Rishmawy explains how popular evangelical theology about Arabs contradicts the Gospel. 9/11 was a weird day for me. I was a sophomore in high school at the time [in America] and I distinctly remember thinking to […]
February 14, 2013
By Martin Accad How lightheartedly we break the ninth commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). This is a constant problem in my area of work: Christian-Muslim relations. I am not thinking of the way that Muslims portray Christianity, which can be the subject of […]
February 7, 2013
By Rupen Das Over the past many months, a number of Syrian Christians and their leaders have made comments, which have taken me by surprise. They say, “The West has betrayed the Christians of Syria and abandoned them. They support and arm the rebels who not only want to overthrow […]
January 31, 2013
By Jesse S. Wheeler As recently arrived Projects Manager for the Institute of Middle Studies (IMES) in Beirut, Lebanon, I consider it my privilege to assist in the fulfillment of IMES’ institutional mandate: To bring about positive transformation in the thinking and practice between Christians and Muslims in the Middle […]
January 10, 2013
By Martin Accad Many years ago, when I was 12, I took part in a children’s summer camp in Switzerland, attended mainly by Lebanese, but also by a dozen Syrian kids. I remember a game where each child was asked to declare who their hero was. There were, of course, […]