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Over the past 10 years, Northern Nigeria has quickly risen to the top of the list as the most dangerous place to be a Christian. More Christians are killed here than anywhere else in the world.
The data show us that it’s not by slim margins. According to International Christian Concern, in 2022, <a href="https://www.persecution.org/2023/09/11/90-percent-of-the-5500-christians-killed-in-2022-were-nigerian/">90%</a> of all Christians killed in the world were killed in Nigeria. Last year, that number was around <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261571/nigeria-tops-report-for-number-of-christians-killed-kidnapped-in-2024#:~:text=The%20World%20Watch%20List%2C%20released,countries%20in%20the%20same%20year.">70%</a>.
The persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria has quickly evolved into a full-on genocide. But how did this happen? How did the region become a stronghold for this violence against those who follow Christ?
Most of the region is a virtual “wild west” of Africa, leaving Northern Nigeria largely unchecked with a sparse military presence. The geography, coupled with a rise in Islamic extremism, has allowed groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-WA (ISWAP) to flourish unimpeded.
<div id="attachment_74449" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-74449" class="wp-image-74449 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/12/ISIS-Truck-1024x576.jpg" alt="A vehicle allegedly belonging to the Islamic State group in West Africa (ISWAP) is seen in Baga on August 2, 2019. - Intense fighting between a regional force and the Islamic State group in West Africa (ISWAP) has resulted in dozens of deaths, including at least 25 soldiers and more than 40 jihadists, in northeastern Nigeria. ISWAP broke away from Boko Haram in 2016 in part due to its rejection of indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Last year the group witnessed a reported takeover by more hardline fighters who sidelined its leader and executed his deputy. The IS-affiliate has since July 2018 ratcheted up a campaign of attacks against military targets." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/12/ISIS-Truck-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/12/ISIS-Truck-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/12/ISIS-Truck-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />A vehicle allegedly belonging to the Islamic State group in West Africa (ISWAP) is seen in Baga on August 2, 2019. AUDU MARTE/AFP via Getty Images</div>
According to the most <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1197570/deaths-caused-by-boko-haram-in-nigeria/">recent statistics</a>, Boko Haram alone is responsible for the deaths of 38,000 people between 2011 and 2023. Their growth has been so staggering that it has essentially overwhelmed the Nigerian government’s attempts to stop it. In 2023, I witnessed Nigerian soldiers walk off the job when ordered to fight Boko Haram militants. They told me that fighting Boko Haram was a suicide mission. These terrorist groups keep the people of northern Nigeria in a constant state of fear. They yield this fear skillfully to maintain control. While I truly believe Nigerian President Bola Tinubu wants to see change in the region, his government is outnumbered and outgunned.
Another equally devastating contributor to the problem is the ethnic conflict between Fulani Muslims (herders) and Christians (farmers). While this is not “terrorism” in the traditional sense of Islamic Jihad, the results are no less deadly. There are approximately 17 million Fulani Muslims in Nigeria. Most Fulani are nomadic and predominantly raise cattle to maintain their livelihood. In this region, Christians have largely settled and sustain themselves by planting crops. As the Fulani migrate their cattle over vast distances, those cattle often wander into the farm fields of Christians, destroying their crops. While some Fulani Muslims have been radicalized, the herder vs. farmer crisis is overwhelmingly the result of tensions over land.
<div id="attachment_939751" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-939751" class="size-large wp-image-939751" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1257123144-864x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - A Fulani pastoralist rests at a water point in Loumbel Lana, Matam region on May 19, 2023. For pastoralist the extreme heats direct effect is that their livestock drink double what they usually do. Usually one sheep will drink around 2,5 litres of water a day, now they need 4 or 5 litres a day. Pastoralists now need to get to water points multiple times a day (up to 20km away) and spend double the money buying water. Since April the region of Matam has regularly been flagged as the hottest place on earth with temperatures reaching 48 degrees celsius in the shade and fifties in direct sun. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1257123144-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1257123144-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1257123144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1257123144.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images</div>
For years, I have brokered peace agreements between hundreds of Fulani Muslim and Christian communities. In nearly every case I have worked, the root cause of the conflict boils down to violence that arose from cattle destroying crops. And that violence is not one-sided. Christians have retaliated for the destruction of their crops; however, more often than not, these conflicts result in an inordinate number of Christian deaths.
The most recent example is the massacre of nearly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terrible-massacre-hundreds-of-christians-killed-by-jihadists">200 Christians</a> that happened on <a href="https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/fulani-jihadists-massacre-over-200-christians-in-nigeria">June 14, 2025</a>. As a result of Nigeria’s diminishing areas for cattle grazing, the Fulani Muslims attacked Christians as a means to claim land for their cattle to graze. Further evidence is that every dry season, when access to good feeding grounds is at its lowest, there is a surge of violence between the Fulani herders and Christian farmers.
Northern Nigeria, like much of Africa, is gripped by severe socio-economic challenges that fuel instability and hardship. Most people in Northern Nigeria live on the equivalent of a little more than <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2024/08/20/majority-of-workers-in-nigerias-largest-city-earn-below-62-50-monthly-report-reveals/">$1 USD per day</a>. Currently, a <a href="https://maypatronic.com/bag-of-rice-in-nigeria/#:~:text=in%20the%20market.-,Price%20Ranges,such%20as%20region%20and%20quality.">10kg (22-pound) bag of rice costs about $35 USD</a>. People barely earn enough to feed themselves. The <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/nga/nigeria/inflation-rate-cpi#:~:text=Nigeria%20inflation%20rate%20for%202023,a%201.85%25%20increase%20from%202019.">annual inflation rate is around 24%</a>, which drives the cost of food higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/25-million-nigerians-high-risk-food-insecurity-2023">UNICEF has placed Nigeria on its crisis list</a>, stating that over 25 million people are at high risk of food insecurity. These conditions have created an environment that keeps people in a perpetual state of survival.
But how do dire socio-economic conditions contribute to Christian persecution?
<div id="attachment_168513" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-168513" class="wp-image-168513 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-1024x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - Mourners attend the funeral of 43 farm workers in Zabarmari, about 20km from Maiduguri, Nigeria, on November 29, 2020 after they were killed by Boko Haram fighters in rice fields near the village of Koshobe on November 28, 2020. - The assailants tied up the agricultural workers and slit their throats in the village of Koshobe. The victims were labourers from Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria, roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away, who had travelled to the northeast to find work." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/11/BH-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />TOPSHOT &#8211; Mourners attend the funeral of 43 farm workers in Zabarmari, about 20km from Maiduguri, Nigeria, on November 29, 2020 after they were killed by Boko Haram fighters. AUDU MARTE/AFP via Getty Images.</div>
Inflation and food shortages exacerbate the conflict between Fulani Muslim herders and Christian farmers because, to them, every day is a desperate fight for survival. Tensions over grazing land — the source of sustenance for both the herders and farmers — run at a fever pitch. These socio-economic conditions are also the reason why so many young men are drawn to radical Islamic groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP. Not only do these groups provide a support system, but they also pay well for people willing to follow their orders and commit violent acts. I’ve heard reports of Boko Haram paying their fighters $100 USD for the successful execution of a single act of terrorism. That’s a small fortune in this part of the world.
The desperate conditions of Northern Nigeria are the fuel that keeps the fire of persecution burning.
These are complex problems in a complex part of the world. That’s why, at <a href="https://www.acrossnigeria.org/">Across Nigeria</a>, we are driven by a powerful mission: not only to uplift suffering Christians but also to extend Christ’s love to Muslims. Through our network of primary schools across Northern Nigeria, we empower Fulani Muslims with transformative education and literacy, building bridges of hope and understanding. In every area where we operate a Fulani school, the violence has dropped by 60 to 70%. We have found that providing people with options and opportunities is the best way to deter them from resorting to violence.
By helping Muslims overcome these challenges, we are helping to significantly reduce the violence and bring an end to the suffering. We have done a lot, but we have a long way to go. With the proper support, I believe we can reduce the violence and bring an end to suffering for the Muslims and Christians in the most dangerous region in the world.
* * *
<a href="https://www.acrossnigeria.org/ourfounder">Brad Brandon</a> is the founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.acrossnigeria.org/">Across Nigeria</a>. Since 2018, he has been actively serving in predominantly high-risk, highly persecuted areas like Northern Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

