thoughts on life, god & politics
This is my second interview with Ali N. Swetat (23). Ali has been a close friend of mine ever since we met for the first time at the University of Haifa in Israel. Back then, in fall 2015, we were both young and naïve, full of hopes and dreams for the future. He was a …
Continue reading Interview #2: Why I Left Organized Religion
I am lashing out again. At all those people out there who like to indulge in their so-called anti-racist (in)tolerant ideology. In fact, I wouldn't really care about it if it wasn't for the safety and future of this country and its humans that I deeply respect and love. And paradoxically, I am hereby referring …
Through many dark hour I’ve been thinking about this. That there is evil in this world that I can never explain or even begin to understand. And more than once I cried in my bed because of the unspeakable pain and suffering that millions of people have gone through. And again and again it strikes …
Whenever religious leaders abuse their power and spiritual authority to denounce or exclude other people, they have fallen away from God’s love. As a Protestant Christian, I was having a hard time last year figuring out what to think about this man called Martin Luther. On the one hand, I am grateful for his groundbreaking …
Now that I'm leaving the German Bible Belt, I have come to terms with my own Christian fundamentalist heritage. Religious fundamentalism is on the rise in today's world, it seems, and it is increasingly coupled with intolerance and violence. This is not to say that fundamentalism is necessarily and inherently militant, which can be seen …
It is done. Finally! Now that I have obtained my first academic degree, I somehow feel eligible to speak out on behalf of all those who are still suffering out there. I can tell from experience that it is serious. Not that everything I have seen and heard was bad. All in all, my experience …
Danish journalist Klaus Wivel gives an alarming account of the deteriorating human rights situation of Christians in the Middle East. Divided into four chapters, Wivel scrutinizes the fate of Christians in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq. Originally published in 2013, the book looks into a future which presents itself worse today …
It was just another talk show on German television dealing with the question whether or not Islam is violent. Terror in God's name – does Islam have a violence problem? was the title of the show hartaberfair that was broadcast Monday evening by the first German TV channel (ARD). It was definitely not the first time …
Mein Freund traute sich nicht, also fragte ich den Rabbi: Was man denn tun müsse, um zum Judentum zu konvertieren? Hmm, schwierige Frage. Und keine wirklich eindeutige Antwort. Mein Freund kommt aus Aserbaidschan, er hat teilweise jüdische Vorfahren, praktiziert aber keinen Glauben. Er studiert Israel Studies hier an der Universität Haifa, er möchte in Israel leben, …
Die Gruppe A-WA besteht aus den drei jüdischen Schwestern Tair, Liron und Tagel Haim. Ihre Großeltern lebten im Jemen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, bevor der Staat Israel im Jahr 1948 gegründet wurde. Sie verließen ihre Heimat und kamen nach Israel, genauso wie ca. 850 000 andere Juden aus der arabischen Welt, größtenteils aufgrund von Diskriminierung …
thoughts on life, god & politics
Reflections on faith, doubt, healing, justice, peace, and other small topics
thoughts on life, god & politics
