May 5, 2022

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Let Our National Borders Grow Strangely Dim

By Brent Hamoud It’s voting time again in Lebanon! The upcoming May 15 parliamentary election gives those who have been blasted, devalued, robbed, and neglected a chance to steer the direction of the state. This is a democratic ritual here and other countries; a testimony to the value of republican […]
April 21, 2022

A Movemental Turn in Missions: Thoughts on New Eras and New Wineskins

by Wes Watkins “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — Alan Watts Change is a constant in our world. Especially in the last few years, however, it feels that the pace of change is increasing dramatically. […]
April 14, 2022

Easter Reflections From the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary

The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary wishes you a blessed Easter. May the following reflections by members of our community enrich you this season.   Kees van der Knijff, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the […]
April 7, 2022

Practicing Theology in Ramadan: How Actions Shape Our Talk About God  

By Caleb Hutcherson Another Sunday afternoon and we’re walking home from church, my kids and I, through densely packed streets of Hamra, Beirut. My eldest and I are discussing how Ramadan is approaching and how for our family it means we’ll refrain from eating in public in this neighborhood during […]
March 24, 2022

Political Theology in an Antireligious World

By Martin Accad Many today are angry at religion, or at least disappointed with it. Rightly so perhaps, since so much violence is carried out in God’s name. In the MENA part of the world, anger and disappointment were manifest in the so-called “Arab Spring” protests that began near the […]
March 17, 2022

Drawing Lines in Our Wartime Prayers

By Kees van der Knijff We were sitting around the table with our small kids. As we are used to, at the end of dinner we were about to pray together. The kids had been exposed to rumors of war on this first day of the conflict in Ukraine. It […]
February 3, 2022

Was Our Ministry Successful Last Year?

By Elie Haddad Another year has gone by. It has become a practice for many churches and ministries to publish an end-of-year report highlighting the activities and accomplishments of the previous year. This is mostly a sincere attempt to quantify impact and measure success. We even do this at ABTS. […]
January 20, 2022

Divinating Off Course

By Bassem Melki You might have read this title and wondered if there is really something called “divinating”. Keep reading! Every New Year’s Eve it is common for Lebanese TV stations to feature programs involving certain individuals with the “gift” of foreseeing the future. They excite viewers with predictions about […]