NIGERIA-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-AFRICA

The Silent Slaughter: Inside Nigeria’s Christian Persecution Crisis

The Silent Slaughter: Inside Nigeria's Christian Persecution Crisis

Africa

Boko Haram

Christians

Islamic Jihad

Murder

Muslims

Nigeria

Opinion

Pressed by the Trump Administration, the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/smithsonian-to-conduct-wide-content-review-requested-by-trump-94012153?st=vLn2o8&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share'">ordered a review</a> of its museums for what President Trump calls “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology.” Mike Gonzalez at the Heritage Foundation observes that “The ordered review can’t come fast enough.” 
<a href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/the-smithsonian-institution-audit-only-the-start">He writes</a>:
<blockquote>The Smithsonian has wholeheartedly enlisted in the leftist imperative to “decolonize the American mind” and to change America’s narrative from one that made citizens proud of this nation’s astonishing achievements to a counternarrative that focuses on where America has fallen short and drums shame into citizens. Unfortunately, this shift has accelerated since [Dr. Lonnie] Bunch became the leader of the Smithsonian in 2019.</blockquote>
Gonzalez provides dismaying examples from the National Museum of American History, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 
Also in need of fixing, however, is the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The nation’s museum shouldn’t be in the business of shaming the nation. But neither should it be in the business of belittling human beings, by all but equating us with chimps.
Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture (CSC) has given extensive attention to the false science being fed to the nearly 4 million yearly visitors to the NMNH. Dr. Casey Luskin, Associate Director of the CSC, recently <a href="https://evolutionnews.org/2025/05/letter-to-the-smithsonian-correct-your-signage-on-human-chimp-genetic-similarity/">wrote an open letter</a> to Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian’s Secretary, raising concerns about the Human Origins exhibit which states that “You and chimpanzees [are] 98.8% genetically similar.” It also says, “There is only about a 1.2 percent genetic difference between modern humans and chimpanzees throughout much their genetic code.”
Those figures, often repeated by science media and science educators, are known to be quite inaccurate. That’s mostly due to a recent paper published in the journal Nature. Much-needed explaining of the paper’s results has appeared in <a href="https://evolutionnews.org/tag/1-percent-myth-series/">a series by Dr. Luskin at Evolution News</a> on the “1 percent myth.” In fact, the human-chimp genetic difference is not 1 percent but 14.9 percent. The Smithsonian also misstates the degree of genetic difference between human and gorillas and between humans and orangutans. Luskin writes:
<blockquote>According to data reported in a scientific paper, Yoo et al. (2025), recently published in Nature, these statistics are scientifically false. This paper presented for the first time “complete,” de novo, updated, telomere-to-telomere sequences of the genomes of various ape species. These “complete” genome drafts are vastly improved over previous drafts of ape genomes. Yoo et al. (2025) is thus able to provide much improved calculations of the actual degrees of genetic difference between human and ape genomes at a level of comprehensiveness and accuracy that has been previously unavailable.</blockquote>
The paper Luskin refers to is by geneticist DongAhn Yoo at the University of Washington and his colleagues, “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08816-3">Complete sequencing of ape genomes,</a>” Nature, 641: 401-418 (May 8, 2025).
Why does it matter? After all, any visitor to another Smithsonian facility, the National Zoo, will quickly be able to detect that there’s a lot more than 1 percent — in fact a lot more than 14.9 percent — difference between the chimps at the zoo and the human beings gazing at them. There is no chimp equivalent of the Smithsonian, with chimp curators educating chimp visitors about chimp origins. There are exactly zero displays of humans at zoos available for chimps to casually observe.
As I discuss in my new book &#8220;<a href="https://discovery.press/b/platos-revenge/">Plato’s Revenge,</a>&#8220; these percent differences are evidence that something transcending the genetic information in DNA must be directing the development of organisms. Evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg and others have made similar arguments. 
Regardless, the 1 percent myth is intended to be a put down to human significance — to the exceptional status of human beings in nature, and in the cosmos as far as we know. Yet, when popular atheist scientists like Bill Nye “The Science Guy” brandish the term, it results in human self-hatred, what we might call the “‘I Suck’ Principle,” now a staple of atheist rhetoric. 
As Nye put it <a href="https://youtu.be/WR51OrawqIg?si=NHD7xZ0yxQdWX1Oh">in a speech</a> to the American Humanist Association, speaking (as he sees it) on behalf of all human beings, “I’m a speck on a speck orbiting a speck among other specks among still other specks in the middle of specklessness. I suck!”
The false percentage figures are as worthy of being corrected as the insults to American greatness found elsewhere at the Smithsonian. Yet, when challenged on it, a museum spokesman answered with the equivalent of a, “Yeah, well, maybe we’ll get back to ya on that sometime.” As Elizabeth Shenk at World Magazine <a href="https://wng.org/roundups/architect-or-ancestry-1749756281" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, “The Smithsonian replied that, if it ever updates its numbers, it will take the study into account.” That non-answer should not be acceptable to the taxpayers who foot the bill at the museum. 
Whether humans are unique or just another beast in the forest is among the most consequential questions we can ask ourselves. On it, there hangs the difference between a noble culture and a depraved, animalistic one. The Smithsonian audit is indeed overdue, but it should include not only the insults to us as Americans but to us as human beings.
* * *
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute. He is the author most recently of <a href="https://a.co/d/aB2dtdf">Plato’s Revenge: The New Science of the Immaterial Genome</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Memo To The Smithsonian: Make Humans Exceptional Again

