Podcasts about Syrian Christians

Prepare a nutritious banana blossom thoran with Nimmy Paul, who teaches cooking classes from her home, and specializes in the cuisine of Kerala and her Syrian Christian community. Thoran is a dry, stir-fried dish of vegetables and coconut from South India. In this dish, Nimmy Paul shows us how to utilize all parts of the banana blossom– the petals, the baby immature bananas, and the heart– stir fried with curry leaves and spices. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Chef Nimmy Paul demonstrates 'conscious cooking' in her demonstration of Availas Pavakka Perapattichathu. Nimmy Paul teaches cooking classes from her home, and specializes in the cuisine of Kerala and her Syrian Christian community. In this dish she cooks bitter melon in a clay pot with Malabar tamarind, freshly grated coconut, shallots, green chili, curry leaves, and coconut oil. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Just outside of Fort Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala, India, cooking school teacher, Nimmy Paul, shows us how to prepare eggplant molee. Nimmy Paul teaches cooking classes from her home, specializing in the distinctive cuisine of Kerala and her Syrian Christian community. A molee is a creamy, coconut-based stew, originating from the Kerala region of Southern India, typically featuring a blend of spices, coconut milk, curry leaves. In this flavorful vegan dish, she simmers together whole black peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, garlic, ginger, chili, eggplant, tomatoes and coconut cream. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

In this episode of Bongino Report: Early Edition, Evita covers Trump's new fair trade tariffs, the brutal persecution of Syrian Christians, elites embracing designer babies and eugenics, and how harem erotica is overtaking men's adventure fiction. Check out our amazing Sponsor -Blackout Coffee - Support an America First coffee company that actually shares your values. Visit BlackoutCoffee.com/Evita and use code EVITA for 20% off your first order. EXCLUSIVE: Catholic priest says new Syrian regime is forcing Christians to follow Sharia law Men's Adventure Fiction On Amazon Has A Harem Romance Problem, And It's Getting Worse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's it like to be an Orthodox Christian in Syria? Father Josiah Trenham shares powerful stories of faith under fire. Over 12 years ago, Sunni jihadists kidnapped the Archbishop. Today's Archbishop faces no less danger. When the leader of ISIS passed through Aleppo, he sent a chilling message: "I'll have your head." The Archbishop's bold reply? "Come and take it—I'm not leaving my people."The courage of Syrian Christians under persecution is both inspiring and convicting—a sharp contrast to the religious freedom we often take for granted. Join Father Josiah and me as we explore religious freedom worldwide, the history of the Orthodox Church, the power of martyrs, and more.Fr Josiah's YouTube channel: ⁨@PatristicNectarFilms⁩ NEW: Join our exclusive Rose Report community! https://lilaroseshow.supercast.com - We'll have BTS footage, ad-free episodes, monthly AMA, and early access to our upcoming guests.A big thanks to our partner, EWTN, the world's leading Catholic network! Discover news, entertainment and more at https://www.ewtn.com/ Check out our Sponsors:-EveryLife: https://www.everylife.com Buy diapers from an amazing pro-life diaper company and use code LILA and get 10% off!-Crowd Health: https://www.joincrowdhealth.com/ The new alternative to health insurance - sign up and use the code "LILA" for a special deal of $99 for your first 3 months!-Covenant Eyes: http://covenanteyes.sjv.io/Kjngb9 Sign up to grow in purity and gain traction over sexual addiction: use code “LILA” for a free month!00:00:00 - Intro00:03:46 - Why Orthodox?00:09:09 - Catholic vs Orthodox00:09:43 - Covenant Eyes00:10:46 - Orthodox vs Catholic vs Protestant00:19:08 - Orthodox are Very Stubborn00:20:22 - Crowd Health00:21:21 - Orthodox Liturgy melted Father's heart00:25:41 - Biggest differences between Catholic and Orthodox?00:29:42 - EveryLife00:30:30 - “Radical Difference” in understanding of Holy Spirit00:41:50 - Christians in Syria and Middle East00:44:40 - Early Church Martyrs00:48:43 - Are you in touch with Christians in Syria?00:50:28 - Islam and War in Syria00:54:56 - What do you make of moderate Muslims?01:09:06 - What can we do for Syrians?01:14:41 - Trump Administration

Season Seven of The Outspoken Bible sees Fiona, Jen and Neil take on the challenge of discussing Paul's epistle to the Romans. At last we've reached Chapter 11!  After three adverts, two emails and a question the Instant Preach is from Fiona on John 13:6-8 and then they get to the root of the matter with conversation about olive trees and roots. There's a Jeneral Knowledge discussion about how to ask a good question. This episode was engineered and edited by Aimee Higgins. ------- Show Notes The Outspoken Bible is hosted by Fiona Stewart with Neil Glover and Jen Robertson. All opinions are those of the individual contributors and don't necessarily reflect the view of the Scottish Bible Society as an organisation.  ------- Paul and the Power of Grace (John Barclay) Paul and the Gift (John Barclay) The Message of Romans - Bible Speaks Today (John Stott) Phoebe: A Story (Paula Gooder) Into the Heart of Romans (NT Wright) Romans: A Letter That Makes Sense of Life (Andrew Ollerton) The Romans Course (Bible Society) Pauline Dogmatics (Douglas A Campbell) Paul Distilled (Gary W Barnett) Misleading reports of Syrian Christian massacre (Open Doors) ------- Resources: Easter resources Ends of the Earth https://www.scottishbiblesociety.org/resources/bibles-for-bairns Spotify Spoken Out  ------- Get in touch here or by emailing outspoken@scottishbiblesociety.org. ------- Our next episode will be on Romans 11.

It's Friday, March 21st, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus 1,300 people killed in Syria last week More than 1,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past week in Syria, reports Open Doors. The BBC reported that a UK-based monitor has identified that “830 civilians were killed in ‘massacres' targeting Alawites on the west coast on Friday and Saturday.” Based in the Middle East, the Alawites are a sect of Islam that venerates a Muslim imam known as Ali. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, known for his brutal dictatorship, is an Alawite himself, as was his father. The recent violence began with pro-Assad forces who attacked soldiers associated with the new government of Syria. Isaiah 59:7 says, “Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.” Although the violence doesn't seem to be targeting Syrian Christians, followers of Jesus are scared in the midst of the violence. That's why on Sunday, March 9, many churches did not hold their Sunday services. Trump dismantles Department of Education President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start dismantling the Department of Education. TRUMP: “Today we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making. In a few moments, I will sign an Executive Order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all. (applause) Everybody knows it's right.” Immediately after the signing, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a post on X that he will “submit legislation” to accomplish Trump's goal of shutting down the Department of Education “as soon as possible.” Attorney General Pam Bondi investigating Tesla attacks as terrorism On Tuesday morning, five Tesla vehicles were set on fire in Las Vegas with Molotov cocktails and shot with a gun at a Tesla Collision Center.  That was the tenth such attack on Teslas since Trump's inauguration on January 20th, reports Fox News.  The Left has also violently targeted Teslas or Tesla dealerships in Salem, Oregon, Loveland, Colorado, Owings Mills, Maryland, Littleton, Massachusetts, Tigard, Oregon, North Charlston, South Carolina, Seattle, Washington, Dedham, Massachusetts, and Kansas City, Missouri. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the recent spate of arson attacks and vandalism against Tesla vehicles "nothing short of domestic terrorism" and promised harsh punishments for perpetrators if they are caught, reports ABC News. There's been a clear uptick in attacks on Teslas and Tesla dealerships since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Elon Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that's slashing government spending. Appearing on Fox News, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was direct. LEAVITT: “President Trump condemns this violence. He is determined to restore law and order in our country, and he will ensure that the harshest penalties are pursued for those who are engaging in this vicious violence that we have seen targeted at this American company, Tesla, dealerships, Tesla employees and also innocent Americans who have chosen to drive these vehicles, many of them, ironically, are likely Democrats. “There is a major double standard here. The Democrats used to be the greatest cheerleaders for electric vehicles and for Tesla, the company, until Elon Musk decided to support and vote for Donald Trump. “So, the Trump Derangement Syndrome from the Left is on true display with these attacks. It is getting dangerous, and the White House wholeheartedly condemns it, and we applaud Attorney General Pam Bondi for investigating these acts as domestic terrorism, because that is what they are.” Will Dr. Oz support abortion and transgenderism now? Senate confirmation proceedings are underway for Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's choice for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator. Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is seeking answers about the TV personality's past liberal stances on abortion and transgender issues, reports LifeSiteNews.com. As recently as 2019, Oz had attacked abortion bans because he disputed that the heartbeat begins at six weeks gestation despite scientific proof. Appearing on The Breakfast Club radio show, Oz also indicated that fetal viability was the only reasonable benchmark for gestational protection. OZ: “If the child was viable outside the womb, then you don't want to kill that child. If the child was not going to be able to survive outside the mom, then the mom runs the show. This is a hard issue for everybody. I get it. But just being logical about it, if you think that the moment of conception, you've got a life, then why would you even wait six weeks?” Later, Dr. Oz made this remark. OZ: “If someone, deep in their heart, feels that the moment of conception is a human life, and they just can't deal with that life being harmed, they got to be heard. They can't get ignored. But that doesn't mean that's what the rule of the land is.” Plus, in 2010, Oz emerged as a critical, early backer of “transitioning” gender-confused minors, running an hour-long special about “transgender children” that promoted a 15-year-old girl who had undergone a double mastectomy at age 14 and an eight-year-old boy being raised as a girl named “Josie.” Over the course of his 2022 Senatorial campaign, Oz backtracked on both issues, declaring himself “100% Pro-Life” and denying that he supported transitioning minors, claiming that his hosting of the opposite position did not constitute endorsement. Steve Lawson: “I have sinned grievously.” And finally, former Pastor Steven Lawson, age 73, a prominent figure in the Reformed/Calvinist movement, has acknowledged that he has “sinned grievously,” speaking out for the first time about the September 20th scandal that removed him from ministry, reports The Christian Post.  Once a teaching fellow at Ligonier Ministries and the dean of Doctor of Ministry Studies at The Master's Seminary, Lawson, a married man, allegedly had a 5-year affair with a woman in her late 20s. In a series of now-deleted X posts, Phil Johnson, Director of Grace to You with John MacArthur, said last September that Lawson only informed the elders at Trinity Bible Church after "the girl's father had confronted Steve and threatened exposure. This was not a noble confession.” In an X post this past Wednesday, Lawson wrote: “I have sinned grievously against the Lord, against my wife, my family, and against countless numbers of you by having a sinful relationship with a woman not my wife. I am deeply broken that I have betrayed and deceived my wife, devastated my children, brought shame to the name of Christ, reproach upon His church, and harm to many ministries.” Lawson added, “I have been undergoing extensive counseling for the last five months to face the hard questions I need to address. I have dealt with sin issues that have been painfully exposed in my heart. I have submitted myself in weekly accountability to two pastors and to the elders of a local congregation, who have shepherded my soul.” 1 Timothy 3:1-2 says, “Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, March 21st, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has not led to stability in the war-torn nation. In fact, death squads affiliated with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that now rules over much of Syria have been blamed for more than 1,000 killings in the past week, most of them civilian members of the Alawite minority of deposed president Bashar al-Assad. Syrian Christians fear they will be the next group targeted by the HTS security forces. Jimmy and renowned public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs discuss the situation on the ground in Syria and this predictable outcome of Assad's ouster by radical Islamists backed by the CIA. Plus segments on the extermination of democracy in Romania, NIH nominee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's controversial senate confirmation hearing and the background of new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Also featuring Mike MacRae, Kurt Metzger and Stef Zamorano. And a phone call from JD Vance!

