One of the most significant discoveries in the history of humanity took place in late 1946, early 1947. It was done by a Bedouin shepherd in the area of Qumran, in Southern Israel. A collection of well-preserved manuscripts was discovered, and it suddenly pushed back the earliest Old Testament manuscript copies by more than 1,000 years. Before that discovery, the earliest manuscripts dated back to the 10th Century CE (Masoretic text). The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) took us back to the period between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, but the story doesn't end there. When all fragments were found, gathered, and organized, scholars came to realize that, except for Esther, every single book of the Hebrew Bible was present in part or almost in full.

Giovanni Galante’s wife, Grace, was 29 and working on the 105th floor of the North Tower on 9/11. This summer he launched a petition asking the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to keep Mamdani out of the official 25th-anniversary ceremony. The petition doesn’t argue that a Muslim mayor is unfit because he is Muslim but that this particular mayor’s associations—and his way of talking about that horrid day—make his presence a wound rather than a tribute. “For 9/11 families,” Galante wrote, “this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning. The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it completed a wave of strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran early on Wednesday. According to CENTCOM, the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the recent attack on US troops stationed in the region.

Abandoning truth is nothing new. It’s been around since the serpent deceived Eve with the question, “Did God really say…?” (see Genesis 3:1). What’s surprising is that despite the millennia which have passed, Satan’s methods of deception have not greatly changed. Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. He was not the kind of guy you’d ever hear say to a group of listeners, “Let me tell you my truth.” Despite Elijah living 2,800 years ago, it’s amazing how similar many of the issues he faced in his world were to the ones we face today.

Shawn Carney, CEO of 40 Days for Life, said that the law is “designed to scare people of faith off the sidewalks outside abortion facilities by creating the constant threat of prosecution and costly lawsuits,” because prayer, holding a sign, or offering a woman help could be seen as intimidation or coercion.

The nation’s infrastructure continues its collapse, and President Trump recently reported that large segments of the nation’s military are not receiving paychecks. But somehow they still have money to continue work on their nuclear facilities in Pickaxe Mountain and to attempt their piracy of ships as they pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Following a heated city council meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, last week, a local pastor and other religious freedom advocates are accusing the Muslim-majority city council of favoring Islamic Sharia law over pursuing justice for Christian protestors who were attacked during a recent local event. Dearborn, just west of Detroit, is one of Michigan’s largest cities, and has one of the largest concentrations of Arabs outside the Middle East, according to The Detroit News. The 2020 U.S. Census puts the majority-Arab population at about 54.5%. The city has five Muslim public prayers a day, in accordance with Sharia Law, and boasts the largest mosque in North America.

During my visit to Ukraine, Denys Uliutin, Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity, briefed me on Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s religious heritage, damaging or destroying hundreds of religious structures, a pattern documented by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Ukrainian officials have also documented 67 religious leaders and clergy killed or who died as a result of torture in occupied territories.

We live backstage in our own lives. We know what lies behind the façade. We know we have strayed from God’s ways and in the process burdened ourselves with sin. We sense what Ezekiel 18:20 says explicitly: “The soul who sins shall die.” His life affirms that our lives have meaning. His death paid for our sins. And His resurrection gives certainty to the promise of eternal life. World history is littered with the dead bodies of those who claimed to answer the human dilemma. But Jesus is not like them. Of all the individuals who ever lived, He alone answers our deepest needs.

What happens when people see themselves as by-products of chance rather than design? What happens to their children and to their civilization? Communism happens. Totalitarianism happens. Freedom fades. Violence increases. Purpose and meaning disappear. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”