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On Wednesday, I had a pretty incredible experience. I went to the Vatican for an event at St. Peter&#8217;s Square that’s held every Wednesday when the Pope holds a general audience.
It’s an amazing event. There are tens of thousands of people — divided by country of origin — who gather in St. Peter&#8217;s Square from all over the world. It&#8217;s a reminder that godly, Biblical values are the guiding force for billions of people around the world. The world seems like a very dark place from time to time, but the reality is that if you stick to eternal values, it does make the world a brighter place.
The Pope came in his vehicle, drove around, greeted the entire audience, and then he came up in the center of St. Peter&#8217;s Square, right in front of the basilica, and gave an address about the Bible which was read out loud in a variety of different languages.
I got to sit up there near where the Pope was. What the Pope said was quite beautiful. He quoted from the Book of John, the story about the Pool of Bethesda, in which Jesus goes to the Pool of Bethesda, where there are people who are ill and people who are paralyzed. There&#8217;s a man there who&#8217;s been sick and infirm for 38 years. And Jesus goes to that man and he tells him that he ought to get up, take his mat with him, and walk.
And the Pope said we should all reflect on Jesus&#8217; statement. At that moment when we feel stuck and trapped in a dead end, instead of allowing that to become an excuse for others to take care of us, we should not allow this to become a justification to avoid making decisions about our lives. Instead, we should get away from fatalism and embrace personal responsibility.
It is these kinds of messages that are implicit in the Biblical narrative that the Pope is spreading, and that is a wonderful thing for our civilization.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2220-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
I&#8217;ve talked about this before — I&#8217;m an Orthodox Jew. Obviously. I don&#8217;t have a dog in the fight when it comes to internal battles over doctrine in Catholicism, except to the extent that the Catholic Church remains a lodestone for Western civilization, a great spreader of Biblical values to humanity.
In the same way, there are Protestant churches that do the same. People of God, people of the book, people of the Bible are spreading eternal values. It is worth acknowledging that and honoring that.
That&#8217;s actually what I said to the Pope when I had an opportunity to meet him. I handed him a letter asking for an interview and introduced myself. You&#8217;re supposed to bring the Pope a gift.
I explained who I was. (Obviously, he has a lot of things to do, so I doubt he&#8217;s a regular listener to my show.) At this point, I explained to him that I was there to pay honor to the fact that he was representative of biblical values in the world. Then I added, “I happen to have been a devout White Sox fan since the time I was a child.”
Of course, Pope Leo is a White Sox fan. He recently spoke at Comiskey Park via video to some 30,000 people.
I told him that while he is Catholic and I am Jewish, one of the miracles that we can agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series. I brought with me from my personal collection a 2005 World Series White Sox baseball signed by the entire team, and gave it to him.
He seemed a little bit surprised, not by the fact that I was giving a gift, but because it was a gift and not just me showing him something cool, I suppose. You could see him crack a bit of a smile as he received it. He was pretty delighted by it.
So it was really a terrific experience. Honestly, the entire event was amazing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It was an honor to meet His Holiness, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pontifex</a> in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). <a href="https://t.co/hxlhUnKU7F">pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1935350580458733762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My impression of him is that Pope Leo seems to be a man who has enmeshed himself in the office. And when you meet the Pope, you can see he’s a deeply humble man. You can tell that right away just from meeting him. And you could see the sheer joy that he had, I think, from getting the baseball, which is such a small thing for this man who has the weight of the spiritual fate of over a billion people on his shoulders.
I share that because there are a lot of moments in the political world that are not uplifting. There are a lot of moments that are fraught, that feel as though darkness is encroaching.
And so, there needs to be a meeting of the minds between all of us who believe in Biblical values, and that those Biblical values ought to be purveyed. It&#8217;s one of the reasons why I have encouraged people who are Catholic to go to church, people who are Protestant to go to church, and Jews to go to synagogue and relearn their traditions and engage with those traditions.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of the strengthening of the Catholic Church and the strengthening of Protestant churches all over the United States and the rest of the West.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of people reengaging with the values that made the West what it was in the first place.

Pope Leo XIV Arrives To Lead His Weekly General Audience At St Peter’s Square In The Vatican On June 18, 2025.

I Met The Pope. It Was Amazing.