This week: sectarian persecution returns Paul Wood, Colin Freeman and Father Benedict Kiely write in the magazine this week about the religious persecution that minorities are facing across the world from Syria to the Congo. In Syria, there have been reports of massacres with hundreds of civilians from the Alawite Muslim minority targeted, in part because of their association with the fallen Assad regime. Reports suggest that the groups responsible are linked to the new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani). For some, the true face of the country's new masters has been revealed. Whether the guilty men are punished will tell us what kind of country Syria has become since the fall of Assad's dictatorship. Speaking to those on the ground, Wood reports of fathers who were shot in front of their families, victims made to howl like dogs as they crawled through piles of corpses, and of state security forces trying to prevent survivors from photographing or talking about what had happened. But to what extent is al-Sharaa responsible? And could other minorities, like the Syrian Christian minority – one of the oldest in the world, be next? Paul and Fr Benedict joined the podcast to discuss. (1:02) Next: this century's ‘unstoppable process of language extinction' There are around 7,000 languages currently spoken across the world, but by the end of the century only 500 are expected to survive. Thus, documenting endangered languages has never been so important and this is the starting point of Lorna Gibb's new book, Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages, reviewed by Harry Ritchie in the books section of the magazine this week. What are some examples of the languages facing extinction? And should we accept this as an inevitable cultural rise and fall, or should we be working to combat this? Harry joined the podcast alongside Dr Oliver Mayeux, a sociolinguist at Cambridge, who also speaks Louisiana creole – a language spoken by fewer that 10,000 people. With special thanks to the Endangered Language Alliance, for allowing us to use a clip of the Garifuna language, who are working to document and preserve languages facing extinction across the world. (18:06) And finally: what is ‘Boom Boom', Gen Z's favourite aesthetic trend? Out are boring converse and dirty t-shirts beloved by millennial tech bros and in are high-fashion double-breasted suits and loafers, or so says Arabella Byrne who writes about the aesthetic trend defining Gen Z. American trend analyst Sean Monahan – who also coined 2013's ‘normcore' – coined the term ‘Boom Boom' to encapsulate the look and feel of the trend. Think 1980s yuppies updated for 2025 – so why exactly is it popular, and what does it tell us about today's twentysomethings? Arabella and Sean joined the podcast to discuss. (27:50) Plus: Matthew Parris, Stephen Fry, Rory Sutherland, Rachel Johnson, Philip Hensher, Sean Thomas and Petronella Wyatt reveal the worst insults they ever received from a teacher. (13:59) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: sectarian persecution returns Paul Wood, Colin Freeman and Father Benedict Kiely write in the magazine this week about the religious persecution that minorities are facing across the world from Syria to the Congo. In Syria, there have been reports of massacres with hundreds of civilians from the Alawite Muslim minority targeted, in part because of their association with the fallen Assad regime. Reports suggest that the groups responsible are linked to the new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani). For some, the true face of the country's new masters has been revealed. Whether the guilty men are punished will tell us what kind of country Syria has become since the fall of Assad's dictatorship. Speaking to those on the ground, Wood reports of fathers who were shot in front of their families, victims made to howl like dogs as they crawled through piles of corpses, and of state security forces trying to prevent survivors from photographing or talking about what had happened. But to what extent is al-Sharaa responsible? And could other minorities, like the Syrian Christian minority – one of the oldest in the world, be next? Paul and Fr Benedict joined the podcast to discuss. (1:02) Next: this century's ‘unstoppable process of language extinction' There are around 7,000 languages currently spoken across the world, but by the end of the century only 500 are expected to survive. Thus, documenting endangered languages has never been so important and this is the starting point of Lorna Gibb's new book, Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages, reviewed by Harry Ritchie in the books section of the magazine this week. What are some examples of the languages facing extinction? And should we accept this as an inevitable cultural rise and fall, or should we be working to combat this? Harry joined the podcast alongside Dr Oliver Mayeux, a sociolinguist at Cambridge, who also speaks Louisiana creole – a language spoken by fewer that 10,000 people. With special thanks to the Endangered Language Alliance, for allowing us to use a clip of the Garifuna language, who are working to document and preserve languages facing extinction across the world. (18:06) And finally: what is ‘Boom Boom', Gen Z's favourite aesthetic trend? Out are boring converse and dirty t-shirts beloved by millennial tech bros and in are high-fashion double-breasted suits and loafers, or so says Arabella Byrne who writes about the aesthetic trend defining Gen Z. American trend analyst Sean Monahan – who also coined 2013's ‘normcore' – coined the term ‘Boom Boom' to encapsulate the look and feel of the trend. Think 1980s yuppies updated for 2025 – so why exactly is it popular, and what does it tell us about today's twentysomethings? Arabella and Sean joined the podcast to discuss. (27:50) Plus: Matthew Parris, Stephen Fry, Rory Sutherland, Rachel Johnson, Philip Hensher, Sean Thomas and Petronella Wyatt reveal the worst insults they ever received from a teacher. (13:59) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Jamie McIntyre, Editor-in-Chief of the Australian National Review, joins Stew to discuss the slaughter and genocide of Christians in Syria happening as we speak, while media and Con-Inc are silent. Mads Palsvig joins Stew to discuss the "plot to bomb an Australian Synagogue" that turned out to be another FAKE orchestrated by Jewish Mafia. Watch this new show NOW at https://StewPeters.com! Western civilization has been infected by a parasitic invasion of foreign ideals and values that have been introduced into our culture by strange and morally degenerate people whose goal is world domination. We have been OCCUPIED. Watch the film NOW! https://stewpeters.com/occupied/ Become an SPN subscriber to gain access to exclusive content and unlock premiere benefits, including personal interactions with Stew, VIP event tickets, and live giveaways. Celebrate Stew's Birthday Month with $31 Off! It's the perfect time to celebrate and support our Bullhorn! Get $31 off your annual subscription to his Locals community —regularly $90, now only $59 for your first year! Hurry, this offer is only available for a limited time. Let's celebrate together https://stewpeters.locals.com/support/promo/BIRTHDAY Check out the Stew Peters Store for all things Stew Crew merchandise and more!  https://spnstore.com/ These loyal and courageous sponsors chose to stand with us despite the cancel culture backlash. Support their bravery below: Cortez Wealth Management makes financial planning for you and your family. Find out how you can rely on this America First financial advisory and get your retirement plan today by calling 813-448-3446 or by visiting https://cortezwm.com More and more people are struggling with low energy, brain fog, joint pain, and other chronic ailments.: Experience real relief in just 5 days—join Stew in the 555 Challenge and see what's possible! Visit http://My555Challenge.com to get started today! Where is your money going? The IRS wants you to feel powerless, but there is a way out of this tyranny. No law requires 99% of Americans to file and pay income tax. Go to https://freedomlawschool.org/stew to learn more from Freedom Law School. Red light therapy is scientifically proven to prevent and beat cancer, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, arthritis, dementia, and tinnitus while achieving great results with weight loss, wrinkles, acne, and stem cell regeneration. Watch medical journalist Jonathan Otto's free training and get the best at- home red light therapy devices at the lowest prices. Go to: https://myredlight.com and use the promo code “STEW10” for an additional 10% off your order! Unlock your full digestive potential with MassZymes from Bioptimizers! Go to http://bioptimizers.com/stewpeters and enter coupon code STEWPETERS at checkout to get 10% off your order! ️ Protect Your Family with Zelenko's Medical Kit ️Now available for purchase! This all-in-one kit includes vital medications like Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and Other Essential Medications. Get Your Zelenko Medical Kit Now: https://zstackprotocol.com and use promo code "SPN" for $48 off and free shipping! Join our friends @AbovePhone for a free webinar to learn how to have multiple personas on one phone! ✅ Strategies for multiple personas on one device ✅ Use cases for user and work profiles ✅ How to achieve separation between profiles. Register: https://abovephone.com/stewpeters/ . Don't miss your chance to own this one-of-a-kind Holocaust encyclopedia. You can get yours by visiting http://holocaustencyclopedia.com/ or at https://armreg.co.uk/product/holocaust- encyclopedia/ using promo code “stewlikesbooks” for 15% off your order. Preserve heart health and be the best version of yourself with Cardio Miracle by checking out: http://HighPowerHeart.com. NO FILTERS: Clean up your AIR with these high-quality air filtration systems, and protect yourself from shedding: http://airwaterhealing.com/ Promo code “STEW” Boost your health by going to http://fieldofgreens.com. Use code STEW to get 20% off your first order! You will feel the difference. Stay up to date with Stew by following him on all socials! Locals: https://stewpeters.locals.com/ X: https://twitter.com/realstewpeters Telegram: https://t.me/stewpeters Gab: https://gab.com/RealStewPeters GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/realstewpeters Truth:  https://truthsocial.com/@RealStewPeters

Send us a textOur friend, Karla Wagner from AxMITax Michigan is back tonight to let us know the latest updates on her fight to end property taxes here in Michigan and what we need to to help. The federal DOGE model should be the ordinary, not the extraordinary and needs to happen in every state. Axmitax.org is the beginning of Michigan's Doge because when the people prosper, the State will prosper. The elimination of property taxes is so much more than the elimination of property taxes! Karla Wagner, founder and executive director of https://www.axmitax.org/ AxMiTax.org which is A Citizen's Ballot Initiative to Completely Eliminate Property Tax. Be prepared for any emergency needs with Dangerous INFO Podcast's Prep Accordingly affiliate link: https://bit.ly/prepaccordinglySUPPORT THE SHOWSubscribeStar http://bit.ly/42Y0qM8Super Chat Tip https://bit.ly/42W7iZHBuzzsprout https://bit.ly/3m50hFTPaypal http://bit.ly/3Gv3ZjpPatreon http://bit.ly/3G37AVx SMART is the acronym that was created by technocrats that have setup the "internet of things" that will eventually enslave humanity to their needs. Support the showCONNECT WITH USWebsite https://www.dangerousinfopodcast.com/Guilded Chatroom http://bit.ly/42OayqyEmail the show dangerousinfopodcast@protonmail.comJoin mailing list http://bit.ly/3Kku5YtSOCIALSInstagram https://www.instagram.com/dangerousinfo/Twitter https://twitter.com/jaymz_jesseGab https://gab.com/JessejaymzTruth Social https://truthsocial.com/@jessejaymzWATCH LIVERumble https://rumble.com/c/DangerousInfoPodcastTwitch https://www.twitch.tv/dangerousinfopodcastPilled https://pilled.net/profile/144176Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DangerousInfoPodcast/BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/egnticQyZgxDCloutHub https://clouthub.com/DangerousINFOpodcastDLive https://dlive.tv/DangerousINFOpodcast Send stuff: Jesse Jaymz, PO Box 541, Clarkston, MI 48347

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On today's show, On today's show, LIVE on Thunderous Radio (Stream 2) https://thunderousradio.com at 4:06 pm CT, 5:06 pm ET: DC Swamp Critters: DNI Tulsi Gabbard revokes security clearances of Biden officials and signers of Hunter Biden laptop letter - Senate Democrats sweat over whether to support GOP Funding Bill or own costs of ‘Schumer Shutdown' - CNN's Van Jones says Democratic Party is ‘Sc---ed - View host Hostin says Trump Presidency an ‘Existential Crisis,' Dems must be willing to ‘Fight and Die' - Biden's 'autopen signature' appears on most official docs, raising concerns over who controlled the WH - Who really controls the power of the purse and tariffs per the Constitution and what the Federalist Papers Say? - we'll analyze. Borderline: Panama records 99% drop in U.S.-bound unlawful migration through Darién Gap - Rashida Tlaib becomes lone House lawmaker opposing cracking down on Mexican cartels' border tunnel system - Kristi Noem identifies ICE leakers, who each face up to 10 years in prison - State of Washington sues county for 'illegally collaborating' with ICE illegal immigration crackdown - we'll explore. Targeted: Christians by the hundreds being executed in Syria, reports say - Evangelical leader says US must protect Syrian Christians from attacks by jihadi terrorists - Major U.S. county bans meetings by Church on the Beach - UC Berkeley facing scrutiny over failure to report anti-Jewish hate crimes. http://www.spreaker.com/show/christian-talk-that-rocks https://christiantalkthatrocks.net or http://christiantalkthatrocks.com

Topics for today's podcast will include: Trump's latest updates on tariffs Trump updates Ukraine war Vance confronts Ukraine protesters Killing of Syrian Christians following Assad's fall Will we enter a recession?

