Two Emperors Who Would Cheat Death
Two of archaeology’s most fascinating finds are represented by separate museum exhibits currently touring in the United States. Both were emperors of powerful nations: but that is not all they had in common.
Russians Vote for Stalin, State Promotes Strident Nationalism
Many present-day Russians have managed to discount his horrific impact on history to rehabilitate Stalin—some even suggesting his elevation to sainthood. Why?
The War to End All Wars
World War I has been described as the war to end all wars. The ensuing years—most notably, the Second World War—showed that this thought was ridiculously naïve. In reality, the war was a colossal mistake, caused by a series of astonishing blunders.
Triumph and Tragedy in the Middle East
When David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel in May 1948, who could have foreseen that the Arab-Israeli conflict would still be in the headlines 60 years later?
The Man Who Would Cheat Death and Rule the Universe
China’s “First Emperor,” the head of the short-lived Qin dynasty, was a man of great and extravagant ambitions—not only for his physical, earthly life but for the life he anticipated beyond the grave.
Peace Architects
Is there hope for what seems the world's most intractable problem? Through a series of interviews with experts and key players on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict, David Hulme explores how identities and ideologies generate the passion to fuel this enduring struggle.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 10
The Final Messiah History abounds with would-be saviors who promised peace and prosperity. But without exception, they failed to deliver. Have we learned the lesson that no human being or form of government can deliver us or bring salvation in an ultimate sense?
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 9
Oriental Christs Manipulation of religious sentiment is an important element in the rise and rule of false messiahs. Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Kim Il-sung all claimed savior status, and all called on historical precedent and religious sentiment for legitimacy.
A Tale of Two Countries: India and Pakistan After 60 Years of Independence
This month India and Pakistan both celebrated their 60th year of independence from the British Raj. The progress of these two nations over this period has been very different.
Britain Recalls Rueful Return of Hong Kong to China
June 30, 2007, marks the 10th anniversary of Britain’s controversial handover of Hong Kong to China. For the British it was the loss of the most valuable of her few remaining vestiges of empire. For China it was the acquisition of a prize that gave her a bustling, thriving financial hub, a portal into the Western capitalist world, complete with its own stock exchange index, the Hang Seng.
The Falkland War 25 Years On
Had the British public been asked, prior to March 1982, to hazard even a rough guess about the location of the Falkland Islands, very few would have known or cared. But this quickly changed with the invasion of the unoccupied nearby island of South Georgia on March 19 by a group of Argentine scrap-metal merchants, who raised the Argentine flag at the behest of their government. The military invasion of the Falklands followed on April 2.
“Tear Down This Wall”
Twenty years ago, on June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, U.S. president Ronald Reagan publicly and memorably challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 8
Purging the People Atheism was Lenin's official belief system but the use of traditional religion still played a part in securing popular support. Stalin used the deification of Lenin to his own advantage as he cast himself in the role of chosen successor. Read the entire Series: Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion
At the Tercentenary of the British Union, Is Great Britain About to Break Up?
May 2007 marks the 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland with England as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. There is a real possibility the union may end as dramatically as it began.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 7b
Dictators' Downfall Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had exuded messianic pretensions even before they achieved total power, and later willingly accepted the divinity their adoring publics granted them.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 7a
Hearts of Darkness The magnitude of the evil perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and the abject failure of their grandiose plans, proved them false messiahs of the first order.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 6
I Am Called to Change the World Described as the “restorer of religion, savior of the Church, anointed sovereign, living saint,” Napoleon was perhaps one of history’s most arrogant would-be messiahs.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 5
Where the Sun Never Set: Charles V and the Defense of Christendom The last emperor to be crowned by a pope, Charles V viewed himself as a soldier of God—with Mars and Neptune at his side.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 4
Aspects of Empire: Roman, Holy and German A look at Otto the Great and his role in a reemerging Roman empire, this time in Germany.
Final Solutions, Part 2
Vision publisher David Hulme, together with three historians and a filmmaker, continue their roundtable talk on Hitler, the Holocaust and human nature.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 3
The Fall and Rise of the Roman Empire The idea that political power can confer aspects of divinity on human leaders has remarkable longevity.
Final Solutions, Part 1
Vision publisher David Hulme talks with three historians and a filmmaker about the Holocaust. How could it have occurred, and could it ever happen again?
Seeing the Face of God
What does God look like? Did Jesus have blond or dark hair? And why do we want to know?
Constantine: The Man and the Church
Constantine used Christianity to serve his own purpose of unifying and controlling his empire.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 2
The Coming of the "Christian" Emperor Was Constantine the Great a follower of Christ?
Lest We Forget
As the world recalls the end of World War II, Vision examines Adolf Hitler's rise to power, the unprecedented cruelty he unleashed, and the lessons to be remembered.
