Flashes of Thought.

In the poem 'Nakbat Dimashq' (The Tragedy of Damascus), poet Ahmed Shawqi presents a poignant line: " And the red freedom has a door, struck by every bloodied hand." This line was echoed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in one of his last videos before his death. As I reflected on this line and contemplated the wars currently raging in Ukraine, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere, I realized that it is nearly impossible to separate freedom from struggle. There are three nuances to the concept of freedom: first, "freedom from," which denotes liberation from societal constraints; second, "freedom to," which signifies the ability to do what we wish; and third, "freedom to be," which extends beyond mere actions to encompass the freedom to become who we were meant to be. Yet, in all these nuances, it is evident that historically and conceptually, 'freedom' often involves overcoming obstacles, fighting against ...

In Christendom, a lot of emphasis is placed—rightly so—on knowing God. People are encouraged to go the extra mile in their pursuit of God and the knowledge of Him. One of the common themes used to motivate this pursuit is the idea that knowledge is power.  However, there’s an important caveat to this notion.  Not all knowledge is power, except for the knowledge that is retained within us. Think back to those days in the exam room when you faced your examination paper. During that test, it was only the knowledge you had retained that could help you. Any knowledge gathered but forgotten was like a lightbulb that wouldn't turn on in the darkness—useless.  So, what am I trying to convey?   I am conveying that it is not enough to simply gather knowledge about God; we must also ensure that we retain what we know and understand about Him. Only that retained knowledge can illuminate our paths. Often, we focus heavily on gathering knowledge without checking t...