There has been a Christian community in Syria since the first century AD. But it is shrinking fast and faces terrifying new threats as the country's government, following the overthrow of President Assad, forges alliances with hardline Muslims including foreign jihadists – Uighurs from China, Uzbeks from Central Asia, Chechens from Russia, Afghans and Pakistanis. Mgr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester who is now a Catholic priest of the Ordinariate, has written a heartbreaking piece for The Spectator about the Christians of Maaloula in southwest Syria. It's one of the last remaining communities to speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. ‘Were this community to be destroyed, something precious and irreplaceable would be lost', he writes. Yet that is exactly what may happen. When the then-Bishop Nazir-Ali visited the town in 2016, he discovered that the predecessors of the jihadis who recently toppled Bashar al-Assad ‘had systematically destroyed and desecrated the town's churches and monasteries. Orthodox nuns were kidnapped and held to ransom … young men had been singled out and executed when they refused to convert to the extremists' version of Islam.' Will it happen again? Ahmad al-Sharaa, head of the new Syrian transitional administration, has told Church leaders they have nothing to fear. But can he be trusted? As Mgr Nazir-Ali tells Damian Thompson in this episode of Holy Smoke, it is time for the West to act.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

There has been a Christian community in Syria since the first century AD. But it is shrinking fast and faces terrifying new threats as the country's government, following the overthrow of President Assad, forges alliances with hardline Muslims including foreign jihadists – Uighurs from China, Uzbeks from Central Asia, Chechens from Russia, Afghans and Pakistanis. Mgr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester who is now a Catholic priest of the Ordinariate, has written a heartbreaking piece for The Spectator about the Christians of Maaloula in southwest Syria. It's one of the last remaining communities to speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. ‘Were this community to be destroyed, something precious and irreplaceable would be lost', he writes. Yet that is exactly what may happen. When the then-Bishop Nazir-Ali visited the town in 2016, he discovered that the predecessors of the jihadis who recently toppled Bashar al-Assad ‘had systematically destroyed and desecrated the town's churches and monasteries. Orthodox nuns were kidnapped and held to ransom … young men had been singled out and executed when they refused to convert to the extremists' version of Islam.' Will it happen again? Ahmad al-Sharaa, head of the new Syrian transitional administration, has told Church leaders they have nothing to fear. But can he be trusted? As Mgr Nazir-Ali tells Damian Thompson in this episode of Holy Smoke, it is time for the West to act.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Watch this video Right Now and Ads-FREE on our independent platform: https://remnant-tv.com/v/1317?channelName=RemnantTV Book Michael for your event: https://catholicspeakers.com/profiles/michael-matt  Meet Michael Matt in March at the TLM Friends Conference: https://www.tlm-friends.org/divine-mercy-conference-restoring-tradition-renewing-hope-prepare-for-a-brighter-tomorrow In this 2025 kickoff episode, Michael Matt answers YOUR questions and explains the goals for RTV in the new year! Topics include: What to expect from the Trump Administration Will the US go to war for Israel? Validity of the Novus Ordo sacraments The 3rd Secret of Fatima Plus, Syrian Christians take to the streets to defend Christianity, Justin Trudeau resigns as PM of Canada, and Pope Francis appoints Cardinal McElroy to the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. It's going to be an interesting year, and RTV is up to the challenge to proclaim Christ King no matter what happens! Support RTV: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/donate-today Sign up for Michael Matt's Weekly E-Letter: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/subscribe-today/free-remnant-updates Follow Michael Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Michael_J_Matt Subscribe to The Remnant Newspaper, print and/or digital versions available: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/subscribe-today Listen to Michael Matt's podcasts: SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/1AdkCDFfR736CqcGw2Uvd0 APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-michael-j-matt-show/id1563298989

There have been protests in Syria over the burning of a Christmas tree - amid fears that religious minorities might be vulnerable. We speak to a Syrian Christian. Also on the programme:The government has launched a consultation into the phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Does the plan need a re-think? A top food psychologist with a guide on how to make your Christmas dinner a multisensory success.And a journalist freed in the summer's massive prisoner swap between Russia and the West on spending her first Christmas back with her family.

Topics this week: Veterans are increasingly exploring psychedelic treatments in Mexico for trauma and brain injuries, raising medical, ethical, and spiritual questions.Syrian Christians face uncertainty and displacement following the rise of Islamist-led groups after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.Over 1 million children in Nigeria are forced into hazardous lithium mining, sacrificing education and health for survival.Listener question: balancing faith with worldly pressures.Listener question: insights on identity, morality, and how to live out gospel values in a broken world. ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

This week: Turkish troops poised to invade Syria & a Biden official may have encouraged Iran to attack a U.S. embassy; Sharia law Christmas for Syrian Christians? How St. Nicholas became Santa Claus; “Nothing left.” A cyclone ravages a French Island territory.

Today's HeadlinesAl Qaeda seeks to put Syrian Christians in the crosshairsNigerian Christians under fire, gospel desperately needed in the violent northAudio Bible gives Syrian refugee freedom to learn about Jesus

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Arab affairs reporter Luca Pacchiani and archaeology reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet the Qatari Prime Minister in Doha today, in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas on a Gaza deal. Pacchiani updates us on what he is reading about the hostage-release talks in neighboring nations' Arabic media this morning. Recently, the Palestinian Authority seems to be flexing its peace-keeping muscles in the West Bank, perhaps signally that it is ready to take on the challenge of Gaza. We hear about a possible Hamas-Fatah alliance -- and whether Israel would sign on to it. Syrian Christians currently make up less than 2% of the population and the new HTS rebels regime has repeatedly reassured Syrians and the international community that it will protect all minorities and women. Pacchiani reports on what he is hearing from Syrian Christians. Likewise,
Alawites, a sect that splintered from Shiite Islam in the ninth century, constitute around 10% of Syria’s predominantly Sunni population. While uncertainty prevails among all of Syria’s religious minorities today, the Alawite community – from which deposed President Assad originates – arguably has the most to fear. Pacchiani weighs in. In late November, speaking at an academic conference in Boston, veteran archaeologist Prof. Glenn Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University made a startling claim: Four tiny clay cylinder-shaped seals, which had been excavated 20 years ago from an intact Bronze Age tomb in Syria, were engraved with what he asserted was the earliest known examples of alphabetic writing — albeit as yet undeciphered. We talk about why this find is in the news again -- and what it appears to be. Researchers have deciphered a tiny third-century Christian silver scroll that was found rolled up inside an amulet, at a Roman burial site in Frankfurt, Germany. Could this be “the oldest Christian testimony found north of the Alps,” as the announcement claims? For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: With a show of force in Jenin, the PA tries to prove it can rule Gaza. But can it? Can Syria’s dwindling Christian community survive under jihadi rebel rule? A claim that the earliest alphabet was found in Syria sparks a media maelstrom – finally Amulet found in Germany said to be ‘oldest Christian testimony north of the Alps’ Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Palestinians carry UN-donated flour in Khan Younis, central Gaza Strip, Saturday December 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drone sightings along the Eastern Seaboard, concern for Christians in Syria, and holiday cheer in a cup. Plus, the hands and feet of Christ in North Carolina, a singing Christmas tree, and the Tuesday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate.Additional support comes from Season 2 of I-Witness: Silent Night, the student-led podcast drama following time-travelers to the first Christmas. On podcast apps or at: iwitnesspod.comAnd from Dordt University, where Christian faith is thoughtfully, authentically, and joyfully applied in all areas of study and life – until all is made new.

Gift a Remnant Newspaper Subscription for Christmas: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/subscribe-today Remnat MERCH ships in time for Christmas:- "I Don't Care" T-shirt: https://tinyurl.com/4yyfa8y3- Sacred Heart Pin: https://tinyurl.com/d8rx93us- "For Altar and Throne" Book: https://tinyurl.com/534w2fdj- US Flag with Sacred Heart: https://tinyurl.com/2uhc23ve- "Resist Francis" T-shirt: https://tinyurl.com/5fsshhys- "Letters to a Protestant Friend" Book: https://tinyurl.com/526sw8r6- "Guardian of Tradition" T-shirt: https://tinyurl.com/2r5mzwtf In this episode of The Underground, Michael J. Matt discusses Iraq 2.0 in Syria. The talking heads tell us that Syria is free at last, while Senator Rand Paul and Colonel Douglas McGregor express concern for Syrian Christian persection rising. So, which is it? What's happening in Syria, who's behind it, and what's it have to do with Israel's march on Iran? And by the way, why did one of Syria's Catholic bishop scold Europe and the US for letting Syria fall into the hands of terrorists?Are we looking at World War III in the Holy Land at Christmastime? Finally, guess what? Traditional Catholic veterans of the Chartres Pilgrimage helped resotre Notre Dame! What's it all mean, and why are so many critics missing the point? Support RTV: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/donate-today Sign up for Michael Matt's Weekly E-Letter: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/subscribe-today/free-remnant-updates Follow Michael Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Michael_J_Matt Subscribe to The Remnant Newspaper, print and/or digital versions available: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/subscribe-today Listen to Michael Matt's podcasts: SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/1AdkCDFfR736CqcGw2Uvd0 APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-michael-j-matt-show/id1563298989

A version of this essay was published by the Deccan Herald at https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-depressing-regularity-of-regime-change-operations-3318109This podcast is AI generated by Google NotebookLM: Imagine this scenario: In a certain country, there is someone in power who is not liked by one section of the population. Some global powers support this person; others support the opposition. One fine day there is a coup d'etat, and this person is overthrown and exiled. The opposition takes over amidst scenes of jubilation.Pliant media condemns the former ruler and welcomes the new regime. “Democracy”, they chant.But then shortly thereafter, darker things come to the fore. There are atrocities against certain sections of the population. These may be in violation of the norms of civilized society, and may include rapes, abductions, looting, murders, destruction, ethnic cleansing, and so on. In general, chaos reigns and human suffering is widespread.Bangladesh, did you say? Yes, but I was also thinking of Syria. And then this is a scenario that plays out with depressing, even metronomic, regularity in many other parts of the world. To name a few examples, there were Iraq, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan; and to look outside West Asia, there were Chile, Congo, Guatemala, South Vietnam, Brazil, Ethiopia, Yemen, Cambodia, Laos, Tibet, to name just a few.Yes, it's not just the Americans, but also the Soviets/Russians and the Chinese that have indulged in overthrowing regimes they didn't like. And usually with similar after-effects.It appears that there is a simple playbook. Arm and support particular groups friendly to you or your ideology, get them to overthrow the person you don't like, and then provide covering propaganda fire for the people you installed. This is despite the inevitable mayhem and revenge that the latter inflict on their erstwhile foes as well as the collateral damage on innocent bystanders.It is safe to say that Ukraine's regime-change, infamously attributed to an American diplomat, also did not turn out well for that nation's civilians.It's not clear if these are unintended consequences, or whether the instigators truly don't care about the damage inflicted on civilian populations. Suffice to say that there are losers at the end of the day, especially religious and ethnic minorities.The reports coming out of Bangladesh about the atrocities being committed on Hindus there are horrendous. In effect, the Hindu population looks like it is on the way to being entirely wiped out, which was also the experience in Afghanistan after the latest Taliban takeover. The tragedy is that the rest of the world – including India – does not seem to care. Nor do such entities as the United Nations, nor the grandly-named US Council on International Religious Freedom.In Syria, if there are any Syrian Orthodox Christians left (they are a community that predates the Vatican, has its liturgy in Aramaic, and owes its allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch, not the Pope) they are surely bearing the brunt of the takeover by radical Islamists. Their forebears are said to have arrived in India around 345 CE, and some people in Kerala still call themselves “Syrian Christians”.In addition, there are populations such as the Alawite sect of Islam, and other ancient groups such as Kurds and Druze either in Syria or in surrounding areas. The Kurds have been fighting for an independent homeland for a long time; the Druze inhabit border areas in Lebanon and have been generally neutral in the many wars there. Given the experiences of another ancient group, the Yazidi, when radicals attacked them ten years ago, things may not look so good for these groups either.The net take-away is that regime-change induced from outside is generally a bad idea for any nation, and can lead to significant human misery. India would be wise to take this lesson to heart, because there is reason to believe there are regime-change operations mounted by, among others, an infamous financier. There is large-scale online propaganda against India, and against Hindus, as well as continuous unrest, large and small (see Manipur).These efforts are supported by certain embedded assets inside the country: the “barbarians within” as in historian Will Durant's words: “...civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within.” (The Story of Civilization: Part 1, Our Oriental Heritage, pp 452, Simon and Shuster, New York, 1952)If there is one strategic position India urgently needs to adopt, that would be to anticipate, forestall and thwart these attempts at regime change. They reflect not the will of the people, but malign interests.760 words, 12 Dec 2024 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

