The Soviets, like the Nazi Party, did not ban Christianity outright. They didn’t attempt to make enemies of the Christians in the countries they occupied. Instead, they both chose a slow and deliberate hijacking of the faith, to not only gain the favor of the people they had power over, but to make questioning this power akin to blasphemy. Christianity was never banned; it was rebranded. And as a result, the ways of Jesus were outlawed, and it happened slowly and subtly.

America has become a people more eager to unite against an enemy than to unite around God. We know how to identify threats, expose corruption, denounce error, defend our tribe, and sharpen our outrage. We know how to speak with fire about what is wrong with the world. But too often we have forgotten how to burn with the love of God. Too often we have mistaken suspicion for discernment, hostility for holiness, and public anger for spiritual courage.

Ultimately, the goal of this piece is for us to begin to understand the danger and meaning behind the words we choose to use to describe Islam and Judaism within the world today. Because when we go about this out of ignorance, culture wars, patriotism, or some other faulty theological ideology, we not only cause harm to others, but potentially mock our own faith as well.

Every year at this time, we try to look back at a common theme we have either seen or addressed or both. This year, there has been a consistent topic that has come back time and time again on both the Misfits programming and within the KFM Network as a whole: that the will of God is the redemption of all mankind. So for Advent this year, we wanted to take some time and reflect on how this fits into the Advent season.

Explore the complex ties between Matthew 2 and Refugees in this insightful blog. Discover how the nativity story relates to today's immigration debates.

Explore Philippians 3's insights on enemies of the Cross and their characteristics. Discover why Philippians 3 emphasizes reconciliation.