Russia just inked a major energy deal with the Assad regime that will allow it to explore offshore oil and gas fields in Syria. Obama’s “Smart Diplomacy” strategy in the Middle East is paying dividends—just not for the US.

Why do Christians and so many other people believe in an invisible ruler and creator of the universe – and then how does the Christian idea of God differ from the others?

The gospels make a point of saying that Jesus was born of a virgin, but there is more to the story than the absence of a biological father.

Anti-Semitism is the sign of profound mental and social failure — and a harbinger of more failures and errors to come.

Christmas sales were up this year by a healthy 3.5 percent, but the real news behind these numbers is online commerce, which went up an even healthier 16.5 percent year-over-year. And this is just the beginning: we are likely to see continued migration of more and more activities online.

The specifically Christian idea of the Virgin Birth is one of the most controversial and confusing theological concepts around, and a Yuletide blog which didn’t take on the topic wouldn’t be doing its job.

The situation in South Sudan seems to be going from bad to worse as a proper civil war seems to be in the offing in the world’s newest country. Yet these problems of ethnic identity are far from unique to South Sudan alone.

According to the Centre for Economic and Business Research, the UK will surpass both France and Germany to become the largest economy in Europe in the next 20 years, second only to the United States in the West. It’s an unspeakably horrible thought for some, but the dread Anglo-Saxon capitalism may still have a few things to teach the rest of the world.

The traditional Via Meadia Yule Blog continues today, Boxing Day, with the second of the Thirteen Posts of Christmas. From Christmas Eve through to Twelfth Night, we explore the Christmas story and the ideas behind the celebration.

Merry Christmas and happy holiday to all! Chrismas is a tense morning wherever the Meads gather, as we jump whenever the telephone rings. There’s an old South Carolina custom that when two friends or relations greet one another on Christmas morning, the first one who says “Christmas gift!” gets to select one of the other person’s presents. I’ve never known anybody to actually get an extra present this way, but we are nothing if not determined and we all continue to try. If you call us on Christmas Day, don’t expect anybody here to answer with “Hello?” and give you a chance to say “Christmas gift!” We are onto this trick and to protect our rich hauls of presents we always answer the phone with an aggressive “Christmas gift!” to get in first. So don’t call us unless you are ready to part with a present.