Ralph welcomes retired diplomat Ambassador Chas Freeman to discuss the United States' disregard for international law, the incoming Trump administration's approach to foreign policy, and the decline of the American Empire (among other topics).Ambassador Chas Freeman is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman was previously a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. In addition to Chinese, Ambassador Freeman speaks French and Spanish at the professional level and can converse in Arabic and several other languages.He concluded his thirty years in public service as Assistant Secretary of Defense, responsible for managing defense relations with all regions of the world except the countries of the former Soviet Union. Ambassador Freeman is the author of several well-received books on statecraft and diplomacy, including The Diplomat's Dictionary, America's Misadventures in the Middle East, and America's Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East.I think it's fair to say that our country led the drive for international law, a world order that was based on rules established by consensus and legitimized at the United Nations. But we have also led the drive away from the rule of law, both internationally and domestically. And I think the connection is contempt for procedural justice or due process.Chas FreemanThat whole area of international law—which was a stabilizing force in the world—has gone [when Trump removed us from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Agreement in Europe.] And the UN Charter is disrespected—not just the US Constitution is—in its fundamentals. We invade the sovereignty of other countries with no serious regard for the legal prohibitions against that. And in fact, those legal prohibitions—which once were something that smaller countries could rely upon when they confronted the great powers—are no longer effective. Therefore, we see at the local level, the regional level, a proliferation of weapons designed to counter and defend against attack by greater powers. So the whole world is in effect arming itself. This is very good for arms manufacturers, but it's very bad for the prospects for our species.Chas FreemanThere are no realistic threats against the United States—except those that we are provoking. Our view seems to be that the best way to deal with the hornet's nest—I'm speaking of West Asia, the Middle East here—is to go and poke the hornets in their nest.Chas FreemanThe real risk now…is Israel has so much power in the US that it could create incidents which would flip the United States into a blazing barrage of empire expansion— and suppression in the United States domestically. And they have an incoming president who is ripe for that kind of manipulation to begin with.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 12/11/241. On December 4th, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan. Clues indicated that the killing was political; most notably, the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were each written on one of the three bullets fired at the scene. As AP notes, “The messages mirror the phrase ‘delay, deny, defend,' which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.” Following nearly two full days of nescience, authorities turned up a suspect – Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of an established Baltimore family who had shown signs of increasingly erratic behavior in recent months, perhaps related to ever-worsening back pain. When Mangione was apprehended in an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald's, he was found with “a three-page handwritten document that indicated ‘motivation and mindset,'” the BBC reports, however authorities have not released this manifesto. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ABC 7 New York reports that Mangione's actions have unleashed a torrent of “‘volcanic' anger,” toward health insurance agencies, which many regard as capricious and cruel. It remains to be seen how this public sentiment will factor into what is sure to be a highly-publicized criminal trial.2. The reverberations of Mangione's actions are already being felt. Back in November, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued a statement decrying Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield's unilateral declaration that it would refuse to “pay for anesthesia care if [a] surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes.” The ASA called on Anthem to reverse that proposal, but their pleas were ignored. That is until December 5th – just one day after the UnitedHealthcare shooting – when the company abruptly reversed themselves and even scrubbed the announcement of the policy from their website. Of course, Anthem insists that the outcry was based on “misinformation” and denies any correlation between the assassination and their decision, per NBC, but the timing frankly makes that difficult to believe.3. Another New York City killing also made the news last week: the trial of Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine on trial for strangling Jordan Neely to death in a New York subway car. Neely was an African-American street artist who had been experiencing homelessness. CNN reports Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, already a lesser charge than the original second-degree manslaughter allegation, which Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed Friday after jurors “twice told the court they could not come to a verdict on the count.” Neely's father, Andre Zachary, is quoted saying “I miss my son. My son didn't have to go through this. I didn't have to go through this either…What's going to happen to us now? I've had enough of this. The system is rigged.”4. Turning to the Middle East, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has fallen. Assad, with help from Russia, has clung to power since the country descended into civil war in 2011, beating back all manner of rival forces ranging from U.S.-backed rebels to left-wing Kurdish militias to ISIS. The faction that finally did wrest power from Assad is called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, which splintered from Al-Qaeda but is now engaging in a so-called “charm offensive” per France24, and promoting itself as a tolerant faction that will not subjugate women or oppress ethnic and religious minorities such as Syrian Christians, Druze, and Kurds. In a statement, the group told the Kurds of Aleppo “You have the right to live freely … Diversity is a strength of which we are proud…We denounce the actions of the Islamic State group against the Kurds, including the enslavement of women … We are with the Kurds to build the Syria of tomorrow.” ABC reports the U.S. will “recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.” So far HTS seems to fit the bill. And if this all wasn't enough, the Syrian situation is further complicated by Israel using this moment to expand its foothold in the country. CNN reports Israel has “launched airstrikes at military targets across Syria and deployed ground troops both into and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone for the first time in 50 years,” setting the stage for a possible new front in Netanyahu's ongoing regional war.5. In Palestine, the Intercept reports five Palestinians in the West Bank, along with the councils of the three villages they hail from have filed “a formal regulatory complaint in Germany accusing the media giant Axel Springer of contributing to human rights abuses in Palestine.” Specifically, the complaint concerns Yad2, a classified ads platform and subsidiary of Axel Springer that has been compared to Craigslist, which the plaintiffs allege enables illegal settlements. According to the complaint filed by Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre, Yad2's facilitation of settler activity violates Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which “requires German companies to identify and mitigate human rights risks within their global supply chains, including in subsidiaries which they control.”6. In more Israel/Palestine news, the student body at Yale has “overwhelmingly,” passed three pro-Palestine referenda, including two demanding that the university “disclose and divest from its holdings in military weapons manufacturers, ‘including those arming Israel,'” per Yale Daily News. These measures passed with around 80% of the vote. Han Pimental-Hayes, an organizer with the pro-Palestine Sumud Coalition, is quoted saying “University leaders have long tried to paint pro-Palestine and pro-divestment students as a fringe minority. The results of this referendum demonstrate that in reality, the movement for a free Palestine and a more ethical endowment is overwhelmingly popular.” Yale Friends of Israel however expressed that they are “certain” Yale will not change its investment policy regarding Israel's weapons of war.7. Looking to Africa, Semafor reports that the incoming Trump White House appears set to recognize the breakaway state of Somaliland, spurred on by right-wing elements who wish to use the unrecognized country as a base for anti-China intelligence operations. This piece highlights that this move would rattle the governments of East Africa and draw the ire of the African Union, but Trump's China hawks see it as a critical element of countering Chinese influence in the region and particularly in Djibouti where the People's Liberation Army has set up one of its handful of foreign military bases. Even if Trump does not recognize Somaliland however, and instead hews to the traditional American “One Somalia” policy, Republicans are calling for Trump to take an approach akin to Taiwan – treating it as independent without formal recognition.8. Turning to domestic politics, POLITICO reports Democrats are staging a “mutiny” against the old guard who have monopolized power in the House. This report focuses on Rep. Jerry Nadler, 77, who will vacate his position as the top Democrat on Judiciary to clear the way for Jamie Raskin, Rep. Raul Grijalva, 76, who announced he would step down as the top Dem on the Natural Resources Committee, and David Scott of Georgia, 79, who is looking down the barrel at multiple challenges for his spot on the Agriculture Committee. Since this piece was published, another major challenge has emerged – NBC reports AOC is gunning for the top Democratic spot on the Oversight Committee. The POLITICO piece emphasizes Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' approach of letting the challenges “speak for themselves,” as an indication that he will not fight this wave of challenges.9. Washington Post labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley reports the Teamsters are demanding Amazon agree to bargaining dates by December 15. In a statement, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien writes “The Teamsters are done asking nicely for Amazon to stop breaking the law. Amazon must commit to come to the table and bargain a Teamsters contract with its workers — or face the consequences of its inaction.” This gambit by the Teamsters comes just as the winter holiday gift deliveries are getting into full swing, maximizing the union's leverage. Moreover, the Teamster's Faustian bargain with the Trump administration may yield results for them, as the normally business friendly Republicans may be inclined to put the screws to Amazon on behalf of this particular union. Whatever the circumstances, the Amazon Teamsters deserve a contract and it is heartening that O'Brien is fighting for his members.10. In decidedly worse Trump news, the president-elect has announced former Missouri Republican Congressman Billy Long as his pick to lead the IRS. A story by the Lever sounds the alarm on how he might use the “non-profit killer” bill to pursue political vendettas against tax-exempt organizations he dislikes. This piece exposes Long's role in trying to pressure the IRS to launch a probe into, of all things, the Humane Society following their support of a Missouri ballot measure strengthening dog breeder regulations. Put another way, if Long was ready to use the long-arm of the IRS to crack down on an organization whose sole political goal is the protection of animals, what might he do to organizations devoted to civil rights or social justice?This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

This week the long rule of the Assad regime fell after insurgents entered the capital of Damascus and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. To help us understand the gravity of this historic event, EWTN News' Alberto Fernandez gives us insights particularly into what this moment means for Syrian Christians. Then, tis the season for holiday movies and music. We get a preview of some new faith-based flicks as well as some classic ones grounded in the true meaning of Christmas from Register staff writer Joseph Pronechen.

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Mt 11:16-19 - Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works." Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Saint Lucy, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2) AI chatbots are causing a disconnect from reality https://www.tfp.org/ai-chatbots-are-causing-a-disconnect-from-reality/ 3) Syrian Archbishop: "This is the end of the great history of Christians in Aleppo" https://catholicvote.org/syrian-archbishop-this-is-the-end-of-the-great-history-of-christians-in-aleppo/ 4) The importance of evangelization, and how to do it

12/13/24 7am CT Hour - Ed Clancy/ Fr. David Yallaly John and Sarah chat about the Nativity Scene at our Nations' Capitol, Football, Hot Cocoa Day and more. Ed explains the emergency and spiritual relief many Christian Syrians are in need of throughout the year. Fr. David talks Christmas and Advent Carols and how they transport us to the time of Christ and the day of his birth.

This week the long rule of the Assad regime fell after insurgents entered the capital of Damascus and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. To help us understand the gravity of this historic event, EWTN News' Alberto Fernandez gives us insights particularly into what this moment means for Syrian Christians. Then, tis the season for holiday movies and music. We get a preview of some new faith-based flicks as well as some classic ones grounded in the true meaning of Christmas from Register staff writer Joseph Pronechen.

