taliban

July 07, 2023

The Taliban Exploit Islam to Protect Their Illegitimate Rule

Afghanistan, following the American withdrawal in 2021, has gained attention for several reasons, but the most prominent among them is the Taliban’s exploitation of Islam to suppress women and legitimize their illegitimate hold on power. Continue Reading...

May 26, 2023

Keep The Covenant on Your Moviegoing Radar This Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, there is one movie in theaters that addresses directly the experiences of veterans. While American families are entertained by the Super Mario Bros. movie, now a billion-dollar proposition worldwide, people who prefer more true-to-life action can see the movie I recommend, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, which has barely made any money, even though it’s an exciting, gripping experience, and it’s got a star, Jake Gyllenhaal. Continue Reading...

March 07, 2022

Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion, confirms new report

The group Open Doors USA figures that 360 million Christians last year lived in countries where persecution was “significant.” Roughly 5,600 Christians were murdered, more than 6,000 were detained or imprisoned, and another 4,000-plus were kidnapped. Continue Reading...

September 13, 2021

With the ‘new Taliban’ now in power, can we expect anything different?

The dramatic return of the Taliban to Kabul has consequences beyond the borders of Afghanistan. The Taliban are not the most popular group in Afghanistan but they certainly are the most feared, with enough force at their disposal to impose their dogmatic version of Islam over the country. Continue Reading...

September 02, 2021

Bombs, guns, and drones cannot win a spiritual war (UPDATED)

“[A]t 12 O’clock … our country gained its full independence, praise and gratitude be to God.” Who said it? An American revolutionary on Sept. 3, 1783, at the signing of the Treaty of Paris, perhaps? Continue Reading...

August 21, 2021

Afghanistan I fought for lacks foundation for freedom

I deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Eleven years later, I watched the Taliban devastate all the progress we fought for. Afghanistan’s chaos and the Taliban’s return to power is heartbreaking and maddening. Continue Reading...

August 17, 2021

In Afghanistan, our war with truth concludes

The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated even further over the weekend, as the Taliban, driven from power twenty years ago, overtook the capital city of Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has now fled to Uzbekistan, claiming he wishes to avoid more bloodshed. Continue Reading...

October 13, 2011

Freedom in a Land without Churches?

There are no more Christian churches in Afghanistan — not a single public house of Christian worship is left standing. In other news, NATO success against the Taliban may have been intentionally exaggerated, although we already knew that progress in that country is… slow. Continue Reading...

April 29, 2011

Review: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Poverty is inevitable in a war zone, right? One’s movements are restricted, buildings and businesses are damaged, people flee. Add to that random acts of violence brought by the Taliban and the already damaged economy of Afghanistan in the mid-1990s and poverty seems unavoidable. Continue Reading...

November 08, 2007

Film Screening: ‘The Kite Runner’

GodblogCon 2007 hasn’t quite started yet, but one of the privileges of attendance at this year’s conference was an opportunity to see an early screening of “The Kite Runner,” (courtesy Grace Hill Media) directed by Marc Forster (who has also directed “Stranger than Fiction” and “Finding Neverland”). Continue Reading...