ISIS or ISIL (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [or in the Levant]) is arguably the most dangerous and ruthless expression of the doctrine of Islamic jihad in modern times. ISIS (or what is now more commonly referred to as simply the Islamic State) is a breakaway from al Qaeda and can only be understood in contrast to al Qaeda. Understanding ISIS is the main thrust of this edition of Issues in Perspective.
The Middle East is in chaos right now. The political/military nature of this chaos also has a religious dimension to it. There is an intense persecution of Christians that accompanies this chaos and this persecution is causing a massive displacement of populations in areas associated with the early church. Further, this chaos is spilling over into Europe where there is a growing anti-Semitism. There are several interconnected developments that resemble Europe before World War II or the Middle East before World War I.
The war of attrition being waged by Hamas against Israel grinds on. There is every evidence that Israel is clearly winning this war, but it grinds on nonetheless. In this conflict, the world?s response to this war of attrition is interesting. In fact, the world?s response is a study in hypocrisy, for it holds Israel to a standard to which it holds no other nation.
One of my favorite columnists is New York Times columnist David Brooks. In one of his columns in May he wrote: ?In 1966, 86% of college freshmen said that developing a meaningful philosophy of life was essential or very important. Today, less than half say a meaningful philosophy of life is that important. University of Michigan studies suggest that today?s students score about 40% lower in measures of empathy than students did 30 years ago.?
As I am writing this, the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel is in a quasi-ceasefire mode, but some fighting has resumed in Gaza. Difficult negotiations in Cairo have begun over the major issues that brought about the conflict. It is a complicated set of issues with many layers and tentacles that connect most of the major players in the Middle East. In addition, there is evidence that this Gaza war has further isolated Israel, especially when it comes to Western Europe.
Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, recently wrote that ?the willingness of the United States to use force to defend its interests and the liberal world order has been an essential and unavoidable part of sustaining the world order since World War II. It is also an essential part of effective diplomacy . . . The question today is finding the right balance between when to use force and when not to.?
According to a recent article in Time magazine, the next dimension of the postmodern sexual revolution, indeed the next civil rights movement, is the transgender one. Kay Steinmetz, author of the Time article writes, ?Transgender people?those who identify with a gender other than the sex they were ?assigned at birth,? to use the preferred phrase among trans activists?are emerging from the margins to fight for an equal place in society.?
The recent Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case is a momentous and welcomed decision upholding religious liberty in America. But in many ways, the media and many politicians have distorted the case itself and the implications of this Supreme Court decision. First, a review of the case itself and the substantive aspects of the Court?s decision.
In a recent article in The Atlantic, Matt Gross and Theodore Ross offer a poignant description of a typical dad on a television commercial: ?The hapless, bumbling father is a stock character in product marketing. He makes breakfast for dinner and is incapable of handling, or sometimes even noticing, a soggy diaper. He tries desperately to hide the crumb-strewn, dirt-streaked evidence of poor parenting before the mother gets home . . .
Genesis 1:26ff explains that humans are God?s dominion stewards over His world. In fact, as this text makes clear, this stewardship responsibility is part of being in the image of God. Humans are accountable to God for this stewardship. It is therefore only common sense that it is not good for humanity to be spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Managing the environment is important and to wantonly destroy or do harm to God?s world is irresponsible and hardly pleasing to God.