GOOD EVENING: The show begins in the bull Market, witin on Jerome Powell...and Donald Trump... 1955 NYSE CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR 9:00-9:15 - Markets: Waiting on the CPI and the Fed to start the New Year bullishness. Liz Peek, The Hill, Fox News and Fox Business 9:15-9:30 - Markets: POTUS Pardon Power and the Bidens. Liz Peek, The Hill, Fox News and Fox Business 9:30-9:45 - EU: Romania troubled and frightened. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin 9:45-10:00 - EU: Populist Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not attend the Notre Dame event. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin SECOND HOUR 10:00-10:15 - State Thinking: Assad horror ends, Syria in play. Mary Kissel, Former Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State, Executive VP Stephens Inc. 10:15-10:30 - State Thinking: Ukraine asks for NATO protection. Mary Kissel, Former Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State, Executive VP Stephens Inc. 10:30-10:45 - Syria (1/2): Turkey coup masters of Damascus. Jonathan Schanzer, FDD 10:45-11:00 - Syria (2/2): Turkey coup masters of Damascus. Jonathan Schanzer, FDD THIRD HOUR 11:00-11:15 - TÜRKIYE (1/2): Erdoğan launches Neo-Ottomanism plans. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:15-11:30 - TÜRKIYE (2/2): Erdoğan launches Neo-Ottomanism plans. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:30-11:45 - OC: Who lost the South Pacific? Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:45-12:00 - KING CHARLES REPORT: Prince of Wales charms POTUS-elect and vice versa. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs FOURTH HOUR 12:00-12:15 - JAPAN: Watching the PLA N fleet off Taiwan; watching South Korea disorder. Lance Gatling, Nexial Research, Tokyo 12:15-12:30 - Syria: Archbishop of Aleppo reports on the Syrian Christians. Josh Rogin 12:30-12:45 - London Calling (1/2): Liz Truss vs. the Blob. Joseph Sternberg, WSJ Opinion 12:45-1:00 AM - London Calling (2/2): Liz Truss vs. the Blob. Joseph Sternberg, WSJ 

1860 .#Syria.  Archbishop of Aleppo reports on the Syrian Christians. . Josh Rogin DAMASCUS

Welcome to The Weekly, produced by TAB Media Group, which publishes The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper. Each episode features news headlines read by TAB Media Group staff and volunteers. New episodes are released weekly on Wednesday mornings. Articles featured in this episode: Syrian Christians ask for prayer (0:32) Baptist pastor in India first to be arrested under new magical healing law (1:47) Bible sales on the rise in 2024 (2:44) California Baptist University water polo update (3:48) Jacksonville State wins conference championship at home (4:18) Roughly $800 million spent on Notre-Dame Cathedral restoration (4:51) Solemn Assembly planned for Dec. 14 in geographical center of Alabama (5:26) 26 states have banned transgender medical treatments for minors (5:42) Visit TAB Media HERE Subscribe on iTunes HERE

We're witnessing a historic upheaval in Syria, marked by President Bashar al-Assad's sudden escape to Moscow as rebel faction HTS seizes control over key cities. Joel and Lynn Rosenberg explore the dire consequences for Syrian Christians who find themselves in grave danger amid this chaos. We'll delve into this seismic shift's geopolitical and spiritual implications and uncover what prophecy reveals about Syria's future. Stay with us as we navigate these critical developments and lift the Syrian people in our prayers. 06:57 Destroying ISIS inadvertently strengthened Assad's position.13:10 Syria's Christian population decreased significantly since 2011.14:02 Fleeing war isn't cowardice; Christians seek safety.18:13 What do biblical prophecies say about Syria?21:39 Strengthen the church in Syria to spread the gospel.24:28 God offers hope and rescue for Syrians.   Learn more about The Joshua Fund. Make a tax-deductible donation. The Joshua Fund Stock provided by DimmySad/Pond5   Verse of The day Psalm 37:1-10 Fret not yourself because of evildoers. Be not envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger, forsake wrath, fret not yourself, it tends only to evil. The evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more. Though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.   Related Episodes: Danny Ayalon - Former Israeli Ambassador Discusses U.S.-Israeli Relations and Middle East Politics #233A conversation with fmr Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about Israel, Iran, and the future #229The Abraham Accords, peace deals, and prosperity #113   Reference Links https://www.joshuafund.com/learn/latest-news/join-us-on-our-alaska-cruise Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Hour 1: The Tara Show - “The CEO KILLER CAUGHT” “The left Praises Vigilantism” “America Switching Sides” “Pray for the Syrian Christians” full 1829 Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:37:30 +0000 6fnwpwJeeOG6egphJMj7HrC69bFUYgpJ news The Tara Show news Hour 1: The Tara Show - “The CEO KILLER CAUGHT” “The left Praises Vigilantism” “America Switching Sides” “Pray for the Syrian Christians” Tara presides over the Upstate's #1 all news/talk morning show every weekday on News/Talk 989 WORD.Tara's faithful listeners are affectionately known as "Tara-ists" because of their passion and participation in the show. Tara was named 2021 Best News Talk Show and Best overall Personality, AGAIN, by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association! Tara took home the same honors in 2018 and was also named 2016 "Personality of the Year!" In addition, Tara has also won over two dozen state and national journalism awards for column writing, news reporting and investigative reporting while working for three newspapers and writing for a variety of national publications. She won a first place reporting award from the North Carolina Press Association for an investigative series about the weaknesses in Charlotte's overburdened court system, which regularly let murderers off the hook with less than 15 years in prison. Due to her work, that system has been reformed. Tara is also a winner of the prestigious first place Green Eyeshade Award, a national award for column writing from The Society of Professional Journalists. Tara took to the airwaves about 15 years ago to do a radio show heard up and down the coast and fell in love with bypassing her editors to talk straight to the people. Tara hasn't stopped reporting, and still brings her investigative journalism to the show. Tara is a mom, wife and talk radio convert-- and weekday mornings she's live and local on News/Talk 989 WORD. Are you a "Tara-ist"? It's time to get captured!      2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%

December 10th, 2024 - A Catholic Take welcomes back Edward Clancy to discuss the plight of Syrian Christians. Then we're joined again by Michael Hichborn to discuss the reopening of Notre Dame and the first Mass there since the 2019 fire. TheStationOfTheCross.com/ACT  

On today's Quick Start podcast: NEWS: Duck Dynasty Star Reveals Devastating Health Diagnosis, Daniel Penny Verdict is IN FOCUS STORY: SCOTUS Rejects Parents Appeal on Trans Policy MAIN THING: Syrian Christians in Danger LAST THING: Romans 12 SHOW LINKS JESUS AND THE PROPHESIES OF CHRISTMAS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-and-the-prophecies-of-christmas/id1783607035 NEWSMAKERS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newsmakers/id1724061454 DC DEBRIEF POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/d-c-debrief/id1691121630 CBN News YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CBNnewsonline CBN News https://www2.cbn.com/news Faithwire https://www.faithwire.com/ Email us! QuickStartPodcast@cbn.org

The fate of Syria's Christian population remains a concern. A Christian resident of Aleppo, speaking anonymously, expressed shock at the sudden withdrawal of Syrian government forces. Once reclaiming the city in 2016 through heavy bombardments and sieges under President Assad, their presence vanished swiftly: "They withdrew entirely," the resident said.  

In this episode of Bongino Report: Early Edition, Evita covers the potential extermination of Syrian Christians, Trump manhandling President Macron, and Jill Biden helping Trump sell his fragrance line.  How Syria's ‘diversity-friendly' jihadists plan on building a state Known Democrat Propagandists Like NBC News' Kristen Welker Don't Deserve Trump's Time  Check out our amazing sponsors!!!  Cozy Earth : cozyearth.com/evita  American Financing : AmericanFinancing.net/Evita or call (888)-885-1332 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Daniel Penny Found Not Guilty, The Left Loses It” “BREAKING: Apparent Suspect In Custody For United Health CEO Shooting” “Assad Out, Syrian Christians Are In Danger” “Laura Trump Stepping Down As RNC Co-Chair”

Assad Out, Syrian Christians Are In Danger https://www.audacy.com/989word The Charlie James Show Listen on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3MXOvGP Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-charlie-james-show-podcast/id1547262821 Follow us on Social Media Join our Live Stream Weekdays - 3pm to 7pm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/989word Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-2031096 X: https://twitter.com/989word Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/989word/ "Red Meat, Greenville." 12/09/24

This podcast will fill you in on a lot of "why" things are as they are! Nothing is as it appears on the surface. Pray for the Christians of Syria who are under great persecution!

An excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI audience 2009: John Damascene, a personage of prime importance in the history of Byzantine Theology, a great Doctor in the history of the Universal Church. Above all he was an eyewitness of the passage from the Greek and Syrian Christian cultures shared by the Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire, to the Islamic culture, which spread through its military conquests in the territory commonly known as the Middle or Near East. John, born into a wealthy Christian family, at an early age assumed the role, perhaps already held by his father, of Treasurer of the Caliphate. Very soon, however, dissatisfied with life at court, he decided on a monastic life, and entered the monastery of Mar Saba, near Jerusalem. This was around the year 700. He never again left the monastery, but dedicated all his energy to ascesis and literary work, not disdaining a certain amount of pastoral activity, as is shown by his numerous homilies. His liturgical commemoration is on the 4 December. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him Doctor of the Universal Church in 1890 The post St. John Damascene, Pt. 1 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

In this episode of Journey of Hope, host Elio Constantine takes us to the Bekaa Valley to speak with Bashir, the pastor of the Hope Evangelical Church and field manager for Heart for Lebanon's operations in the region. Together, they delve into the profound impact of experiencing and sharing the love of Christ.    Bashir shares his personal testimony of coming to Christ at the age of 17 and how his journey has led him to serve both inside and outside the church walls. He emphasizes that knowing Christ compels us to make Him known to others, and he illustrates this through Heart for Lebanon's multifaceted outreach programs.    We hear the poignant story of Alya, a Syrian refugee who found hope and transformation through the love and support of Heart for Lebanon. Despite facing immense personal tragedy and responsibility, Alya's encounter with the church led her to a newfound sense of love and compassion for her family.    Bashir also recounts a touching story of a Syrian Christian family in Zahle who felt isolated until Heart for Lebanon visited them. Their story underscores the importance of building relationships and showing love through simple acts of kindness and presence.    Please join our prayer team at heartforlebanon.org/prayer. Feel free to email us at podcast@heartforlebanon.org.