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In stark contrast to the battle cries of antisemites, and now the loud chorus of pundits defending Iran and its terror network, our message as Christians is this: preserve Israel and all she defends. As friends of Israel — of freedom, democracy, human rights, holy and ancient tradition — our prayers in her defense must overwhelm the rockets aimed at her annihilation.
Right now, Israel’s enemies are loud. So her friends need to be louder. Because once again, Israel stands on the verge of destruction.
The Iranian regime has openly and repeatedly vowed to annihilate the State of Israel. Since the October 7 terror attacks, Iran-backed terrorists have wrought havoc, ruining their own country, Yemen, and others, while targeting Israeli civilians from afar. When their terrorist friends again launched dozens of rockets at Israel recently, with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/houthi-missile-strikes-near-israeli-airport-after-evading-missile-defenses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one landing at Ben Gurion Airport</a>, at least eight individuals were seriously wounded. Over the weekend, Iran launched more missiles at Israel — and not at military targets, but as is typical for Iran, at innocent civilians and young children.
And now, Iran has reached the brink of producing nuclear weapons. This is not a theory. This is a very real, existential threat.
We must say it clearly: there will be no second Holocaust. No more helplessness. No more October 7 massacres.
With Iran as unhinged as ever before, the State of Israel was reborn for such a time as this — to be a refuge, a free nation with the ability to protect and defend the Jewish people. Israel has the moral and sovereign right to defend itself against those who seek its destruction.
We must stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters — not only because of shared values, but because of a shared God who calls us to be a light in the darkness. I am incredibly thankful for leaders like President Trump, who have stood firmly with Israel in its time of need. This is beyond politics and policies; this is about moral clarity. As followers of Christ, we are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, to stand against injustice, and to take action, proving that when we say, “Never again,” we mean it.
Our congregation and global partners have chosen to support the people of Israel by investing in the Northern Galilee Emergency Hospital, by donating to the construction of 800 safe houses throughout the Eshkol region, and by building other bomb shelters, civil defense centers, and psychological treatment centers throughout the country. But if you cannot donate funds, donate your voice to amplify our message of peace.
This is also a pivotal moment for Iran, particularly Iranian Christians. The global church must lift them up in prayer and find ways to support them right now. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of the tyranny and violence they have faced in their own country. We pray that the freedom to preach the Gospel there will finally be possible and that Christians can practice their faith within Iran without fear.
As Christians, Scripture guides us more than any fleeting opinion of man. In Genesis 12:3, we read this about the historic nation of Israel: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
So, our mandate is clear, and we must state it clearly: We will always stand side by side with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we will always have their backs.
* * *
Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel and was recently appointed to President Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/president-donald-trump-names-advisory-board-members-to-the-religious-liverty-commission/">Religious Liberty Commission</a>. Each week, his television program, Kingdom Connection, is broadcast on major networks all over the world. He is also a New York Times best-selling author of several books.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

The Choice Is Crystal Clear: Christians Must Defend Israel As She Confronts Evil

Christianity

Iran

Israel

Jews

Middle East

October 7

President Trump

Religious Liberty

Andrew Klavan’s new book arrived in my inbox with providential timing. Only a few hours before I started perusing The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness, I’d signed a publishing contract for my first novel — a story of murder, prostitution, and the many debased things that fallen man is willing to do in pursuit of his ambitions.
But a tiny part of me blushed at the plot I was preparing to put down on paper — what would compel a Christian, a self-professed church lady no less, to tell such a sordid tale?  What compels other Christians to read them? Klavan, as might be expected from an award-winning crime writer and very public Christ-follower, has long been thinking about such questions and now provides an answer.
“We should look at the question from the other direction,” Klavan says, “what good does it do anybody to write about the world as it&#8217;s not?” And the world, as he details through the true stories of three notorious killers — including history’s first killer — can be a very dark place. Portraying that darkness accurately in our art, Klavan contends, is one way we can better recognize and appreciate the light.
As one endorser of The Kingdom of Cain said, the book is part meditation and part memoir. I’d add, it’s also part apologia, as Klavan makes an argument for the ultimate triumph of not just a generic goodness but a Christian goodness. Evil, he argues, in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain, is the unwelcome guest to the original state of creation, which, as we know from Genesis, was very good.
“The shall-nots of the Ten Commandments are not restrictions on our true selves,” writes Klavan, “They are a guide to clearing the path to our original nature so we can become who we truly are.” Another way to say it is that the world began with a moral order, and what goes against that order is the intruder. Klavan explains why this reality should inform the work of any Christian artist seeking to write words that ring true. “I will write about absolutely horrific things,” he says, “but always in the moral world.”
What does writing dark works in the moral world look like? He shows us.
While analyzing the great fictional works his three case studies inspired, Klavan’s insights give new relish to film classics, offering fresh revelations about their appeal to audiences. One of his chapters on 1950s cross-dressing serial killer Ed Gein dissects how he is reimagined in the film Psycho. Unlike the novel it was based on, the movie recognizes not just the psychological brokenness of its villain, but his spiritual deformity. What the Catholic Hitchcock “understood in his bones,” Klavan writes, “is that there is a tension between the things of the spirit and the things of the flesh.”
And so, the great director played up that tension, bringing about his female lead’s murder right as she is in a moment of redemption, preparing to make amends for stealing $40,000 from her employer. This elevates the story from simple scare fest to tragedy.
“[Lead female character Marion’s] work in the film is the work of the spirit,” Klavan writes. Through her death, Hitchcock picked up on an aspect of Gein’s history that Psycho’s initial author didn’t — &#8220;the struggle to reconcile religion with eroticism is real.” This is something Hitchcock subtly points to by having Norman Bates use a biblical painting of Susanna and the Elders, which depicts two spiritual leaders trying to sexually exploit a woman as she is bathing, as a peephole to spy on Marion undressing for the shower.
From the Book of Daniel to the Bates Motel — the baser impulses of men will ever be a threat to women.
Other works inspired by the Gein case, like The Silence of the Lambs, compel because they not only tell us truthfully of the violence associated with perverted sexual desire, they also mock the idea that the explanations for such violence will be provided by psychiatry rather than religion. Hannibal Lecter is simply the face of unapologetic evil — like the icy Nietzscheans Leopold and Loeb (whose story Klavan also details), there is no Freudian concept that will restrain his malevolence. He would have to become an entirely new creature for that, a magic that only Christianity can work.
The book is full of similar, worthy insights, particularly when it comes to works inspired by the story of Cain. It is clear that for Klavan, there is no joy like the joy of accurately representing the human experience, and humanity is sinful. You cannot tell compelling stories while hiding reality, something the Bible’s authors apparently knew very well, given the horrors that fill Scripture’s pages from incest, to gang rapes, to, well, crucifixion.
Too often, Christians forget the “true” part of the Apostle Paul’s admonition to think about: &#8220;whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.” Truth is sometimes ugly, but all truth is God’s truth, Klavan tells me, and will reflect God’s moral order. “Every honest story, every true story, has God,” he says
“Whether you believe or not, if you tell a true story, if you tell the truth about life, God will be there.”

