Islam’s self-stated purpose is to dominate and govern all men and their affairs through its religious teachings. Its followers are permitted to realize this goal by any means possible, for nothing is considered sinful so long as it is being done for the cause of Allah and the spread of Islam. Any society that has…
I’ll never forget my first day of graduate school. It was in the fall of 2007, and I had beeen accepted to Hartford Seminary’s Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations program. It was familiar territory for me, as I had attended Hartford Seminary for the past two years as an undergraduate to study the Arabic language…
The news coming in from around the world is grim. Photos and videos of beheadings, in all their grisly detail, flood our inboxes and social media feeds. Media personalities, celebrities, and world leaders have all denounced this barbaric behavior by saying that it does not represent true Islam. But are such assertions true, or simply…
The United States is, by far, the world’s largest producer of online pornography, accounting for nearly 25% of all such material. Rounding out the list of the top five porn-producing countries are the United Kingdom (5.5%), Germany (4.9%), Brazil (4.8%) and France (4%). Of the top 15, a dozen are western countries, the three outliers…
As the smoke clears in Brussels, my mind turns to the Europe that once was. I love that continent in a way that’s hard for me, as an American, to explain. When I studied history, I was always far more drawn to the Catholic drama of the kingdoms that grew up from the ashes of Rome than…
Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe and the tallest Catholic church structure in Europe. If you’ve ever seen a Gothic cathedral, you know how impressive they can be. Notre Dame de Paris has nothing on Cologne. It took over six centuries to complete, and is Germany’s most visited landmark. It’s even…
Some people say Islam is a religion of peace. Others, that it is a religion of war. Some say that the recent massacre of Christians by ISIS was not in accordance with Islam. ISIS claims they were acting in proper accord with Islamic teaching. From celebrities and major political figures to priests and bishops within…
Earlier this year, I shared a video with you by a young Christian filmmaker named Michael Chang. The video, entitled, “Who Would Dare to Love ISIS?”, was an incredibly moving glimpse into the mind of authentic Christian love as directed to the men are perpetrating unspeakable atrocities in the Islamic State. The kind of love…
I have never been more than an occasional viewer of Fr. Robert Barron’s Word on Fire chats. His recent televised interview with EWTN’s Catherine Szeltner put paid to whatever interest I had. Newly elevated to an auxiliary bishop in the sprawling L.A. diocese, now-Bp. Barron was in Baltimore for his initial appearance among the USCCB.…
It has been fourteen years since Muslim terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the religion of Islam was made visible to the American public. At the time, there were already many small and medium-size Muslim-only enclaves in many major western European cities – places where if a non-Muslim entered, he would most likely not return.…
“Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) In one of his parables, Our Lord Jesus Christ tells of the great feast and of the guests assembled for the banquet. One man, thinking himself of some importance, took his seat among the higher places.…
