Author Archives: abfifer

Christian Arbitration Critiqued

November 21, 2015 – 8:45 pm

The New York Times published a three-part series earlier this month on arbitration; the third part focused on Christian arbitration (“In Religious Arbitration, Scripture is the Rule of Law”). The authors note that a religious arbitration allows people of the same faith to resolve their dispute based on similar values, achieving not just a settlement, […]

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“Mediators” Win Nobel Peace Prize

October 12, 2015 – 10:53 am

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to four organizations that have in effect been mediating to keep peace in Tunisia. The four organizations—a labor union, a trade group, a human rights league, and a lawyers’ group—comprise the National Dialogue Quartet, formed in 2013 to help Tunisia move beyond its 2011 revolution to build […]

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Four Steps to Ask for Forgiveness

September 30, 2015 – 12:01 pm

An article in this week’s New York Times describes “How to Ask for Forgiveness, in Four Steps.” The four steps are: Admit vulnerability (which includes taking responsibility, and acknowledging the impact that one’s offense had on others); Apologize; Ask for forgiveness; and Practice forgiving. These are good reminders that there’s a process to asking for […]

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Today is Yom Kippur

September 23, 2015 – 8:43 am

Yom Kippur began last night at sundown, a time when Jews restore their relationship to God through repentance for their offenses. It’s the culmination of a ten-day period of reflection, repentance and return known as “teshuvah.” Repentance can be a refreshing, joyful act, says Louis Newman, a professor who has both studied and practiced it. […]

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LCMS Dispute Resolution

September 18, 2015 – 5:53 pm

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has invested a lot in peacemaking. I was part of their effort in the late 1990’s to train hundreds of district superintendents around the U.S. in Christian mediation, in hopes that they would be able to resolve pastor-parish conflicts internally, and well. So it was with real sadness that I came […]

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