Bridge of Grace

Recently, Nigerian authorities found and freed 15 children ages 2-10 from an informal Qur'an school in the Nigerian town of Suleja.  The children were found with their legs shackled and their backs covered in scars, indicating that they had been exposed to frequent whippings.  Sadly, this is not an isolated incident.  Over the past year, Nigerian authorities raided several similar Qur'anic schools and found hundreds of people, mostly children, chained & whipped.  Some of their parents had sent them to these schools to learn the Qur'an whereas others sent them to undergo treatment for drug abuse.  Once at the schools, the children were subjected to horrible physical abuse, which often consisted of lashings.  Reports revealed that some of the schools actually had torture chambers from which the children were hung upside down and whipped.  Several witnesses attest that some of the victims were actually tortured to death.   In the year 2019, ...

When one things of Neo Nazis, the image that often comes to mind are White men with shaved heads and Swastikas covering their bodies who enjoy beating up ethnic minorities & engage in the drug trade to finance their hate.  They think of the Aryan Brotherhood, a notorious White Supremacist Prison Gang that engages in numerous illegal activities to support their cause. Such activities include murder, robbery, gun & human trafficking, drug trade, etc.  While that may be the visual image that they portray, the reality is that they actions are much more subtle and manipulative than many of us imagine.  The reality is that many Neo Nazi leaders, both past and present, are not the short-tempered, drug dealing skinheads that we picture.  In truth, they're polished individuals who have mastered the art of manipulation, indoctrination, and double-talk.  Many are in fact well-educated individuals who use their education to advance their hateful agenda.   ...

The origins of the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) goes back the the Reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.  Also known as Justinian the Great, the Emperor reigned from 527-565.  In 532 Justinian I commissioned the building of the church & it was completed in 537.  The Church was dedicated to the "Wisdom of  God," the Second Person of the Holy Trinity (Jesus).   For centuries the Hagia Sophia was the largest church in the world.  It was the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity & the Seat for Eastern Orthodox Patriarchy.  This came to an end in 1453 when Ottoman Turks led by Mehmed the Conqueror took the city of Constantinople & destroyed the final remnant of the Byzantine Empire.   Mehmed the Conqueror allowed his conquering army to loot the city, which they did, taking many treasures from the city, including the treasures within the Hagia Sophia and took many of the women and children as slaves.  Mehmed then ordered that...

In the 1990's-2000's, the heavy metal band KORN was one of the most popular bands in the world.  It was the dream of every young rebellious teenage boy to be in a band like KORN.  The whole world was literally at their feet, but for Brian Welch, it wasn't enough.  When the band was at the peak of their popularity, Brian thought that he had it all.  His childhood dream of being a rock star had come true.  His band had become bigger then he could ever imagine.  Yet his life was falling apart.  His marriage was shattered, his drug abuse out of control, he felt so lost and depressed.  In the end, the only thing that kept him going was his daughter, Jeannea, but at times it was so bad he began to wonder if his daughter would actually be better off without him.   By the year 2004 he had millions of dollars, but was miserable and he knew that if things didn't change soon, he was going to die.  So he did the only think he could do.  He...

The Issue of Police Brutality against the African American Community has become a deeply polarizing issue in the United States of America.  The recent death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers has led to an uprising that this nation has not witnessed in decades.  Thousands all over the nation took to the streets in protest.  Riots broke out all over the nation, leading to widespread destruction, injury, and death.   Floyd's death drew universal condemnation from every aspect of American society, but the decision over whether or not to fully support the Black Lives Matter Movement remains more divisive than ever before.   Critics of the Black Lives Matter Movement often bring up a number of grievances against the movement. Some argue that the movement is too narrowly focused in some areas, and not focused enough in others.  Some claim that the movement is too radical and polarizing, which makes it difficult for some Civil Rights activis...