Islam — Articles — Jonathan Merritt

Will Wheaton College fire hijab-wearing professor?

The school will also determine its own future.

Current EventsJonathanDecember 17, 2015Allah, Evangelical, hijab, Islam, Jews, Larycia Hawkins, Muslims, Wheaton College

Mass murder and the problem with prayer

Prayerless action is mere activism. Actions prayer is useless piety.

TheologyJonathanDecember 5, 2015Activism, Bible, California, gun laws, gun reform, guns, ISIS, Islam, murder, news, politics, prayer, shooting, theology, violence

3 facts about the Syrian refugee crisis many Christians overlook

Many Christians are opting for facts over Bible verses, so here are a few to consider.

PoliticsJonathanNovember 17, 2015Bible, Christianity, France, hospitality, immigration, Islam, Paris, Paris attacks, politics, Syria, terrorism, United Nations

Did this woman risk her life to leave Islam for Christianity?

Rifqa Bary claims her Muslim parents threatened to kill her.

CultureJonathanJuly 23, 2015abuse, Charlie Crist, Christianity, conversion, evangelism, Florida, Hiding in the Light, Islam, Marco Rubio, media, Muslim, politics, Rifqa Bary

Why a Muslim actor plays Jesus in Bill O’Reilly’s TV special

Remember when Ridley Scott said he couldn't make a film starring "Mohammad so-and-so"?

CultureJonathanMarch 24, 2015Art, Bill O’Reilly, books, Christianity, History, Islam, Jesus Christ, Judaism, Killing Jesus, Lebanon, Muslim, National Geopgraphic, Race, Ridley Scott, television

5 things missing from Southern Baptists' ISIS letter to Obama

Presidents of America's largest Protestant group call on Obama put an end to ISIS.

CultureJonathanMarch 3, 2015Barack Obama, church, Congress, Denominations, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, politics, President Obama, Southern Baptist Convention, Writing

Religious extremists like ISIS carve bloody path through history

"America was founded by folks who thought like this," the Yale professor says.

CultureJonathanFebruary 17, 2015Boko Haram, Christianity, Egypt, ethics, extremism, God, Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Islamist, Jesus Christ, Jonathan Merritt, justice, media, Miroslav Volf, Muslims, news, Nigeria, peace, reporting, terrorism, theology, Trinity, violence, War, Yale Divinity School

Obama was right: It’s time for Christians to reflect

The president's comments at the National Prayer Breakfast infuriated some Christians.

Christian persecution reaches record high. Will it get worse?

100 million now face persecution because of their Christian faith.

CultureJonathanJanuary 8, 2015Barack Obama, Christianity, David Curry, David Sapperstein, Hudson Institute, Islam, Jonathan Merritt, Open Doors USA, persecution, religious liberty, Voice of the Martyrs

Brian McLaren Reflects on 25 Years of Emergence

A quarter-century after its start, an Emergent Church leader reflects on what it was really about.

CultureJonathanAugust 8, 2014Brian McLaren, Buddhism, emergent church, Emerging Church, evangelicalism, Homosexuality, interfaith, Islam, Jonathan Merritt, Mainline Protestantism, theology

Was World War I a Religious Crusade?

Philip Jenkins argues that The Great War was also a holy war.

CultureJonathanMay 28, 2014Baylor University, Catholicism, Christianity, History, Hitler, Holocaust, Interfaith dialogue, Islam, Jonathan Merritt, Judiasm, Muslim, Naziism, The Great and Holy War, violence, War, World War I, World War II

American Christian in Iraq Works to Save Lives

Jeremy Courtney talks about building bridges in Iraq.

CultureJonathanOctober 18, 2013foreign policy, Islam, Jeremy Courtney, John Kerry, Jonathan Merritt, Love, peace, politics, Preemptive Love Coalition, violence, War

Three Reasons the U.S. Church Ignores Christian Persecution

Millions of Christians are being persecuted but some in the church ignore it.

CultureJonathanOctober 3, 2013Christianity, christians, culture wars, Daily Beast, economy, Injustice, Islam, Kirsten Powers, media, Middle East, oppression, persecution, Pew Research, politics, poll, recession

On Syrian Conflict, Three Christian Perspectives

As America considers military intervention in Syria, Christians gravitate toward three perspectives.

Christians Must Oppose Anti-Muslim Discrimination

Many Christians claim to care about freedom of religion, but some seem to mean "their own" religion.

CultureJonathanAugust 14, 2013Christianity, discrimination, Gallup, Islam, Jonathan Merritt, Muslims, politics, polls, Public Religion Research Institute, religious freedom, religious liberty, stats, Tennessee, Texas, trends

What Reza Aslan Could Actually Teach Us

The real lesson Reza Aslan teaches us has less to do with history than you might expect.

CultureJonathanAugust 12, 2013Atheism, Bed Religion, Christianity, Controversy, debate, Fox News, History, Islam, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan, Lauren Green, Muslim, Reza Aslan, Zealot

Religion and Human Rights: An Interview with Jimmy Carter (Part 2)

President Jimmy Carter discusses women’s rights, DOMA, and the afterlife.

Religion and Human Rights: An Interview with Jimmy Carter (Part 1)

President Jimmy Carter discusses a range of topics from women’s rights to the afterlife.