The Telos Channel

How can you enjoy for yourself what you deny for your neighbor? This is the question that drove Todd Deatherage in co-founding Telos. It’s a question that compels him to a life of “neighbor love,” to not just passively accept that his neighbors need the same things that he does, but to actively work at providing these things for them.  Todd shares how this neighbor love is at the core of Telos’ gu...

With the war in Ukraine continuing, we called in our friend and former team member Marina Klimchuk to help us understand the human-toll of the war on Ukrainians both within the country and in the diaspora.  Marina, who was born in Ukraine but now lives in Germany, shares stories from family members and friends fleeing the violence, and helps us navigate a difficult conversation on the efficacy of...

In the face of ongoing injustice, does nonviolence actually work?  Sulaiman Khatib spent 10 years in prison for being part of armed resistance against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. But during his time in prison, he experienced an unexpected transformation: he became an activist for nonviolence.  He came to believe that more than vanquishing his enemy, his freedom was better secured by l...

The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces is upending the world. Already, more than 1 million refugees have fled into bordering nations, and analysts predict this will be the biggest war in Europe since WWII.  We invited Chris Seiple, PhD, President Emeritus of the Institute for Global Engagement to help explain unfolding events in Ukraine. We discuss what’s happened so far, the unrecognized relig...

None of us can turn away from the news in Ukraine. We stand behind international law and decry the Russian invasion, just as we lament the loss of life and displacement this invasion will cause. In this moment, don't look away. We're developing and sourcing resources now to direct you on getting active for peace. In the meantime, we want to share some good, and dare we say it, hopeful ne...

Is violence the only effective form of resistance? Fadi Quran grew up under Israeli occupation dreaming of ways to resist the tanks and soldiers he saw around him. But on a pilgrimage to India, tracing the steps of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr’s own journey there, he encountered the radical vision of nonviolence that has since changed his life. Today, he is a nonviolent Palestinian activist wh...

This week, we discuss the reality of life for Bedouin communities in the West Bank, who struggle with profound inequities in access to resources, and what it looks like to effectively and ethically stand in solidarity with them and other vulnerable communities.  We also discuss International Holocaust Remembrance Day, remembered last week, and why such remembrance is especially important in light...

Is justice possible without reconciliation? Ainka Jackson was raised in Selma, Alabama around the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights movement. With the memory of Bloody Sunday behind them, these leaders taught Ainka the power of love and nonviolence to transform systems of oppression. But today, Selma holds a complex legacy of both love and hate. The community continues to face serious obstacles to...

Next week is MLK Jr. Day in the US, and we take some time to remember and discuss King’s impact on our philosophy of peacemaking, especially around the issue of nonviolence—what is it really, and does it require different things from us depending on the power we hold?  We also discuss the common accusation that Palestinian solidarity is synonymous with antisemitism, after a former Israeli official...

Is it possible to partner for peace with those we could call our “enemies?” Abigail Disney lost some of her community when she built a relationship with the hero of the “opposite side,” pastor Rob Schenck. But along the way, despite their differences, she found a friend and partner for peace in a place she never expected. She documented Rob's story in the feature-length documentary, The Armor...

How do we remember the most forgotten in the world?  Humaira’s family fled Afghanistan as refugees when she was a child. But it wasn’t until she was working in Palestine with refugee youth that she began to truly understand her own story as a refugee, and how to center the most overlooked and unheard on the margins of society.  Then, in August the US pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban retook c...

What’s happening in Bethlehem? The birthplace of Jesus, the cradle of the nativity, is closed for another year during the Christmas season. For a city that depends on the tourism and pilgrimage of Christians, the city’s closure for another Advent season is a big hit. But living under Occupation is always full of complications.  This week, we hear from the former Mayor of Bethlehem (and first woman...

