Jihad

  • Islam, Religious Extremism and Religious Relativism

    Stop Extremism?Are we witnessing today a phenomenon of nameless "religious extremists"—whether Christians, Jews or Muslims—spreading violence in the name of "religion"? Or is reality quite different? 

  • Morphing the Face of Jihad

    ISISFor dyed-in-the-wool jihadi warriors, an asymmetrical approach to warfare with Israel - one which results in many Gazan civilian casualties - is actually a gateway to religious merit and reward. This is not a cycle of violence, or simply a deep animosity between Isaac and Ishmael. It is a fight between (on one hand) Islamist kamikazes who don't surrender, a group of post-Hiroshima-like zombies, and (on the other hand) the Jewish people returning to their Promised Land in fulfilment of ancient Hebrew prophecies.

  • Muhammad and Jesus: A Side by Side Comparison

    The Cross and the CrescentJesus and Muhammad could hardly have been more different in how they lived or in what they taught others. Why should we not expect starkly contrasting legacies - from the conduct of their closest companions to the livability of modern-day countries influenced by the predominance of one founder's teachings over the other?

  • Remember Amalek: Israel and Hamas, Divine Mercy and Divine Justice

    Israel and HamasOn October 28, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caused a stir when he quoted a controversial passage from the Bible identifying Hamas with Amalek--Israel's archenemy in the Bible--to justify Israel's ongoing war against the terrorist group.

  • The Catholic Response to Islam

    Pope reads the QuranThis article examines the Catholic response to the growth of Islam in the West in light of the Church’s vision for interreligious dialogue and evangelization. Does the Catholic Church have a coherent strategy in respect to Islam? Is this strategy working? Is it realistic? Is it biblical?

  • Violence in the Quran and the Hadith

    The Muslim Brotherhood

    The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Unlike nearly all of the Old Testament verses of violence, the verses of violence in the Quran are mostly open-ended, meaning that they are not restrained by the historical context of the surrounding text. They are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah, and just as relevant or subjective as anything else in the Quran.

  • When Neutrality is Immoral: Israel, Hamas, and Christian Moral Equivalence

    Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in JerusalemThe Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have responded to the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel and ensuing war in Gaza with posture of moral equivalence, suggesting that both parties in the conflict share equal blame and equivalent moral responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Intellectually, this is an easy path to take. But is it morally right?

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Latest Articles

Antoine Levy - 17 February 2024

When we meet cats who grin, that is, people who are naturally nice and warm, we tend to think that they are good people. A grin of the sort gives itself out as an implicit promise of support in time of need. Somebody whom we identify as empathic will be most likely to help. What is very curious is realizing that certain people's cordial grin amounts to...

Gavin D'Costa - 12 February 2024

The unconditional gift of the election of the Jewish people is the theological foundation of Catholic Zionism. Many New Testament texts support the notion that Catholics should endorse ­Zionism. Jesus himself was a Jewish Christian ­Zionist. Catholics accept that the Jewish people still have a providential role to play, and their return to the land of...

Gerald McDermott - 09 February 2024

Critics of Christian Zionism usually dismiss it for one of three reasons: (1) They say it contradicts the New Testament, which replaces the Old Testament focus on a particular land by the vision of a whole world; (2) They think it is the exclusive concern of premillennial dispensationalists; (3) It is said to be more political than theological, attached to...

Yehuda - 04 February 2024

On the one hand, there is the Christian message of unconditional love and its emphasis on self-sacrifice at the hands of those who hate you unjustly: "No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." On the other hand, there is the logic of war: you want to liquidate those who hate you to the point of murdering your nation by all...

Gerald McDermott - 29 December 2023

Gerald McDermott explores the notion of supersessionism in Christian theology, which suggests the promises made to the Jewish people in the Old Testament, including the land promise, have been superseded by the Christian church. This view has dominated Christian interpretation since the fourth century, leading to the marginalization of the New Testament's...

André Villeneuve - 20 December 2023

Dr. André Villeneuve discusses the role of Israel in the age of the Church on Michael Lofton's "Reason and Theology" podcast. Topics include God's covenant with Israel, supersessionism, the idea of the Church as "new Israel", Israel's role in the age of the Church, the modern state of Israel, Zionism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Israel's role in...