Overcoming the myth of redemptive violence The history of the Messiah Wars illustrates how institutionalized religion and religiously held political ideologies have worked to coopt spiritual forces and accumulate wealth and power. Nations fight over such things as access to natural resources, trade routes and tariffs, immigration policies, intellectual property, and national pride. They also…

Isaac, Ishmael and the Saga of the Middle East Islam takes up the story of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah found in Genesis 22. The event is known in Judaism as the Akeda, meaning “binding,” referring to the story of God’s command to Abraham to offer his son Isaac…

How Islam divides the world Jihad in Arabic means to ““make exertion” or “struggle” in the path of Allah, and has been called the Sixth Pillar of Islam.[1] Muslims differentiate between Lesser and Greater Jihad. Greater Jihad is the inner struggle against one’s ego, selfishness, greed, and temptation toward evil. This highlights a noble stream…

What differentiates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? Abraham’s life was shaped by his faith in God. He trusted God and followed wherever God led him until he arrived in the land God promised him, which later came to be known as Israel. Genesis 15:6 says “Abraham believed in the Lord and the Lord counted it to…