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Andrew Klavan’s Dark World

Andrew Klavan

United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee presented his credentials last week to Israel’s President, Yitzchak Herzog, and immediately demonstrated why he is the right person for this vital position at this critical time. It is true that Ambassador Huckabee has visited Israel more than 100 times, in his capacity as a Baptist preacher leading his congregation and as a politician accompanying his constituents, but even more importantly, he understands Israel, its uniqueness, its role in history, its abiding friendship with the United States, and its challenges.
Huckabee declared at the reception that he returns to Israel with “absolute joy and an overwhelming sense of awe that I am in a land where G-d Himself said, ‘This is mine, and these are My people.’” Such sentiments are not often expressed in Israel and not articulated often enough by Jews but they provide the foundation for defining the rightful place of the State of Israel, its reason for existence, and even the relentless antagonism of its enemies. The land of Israel was not only the land of the Bible in ancient times; it remains the land of the Bible and awaits the fulfillment of the prophetic vision of the future. Perceived through that prism, Israel’s struggles against implacable foes take on a new light that is visible only to someone who shares Ambassador Huckabee’s perspective.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine another ambassador having visited the country to which he was posted 100 times before assuming the role. It means that Huckabee’s commitment to Israel’s security stems from his correct understanding of America’s place in the world and its capacity to foster good and promote peace and prosperity.
So, what should be on Ambassador Huckabee’s agenda, especially mindful that he is the U.S. Ambassador who should advance American interests in the region?
The Ambassador has been outspoken in recent years as to the non-viability of a Palestinian state in the land of Israel, now rendered especially incongruous and perilous in light of the Hamas massacre of October 7, the ongoing war, and the Palestinian Authority’s reluctance to condemn that war. As ambassador, he can thwart the subtle encroachment towards a Palestinian state favored by Europe and some elements in the United States by reiterating a number of steps taken during the first Trump administration. He can again shutter the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA), located on Agron Street in the western part of Jerusalem, which was revived by the Biden administration in violation of U.S. and Israeli law and functioned as a quasi-diplomatic mission to the Palestinians. During the first Trump term, this office was closed, and its services provided out of the American embassy in Jerusalem to which it reported directly.
The OPA as currently constituted is an affront to Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. Ambassador Huckabee, together with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, can use his good offices to limit or halt the activities of the several European consulates that are located in Jerusalem and operate as missions to the Palestinian Authority in defiance of Israeli and international law. The ambassador can persuade, and certainly the U.S. government can act, to support Israel’s closure of these hostile outposts in the heart of Jerusalem.
<div id="attachment_914553" style="width: 840px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914553" class="size-large wp-image-914553" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2206862784-830x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 25: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Huckabee, the former governor and presidential candidate, answered questions on Israel and its campaign against Hamas. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)" width="830" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2206862784-830x576.jpg 830w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2206862784-300x208.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2206862784-768x533.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2206862784.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px" />Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images</div>
The Ambassador can urge the State Department to finally designate “Jerusalem, Israel” as an official place of birth on American passports. The State Department has long embraced the chimera that Jerusalem’s status as part of Israel — as Israel’s capital, no less — is somehow still subject to the outcome of negotiations. This policy should be repudiated and U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem who so desire should have their place of birth recorded as “Jerusalem, Israel.”
Ambassador Huckabee should also encourage the Trump administration to follow through on its temporary suspension of funding to UNRWA and make that suspension permanent. UNRWA, although barred by Israeli law from operating in Jerusalem, still maneuvers behind the scenes, controlling schools and in some cases economic development while advancing the interests of Hamas, with which it was integrally linked during the Gaza War. Cutting aid and resigning from UNESCO, another UN organization that is antagonistic to Israel and the United States, is also an American interest.
Additionally, for many decades under Democratic administrations, any type of residential or commercial building in Jerusalem by Jews – not by Arabs – drew immediate condemnations from the State Department. This too must end, and the ambassador is well positioned, as is President Trump, a real estate mogul, to take the lead in supporting Israel’s plans to construct new neighborhoods in Jerusalem and even to explore the expansion of Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries to encompass satellite towns on its periphery.
To his great credit, President Trump has appointed two distinguished emissaries to Israel – David Friedman in his first term and Mike Huckabee in his current term. A person of faith, such as Ambassador Huckabee, deeply understands the centrality of Israel in the narrative of world history. But this ambassador also deeply understands the Israel of the future, and the pivotal role played by the city of Jerusalem, and even more how a secure and prosperous Israel will strengthen the United States and bring the world closer to the vision of peace on earth.
* * *
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Esq., is Senior Research Associate at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP.ngo).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mike Huckabee speaks after being sworn in as ambassador to Israel.

