September 16, 2016

Subjects of Objectification or Kindred Spirits? Images and Stories of Refugees

by Kathryn Kraft* Did you know that many Syrians who flee their country choose not to register with the UN as refugees? There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is that they don’t like the images that the word ‘refugee’ conjures. If they were to officially become […]
July 8, 2016

Mission in a World Gone Wild and Violent: Challenging the Monochromatic View of Islam from a Silent Majority Position

By Martin Accad [Note: This post was first published on Fuller Theological Seminary’s ‘Global Reflections Blog,’ in preparation for Fuller’s 2016 Missiology Lectures on 3-4 November. To learn more, click here] On May 16, 2016, the day that I am writing this blog, we are commemorating the secret deal between […]
March 17, 2016

Responding to Syria: Five Years On

(Photograph: John Bowen – Location: Bekaa Valley, Lebanon) by Suzie Lahoud “I wonder why all children are happy around the world enjoying Christmas decorations, different colors, new clothes, but the children in our country live, every year, with a hope that the next year will be better, yet they discover that […]
February 4, 2016

Islam Means Peace? A brief etymological reflection

By Martin Accad ‘Islam Means Peace!’ So affirmed the flyer of a conference organized in the US that remains etched in my memory. And so affirm many books and websites you will find by simply googling the phrase. You will also find an equally large number of websites and books […]
June 12, 2015

Touching the Heart of a Refugee

by Kathryn Kraft A few weeks ago, I was sharing with a friend at my church in London about my research with churches in Lebanon. As Rupen Das described in a post several months ago, many churches in Lebanon are providing assistance including food, blankets, clothing, or education, to refugees, most […]
May 21, 2015

Faith, Identity and Empire: Ethnic Minorities in Constant Flux

By Rose Khouri Western academia is filled with research on the effects of a colonialist, imperialistic Christianity and its intersection with modern identities. As my colleague Jesse Wheeler alluded to last week, from the native peoples of the modern day United States to the descendants of Africans taken from their […]
December 18, 2014

“If You Pour Yourself Out for the Hungry”: A Call to the Church amidst the Ongoing Suffering of Syrian Refugees

By Ashley Wollam* “But where will I get food for my children? What can we do?” It was one of the few moments I was glad that my Arabic is still far from fluent. One of my Lebanese brothers or sisters on the ministry team would have to find the […]
November 26, 2014

There Are Happy Stories, Too!

By Kathryn Kraft* I love a good story. Stories can make me laugh or cry, burn in anger or melt in love. I tell stories when I’m trying to make myself understood, and I understand other people so much better when they tell me stories. So I am always on […]