Shownotes and Transcript We are delighted to welcome Jacki Deason, who is the host of The Jacki Daily Show on blaze.com to help Peter delve into the recent presidential debate.  They begin by critiquing candidate performances and discussing political strategies before touching on cultural Marxism's impact on institutions, advocating for balanced history education, and prioritizing national interests in industries like energy.  The conversation extends to renewable energy challenges, highlighting the need for informed decision-making, stressing the importance of nuanced understanding and thoughtful discourse on complex societal issues. Jacki Deason hosts The Jacki Daily Show, a weekly show and podcast airing on BlazeMedia, on the dial in Texas, and podcast on iHeartRadio, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher. Previously, Jacki worked for an engineering firm specializing in energy production, national security, and environmental cleanup.  She served as legal counsel on Capitol Hill to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and the former Ranking Member of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee, advising on the oversight of federal agencies.  Prior to her career in Washington, she worked as a corporate litigator, and as an Assistant Vice President for a national bank. Jacki studied Economics, Spanish, and World History at Marshall University (U.S. Society of Yeager Scholars), Oxford University (U.K.), and the University of Zaragoza (Spain).  She is an alum of the Vanderbilt University Law School, where she served as the President of the law school's Federalist Society chapter. Jacki has an extensive network from which the show draws its guests—including industry leaders representing all parts of the energy sector, government officials, journalists, and political insiders.  Often, Jacki will know the day's most-wanted guest and be able to secure the guest with a personal call. Jacki is from the Ohio River Valley, where the shale runs deep. She descends from a long line of energy workers, including roughnecks, railroaders, coal miners, and nuclear energy specialists. Connect with Jacki... WEBSITE                jackidaily.com/ X/TWITTER            x.com/JackiDailyHost TRUTH                   truthsocial.com/@jackidaily INSTAGRAM           instagram.com/jackidaily/ Interview recorded  28.6.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... X/TWITTER        x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/ TRANSCRIPT (Hearts of Oak) It's wonderful to have a guest on, first time, who I met over when I was stateside last time, Jacki Deason. Jacki, thank you so much for your time today. (Jacki Deason) Thank you so much, Peter, for the opportunity. I'm looking forward to this. Not at all. I know you've got a lot happening in everything, in media world, and everything else, so it is great to have you on. And, of course, you host the Jacki Daily Show, a weekly show airing on Blaze Media. And I had the privilege of actually getting a tour of the fantastic Blaze Studios, which made me feel a little bit jealous as a Brit. But great. And I know on your tagline, it says, entertains and educates a worldwide audience, dispels fear with facts and all things energy, freedom, happiness and prosperity. And I love that uplifting message. And your background you worked in energy and then before that legal counsel on Capitol Hill and then before that you worked as a corporate litigator and assistant at the president for a national bank. So, a lot in there in your background a lot of experience you bring and I love talking to those in the media who actually have a wealth of background experience they bring to that and it's It's not just another podcast. So, great to have you with us. And obviously, people can find you @JackiDailyHost on Twitter or X. And JackiDaily.com is the website. And all the links for your Facebook and Instagram are all up there on the website and on Twitter. Now, the first thing I need to ask you, of course, Jacki, is the presidential debate last night. And I didn't subject myself to the whole two hours. I watched snippets of it, maybe snippets more on the Trump side, because you get what feed Twitter gives you. But what were your thoughts on that? And I've read a lot of newspaper headlines, but what were your thoughts? So, I watched it from start to finish and I went and got a massage and took a nap before the debate just to get rested up for it. Like everyone here was so jacked up, amped up for it. You know, I mean, we couldn't wait, because we actually thought this moment might never come, either because Biden would just refuse to debate, which is the new thing, or because, you know, Trump could be in jail. Literally, it's possible. So, we didn't know what was going to happen. Out of nowhere came this early debate, which is weird. I'm telling you, the Democrats are doing that strategically, agreeing to that so that they can show the world why they have no choice but to replace him at the convention. Probably with Michelle Obama, could be Gavin Newsom. But it's Michelle Obama who, who, you know, they put these books out for her, book tours all over the place. She's all over these shows that are, you know, supposedly mainstream culture shows, but they're really run by Democrat loyalists at the top. She's the one that's being traipsed out all the time, not Gavin Newsom. They did have a debate with Gavin Newsom and DeSantis earlier in the year. So, some people thought they were, like, trying him out. But, I really think that's the whole purpose of this debate. I think it came from the Democrat side. They know the problem they have. I mean, there's no way that Biden can not have major gaps showing that he's cognitively not there anymore. He wasn't in 2016 either, really, but they could hide it well enough. People scorned me for saying that he was being drugged up in advance of national media appearances. But you know what? Like about 95 percent of conservatives believe that. And now probably 90 percent of liberals would believe that. I don't know. But anyway, you heard Biden say that there were a thousand trillionaires in America. I mean, whoa, that people were being raped by their in-laws and their brothers and sisters, that he beat Medicare, that Democrats are against late-term abortion. Abortion, I'm sure that disgusted and shocked his base, who think therefore, or at least if they actually correct that, most Democrats are not, but the party apparatus, the people at the highest levels most certainly are. So anyway, those were all major flaws in his performance, I thought, aside from the obvious the name calling and moodiness and all that. Trump actually, I thought, performed just like last time, which is that, you know, I watched and he is, he missed a lot of opportunities to lay out. Well, there were a lot of opportunities, I agree. I mean, I think it's just that he refuses to prepare, right? So because, like you said, He said, I saw the quote, he says, I've been preparing for this debate all of my life. He is off the cuff because he is, in fact, a performer. He is an entertainer. And that works to his benefit a lot. People don't know, if you haven't been to a Trump rally, he's a completely different person. He is like a stand-up comedian. He is very relaxed. He's having a great time. He's witty and clever. Last night, he was agitated. You know, it wasn't, it's a very different Trump. And so, you know, I heard a lot of repetition in there. And, you know, John McCain did the same thing. They're two very different people, two very different people. But, you know, I thought Trump was passable. I don't think it changed really anyone's minds. Campaigns, the only person who changed minds was Biden, because now he did his job, which was to convince the Democrats that they don't want him on the ticket, even though they voted for him in the primary. That's the issue. And he has to want to step down. I mean, I actually thought that maybe going after his son criminally was about coercing him to step down. They did the same thing to General Flynn on the Republican side, you might remember. So, that either didn't work or he didn't get it. He really cognitively might not even understand threats at this point. So, it's very interesting. But there's a total meltdown this morning on the Democrat side, which I think is orchestrated, foreseeable. I try to not get too political on my, X account. You know, I actually try to avoid the words Democrat or Republican. It's not a partisan show. It's a policy show. So, I don't, but I don't mind when I go into other people's shows. It's your show. So, you can ask anything you want. And the truth is I love talking politics. I don't get to do it very often on my show. So, this is a real treat for me. Good. Well, I want to ask you everything. And I've had the privilege of being at three Trump rallies, including my picture with the man himself, so it's it's phenomenal and from someone who's been at steeped in U.K politics nothing beats a trump rally. So, anyone watching this you have to get out to a trump rally before November, because nothing beats that atmosphere the excitement the the electric environment that is. But I was kind of thinking, and I agree with your assessment fully. I'm glad I'm not more down the rabbit hole than you are; Michelle Obama: I agree it ticks those boxes. I wonder why kind of you the trump team would want to debate Biden, because you don't want him to look too decrepit because then it plays into the hands of those who want to remove him, but the media have portrayed him as mentally unable over the last maybe one, two, three, months and it of seems to be playing up and this seems to be the the culmination in that. So, maybe the Trump team couldn't actually do anything about it that they had to push for the debate, agree, and then whatever happens-happens. So, what... Yeah, what were your I thought why would he want to debate debate Biden, because he seems to be winning on immigration on the border and economy, so why go into that. You know, I don't communicate with the Trump team, so I don't have any special insight into that decision making process. But I will tell you, I do believe what they should have done is waited until after the Democratic convention, which is the normal course of things. I mean, that's the way it normally works. I mean, the fact that they would agree to this should have tipped off some alarm bells. So, I do think that was a tactical mistake myself. I think I think that part of what they must have been thinking is literally it's possible Trump will be in jail between now and the election. What the debates represent, and few people appreciate this, even in the States, is it is the one event where you have both sides watching, listening, meaning President Trump can get through to even the Democrat supporters of Biden with zero media filter. And that almost never happens. It almost doesn't exist. Everything we get is filtered through our media source of choice. And so it's really scary that we live in these echo chambers and now you have social media so you can cultivate your own reality and universe and friend set. So, I love debates because it's the one opportunity we get to really speak directly to the other side. We have to find all of those opportunities we can. And even people like you and me, who we might not be running for president, but we do have a platform and a voice. And I try very hard to find those opportunities to speak directly to people on the other side, especially at the highest levels. Levels because once you spend time around them, which is so rare these days, unfortunately, you realize something. Many of them are just human beings. They really do believe in what they're doing sometimes. Some of them do. And so I've spent a lot of time lately trying to hack the filter that they're seeing through and figure out how do we get to them? Because here's what I come away with every single time. Every single time I spend time with a high profile liberal, like having drinks or spending social time, you know, just really downtime. It's that both sides maybe are being deceived. What the really bad guys, the really bad guys don't want is for us to communicate directly and get around the filters that are put on us. By both sides of the corporate media. So... I just, we have to remain humanized to each other. We become objectified as some big, horrible, awful other out there. And they believe the worst things imaginable about us. And it has to be shocking for them to be around us and find out that we're just normal, decent, caring, respectful human beings. And so I just come away with this. I'm not going to give you the names, but it was just a couple of months ago. I was out in Palo Alto, California with two extremely high profile liberals. You would know their names right away in the UK too. And so we were meeting for this kind of side reason. It's not the core of what I do at all. I just happened to be there. In fact, I wasn't really an invitee and clearly they had no idea who I was, because I walk in and spend half an hour talking to one of them before this thing gets started. And she's like, so what do you do? And I'm like, well, I do energy and environment research. And she goes, oh, how lovely. She has no idea who I am, which is great. So, we have this amazing conversation. And here's the bottom line. At the end of this long event, we then go have drinks. And it's just a few of us, like less than five. And these two to say to me, every day, we were on the phone this morning and we said, every day we become more conservative, because they're like, you know what? Pro-Hamas protests, we're out. This business of, you know, operating on children, removing their genitals, so they can't reproduce before they're even old enough to know, you know, you're four years old. Every other day you think you're a dinosaur, much less the opposite sex. They're like, we're out. We're having no part of that. We cannot be a part of that. It's a violation of our conscience. And then, you know, men in our transition, men in women's sports, we're out. We can't be a part of that. And even one of them was in a gay marriage and said that the other one, the spouse, had just been let go from a job for refusing to identify pronouns, because that person objected. You know, there are actually people on the other side who are reasonable. They know what's happening is not the truth. They know they're being asked to be part of something that cannot be right. And so, I really just came away with a lot of hope after speaking with them. Like I said, they'd been drinking. I feel like they were like loosened up and it was like a truth serum coming out. And it was really very reassuring. And then they said to me, they said, you know, people just believe that Republicans don't care about people. I said, that is just emphatically false. It is emphatically false. I feel like most of my day is filled with trying to figure out how to protect people. And so anyway, what I'm saying to you is that conversation was so valuable. It was so valuable because that's a humanizing conversation. I think it's exactly the conversation that the really bad guys don't want us to have. hey don't want us to figure out that the people on the other side are probably actually decent human beings who just, that what's happened is we, we all have, different information sets, different life experiences, different, friend sets. And so that's probably the biggest difference between the average liberal and average conservative. It's different. You've been exposed to different information. And so, but you're not that different. So, I just want this unifying message. I had a separate conversation with a guy who was the founder of the Bloods street gang here in Dallas. There's the Bloods and the Crips in LA, very famous. There've been films made about it. There are rap songs about it. These are very violent criminal gangs, but they are a family to the people who join them, because often they don't have family. Anyway, I was speaking with him him. And I could tell you other things about him that make him different from me. We're racially different. We're at this point, socioeconomically different, but I just, we had this amazing conversation and I just thought this is exactly, again, I came away thinking, this is the conversation that the people who work to divide us don't want us to have. We have to force those conversations in those social settings where it's not a debate. You're not at a panel, right? You know, where it's scripted in front of a lot of people. You're just talking one-on-one. I want to pick up, because that's a really interesting line, because often we see the other side as the enemy, or we see them as actually as maybe evil in what they push forward and forget that they are probably misinformed. And that may be a better place to start. I want to pick up on that, but I wanted to ask you one more question on the debate, because some of the headlines, I mean, even CNN talked about 67% thought that Trump won. From their viewers and 33% thought the Biden one, I don't know where how those 33% were watching; maybe they were sleeping, I don't know. You were pulling The White House staff. They could have been but and then a lot of the headlines. I mean, New York post: this debate was a blowout for Trump, political Democrats really have no way to spin this. And New York Times piece: Joe Biden is a good man a good president, but he must buy out of the race. And then CNN did that fact check and and showed a lot of the stuff was incorrect. Independent in the U.K: I really didn't know what he said and I think, I don't think he does either, which was a quote from Trump. That was the headline of the article. Trump pulls no punches as Biden struggles in debate Sky News an unmitigating disaster for Biden and tv debate with Trump as he faces calls from democrats to step aside which is what you touched on. Then The Guardian, who will replace Joe Biden, and a lot of other publications beginning to talk about who will replace for the first time ever, actually. It's been more the conservative side, but actually seeing the left. And it seemed as though simply on the end with Joe Biden taking him by the hand and leading the poor guy off stage where Trump just walks off. All of that. Seem to be put out to say, actually, he's not able to continue. And I'm firmly of the view, not that I would put money on it, even after our conversation, but actually, Michelle Obama seems to tick all the boxes the Democrats want. So they think. I'll tell you what, here's my thought about it. And maybe I'm totally wrong, not like I had my finger on the pulse of the average Democrat voter. But she seems to me to check the boxes for the elite Democrat set. The elites, they're the ones that you the only ones you're allowed to hear from, really, on cable news. So, Michelle Obama, she is, I think I was saying I grew up beneath the poverty line. I'm now very much not. The liberals in the suburbs and the really nice neighbourhoods think she's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I'll tell you who I don't think thinks that. Union Democrats, people working with their hands, which historically was a huge voting bloc for Democrats. And they've already been peeling off a lot long before she came along. Then Hispanics. I mean, again, Hispanics are very practical people. There's no cocktail circuit that they're going to care about as much. These are like, some of them are new Americans, but a lot of them are not. People forget. We have a very large Hispanic community that's Cuban in South Florida and Venezuelan from the central and South America. You've got the Puerto Ricans in New York. [20:39] You've got Mexicans in Texas. [20:42] And we we have in this southwestern part of the country, Hispanics who were here long before we were, like literally, they didn't immigrate anywhere in the last probably thousand years. So, they're a huge demographic that's now flipping Republican. And people marvelled at this last election. These were once Native American tribes. Then they were conquered by the Mexicans, specifically the Spanish government when they were still in control of Mexico. Then they were Texians because they'd won their independence from Mexico. Then they joined the United States. So, the borders just keep running over top of these folks. That's a huge demographic. What is it about Michelle Obama that appeals to them at all? I can't think of really one reason why. What has she accomplished, really? They don't care about checking boxes and woke politics. These are people who care about inflation and crime and immigration, obviously, for where they live is going to be the big issue for them. I'm just not at all sure. Then how about all of the new immigrants who come from countries? Where women don't have the status that they have here? How about countries where, you know, if women testify in court, their testimony is worth half of a man's? We're importing immigrants from countries where that is the practice. That is the belief system. Why are they going to go for Michelle Obama? I just don't, I don't see it. Okay, well, we'll watch it and see if her surname carries her forward or whether they choose someone else. But I 100% agree, that everything was played out to show that Biden is not able to stand us, whether Jill Biden accepts us, maybe that could be the sticking point. I'm sure she's enjoying that position in the White House. Jacki, I'm interested in your thoughts on the whole march of cultural Marxism, which you've seen over the past couple of decades, really, through every institution, not only in the US, but here in the UK and across Europe. And during this election, immigration and the economy are the two big issues, whether it's in the European elections just passed or the French elections just happening, the UK elections coming up in days or the US election in November. It's actually interesting the same issues which is border control, immigration, and the economy, but the whole issue of cultural Marxism and how it's torn up a lot of our institutions and I'm wondering how that kind of fits in in regards to rewriting American history, and then we'll get on to kind of education, the whole gender debate, but where does that fit into this, presidential election? So, I mean, we now have reached, the Marxists have now reached a critical mass of young people. So, let's say people under the age of maybe who genuinely are buying into what they're. Which is that there's an us versus the oppressor. So they're permitting the people teaching them to divide us. That's the first issue. And it's just a modern application. And because they don't have enough evidence, I mean, they tried earlier in American history in the last 100 years to divide us, lower income bracket, upper income bracket. They introduced the words class. That's why I try so hard to avoid using the words working class, upper middle class. The word class itself is dividing. It just means, you know, let's call them upper income, lower income. It didn't work in America because frankly, I mean, I grew up in a lower income family. Our lives were not that bad. You know, I don't recall ever going hungry, ever going homeless. We were free. We could say what we wanted, do what we wanted. It wasn't like Europe where only the elite could hunt. We could hunt, we could fish and feed ourselves and grow our own crops. We all had gardens growing up. Our lives were pretty good. The socioeconomic Marxism really never caught on here. gear. So, they shifted gears. And now it's all about your immutable characteristics, race, sex, or now they'll fluid it with gender. Race and sex, you inherited those completely beyond any control of your own from the moment of your conception, not the moment of your birth, the moment of your conception. You were encoded with your DNA as male or female, black, white, whatever. And so this has been success. What's amazing is they had to do the bag of checks and go back 400 years to the 1619 Project to be able to find sins big enough to cause people to begin to question whether or not America was good, whether or not they are good, whether or not their parents are any good and their grandparents. And so what I see happening, and it's the critical theory school, the Frankfurt School and all that, you're seeing them use critical theory, which in my mind is the cheapest theory. Easiest, lowest bar school. And all it does is say, all right, let's take whatever it is we want to destroy, zoom in on the worst moments in the history, moments in a person's life, blow them up out of all proportion and pretend they're representative. And by all means, what you will never want to do is actually show the other side of that person or that country. Here's the truth, right? You can destroy any country or people or person with that approach. There is no people group that didn't practice slavery. And in fact, Americans were one of the first to abolish it. I mean, slavery is going on right now all over the world. There are more people enslaved right now than in any other time in history. Do people even know that? They don't, because if they did, the fault wouldn't break down along racial lines that the Marxists need to get what they want politically in this country. It's just a matter of changing the perspective of the kids they're brainwashing and saying, just a minute, let me ask you one question. What country would you rather live in, the United States or pick a Marxist country? Pick one. Cuba, Russia, some of the middle America countries have hard left governments. Some of the South American countries, you know, I don't see you rushing their border the way the people from those countries are rushing our border. Why is that? Why do they want to be here? We must be doing something right. Would you like to talk about what we're doing right? You know, would Would you like to talk about what's so great about America or the West or Christendom as it was once known? Countries that have a Christian background? I mean, one of the things I thank God for is that I was born in this country and I wasn't born an Iraqi Christian in the last 30 years. Or a Syrian Christian or a Lebanese Christian. The war on Christians and the genocide that's happened against Christians around the world, not just in the Middle East and North Africa, but all over the place, is an outrage. And no one seems too concerned about that. Why? Why aren't Americans under the age of 40 taught about that? Why not? Instead of learning about the genocide that's happening today. They're learning about something that happened 400 years ago. They have to reach back 400 years. And still, if I were born, you know, check their boxes. If I were a young, black, female, bisexual, I'd far rather live in the United States than live in any other country. Period. Period. And so what are we doing right? Why is that true? And why is nobody asking these questions? So, I guess what I'm saying is it's a critical theory. [29:50] And you can get people to understand this by applying it to one human being, rather than looking at countries, rather than needing a command of world history, which most people don't have, because the Department of Education scrubbed that out of the curriculum a long time ago to make sure you can't do this analysis I'm asking you to do. Let's look at one person. Let's take the Christian view of this, which is you can take any human being and, and take the worst moments of their lives where they behave the worst, they did the worst thing that they're most ashamed of, that they most regret. You can zoom in on that and put it up on a big, you know, overhead projector. Let me show you how old I am and overhead projector and, or put it up on your social media and pay for it to go viral and show the world that one worst moment in that human being's life and pretend like that represents their life. There's nothing else to know, right? They've never done anything good in their life. There's no redeeming anything about that person. This is it. That's what the Marxists do. That's what the politics is about today. And it's about dehumanizing and demonizing that person or that country or that culture or that faith off the very worst moments in history three with the very worst people who ever phony put on the mantra and that, that label. So, I guess it's just, it's the critical thinking that we have to teach to the younger people so they don't fall victim to this warring against their own people, their own family, you know, people who won't even speak to their parents anymore because they, they believe something different about supply side economics or taxation or something. It's ridiculous. And that's brainwashing. And it's what What brainwashers do, they isolate you from everyone who ever loved you. So, they can have their way with you in your brain. And so it's not that the kids are bad, and it's not that they're stupid. It's none of those things. And you have to refrain from getting angry about it and calling people names, because it's actually that nobody has ever taught them real history. No one has ever taught them how to think critically, because that's the last thing that the Marxists want. I was talking to a lady yesterday in Texas who is doing education reform. Now, she said, this is in Texas now, they don't even want to give the kindergartners pencils or crayons. God forbid they might learn how to read and write. You know, it was illegal in slave-holding countries to teach the slaves how to read. You know why? They might actually advance in society. They're harder to subdue. And now they're doing the exact same thing in Texas schools or someone's trying to make that the policy. This is an outrage. And they do it on the basis of not every kid can read and write. Not every kid can succeed. We need to care about the people at the lower end who can't succeed. And that is a thinly veiled excuse for keeping them down. We got to call this what it is. That is victimization. That's a predator trying to keep those kids down. It's really disgusting. And there are very few people who are truly the bad people. Again, it's only the operatives who want to keep us divided and want to keep people ignorant. We have to recognize this is so important. It's a teeny little sliver of the population. It's not the Democrat party. Most Democrats don't feel that way. It's some of the people at the top of the apparatus who are funding things, who run the media. And we all need to kind of get together against that teeny little sliver of bad people trying. And why do they do it? You know, it's about power and money. It's about separating people from their rights and their money and their autonomy and their self-determination. Anyway, I could go on for a long time. As you can see, I'm very passionate about this and reframing the debate so that people aren't having their heritage stripped from them. Americans should be very proud to be Americans. There's a lot we do right. And that's why there are millions of people flooding our border to get in here. And nowhere else in the world do you see that. Yeah, I agree. We're seeing British history rewritten where the British Empire is now something awful instead of looking at how William Wilberforce was the forefront of actually freeing, stopping slavery and then looking at the educational side, the health side, transport, all those things that were provided and history is rewritten. And it kind of fits into in the US where Make America Great Again is an uplifting message of hope, of actually bringing the country to where it should be. And that's now degraded as evil and hateful. It's curious where making a country great is regarded as awful. It's, yeah, a curious mix. It's a very difficult mantra to try to demonize, but people have certainly tried. And so, you know, they're like, what he's trying to say, they make this up. Okay. They're saying what Trump is trying to say is that somehow we were great when we were less diverse. It's like, actually, this country has always been diverse. Always. There's never been a day, a day since America existed from the 1700s that we didn't have have. Native Americans, especially all over the frontier, wherever that was, we have, you know, always had, at least since the 1700s, a hefty percentage of Black Americans. We had, as you know, the Spanish were in Florida, the French were in the North, the Dutch, you know, it used to be Dutch in New York before it was English, before we renamed it York. Yeah. But anyway, and of course, as I told you, the people in the Southwest, they were always tribal and they're still there. They're not on reservations. They live in Laredo. They live in El Paso. So anyway, it's always been a diverse country. Therefore, the slogan, Make America Great Again, in, does not hearken back to some, this is what they, his enemies want you to believe, like it harkens back to some time when America was all white. When was that? But because their sense of history is about as deep as their lifetime, or maybe not even that long, they became politically conscious five years ago. So, nothing existed before five years ago. And so anyway, I mean, sometimes I make fun of the the people on the other side just because you have to laugh or cry. You got to have some fun sometime. But really, there's a great mission in front of us to educate people about real history and some of it is dark, some of it is bad, and then we have to own it. When you were in Texas, for example. My studio, part of the studio is a museum. It's called the American Journey Experience. And the museum highlights all kinds of things from Hollywood and its history to, you know, to the Geneva Bible, to crime and punishment. There's an electric chair in there showing you some of the really dark stuff. And Glenn Beck is, you know, running that project. And he's like the the lead host at the Blaze Media. He thought it was important to take all the horrible things in history and showcase them accurately, which sometimes it's actually worse than you think. Sometimes it's better than you think. But also there's American greatness in the museum. You can also see a whole library of burned books that the Nazis burned in World War II. So, you know, it's just a lot of great stuff that you can't really get anywhere else. And so that's the importance of history. We have to tell it all. The good and the bad. Concede the bad points. But make sure the good points are taught. And you're making me jealous again and I did see some of that. I thought it's so essential that that story, that history is preserved because there seems to be an onslaught everywhere. One of the other tidelines is America first. First and this is something that actually Europe are struggling with actually nations being the priority for the government which should be the first duty of any government putting the country and citizens first and we've ended up a duty of the government seems to be putting the citizens last. I mean when Trump was in the White House he there were many things that he wanted to do with manufacturing, with energy, and I know your background in energy, and he always talked about being energy independent. And we've moved away, not only in America, but in Britain, we've got gas in the North Sea, and we were energy independent for decades. But we've moved away from that to shipping LPG from foreign countries, and that seems better than actually producing it under our own feet. But that must be another part of Trump's call for November to actually put America first and to use the resources that America has instead of relying on other countries. Right. So, you know, COVID should have taught us about strategic commodities. There were all kinds of things that we needed and we weren't sure that we would have them, whether it's pharmaceuticals like antibiotics or whether it's PPE is what we call it. But that's basically during COVID, it's all the sterile stuff, the masks, you know, the gloves, the simple stuff, plastic barriers. America doesn't manufacture anything anymore. Well, take that problem and put it on steroids when you're talking about oil and gas. Oil and gas run the world, even now and even for the foreseeable future, at least 20 years from now. Anything to the contrary is just a lie. It's just a lie. Imagine this in in the first two world wars the united states supplied about 70 percent of the oil and gas or the fuel to the allies that was needed to win those wars if it weren't for American oil and gas and American steel as well those wars would have gone the other direction, understand it. So, that's why you know Hitler was trying so hard to get Baku Azerbaijan on. That's the oldest oil field in the world. It's huge. And he really needed that to continue the war. That's a lot of what went wrong for him. And thank God it went wrong for him. And so it was us storming the beaches of Europe at this time with oil and natural gas. And it's one reason why the pipeline that the Russians lost was such a big deal too. Because everyone knows fossil fuels are still what run the world. It's the reason why China's building all these coal plants, because they're smart. They have to somehow take care of 1.3 or more billion people. You can't do that without fossil fuels. We are watching this bizarre suicide that our federal government is trying to impose upon us. Right now, the U.S. is the number one oil producer on Earth. We're the number one natural gas producer on Earth. That wasn't true before the fracking revolution. So first you saw the attack on fracking. It supposedly is destroying groundwater. It's destroying the air and all that proved false. It was debunked. Then it was methane. Then it's attack pipelines. Suddenly pipelines are evil, even though they're obviously the most green way of moving the hydrocarbon because the alternatives are rail and truck. When you stop the pipeline, all you're doing is moving it to rail and truck, which has like 20 times the carbon footprint of a pipeline. So anyway, back to what Trump needs to do is make clear to people, number one, face the reality. With math and with physics, it is not possible to run this country on wind and solar, nor is it green, by the way, but that's a much longer conversation. But when you watch people make really bad decisions like like RFK Jr. And Governor Cuomo, who banned fracking in New York, an outrage. New York is rich in shale. It has one of the most monstrous shale plays in the country. Pennsylvania chose to develop it. So, you have like a lot of wealth in Pennsylvania. These poor farmers up in New York, they can't have any of that money and the New Yorkers can't have any of the gas. So guess what? The result is that the Russians are pulling their tankers into the Northeast to give New York its natural gas. And the New Yorkers are paying the Russians and therefore or have been since over the time when they did the ban, which I think was 2014. Russians are a little more suppressed at this point. But for a long, long, long time, that's what happened. Now you're paying Russia for your fuel. Congratulations. You didn't change one thing about the amount of fossil fuels you're burning. All you're doing is giving Putin money to fuel a war. And so this is what happens. But the New Yorkers really believed that if they voted for the fracking ban, they were all going to just magically hop over to wind and solar, which can't even fuel that state. Apparently, all the battery storage in the country right now could run New York City for an hour. So, yeah, but they were lied to. They were lied to. And so they didn't know that. hey would never have made that choice if they'd had the real facts that people like Governor Cuomo and RFK Jr. Miseducated them because they were miseducated themselves. Yeah, not huge. I think energy needs to be; without energy actually economy collapses nothing works and energy is is absolutely central and forefront to to anything.. Jacki, I really do appreciate your time covering obviously the debate that we've just had and touching on some of those key issues which I think will be front and foremost in this election campaign. So, thank you so much for giving us your time today. Thank you, Peter. And thank you for the opportunity. It's really fun to connect across the ocean here, have this conversation. I really appreciate everything you do. Oh, thank you. You keep up the great work.