Why Mike Huckabee Is The Right Man For Israel

Ambassador

Jerusalem

Mike Huckabee

State Department

Trump Administration

G.K. Chesterton <a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/43811/stfrancisproblem.htm">wrote</a> of St. Francis of Assisi, “But after all, this man was a man and not half a dozen men. What seems inconsistency to you did not seem inconsistency to him.”
We should keep this same principle in mind today as we continue to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’s soul — and assess what we can learn from his legacy, both good and bad.
Much like the great saint whom he chose as his namesake and clearly intended to emulate, Pope Francis confounded caricature and was often misunderstood. In his life, and especially over the course of his pontificate, this quality often led to confusion for the faithful. No doubt, that pattern of confusion will be one hallmark of Francis’s papacy.
If we hope to learn from the life of Pope Francis, however, we must start by rejecting the mainstream media’s depiction of him as a “liberal” pope. Since his death, the New York Times has been filled with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/opinion/pope-francis-gay-muddle.html'" target="_blank" rel="noopener">headlines</a> regarding his perspective on “LGBTQ people,” women deacons, or the Church’s teaching on birth control. But while these may be important issues to the opinion writers of the New York Times, they were not central to Pope Francis’s work.
A much better place to begin is, well, the beginning: those early years of the pontificate when an energetic and vigorous Pope Francis set out to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and put an emphasis on serving the poor and taking care of the sick.
<div id="attachment_913279" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913279" class="size-large wp-image-913279" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg" alt="VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 31: Pope Francis embraces a boy prior to his first 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica during Easter Mass on March 31, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis delivered his message to the gathered faithful from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in St. Peter's Square after his first Holy week as Pontiff. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Franco Origlia/Getty Images</div>
I will never forget when the Pope, in 2013, reached down and kissed a man suffering from neurofibromatosis, a rare disease which had left him disfigured with boils all over his head. And this was far from the only example. In his first year in the seat of St. Peter, Pope Francis made a point of <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26889/pope-francis-to-offer-hope-by-washing-young-inmates-feet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">washing the feet</a> of 12 young people at a juvenile detention center, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27588/pope-francis-invites-homeless-to-dine-at-vatican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inviting</a> 200 homeless people to dine at the Vatican, and living in a modest guest house rather than the Apostolic Palace.
With this radical humility, Pope Francis — the first Pope from the global South, where the Church continues to grow — reminded the decadent old continent that the cultural inheritance of Christendom is not in attending U.N. Conferences, but the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor.
Yet as much as Pope Francis loved the poor, he was not a humble Franciscan friar but a savvy Jesuit political operator whose initial attention to the corporal works of mercy — though never entirely lost — soon gave way to practical considerations about what would secure his power over the Church. And unfortunately, as he aged and became more entangled in the politics of the Vatican, Pope Francis became vulnerable to manipulation by his advisers as well as the media and indeed made many missteps that confused and divided his flock.
Examples abound. One week he would promote the blessing of “unions of persons of the same sex.” The next he would say that marriage will always be the union of one man and one woman. On one occasion, he declared that abortion was akin to “hiring a hitman,” while nevertheless appointing a pro-abortion economist to the Pontifical Academy for Life.
And because of his excessive reliance on the likes of Cardinal Blase Cupich — the radical progressive archbishop of Chicago whom he appropriately dubbed “the little woman” — Pope Francis was especially misguided in his approach to more conservative segments of the Church. He imposed serious restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, which is growing rapidly in the United States. And despite his frequent denunciation of “clericalism,” he upended, for no apparent reason, the constitution of Opus Dei, a prelature distinguished for promoting the role of the laity in the Church’s mission.
In short, rather than working with the young, vibrant, and faithful segments of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis attacked them, choosing instead to champion progressive prelates and priests like Father James Martin, a Jesuit who pushes the Catholic church to abandon the traditional definition of marriage.
<div id="attachment_720181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-720181" class="size-large wp-image-720181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg" alt="MALMO, SWEDEN - OCTOBER 31: Pope Francis gives a speech during the 'Together in Hope' event at Malmo Arena on October 31, 2016 in Malmo, Sweden. The Pope is on 2 days visit attending Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration in Lund and Malmo. (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Michael Campanella/Getty Images</div>
In spite of his own opposition to these groups, however, Pope Francis’s pontificate witnessed a surge of conservative young people converting to Catholicism, in America and around the world. This Easter, dioceses across the United States <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/easter-converts-2024-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> 30%, 40%, 50%, and even 70% increases in the number of converts coming into the Church on Easter Vigil. Young people seeking stability and rootedness account for most of these conversions, and the same phenomenon is happening in <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263349/france-sees-record-10384-adult-baptisms-in-2025-45-percent-increase-as-young-catholics-lead-revival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a> and <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263329/surge-in-adults-entering-church-in-england-this-easter-prompted-by-internet-tradition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">England</a>, where a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggestshttps:/www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> shows that Gen Z Catholics now outnumber Anglicans two to one.
Amid this renewed interest in the Catholic Church, one of the great tragedies of Pope Francis’s papacy is that his misguided opposition to traditional religious communities and conservative political policies may have given many of these young Catholics the impression that a focus on serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and carrying out the other corporal works of mercy is somehow at odds with tradition and orthodoxy.
Let me be clear: this is not and never has been the case.
Christ tells his disciples in Matthew 25, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” The corporal works of mercy are essential for all Christians, regardless of denomination or political party. And beyond informing our personal faith, they also must guide our efforts to reclaim our institutions and restore our country.
Moreover, Pope Francis’s liberal posturing on things like the environment may obscure his urgent message to modernity. Consider the late Pope’s 2015 “global warming” encyclical, Laudato Si. While it did include entire sections on “pollution and climate change” which the liberal media fawned over and promoted, its deeper argument — that we have failed to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology” — was profoundly conservative and largely ignored.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis beautifully lays out how a “technocratic paradigm” has led us to accept “every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings.” And in pursuit of this “unlimited human power,” he argues, we have undermined the various conditions that help us flourish: destroyed God’s majestic creation, contracepted our God-given gift to create life, and dishonored God’s plan for men and women to be different.
This message — not misguided one-off statements on airplane interviews or liberal media headlines about hot button political issues — is what we should take away from Pope Francis’s papacy.
Modernity, despite all its advances, has robbed us of many of the most basic spiritual and moral resources we need to flourish and be truly happy. To recover them, we don’t need complex coding or advanced AI, but rather, as Pope Francis sought to remind us, simply to follow the lessons Jesus taught us about serving our fellow man.
Much like the early parts of his pontificate, Pope Francis’s final days reflected this message.
On Sunday, the Pope’s last day on Earth, he met with Vice President JD Vance, squashing their public spat. He used his Easter message to make an appeal for peace in the world&#8217;s most war-torn regions. And finally, he made one last loop through St. Peter’s square, stopping several times to bless babies brought up to him and wish all his “brothers and sisters” a “Happy Easter.”
May he rest in peace, mixed legacy and all — and may his brother cardinals be inspired to choose a successor capable of combining Pope Francis’s initial emphasis on the corporal works with a steadfast commitment to tradition, both of which were sorely lacking in the final years of the Holy Father’s life.
* * *
Kevin Roberts is the President of The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-VATICAN-HEALTH-VIRUS-RELIGION-POPE-AUDIENCE

What Can We Learn From Pope Francis?

