New Book - Hope and a Future: The Story of Syrian Refugees

We are proud to release Hope and a Future: The Story of Syrian Refugees.

When the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, no one envisioned mass atrocities on the scale we are witnessing today. No one foresaw the displacement of millions that would dramatically reshape regional demographics. No one imagined that children would become the victims of chemical weapons, or that the Mediterranean Sea would become their graveyard.

Today, more than half of the Syrian population has been displaced, a phenomenon almost without precedent in human history. Images of starving civilians trapped in besieged cities have outraged the human conscience. Thousands of children have been slain by barrel bombs, landmines and chlorine gas. More than a quarter million Syrians have perished. These numbers are a shameful indictment on humanity.

Yet, there is hope.

Each day, in refugee camps across the Middle East, aid workers, seeking neither recognition nor reward, sacrifice their comfort to bring Syrian refugees relief. Entrepreneurs, setting aside the pursuit of profits, lend pro bono assistance to innovatively address refugee needs. Volunteers risk their lives to give Syrian refugees hope and a future.

This book tracks the author’s travels to Syrian refugee camps and informal tented settlements in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Relying on his legal background, he offers an unfiltered account of the plight of Syrian refugees from a legal, political and humanitarian perspective.

Yet this book is more than just an account of the lives of Syrian refugees; it answers that burning question on so many people’s minds: How can I help? In discussing corporate partnerships with aid organizations, civil society initiatives, humanitarian missions, volunteering and fundraising, the author shows that there is a role anyone can play in making a lasting, positive impact on Syrian refugees and restoring dignity to their lives.

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This book is available in the following places and formats:

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Amazon (print and Kindle)

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About the Author

John Balouziyeh is an attorney at Dentons, a global law firm that provides pro bono legal assistance to Syrian refugees. John leads Dentons’ partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council, a partnership conceived to advise on the laws of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq as they impact Syrian refugees. All of the author’s royalties will be donated to charities assisting Syrian refugees.

Refugee Rights Series™

The Refugee Rights Series™ of Time Books™ publishes monographs and treatises discussing the laws and public policies surrounding contemporary refugee issues. Complete your collection with the following titles:

Introduction to the Global Refugee Framework: An International Legal Perspective
Palestinian Refugees and International Law
Hope and a Future: The Story of Syrian Refugees

Time Books™ imprint

The mission of Time Books™ is to reintroduce time-tested values and truths to modern debates on political, economic, and moral issues. The imprint focuses on books and monographs dealing with society, ethics, and public policy.

In the field of public-private partnerships, Time Books publications explore the ways that governments can tackle public problems by partnering with and tapping the knowledge, technological expertise, and practical experience of the private sector.

New Book! Christian Pacifism and Just War Theory

We are proud to release Christian Pacifism and Just War Theory: Discipleship and the Ethics of War, Violence and the Use of Force.

What did Jesus mean when he said to “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you”? Do these commandments leave room for Christians to serve in militaries or police forces that implement the use of force? Or is the Christian to steadfastly reject violence and embrace pacifism? Are certain wars justified on the basis of just war theory, or are all wars, in their brutality and destruction, inherently evil?

In this study, Harold Palmer, an attorney, examines the case that has traditionally been made to justify Christian participation in war. The author begins with a historical background of the roots of just war theory as promulgated by Thomas Aquinas. He then examines the passages on which just war theorists rely, including God’s commandments to the Israelites to go to war against their enemies, Jesus’ praise of the Roman Army centurion for his faith and God’s use of the centurion Cornelius to graft Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. Arguing that these passages have been misunderstood, he concludes that Christianity only permits a single response to evil—self-sacrificial love.

The author makes a cogent case for Christian pacifism by examining the life of Jesus and arguing that His crucifixion was more than a salvific act; it also exemplified the ideal of Christian living. Being a disciple of Jesus means emulating Him in every way, including responding to violence through self-sacrificial love, as Jesus did, and obeying Jesus’ commands to be as “harmless as doves,” to “turn the other cheek” and “pray for those who persecute you.”