The 1860 ‘Damascus Events' saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It's an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire's response to the violence, it's also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink. To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today, Conflicted welcomes Eugene Rogan to our community! Eugene is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and a Fellow of St. Anthony's College at the University of Oxford. His recent book, ‘The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World' is available now at all good bookshops and is very much recommended for the Conflicted Community as a must read to learn more about the late Ottoman Empire. To keep listening, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 9, 1860, a violent mob swept through the Christian quarters of Damascus. For eight days, violence raged, leaving 5,000 Christians dead, thousands of shops looted, and churches, houses, and monasteries razed. The sudden and ferocious outbreak shocked the world, leaving Syrian Christians vulnerable and fearing renewed violence. Rogan is today's guest, and author of “The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East.” Drawn from never-before-seen eyewitness accounts of the Damascus Events, Rogan tells the story of how a peaceful multicultural city came to be engulfed in slaughter. He traces how rising tensions between Muslim and Christian communities led some to regard extermination as a reasonable solution. Rogan also narrates the wake of this disaster, and how the Ottoman government moved quickly to retake control of the city, end the violence, and reintegrate Christians into the community. These efforts to rebuild Damascus proved successful, preserving peace for the next 150 years until 2011.Although history does not offer a road map for solving contemporary problems, it does illustrate the depths of possibility.

