Religions East

Because Israel has contributed so much to all of us, what was once just an Israelite culture has grown to become what is by and large an inherited world culture. As the scriptures promised to Abraham, "I will make your descendants countless as the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust upon the ground, then he could count your descendants." I believe that this scripture does hold true.

The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon left us stunned, angry, and uncomprehending. As it became clear that these horrifying acts had been committed in the name of religion, the media, the government, and ordinary citizens alike sought answers to questions about Islam and its adherents.

Inside the hidden world of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn's Crown Heights--a close-knit but divided community. On a cold night in December, the members of a Hasidic anti-crime patrol called the Shomrim are summoned to a yeshiva dormitory in Crown Heights. There to break up a brawl, the Shomrim instead find themselves embroiled in a religious schism which has split the community and turned roommate against roommate, neighbor against neighbor. At the center of the storm is Aron Hershkop....

The first fundamental truth about the "Arab Spring" is that there never was one. The salient fact of the Middle East, the only one, is Islam. The Islam that shapes the Middle East inculcates in Muslims the self-perception that they are members of a civilization implacably hostile to the West. The United States is a competitor to be overcome, not the herald of a culture to be embraced.

It's December 1999 and many are wracked with fear over the turning over of another new year. The year not only stands out because it is the end of a millennium and comes replete with some fancy new front digits in the form of "2000", but also has decades of baggage and propaganda that had filtered through to the public over the years. And at least one of the most infamous of doomsday scenarios that circled around the year 2000 was based on some fact.

La nascita del Califfato di Siria e Iraq ha prodotto, tra gli altri disastri, l'acuirsi del conflitto lungo le linee dello scisma tra sunniti e sciiti. Ciò ha provocato l'apertura di diversi teatri di guerra: Yemen, Libano, Bahrein, addirittura Afghanistan, oltre, ovviamente, a Siria e Iraq. Si tratta di una lotta per l'egemonia regionale, che coinvolge le identità religiose di milioni di fedeli nell'area e in diaspora.

Israeli kids and their aunt observe the holiday of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, by visiting an archaeological dig at the Temple Mount and participating in their own hands-on dig.

History's final chapter will be written in Jerusalem. When an Iranian president thunders a murderous threat or an obscure Turkish drunkard has a dream in Mecca or a Jewish couple from Brooklyn lands at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, these events might seem disconnected. But they’re not. In Dateline Jerusalem, CBN News correspondent Chris Mitchell connects the dots and unveils Jerusalem as the epicenter and crossroads of the spiritual, political, and, yes, supernatural worlds. Jerusalem’s powerful draw has always transcended simple economics, military strategy, and religious affiliation.

In 1989, Francis Fukuyama famously announced the "end of history." The Berlin Wall had fallen; liberal democracy had won out. But what of illiberal democracy - the idea that popular majorities, working through the democratic process, might reject gender equality, religious freedoms, and other norms that Western democracies take for granted? Nowhere have such considerations become more relevant than in the Middle East, where the uprisings of 2011 swept the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups to power.

The story of the Jews is high drama with a divine component, but much of the plot has been veiled. In retrospect, one can see their powerful influence throughout eastern and western history, swaying world events, building up and bringing down kingdoms and dominions. Fortunately, Jewish historians have preserved a vast literature on their people's tumultuous history, and the bitter details are indispensable if we are to rightly understand the explosive tensions in the Middle East today.

Before September 11, 2001, one terrorist group had killed more Americans than any other: Hezbollah, the “Party of God.” Today it remains potentially more dangerous than even al Qaeda. Yet little has been known about its inner workings, past successes, and future plans–until now.

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon began working on this book shortly after leaving the National Security Council, where, as director and senior director for counterterrorism, they watched the rise of al-Qaeda and helped coordinate America’s fight against Usama bin Laden and his organization. They warned in articles and interviews about the appearance of a new breed of terrorists who were determined to kill on the grand scale.

The West, says author Tony Blankley in this shocking book, is down to its last chance. Within our lifetimes, Europe could become Eurabia, a continent overwhelmed by militant Islam that poses a greater threat to the United States than even Nazi Germany did. In The West's Last Chance, Blankley shows how that could happen and how we can prevent it.

Inside Syria and Iraq, and even along the refugee trail, they’re a religious minority persecuted for their Christian faith. Outside the Middle East, they’re suspect because of their nationality. A small remnant of Christians is on the run from the Islamic State. If they are wiped out, or scattered to the corners of the earth, the language that Jesus spoke may be lost forever - along with the witness of a church that has modeled Jesus’ way of nonviolence and enemy-love for two millennia.

Pensadores de Oriente es una colección de anécdotas y “parábolas en acción” que ilustran el acercamiento lúcido y eminentemente práctico de los maestros derviches orientales. Este material, el cual es una destilación de las enseñanzas de más cien sabios provenientes de tres continentes, hace hincapié en lo experiencial por sobre lo teórico; y es justamente tal característica particular del estudio Sufi la que provee su impacto y vitalidad única. El énfasis de Pensadores de Oriente contrasta fuertemente con el concepto que Occidente tiene de Oriente.

Where God Was Born observes that at the birth moment of the biblical religions, all of the faiths took from one another, exchanged ideas, recognized their commonalities, and were open to peaceful coexistence. Offering a rare vision of God that can unite different faiths into a shared allegiance of hope, this is a brave, challenging, and profound work that addresses the most important issues of our time.

The recent powerful wave of Middle East uprisings has fueled both hope and trepidation in the region and around the world as the ultimate fate - and fallout - of the Arab Spring continue to hang in the balance. Born and raised as a Muslim in Egypt and now living in the United States, Nonie Darwish brings an informed perspective to this carefully considered assessment of the potential outcome of the revolutions in the Middle East. This thought-provoking book will add to the ongoing debate on what the future holds.

The belief in prophets is as old as religion itself. Throughout several millennia, cultures across the world have attributed special significance (and sometimes great power) to those who they believe speak to their gods, from the Ancient Greeks to followers of Zoroastrianism. The tradition of prophets is especially prevalent in Judaism and Christianity, with prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah being among the most famous historical figures in the Bible.

Persecuted gives documented accounts of the persecution of Christians in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and former Soviet nations. It contains vivid stories of men and women who suffer abuse because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and tells of their perseverance and courage.

This book describes the inevitable evolution of Christian dogma towards greater inclusivity. The pathway of this future evolution leads to an understanding that the individual soul’s relationship to God is the goal of the spiritual life. The beauty, harmony, and sacredness of individual spiritual traditions need not be sacrificed but may someday be understood in a deeper and more personally meaningful light.