Philip Friesen

A Modern Myth

There is an economic myth that fierce competition in providing more goods and services at lower cost improves people’s lives. This is a mirage. The reality is that people are assaulted with messages that more stuff for less money is the most important thing in life, and as the Nazis said, if people hear the message often enough, they will believe it. People who theoretically deny they believe this still...

Philip Friesen

INTERPRETING JESUS IN ORDER TO SERVE HIM BETTER

A couple of years ago a highly educated and successful Muslim apologist invited me to an Iftar meal at his Masjid during Ramadan. After the prayers and eating the meal I spent almost three hours in Bible study with him as my teacher. We went through the entire Gospel of John in three hours as he pointed out all the places in John that clearly demonstrate Jesus humanity. At the end of the exercise he said...

Philip Friesen

A GOVERNMENT GOD APPROVES:THE KING AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

            On the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus led an army of peasants to occupy the city of Jerusalem. Like the actors in the Gideon drama from the previous article, Jesus’ army was essentially defenseless, and its advantage was precisely in that fact. In both cases the winning side was not dressed like an army nor equipped as an army, and in no way looked like an army. Still it acted...

Philip Friesen

Who Has the Right to Declare War

Copyright June 2015 by Philip E. Friesen JUST WAR ACCORDING TO MOSES There is one ethical issue where most Christians, Jews, and Muslims seem to agree fully. That is a belief in the Divine sanction of just war. Details vary somewhat, but the principle is the same. In all three systems, war is justified in a just cause, but there must be some legitimate authority to authorize the execution of this...

Philip Friesen

PARADISE (March 15 presentation at the Islamic Center of Minnesota)

Paradise, or heaven, is not a physical place, but a state of relationship. THE ORIGINAL PARADISE from Genesis 2. 8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge...

Philip Friesen

New Year’s Bus Ride

January 2, 2015 An ad on a bus I rode home today carried this message: It normally takes seven attempts to quit smoking. Don’t give up. You can do it. Why can’t we keep people from starting the tobacco habit? Why don’t we make the sale illegal? The reason we don’t is that prohibition doesn’t work. The prohibition of alcohol resulted in the expansion of criminal activity and the corruption of the...

Philip Friesen

Christmas Meditation for Christians & Muslims

WHAT IS GOD LIKE? A LESSON FROM ABRAHAM, MOSES, AND JESUS FOR CHRISTMAS 2014 We know something about what a person is like by what he or she does, whether it is good or not good. We know something of what an artist is like by what he or she creates, whether it is beautiful and inspiring or not. We know what God is like by seeing what God does and what God creates. We also know what a person is like by what...