What does it take to imagine a future better than the one you’ve inherited?  Angie Thomas grew up in Jackson, Mississippi—one of the most segregated cities in the US. As a kid, she escaped into stories for survival. But in them, she found something more than survival. She found the possibility of a better world. Inspired by her faith, she writes that better world into existence today in her bestse...

What do we do when someone else’s truth feels like it contradicts our own? Sarah Perle Benazera lives in this tension everyday in her work facilitating dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis. But she also feels this personally, living in the in-between of her own identity as a French-born, Israeli-Jewish woman with Algerian parents.  As a storyteller and peace activist, Sarah works to bring li...

Negotiations between Iran and the E3 nations have restarted, raising alarms in Israel at the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran. We discuss why this development is important for peacemakers to pay attention to, how the U.S. is involved, and how it might affect the lived realities for Israelis and Palestinians.  We also discuss the string of court cases recently resolved involving the murder of Ahmau...

How can we choose peace for others when we’ve lost everything for ourselves?  Michael Laverty lost his parents as a child. He lost his community when he became a conscientious objector to the apartheid regime in South Africa. And he nearly lost his family in an act of violence that left him scarred for years.  Yet despite all of this, he committed his life to peace: to undoing systems of injustice...

It’s pumpkin pie season! We got the US team together this week to discuss all things Thanksgiving. We talked through some of the fun stuff, like our favorite dishes and thoughts on Black Friday shopping, but also opened conversation on where peacemaking might come in this holiday.  We discussed the purpose of and truth behind the “original Thanksgiving,” and talked through strategies for building...

René August is a veteran of the anti-apartheid movement, an Anglican priest, and a reconciliation trainer. She grew up in a racially segregated township in the land now known as South Africa, a land that gave her only one quarter of the vote of a white citizen.  Her political life came alive when a group of mostly Black South African theologians released the Kairos Document—a spiritual and politic...

“If our criminal legal system actually made people safer, Louisiana would be the safest place in the country.” One of Will’s first interactions with the police happened during cross country practice in high school. The experience forever reshaped how he understood race, policing, and justice. Today, he is on the forefront of transforming the criminal legal system to bring justice to the most incar...

On this week's episode, we dive a little deeper into Israel's decision to designate six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. What does this means for the humanitarian space in Israel/Palestine? And we discuss a new report on surveillance tools that Israel uses to track Palestinians in the West Bank and the discovery of Pegasus spyware on the phones of human rights activists. You...

The Israeli government recently designated six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations, and the global community is still trying to catch up. Why did they make this designation, what kind of impact will it have on their work and the NGO sector in Israel/Palestine, and what does it say about the political nature of language?  We discuss this, and a recent decision by the French government to re...

This week we discuss recent polling that shows changes in the evangelical landscape in the U.S., including what a post-evangelical movement could mean. We look at Deir Yassin, the Palestinian experience of ongoing Nakba, and the importance of acknowledging and learning about the past. And we talk about Captain Kirk’s trip to space and whether it has anything to do with peacemaking.  We finish by a...

A community of Palestinians in the West Bank was the target of a coordinated attack by Israeli settlers last week in what was described as “one of the biggest attacks in broad daylight by settlers on a Palestinian community.” We hear first-hand stories from special guest Marina Klimchuk, who spent the first few days after the attack with residents of Mufagara, and we discuss: was the attack a sens...

After an unprecedented display of resistance, Congress officially approved an additional $1 billion in support of Israel’s Iron Dome—an amount in addition to the $3.8 billion the US sends to Israel every year. Why was the funding so controversial, yet still pass with a vote of 420-9? And does this kind of funding actually promote a future of flourishing for Israelis and Palestinians alike?  We als...

Images from the U.S. border, where thousands of mostly Haitian migrants have attempted to apply for asylum near Del Rio, Texas, captured the nation’s attention last week. What’s happening, what’s the bigger story, and what can we do about it?  We discuss these questions with special guest, Sami DiPasquale, Executive Director of Abara, an organization focused on inspiring connections and responding...