Peace and War

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Peace and War

March 17, 2026

39 min

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.

HOST
Mark Labberton
Mark Labberton hosts the Conversing podcast and is the Clifford L. Penner Presidential Chair Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Fuller Seminary.
GUEST
Riad Kassis
Riad Kassis is a Langham Scholar from Lebanon and is deeply committed to global theological education.

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