March 19, 2020

Love in the Time of Pandemic: A Metaphor of Global Solidarity

By Martin Accad Lebanon this academic year (2019-2020) has so far reaped three “pandemics:” the collapse of our political system, the collapse of our economy, and the collapse of our public health. Who could have predicted that we would use these words in a single sentence? As someone who grew […]
March 12, 2020

Church as a Pioneering Community

by Elie Haddad Many of us continue to write about the recent uprising in Lebanon exploring how the people of God can respond to a crisis such as this. We continue to wrestle with the big question: What is the role of the Church in society? Our June consultation will […]
February 27, 2020

Aristotle, Accad and Golden Means to Christian-Muslim Interaction

By Brent Hamoud People are intuitively innovative, but religion is a realm where innovation can easily lag. Faith convictions have a history of taking lines in the sand and turning them into crevasses in concrete, especially regarding Christian-Muslim relations. Over the years many ideas have been inspired but not enough […]
February 20, 2020

Seeking the Peace of the City: A Prayer that Changes Us

by Emad Botros I have prepared many lectures for theology students during my time on faculty at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, but I was recently reminded that the most meaningful lectures sometimes happen through conversations outside of the classroom. Last week I had an interesting chat with a student. […]
February 13, 2020

“History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but it Rhymes” – how Christians can make history right here and right now.

by Robert Hamd We are living through historic times. If you are reading this, whether you live in Beirut, Bangkok, or Baltimore, you are well aware we are all witnessing massive shifts in culture, economy, environment, and political conditions. For us Lebanese, not a day passes that doesn’t reminds us […]
February 6, 2020

Facing Coronavirus, Colonialism, and Corrupt Theology Like Gandalf the White

by Nabil Habiby Gandalf the Grey, a wizard in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings epic, stands before the Balrog, a rather malicious creature of the caves, and shouts with a great voice: “You shall not pass!” Gandalf’s friends escape, but he is downed in a great pit with the […]
January 9, 2020

Can a Church Without a Building be a Better Church?

by Rabih Hasbany Since the beginning of nationwide protests on October 17, 2019, the Lebanese have been hearing phrases like “the civil state is the solution”, and “our main demand is to have a secular state”. In the squares where the demonstrations are taking place, one hears chants like: “We […]
January 7, 2020

Lebanon Brief – January 2020

The Ambivalent Attitude of the Lebanese Towards The Return of Syrian Refugees by Chaden Hani News The topic of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been exhausted, and the issue of their return to Syria has been discussed at length behind closed doors and within international circles. In the past few […]