Pat Condell is a retired stand-up comedian from the UK who now spends most of his time cranking out atheist/secularist philosophy and political satire videos on YouTube. He's reputedly a personal favorite of Richard Dawkins, the outspoken British atheist. We're obviously not sympathetic with Pat's views on religion, but he …
The rabbis have grappled with this problem for centuries. Most of the OT prophecies clearly portray the Messiah as a ruling, reigning King. But others seem to present a more humble Messianic figure. Some, like Isaiah 53, even say that He will die an agonizing and sacrificial death (Isa. 53:3-5;...
If we have anyone out there who's suffering from the delusion that the world has progressed beyond old, conspiratorial fairy tales like the anti-Semitic Protocols, here's a reality check for you: click here Some of the video is in French (and other languages), but enough of it is in English...
Yaakov Kirschen is my favorite Israeli cartoonist. He's been doing his incredible "Dry Bones" drawings since 1973 and has an uncanny ability to reduce the complexities of Jewish life down to a handful of cartoon panels. I love the title "Dry Bones," taken from the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 about...
If you've been monitoring the news sources we suggested a few days ago, you know that Hamas has been trumpeting their great military "victory" over the IDF this past week. But who really won? For their part, the IDF hasn't been talking about victory or defeat, but rather about the...
Leah and David Ortiz are friends of ours who live in Ariel, Israel (east of Tel Aviv). Ariel is one of those oft-complained-about Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It's an oasis of prosperity in that area--and many Palestinians are gainfully employed or otherwise blessed because it's there. That's why...
Many of our readers have been asking about what news outlets we monitor (in addition to our own sources in Israel) for news from the Middle East. Here are a few of them: HaAretz (live hourly blog) Israel National News (Hamas Celebrates Victory) Unity Coalition for Israel (Bus Terrorist Attack...
Dennis Prager breaks the so-called "Middle East problem" down into easy-to-understand bullet points--and he does it in just under six minutes. This is the most concise, accurate explanation of Mideast geopolitics that I've ever heard. Anyone, even a middle school student, can understand this. It's not rocket science, folks! Note...
Everyone is on pins and needles as the Egypt-brokered cease fire approaches between Hamas and Israel. Only time will tell how long the cease-fire will hold. Part of the problem in this regard is that the Hamas alliance consists of so many crazy and rabid anti-Semitic factions, they can't restrain...
It's that time of the (Jewish) year again! This past week marked the beginning of the Jewish religious year with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah (lit., "head of the year"). The term Rosh Hashanah was adopted during the Babylonian Captivity, but the biblical name for this observance is Yom Teruah …
About a year ago (April 2011), Israel's Channel 1 did a three-part report on the activities of the anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim. The programs are available on YouTube and they're well worth the time it takes to watch them. (Each segment is roughly ten minutes in length.) It's all in...
YNET News just published an op-ed piece entitled "Bethlehem's Last Christians?" In our blog here, we've been talking about how the anti-Israel faction in the North American evangelical community is growing. Sadly, even large, evangelical organizations like World Vision have signed on. Many American evangelicals, including our friends at World …
Well, like they say, "When it rains, it pours!" This and last week, it's been one story after another about how the anti-Israel consensus is building here in North America—even among evangelical Christians. Today we turn our attention away from the evangelicals (for now) and toward the secular media. Last...
Wow, talk about timing. We were just talking the other day about World Vision's criticism of Israeli "obstructions" in Gaza and the West Bank. (By "obstructions," they mean Israeli security barriers that restrict the entrance of Palestinians into Israel, as well as their movements once they've gained entry.) Rich's op-ed...
Most of us have heard people—sometimes even Christians—say, "What's all the fuss over the Land of Israel? After all, it's just a chunk of real estate." This is a gross misconception. The geographical Land of Israel is in many ways central to the message of the Bible—including the NT. Dr...
As supporters of several children through World Vision since 2008, my wife and I were disappointed when we read the recent comments about Israel by Rich Stearns (president of World Vision in the US) in the Washington Post (click here to read the op/ed piece). In his article, Rich suggested...
You've probably noticed the stories in the news media since last year about the pastor in Iran who faces execution because he converted from Islam to Christianity. One encouraging development in this case is that our friend Jay Sekulow is now on it. You may recall that Jay took our...
That's the title of an interesting entry recently on the Christianity Today blog (click here to read it). The long and short of it is that some progressive (that's the more congenial term for "liberal" these days) evangelical theologians are reinterpreting the Creation account in Genesis to say that Adam...
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to politics these days. Like some of you, I have pretty much decided that the whole US political system has been corrupted to the point where it is beyond repair. Even if a sincere and patriotic statesman (that is,...
CNN, Fox News, the Associated Press, and other major news sources are confirming today that Moammar Gadhafi, the brutal dictator who ruled Libya for four decades, has been killed by rebel forces near his hometown of Sirte: click here for the CNN story And no one is mourning his passing—at...