Hiroshima
The dropping of an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, forced the world to the threshold of a new era. But how much has really changed?
The Rise and Rise of the Queen of Heaven
What do you actually know about the Virgin Mary?
Is the Bible Anti-Woman?
Old Testament and New Testament writers present a consistent view of God toward women, but it isn't what most people think.
Messiahs! Rulers and the Role of Religion, Part 1
Men As Gods It's a reality with a colorful history: Powerful leaders sometimes fall prey to grand delusions. A new thought-provoking series from Vision.
Jerusalem: Center of the Earth? Part 2
The Unforeseen Endgame A look at Jerusalem's centrality to geopolitics from the period of the Reformation to the modern era.
The Tale of Two Cities
Vision interviews a leading PLO representative for a Palestinian perspective on how Jerusalem can have peace.
The Most Dangerous Book, Part 2
Part Two in the story of the courageous struggle to put the Bible into the hands of the English people.
In Other Words
How did the Bible come to be translated into so many vernacular tongues?
Jerusalem: Center of the Earth? Part 1
The first in a two-part series examining the city's historic place in world politics and religion.
City of Faiths, Part 2
The Palestinian Perspective What is the basis to Arab and Palestinian claims to Jerusalem?
The Most Dangerous Book, Part 1
Why was the translation of the Bible into English so violently opoosed? First in a two-part series.
The Bible and the British Throne
Is this unusual relationship, which has spanned nearly 500 years, outdated?
City of Faiths, Part 1
First in a two-part series examining the political and religious complexities of Jerusalem.
Interrupted Dreams
When the issue of racial desegregation came to a head in the United States in 1963, the nation found itself at a moral crossroads. Two men stepped forward and pointed people toward the high road.
A Wright Mind
One century ago, a pair of brothers from Ohio harnessed the laws of aerodynamics to make the first sustained powered flight. But their story serves to illustrate an even more compelling challenge.
Digging for Faith
With their faith on shaky ground, many nominal Christians and Jews are looking to archaeology to dig them out of their doubts.
Holes in History
What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? by William G. Dever;The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman; The Lost Testament: From Eden to Exile: The Five-Thousand-Year History of the People of the Bible by David Rohl.
Halloween: Treat or Trick?
It's more popular than ever, and it may seem harmless enough, but what are you really participating in when you celebrate Halloween?
Titanic Arrogance
History teaches a lesson on the tendency to assume invulnerability.
God Save the Queen
Vision looks at the durability of the British monarchy.
Turning Points
September 11, 2001—"Nothing will ever be the same again."
Splitting Heirs?
Will an ancient religious rift between Eastern and Western Europe be healed?
Medals of Honor
As the world celebrates the centennial of the Nobel prizes, Vision interviews the foremost expert on the history of the coveted peace prize. Interview with Irwin Abrams.
Through an Ancient Looking Glass
Modern Western society reflects a civilization that most people consider long dead. Yet the connections are clear and unmistakable.
As It Was From the Beginning?
The spirit that animated our earliest ancestors has continued unabated through the ages. And so, in humanity's struggle to create for itself a secure and prosperous world, it is unwittingly fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
Chernobyl: The Fallout Continues
The world's most infamous nuclear power plant is finally closed. But that doesn't mean we can put the whole radioactive mess behind us.
Nuclear Dummies
Thanks to the MAD doctrine, the Cold War left its mark on two regions of the former Soviet Union.
An Empty Shell
Is Easter all it's cracked up to be?
Can Civilization Collapse?
The Bible says it can. But if it does, then what?
The Warrior Pope
Thanks to John Paul II, the papacy is once again a force to reckon with.
The Mending of a Nation
A look back at the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany's subsequent reunification in October 1990 offers some fascinating insights into the making of history.
A Crisis of Identity
A look back at Christianity's departure from its Hebrew roots.
A New Moderation in the Middle East?
There is a new optimism that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be resolved. But can peace emerge from the thicket of thorny issues surrounding this age-old conflict?
George Washington Carver
Can the life of a humble teacher of botany who lived at a much simpler time offer insight for a world caught up in the fast-paced information age?
Hitler: Evil Unprecedented
Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil by Ron Rosenbaum; Hitler, 1889 - 1936: Hubris by Ian Kershaw; Hitler: The Pathology of Evil by George Victor.
A 20th-Century Retrospective: Looking Back at the Age of Extremes
The century that is now ending has been one of stark contrasts. The average life span of humans has lengthened dramatically, thanks in large part to scientific advances. Technological achievement has increasesd exponentially, bringing vast improvements in the lives of most people. Yet the deadliest and most destructive wars and the most horrific crimes—even genocide—have taken place during the same period. How did such a dichotomy develop?
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