Finally, this study tackles the difficult question of Old Testament violence by arguing that it falls within a specific context and is not normative for members of the New Covenant of Grace. Rather than embrace violence, we are to follow the examples set by the early church and its martyrs, including the Apostle Stephen, who prayed that his persecutors not be charged with their sins, and the apostle Paul, who taught us to “live peaceably with all men.” Our war is not a physical struggle, but a spiritual war to be waged with prayer, faith and the gospel of peace (Eph 6:12-18).

To read a preview, go here and click preview. 

This book is available in the following places and formats:

TellerBooks (print and eBook)

Amazon (print and Kindle)

iBook (eBook)

Barnes and Noble (print and Nook)

LogosLight™ imprint

The LogosLight™ imprint first started with the collection The Church Fathers Speak, a compilation of the voices of the early Church fathers and their teachings on sanctity and Christ-like living. This ancient wisdom guides the reader on the path to cultivating holiness that yields self-dominion, patience, and virtue.

LogosLight has since grown to encompass Christian poetry and inspirational books, translations of the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures, and various Christian records and Liturgies. LogosLight books also examine the role of Judeo-Christian thought on the formation of Western civic institutions, the moral foundations of just societies, and the role of faith in civil governance.

LogosLight books are divided into the following collections:

Scriptures

The Church Fathers Speak

Religious Studies Series™

Classics

Inspirational

Antiquarian and rare faith books

New Book! Yahweh, a God of Violence? Understanding Justice, Retribution and the Character of God in the Old Testament

We are proud to release Yahweh, a God of Violence? Understanding Justice, Retribution and the Character of God in the Old Testament. 

Genocide, infanticide, the destruction of entire peoples—these are among the acts of violence commanded or condoned by Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. Examples abound throughout the Pentateuch and beyond of violence perpetrated by the Israelites at the beckoning of God. Entire cities and peoples, including Sodom, Gomorrah, Jericho, Amalek and Midian, are destroyed directly or indirectly by God. The Israelites are commanded to kill man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. God instructs the Israelites to conquer and utterly destroy and show no mercy to seven nations and to put to death everyone in the cities—men, women, and dependents—and leave no survivor in Heshbon.

Can we conclude from these examples that Yahweh is a brutal god of war and violence? Is Yahweh’s character incompatible with that of Jesus, who in the Sermon on the Mount teaches His disciples to turn the other cheek, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you?

Some commentators have concluded from the Old Testament’s war accounts that Yahweh is a petty god with an insatiable blood thirst. In this study, Harold Palmer rejects and refutes these conclusions by approaching the question from a completely fresh angle. He sees the destruction of entire peoples not as a reflection of God’s character, but as a reflection of man’s character. Cities and peoples are destroyed as a natural consequence of their sins, with those having put their faith in Yahweh, such as Rahab, spared from the fate that befalls their community.

The starting point for this study is thus that man was created by God for a purpose and to abide by a moral code. When that code is broken, man, having rebelled against and fallen short of God’s perfect moral law, is separated from God. The consequence of this separation is death, and its antidote is the gift of grace, perfected by Christ on the cross.

To read a preview, go here and click preview. 

This book is available in the following places and formats:

TellerBooks (print and eBook)

Amazon (print and Kindle)

iBook (eBook)

Barnes and Noble (print and Nook)

LogosLight™ imprint

The LogosLight™ imprint first started with the collection The Church Fathers Speak, a compilation of the voices of the early Church fathers and their teachings on sanctity and Christ-like living. This ancient wisdom guides the reader on the path to cultivating holiness that yields self-dominion, patience, and virtue.

LogosLight has since grown to encompass Christian poetry and inspirational books, translations of the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures, and various Christian records and Liturgies. LogosLight books also examine the role of Judeo-Christian thought on the formation of Western civic institutions, the moral foundations of just societies, and the role of faith in civil governance.

LogosLight books are divided into the following collections:

Scriptures

The Church Fathers Speak

Religious Studies Series™

Classics

Inspirational

Antiquarian and rare faith books