Catholicism

Heritage Foundation

Liberals

Pope Francis

Religion

I believe that America’s core ideals are very much linked to its Christian faith. So as Easter has just passed, I thought this would be a good time to take a closer look at the state of the American church and then weep quietly and say it was a great country while it lasted.
Now, according to a Pew poll, 62% of Americans identify as Christian. This is a slight drop from the 1697 poll which showed 99.9% of Americans were Christian with one heretic hiding in the woods hoping some long-haired guy with a buckle on his hat wouldn’t blow his head off with a blunderbuss.
But today’s religious landscape looks different depending on political affiliation. For instance, on the political Left, 43% of those who identify as progressives say they have abandoned Christianity and become Episcopalians. Fourteen percent of progressives say they have renounced the corrupt beliefs of colonizing white men, have returned to the innocent and beautiful natural religion of indigenous peoples, and were preparing to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano God until they realized that by the time they were sure she was a virgin, she wasn’t a virgin anymore, and if they threw her into a volcano there’d be no one left who knew how to make breakfast.
Other progressives say they are sick of the sort of restrictive religions that ruined the 1950’s by making everything so great. Instead they have turned to more modern faiths with practices that reflect the moral progress of mankind. These practices include yogic meditation, ritual mindfulness, and tantric sex followed by butchering any unborn babies conceived during tantric sex, then celebrating the mass slaughter by dancing around a pole in a wild blood-drenched frenzy, getting a full body tattoo featuring goat-headed demi-gods with flaming eyes, then running naked through a forest while grunting inarticulately and listening to music that’s mostly composed of drumbeats and shrieking because classic rock is just the best.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
Among Christians on the political Right, 17% say they believe in Christ so hard they’ll kill anyone who disagrees with them, 14% say their faith is so strong they might even be willing to go to church as long as porn is provided, and 8% say their worship mostly involves posting unspeakably cruel remarks on social media to people who aren’t as Christly as they are. Four percent of conservative Christians say they have abandoned their own egos for Christ’s sake and have thus elevated their souls into a state of suffering-yet-serene agape love, and are now hiding in the woods hoping some long-haired guy with a buckle on his hat won’t blow their heads off with a blunderbuss.
The remaining 57% of Right-wing Christians spend most of their time sobbing and whispering, “Oh God, I suck so bad, please, please, please have mercy on me and don’t send me to hell or California.”
As far as other American religions go, 94% of limousine drivers identify as Muslims, 16% of Christian women pretend they’re Buddhists, and 82% of Jews control 90% of everything except which parts of Ivy League campuses they’re allowed to walk on without one of their professors pointing at them and making that awful insect noise like Donald Sutherland at the end of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
Approximately 29% of Americans have no religion whatsoever and they say that makes life much easier because they&#8217;re able to rotate their heads 360 degrees and spider walk across the ceiling, which comes in very handy when they’re trying to escape from the exorcist.
Around the world, the religious landscape is much more varied. For instance, in Great Britain, while 47% of the people identify as Christian, 70% of them say that Islam is also absolutely great, totally fine, really wonderful and not a problem at all, no, really, it’s fantastic, they’re not just saying that because they’d be arrested for telling the truth.
In France, 49% of the population were excited because they thought they belonged to a dark, obscure, mystery cult with elaborate secret rituals until they found out they were actually just Catholics.
And in China, 23% of high-ranking Communists identify their kidneys as Uiger.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-FESTIVAL-CARTOON-COMICCON-RELIGION

Progressives Abandon Christianity, Become Episcopalian

Conservatives

Easter

Episcopal Church

Humor

Progressivism

Satire

The animated, bible-based film “The King of Kings” managed to perform almost as well in its second week as it did during the film’s premiere, bringing in $17.2 million over Easter weekend after a record-breaking $19.1 million debut.
The past weekend&#8217;s earnings represent only a 10% decrease in revenue, which is among the 50 lowest percentage revenue drops for any movie that had a theatrical opening, per <a href="https://screenrant.com/king-of-kings-movie-low-second-week-drop-box-office-milestone/">Screen Rant</a>. This is significantly better than the industry average second-weekend drop, which usually ranges from 50% to 60%.
“The King of Kings” came in third at the box office behind “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie.” The film has made just over $45 million, making it the second-highest-grossing movie for Angel Studios, behind 2023’s unexpected hit, “Sound of Freedom.”
In its debut weekend, “The King of Kings” also broke the record set by “The Prince of Egypt” for most money earned by an animated biblical film during its premiere. “The Prince of Egypt” (1998) went on to earn over $100 million domestically.
“The King of Kings” has been a massive hit with critics and audiences, too. It currently has a 65% critic score and 98% audience score on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_king_of_kings">Rotten Tomatoes</a>.
The reviewer from The San Francisco Chronicle noted the film’s “whimsical Dickensian touches.” &#8220;The King of Kings” is based on Charles Dickens&#8217; book, “The Life of Our Lord.” He also called the movie “amusing and possibly enlightening Easter entertainment for younger children.”
Most moviegoers were generous with their praise. One reviewer said it was “a visually captivating animated film that brings the story of Jesus to life through the imaginative lens of Charles Dickens narrating to his son.”
“The film’s heartfelt message of hope, love, and redemption resonates strongly with faith-based audiences. A great film for all !! Tastefully done,” he added.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The King Of Kings | Official Trailer | In theaters April 11 | Angel Studios" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HDhet3EVRac?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another agreed, writing, “This was so captivating! Entertains adults and kids. It is full of truth and light. I’d recommend to everyone!”
A synopsis of the film says, “A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child.”

