Bridge of Grace

During the lives of both Jesus and Muhammad, both men were confronted with the issue of a woman caught in the act of adultery.  Under Old Testament Mosaic Law, if someone was caught in the act of adultery, both the adulterer and the adulteress would be stoned to death.  In the Gospel of John, Chapter 8, Verse 10-11 , the Scribes and Pharisees came before Jesus and brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery and placed her before him.   “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.   Jesus stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”   W hen they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman,...

Many know that child marriage is a problem in the world.  I've personally read a number of testimonies of young girls from the Middle East who were forcibly married off against their will and were subject to rape, beatings, and all kinds of mental and physical abuse.  For some, their only way of escape was suicide.  However, a documentary film by the organization "Unchained at Last" revealed that child marriage, particularly of underage girls to adult men, is a serious problem in the United States.  It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010, nearly 250,000 children were married off, most against their will.  Many states don't have laws mandating that you have to be at least 18 to marry.  Even states that do have these laws often have exceptions made such as "The child can marry if the parents give consent" or "The Judge chooses to recognize the child as a consenting adult."  Nobody in the country, regardless of race or religion, is safe f...

All my life I've heard people telling me that we need to respect diversity, that we're all different & unique.  I agree.  No two people are exactly alike.  However, there are many these days who are not respecting "Diversity of Thought."  It seems that many people in the world believe that while we need to respect that we all "look differently," we can't respect that people "think differently."  Those who try to do so are being smeared and punished, such was the case for Kathy Zhu, a University of Michigan Student and the winner of the Miss Michigan Pageant.  Kathy Zhu, was scheduled to represent her state at the Miss World America Pageant in Las Vegas.  However, the organization recently stripped of her title, citing that she made "racist Tweets" in 2017 & 2018.  What were those "racist Tweets" all about?  Well in one Kathy Zhu stated that the African American community should focus on fixing the problems within t...

The Issue of Honor Killings have gained greater interests among human rights circles.  In societies dominated by an Honor/Shame cultural dynamic, a f amily’s respect and position within the community is dependent on the family’s honor.  The honor is the sole responsibility of the women of the family who are taught from childhood the consequences of their behavior.   The woman is the property of the man, whether her father, brother, or husband.  Shame is linked to every aspect of the woman’s behavior: her dress code, social behavior, her proper head covering, and many others.    In this societal system, any woman who is perceived as bringing "dishonor" on the family or clan must be killed for soiling the family's honor.   Throughout the world there has been a growing movement both inside and outside of honor/shame societies to bring this practice to an end.  Every year thousands of women have been murdered in Honor Killing...

The right to choose your own faith has long been considered a fundamental human right that should be followed and practiced all over the world.  Unfortunately, we have witnessed religious based persecution all across the planet.  All over the world people have been persecuted if they choose to leave one spiritual path and look toward another one for guidance.   Leaving a faith is commonly known as "Apostasy."   It's certainly understandable that those who follow a faith devoutly are not particularly happy when people that they know choose to leave it for other spiritual pursuits.  The question that they have to ask themselves though is "How are we to respond to this situation?"  To answer this question, many turn to the teachings given by the founders of their faith.  In terms of Christianity and Islam, let us look at the teachings of the founders in regards to Apostasy: Jesus & Muhammad. The term Apostasy means "to fall away ...

In the 1930's the world deceived themselves into believing that Hitler's ambitions could be appeased.  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain naively believed that if he allowed Hitler to obtain enough land, he would relent in his ambitions and peace would follow.  He was wrong.  With every concession the European powers made Hitler came back with more threats and more demands.  By the time the world finally realized that this man could not be appeased, it was too late.  Has the world learned from this mistake?  The answer is no.  Former Prime Minister warned that "Appeasement is Feeding the Crocodile Hoping it will Eat You Last."  Yet the world still feeds them.   After Israel's victory in the 6-Day War in June of 1967,  Arab national leaders proclaimed their policy toward the nation of Israel at the 1967 Khartoum Summit as follows: “No peace, no negotiations, no recognition”.  The numerous terrorist organizations in ...

Suheib Yousef, brother of famed Hamas defector Mosab Hassan Yousef, became the second son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef to leave the terrorist organization.  Despite receiving numerous death threats, Suheib Yousef has come forward and exposed the terrorist organization that Hamas really is.  For a long time, Suheib Yousef worked for the Hamas branch in Turkey.  His job was to monitor communication between Israeli defense organizations and forward it to Iran.  While stationed in Turkey Suheib was disgusted that Hamas leaders were living in fancy hotels and luxery towers and their kids went to private schools.   The Hamas terrorist leaders in Turkey received between $4000-5000 a month from the terrorist organization and had accesses to swimming pools, country clubs, and armed guards.  He was outraged that so many Hamas leaders lived in luxury while the average Gaza civilian has to live on $360 a month.   He further stated that ...

At a recent rally in England, a former Police Officer revealed that for years Child Grooming Gangs continually abducted young girls to be gang raped and sexually abused.  Some girls as young as 11 were sold into prostitution to pedophiles.  In some areas of the country, the practice went on for nearly a decade before the police decided to being investigations.  Unfortunately, the reason for the delay in by the authorities was not ignorance, but political correctness.  Investigators revealed that 84% of the grooming gang members in the UK were Asian, and the UK police force was so blinded by Political Correctness and fear of being accused of "cultural insensitivity" by the Leftist media, politicians, and activists that they looked the other way.  However, what is even more galling is that activists who have tried to expose these practices and get the perpetrators prosecuted have been not only been smeared by the media, but they've even been subjected to wrongful ...

On the day I landed in Lahore, Pakistan in December 5th, 2017, I was picked up by my host and taken to his home.  On the way, I passed by a church where there was a memorial on the front wall. On it were the pictures of Twenty-one people.  When I asked my host what this memorial was for, he informed me that on March 15, 2015, 21 people were killed in a Taliban-inspired attack on two churches.  Twenty were killed at Christ Church and one other was killed at St. John's Catholic Church a few miles away.  To many of us in the United States, we simply view the victims as a numerical number, but they are more than just numbers.  They are individual people who had their own thoughts and dreams.  They had families and friends.  They were Christians and Muslims.  They were men, women, and children.  They were innocent people, killed by hate.   On December 14th, the 12th day of my trip, I had the opportunity to go to the churches...

On June 27th, 2019, Human Rights Organization took the issue of the world-wide threat of Freedom of Religion right to the halls of Congress.  Congressman Christopher Smith of New Jersey, Congressman Gus Bilirakis of Florida, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota all attended a committee hearing to listen to human rights experts reveal just how widespread this persecution is.  The Panel who presented their information consisted of The Honorable Sam Brownback, the Ambassador for International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State.  Nadine Maenza, the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  Dr. David Curry, President of Open Doors USA, and Thomas Farr, President of the Religious Freedom Institute.   Ambassador Brownback stated in opening remarks that Christianity is under threat throughout the Middle East and that the Christian communities in many nations like Iraq and Syria are dwindling as a res...