"Truth and Love are wings that cannot be separated, for Truth cannot fly without Love, nor can Love soar aloft without Truth." (Saint Ephrem the Syrian)   "Look at God within yourself, how 'God is Light.' For his Nature is a glorious, many-splendored Light. He manifests the Light of his Nature to those who love Him in all the worlds…" (John of Dalyatha, Syriac Mystic)   "To be glorified art Thou, the Father Supreme, born of Thy First-born in the silence and tranquility of meditation." (Syriac Acts of Saint Thomas in India)   "There is a silence of the tongue. There is a silence of the whole body. There is a silence of the soul. There is a silence of the mind, and there is a silence of the spirit." (Abraham of Nathpar)   "Open your ears, and I shall speak to you. Give Me yourself, so that I may also give you Myself." (Odes, 9: 1-2)   "What wonders has your love effected! When someone is still alive he has left this world: though his bodily condition remains with the world's bodily condition, yet his spirit has been raised up towards You, so that for a period of time he is where he knows not, being totally raptured and drawn towards You." (John of Apamea)   Several scholars have made a convincing case that the Syriac mystics were a major influence upon early Sufism. And Sufism, as many know, has been an influence on the Sants of India. There is a demonstrable connection between East & West via several sources (Syriac mystics of the Church of the East in the Saint Thomas tradition, Mazdakism, Manichaeism and other schools of Gnosticism) and the Sant tradition of India.   Sebastian Brock, Scholar of Eastern Christianity and Aramaic-Syriac Saints, has translated many wonderful texts of Eastern Saints such as Isaac of Nineveh, Abdusho (Joseph the Visionary), John of Dalyatha, Abraham of Nathpar, Martyrius, Babai, Philoxenus of Mabbug, Aphrahat, Ephrem, John of Apamea, Jacob of Sarug, and others, in great books such as, The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, The Wisdom of St. Isaac of Nineveh, A Garland of Hymns from the Early Church (including Odes of Solomon), The Luminous Eye, and several others. "The text-book and pulpit notion that all Christendom is divided between Greek East and Latin West overlooks an ancient and still continuing third stream of tradition: Syriac Christianity. "Cut off from the rest of the Christian world by theological controversy in the fifth century, Arab conquest in the seventh and Mongol invasions in the thirteenth, Syrian Christians continues to celebrate the Christian mysteries, to meditate on Scripture and to apply its teachings to their lives. "Some of them, attempting to realise here on earth their baptismal potential to re-enter paradise, chose a life of asceticism and single-minded devotion to Christ. Their reflections created across the centuries a rich literature. Some passed into the byzantine tradition; some remained unknown to other Christians and have never until now been translated into a modern language. "These Syriac fathers offer the modern heirs of both Latin and Greek Christendom new, yet ancient and enduring insights on prayer and the spiritual life." (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, by Professor Sebastian Brock of Oxford University)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Seventeen hundred years ago this year, Constantine defeated his co-emperor Licinius, ending a series of civil wars and consolidating power as sole emperor of Rome. At the time, Christians saw this as the defeat of old pagan ways and the triumph of a new Christian vision of Rome.   Constantine's turn to Christianity began before he abandoned Roman paganism. His children had been tutored by Lactantius, a Christian who opposed coerced worship and argued for religious liberty as long as a religious practice did not disrupt public order. Years later in 312, as Constantine went into battle against a rival, he claimed to have a vision of a symbol of Christ with the words, “in this sign, conquer.” He had his soldiers paint the symbol on their shields. Constantine won the battle and converted to Christianity. The following year, he issued the Edict of Milan, which declared religious liberty across the Empire in terms that Constantine had learned from Lactantius.   Constantine has been a controversial figure throughout Church history. Both the genuineness of his conversion and his impact on the Church have been consistently questioned and scrutinized. Many think that Constantine's actions to tie the Church to the empire compromised the Gospel. Often, these arguments are based on a misunderstanding of what Constantine did and fail to consider what followed from the legalization of Christianity.   The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity, along with other religions. It did not declare Christianity the official imperial religion. Though Constantine's promotion of Christianity made it more popular, it was not named the imperial religion until Emperor Theodosius I in 380. Even then, Theodosius did not suppress paganism.   Despite what you may have read online or seen in The Da Vinci Code movie, Constantine did not dictate doctrine to the Church. When he called the Council of Nicaea in 325 to deal with the question of the nature of Christ, a controversy that was threatening to tear the Church apart, he was performing a traditional function of Roman emperors who often acted as mediators in religious conflicts.   Despite claims to the contrary, neither Constantine nor the Council of Nicaea had anything to do with the formation of the canon of Scripture. Constantine did not control the discussion at Nicaea, nor did he dictate the outcome. And even if he had tried, many bishops who attended the council had been tortured by his predecessor Diocletian. If they didn't compromise their faith then, it is silly to assume they would roll over for Constantine.    The most direct result of Constantine's conversion was the end of the persecution, torture, and execution of Christians. Obviously, this was welcomed by Christians in his day, but it should also be recognized as a historical good.    The Edict of Milan also furthered Christian evangelism. Prior to Constantine, the Gospel had spread to India, Armenia, and Persia, and then from Persia across Central Asia into China by the early 600s. The legalization of Christianity led to churches being founded across the Roman Empire and missionaries sent to regions outside the empire. St. Patrick was a Romanized Briton who grew up as a Christian and brought the Gospel to Ireland. In the fifth century, a Syrian Christian named Frumentius converted the king of Axum in modern Ethiopia. Together, they evangelized that kingdom. Cyril and Methodius brought the Gospel to the Slavic people of Central and Eastern Europe in the ninth century. The evangelization of these regions can be traced to the actions of Constantine.    Of course, the legalization of Christianity set up a tug-of-war between Church and state. Because the faith had existed as an illegal and sporadically persecuted minority religion for centuries, the Church functioned fully independent of the state. With Constantine came new questions, such as, what properly belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God?   That question remains a central issue of Western political thought today.  Even in view of the historical difficulties that emerged from his conversion, we can thank God for Constantine and for the freedom for faith and the Gospel he established.  This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Glenn Sunshine. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.