King of Kings

‘King Of Kings’ Holds Strong Over Easter Weekend With Surprisingly Low Revenue Drop

'King Of Kings' Holds Strong Over Easter Weekend With Surprisingly Low Revenue Drop

Angel Studios

Box Office

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Movies

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Each Passover, Jews across the world recount the miraculous exodus of their ancestors from servitude under the Egyptian pharaoh, in pursuit of a life of ordered liberty in the Land promised to Abraham. This pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people, forcing them into hard labor doubly tortuous, as their taskmasters imposed assignments with labor itself as the ultimate end. The pharaoh even ordered the infanticide of Hebrew male infants in an attempt to cement his power over the Hebrews. The Passover dinner retells the story of our enslavement, the Ten Plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, and Hebrews’ miraculous deliverance. The ancient Hebrews left a tyranny that subjugated their spiritual and physical freedom to the dictates of a human regime at odds with the Divine.
Importantly, escape from tyranny wasn’t their ultimate aim. The ancient Hebrews embarked at this moment on a journey to their Promised Land. These tribes became the People of the Book — striving to form a civil society under the rule of law, complete with education of the young, the establishment of courts, protection of property, and concern for innocent life.
The American Founders certainly recognized that this “Season of Our Freedom” is relevant for the United States of America. The national motto proposed by Benjamin Franklin of “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God” accompanied an image of Moses leading the Children of Israel across the miraculously parted Red Sea as they escaped the tyrant of their times. The Israelites desired to worship God freely, raise families, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor. The protections of our Bill of Rights guarantee us similar rights.
The Israelites and the Pilgrims both journeyed to a new land not just in pursuit of generic freedom — but freedom of a far deeper type. The foremost concern of the Pilgrims arriving on the shores of Cape Cod in 1620 indeed was freedom of religion and conscience. Like the Israelites, these early settlers forfeited many of the comforts of their prior home as they endured a harsh climate in unfamiliar territory surrounded by hazards. Those Pilgrims entered a covenant to “combine ourselves together into a civil body politick” — one with the family as society’s foundation, with national traditions and core values transmitted in the home.
<div id="attachment_906725" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906725" class="size-large wp-image-906725" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg" alt="Passover matzoh jewish holiday bread with kipah table background. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Cavan images. Getty Images.</div>
The Passover seder recognizes that the story of the Jewish people neither began nor ended with the Exodus story. In its recount, we recognize also that we must be active participants in maintaining our freedom. We recognize also that, in a sense, this deliverance happened to us personally. Through the long dinner, children at the table play a large role in reading the story, asking questions, and contributing to the conversation.
As the quarter-millennial celebration of our independence from King George III approaches, let’s take some lessons from the Passover celebration. Instilling an understanding of and respect for our founding in the next generation ensures they too will seek to protect our nation from corrosive influence. Yet, far too many children are apathetic or ignorant of the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution or even the basic functioning of our republic. Too few are taught of the sacrifices made by the Founders and the freedoms they sought to protect. Even worse, some educators attempt to poison young minds against the nation’s foundation. Parents possess the responsibility and an opportunity to instill this love of country. Honoring the flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, respecting the national anthem, commemorating Independence Day all instill pride in country—in addition to academic studies.
Let’s remember too that our freedom is not secure forever simply by virtue of our winning our own War for Independence. As we stray from the guarantors of our freedom — rule of law, the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, strong families — the great promise of this nation “conceived in liberty” becomes threatened. At the Passover seder, we recall audibly and collectively that, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt.” Remembering life prior to liberty, celebrating our victory over tyranny, savoring our freedom, reflecting on what a life of liberty should mean, and involving the next generation in all of this will protect our freedom — both as Jews and as Americans.
* * *
Joel Griffith and Paul Teller, both Jewish Americans, are Senior Fellow and Executive Vice President, respectively, of Advancing American Freedom, the issue advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Metal plate with matzah or matza and Passover Haggadah on a vintage wood background presented as a Passover seder feast or meal with copy space. Translation: Passover Haggadah

The Season Of Our Freedom: Lessons From Passover For Americans

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The biblical-based film “The King of Kings” was released on Friday, and it’s already expected to break records. The Angel Studios production racked up $14.6 million in ticket pre-sales, per <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/04/king-of-kings-box-office-presales-1236366250/">Deadline</a>, putting it on track to surpass the massively successful DreamWorks film &#8220;The Prince of Egypt&#8221; (1998), which currently holds the title of best opening for a biblical film at $14.5 million. 
The outlet noted that one million tickets were sold in advance, thanks in large part to the studio’s “Kids go Free” campaign, which allows one free kid’s ticket for every adult ticket purchased.
“The King of Kings” debuts in more than 3,200 locations nationwide this weekend. A synopsis <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaylorTheater/photos/a-father-tells-his-son-the-greatest-story-ever-told-and-what-begins-as-a-bedtime/1195472525696747/?_rdr">says</a>, “A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child.”
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“Just like the Prince of Egypt drew families to theaters, our Angel Guild has supported this film through presales and strong word-of-mouth since it entered the Angel ecosystem,” Brandon Purdie, Global Head of Theatrical Distribution &amp; Brand Development at Angel told Deadline. “Charles Dickens had a tradition of sharing this story with his family and we hope that The King of Kings will become a part of the Easter tradition for families around the globe.”
The Daily Wire was on the red carpet at the premiere this week to speak with the film’s creators and stars about working on the faith-based film. 
When asked what it’s like bringing the Bible back to the big screen, director Seong-Ho Jang said (via translator), “I felt the duty as a Christian to spread His word,” the director said, expressing surprise that no major studios were willing to take on the task. 
Jang said he considered it a “miracle” that major stars such as Uma Thurman and Pierce Brosnan signed on for the project. 
Voice actor Jim Cummings, who voices Pharisee Hillel, said he was convinced to do the project when his agent pitched it as “the greatest story ever told.” He also mentioned being an altar boy from way back, which he said made the project even more important to him. Cummings is best known for being the official voice of Winnie the Pooh since 1988. 
“The King of Kings” currently has a 66% critic score and 96% audience rating on review aggregator <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_king_of_kings">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. 
The reviewer from The San Francisco Chronicle noted the film’s “whimsical Dickensian touches,” which relates back to the fact that “The King of Kings” is based on the Charles Dickens book, “The Life of Our Lord.” He also called the movie “amusing and possibly enlightening Easter entertainment for younger children.”
Most moviegoers were effusive with their praise. One reviewer said it was “a visually captivating animated film that brings the story of Jesus to life through the imaginative lens of Charles Dickens narrating to his son.” 
“The film&#8217;s heartfelt message of hope, love, and redemption resonates strongly with faith-based audiences. A great film for all !! Tastefully done,” he added.
Another agreed, writing, “This was so captivating! Entertains adults and kids. It is full of truth and light. I&#8217;d recommend to everyone!”

Animated Biblical Film ‘The King Of Kings’ Poised To Break Box Office Records

Animated Biblical Film 'The King Of Kings' Poised To Break Box Office Records

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