MSI Press Blog

  There is no pain deeper than the loss of a child. It feels unnatural, like the world has tilted off its axis. The heart searches for meaning where there seems to be none, and even the strongest faith can tremble under the weight of such sorrow. Yet, faith — when held tenderly, not forced — can become the quiet thread that keeps a grieving parent connected to hope. 🌿 1. Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief — It Holds It Faith does not demand that we stop crying or “move on.” It allows us to grieve fully, knowing that love is stronger than death. In Scripture, even Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. His tears remind us that sorrow is not a failure of faith — it’s part of love’s expression. Faith gives permission to feel everything: the anger, the confusion, the silence. It whispers, “You are not alone in this.” 🌅 2. Faith Offers a Larger Story When grief feels endless, faith offers a horizon beyond the visible. It tells us that life is not confined to the body — that the soul continues, tha...

  Excerpt from  When Liberty Enslave  by Jerry Aveta There is a common experience between our experiences today and those before the Civil War many years ago.  The effect of the intersection of faith and politics during these two experiences has had on our elections and our governance is uncanny in their similarities.  Both times an election insurrection was stopped by the sitting vice president.  Both times had people of the same faith on both sides of the social issues of the day claiming God’s favor and willing to divide the nation over those competing positions. Part 1 of this writing focuses on the Civil War era and how liberty centered around the issue of equality.  Some people of faith believed all men were equal, some did not. Part 2 focuses on our present times and how liberty centers on the sanctity of life concerning abortion and gun control.  Some in our nation feel enslaved by the liberty of others. Part 3 describes methods for closin...

  Blending religion and politics often erodes both moral clarity and civic trust. When faith becomes a political instrument, it risks losing its prophetic voice, and when politics borrows divine authority, it stops being accountable to reason and pluralism. The result is polarization, exclusion, and a corrosion of both spiritual and democratic integrity. 1. When sacred language becomes campaign rhetoric Throughout history, rulers have claimed divine sanction—from medieval monarchs invoking the “divine right of kings” to modern politicians quoting scripture on the stump. The danger lies in confusing moral conviction with political mandate . Once a leader’s agenda is framed as God’s will, dissent becomes heresy rather than debate. The European Wars of Religion and countless modern sectarian conflicts show how easily this fusion breeds violence and repression. In today’s democracies, the pattern repeats more subtly. Candidates use religious identity to signal virtue, while voters int...