The significant changes sweeping through the Middle East will have acute implications for Israel. At this point, it is impossible to deduce those implications in their entirety but there are a few hints.
In 1798 a British clergyman named Thomas Malthus argued that human population growth would exceed the world?s ability to feed this growth in population. Robert McNamara in 1968, as president of the World Bank, spoke of ?the mushrooming cloud of population explosion.?
The wave of populist uprisings throughout North Arica and into the Middle Eastern nations necessitates that we step back and do a reality check. What is going on? Is there a difference between what occurred in Egypt or Tunisia, for example, and what is occurring in Libya? What are the available options for these nations currently undergoing turmoil? Let?s examine these questions in this Perspective.
First, columnist Tom Friedman helps us understand that there are two different types of states in the Middle East: ?Real countries,? with long histories in their territory and strong national identities
One of the key themes of Issues in Perspective is the articulation and defense of the Christian worldview. That worldview is discerned from a study of the Bible and the application of that worldview to life. Two recent studies validate the biblical viewpoint.
Probably one of the most influential women in America today is Oprah Winfrey. The Oprah Winfrey Show is now history but she has founded her own network and her influence will hardly diminish.
Historian Niall Ferguson has written several insightful articles over the past few years helping me to understand the ongoing shift from the West to the East going on in the world. A new order to our world is emerging and, in this Perspective, I seek to make sense of it.
First of all, Ferguson argues that over the last 500 years the West has had six ?killer applications? that explain its dominance of the world in every sense?militarily, financially, socially and in setting the world?s agenda.
At the end of December 2010, a huge natural gas discovery was confirmed in the Eastern Mediterranean inside Israel?s territorial waters. It is called the Leviathan gas deposit in the Levant Basin and marks a major development for Israel, with the potential for making Israel an energy exporter over the next decade. Natural gas was first discovered off Israel?s coast in 1999, but the quantity was so small that until recently, Israel was still planning on importing natural gas from Russia. The Leviathan field, discovered by a consortium led by Houston-based Noble Energy, is the world?s largest offshore gas find in the past decade and makes Israel now among the ranks of the world?s largest gas reserve holders in the world. [Possibly, the Leviathan field may contain a world-scale oil deposit as well.]
Marvin Olasky was at one point a radical leftist history professor and an advocate of the communist worldview. But he trusted Christ a number of years ago and is now the editor of World magazine. Olasky recently appeared on Glenn Beck?s TV program. Beck is one of the media stars on the late afternoon Fox TV lineup. I believe the substance of that interview needs to be summarized. In effect, I will quote verbatim from Olasky?s account of his time with Glenn Beck. Beck introduced Olasky as ?a former Communist. Now he believes man can rule himself.? Olasky comments: ?Not exactly, on the last part: I said, ?We are people created to worship in some way. If we don?t worship God, we?ll worship the human gods created by people . . .??
One of the key themes of biblical Christianity is the importance of sound doctrine. The Apostle Paul uses this phrase especially in the Pastoral Epistles. The term ?sound? actually means healthy and, from Paul, we learn that sound doctrine is the key to godly living and to spiritual health. It is therefore quite significant to focus on the importance of sound doctrine in this postmodern world. And in this global village, building bridges to Islam is necessary. But how do we do that without compromising the sound doctrine of the Bible, particularly as it relates to Jesus Christ? In the Perspective, I seek to probe this very issue.
There is quite a stir going on right now about the anticipated publication of Rob Bell?s new book, Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. It is scheduled for release on Tuesday, 29 March 2011.
