Sanctifying Power with Religion

Riad Kassis joins Mark Labberton from Beirut as airstrikes continue, 700,000 people have been displaced across Lebanon, and children's toys are visible in the rubble. He leads Langham Partnership and has spent decades serving the church across one of the world's most contested regions. He names the spiritual danger of sanctifying power with religious narrative while insisting peace cannot be forced by violence.

"Peace does not come by power. It comes by genuine love and concern. It comes when you invest in the education of new generations."

In this episode, Kassis reflects on war, displacement, pastoral witness, and hope in God's sovereignty from the middle of Lebanon's crisis. Together they discuss the civilian toll of the war, how religious fundamentalism operates across traditions, the Psalms and Habakkuk as tools for lament, and what American Christians can actually do. Together they ask what it means for the church to hold protest and hope together when cycles of war feel endless and religiously justified.

Episode Highlights

"It is not an operation. It is a war on Lebanon."

"When power—whether political, military, financial, or technological—is sanctified by religious narratives that justify everything, that is what really bothers me."

"No one cures and destroys with more passion than someone who believes that God is on their side."

"When I think that these 85 children were killed mainly by American ammunition and weapons, I cannot comprehend this—even as a Christian and as a theologian."

"Peace does not come by power. It comes by genuine love and concern. It comes when you invest in the education of new generations."

About Riad Kassis

Riad Kassis is a Langham Scholar from Lebanon and is deeply committed to global theological education. He has served as International Director of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), Regional Director for Overseas Council, as well as visiting professor of Old Testament at The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary and Near East School of Theology in Beirut, and the Dean of the Program for Theological Education by Extension in Syria and Lebanon.

Riad obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics in Damascus, Syria. He went on to obtain his Master of Divinity from Alliance Biblical Seminary, Manila, Philippines and Master of Theology from Regent College, Canada. Riad received his Doctor of Philosophy in Old Testament as a Langham scholar from The University of Nottingham, UK and his Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Helpful Links and Resources

Riad Kassis, Frustrated with God: A Syrian Theologian's Reflections on Habakkuk https://www.amazon.com/Frustrated-God-Theologians-Reflections-Habakkuk/dp/1533513171

Langham Partnership https://us.langham.org/

Show Notes

• Kassis speaking live from Beirut as war unfolds around him
• Home in Bika Valley, Mount Hermon visible each morning—Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine converging
• "It is not an operation. It is a war on Lebanon."
• 150 airstrikes in 24 hours; 550+ killed, 1,500+ injured, including 85 children
• 700,000 displaced; 200,000 children; many still on the streets of Beirut
• Schoolbooks and children's toys found in the rubble
• Christian village of Alma ordered to evacuate; mayor on television in tears
• A Catholic priest who stayed to help an injured family was killed in a second strike
• His wife Izdihar's center for Syrian refugee women and girls shut down; staff now distributing meals, mattresses, medical care in shelters
• Hoped the war could be avoided—feared it could not
• "When power—political, military, technological—is sanctified by religious narratives that justify everything, that is what really bothers me."
• Iranian author Shiha Dejani, herself a survivor of the Iranian regime: if your vision of liberation comes through destroying innocent lives, it is not freedom you are after
• Grew up admiring America as a beacon of democracy and discovery; that view has changed
• "When I think these 85 children were killed mainly by American ammunition, I cannot comprehend this—even as a Christian and as a theologian."
• "No one cures and destroys with more passion than someone who believes that God is on their side."
• Walter Wink: the dominant religion on the planet is not Christianity, Islam, or Judaism—it is the pervasive faith in violence
• Preaching Habakkuk two days before this conversation; the cry "how long, O Lord?" as pastoral anchor
• Psalms of disorientation as communal tools for protest, lament, and stubborn hope
• Lent and Ramadan overlapping: identifying suffering with Christ's suffering; "after Friday, we will experience an amazing Sunday"
• 2,000 years of Arab Christian presence in this region—not just survival, but witness and contribution
• "Peace does not come by power. It comes by genuine love and concern. It comes when you invest in the education of new generations."
• Asks for prayer for the war's end, for political wisdom, for his canceled flight—he is trying to reach his first grandson's dedication
• Labberton closes in prayer: for restraint of ego-driven leaders, for human dignity, for a peace that is both merciful and just

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Production Credits

Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment Magazine and Fuller Seminary.