Ryan McDowell

Ryan McDowell is an intern for Providence. He is studying Business Administration and Economics at Pepperdine University.

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Losing to the Dragon Book Review Gallagher China Triangle
Losing to the Dragon

Gallagher argues that a new age of trade between Latin America, China, and the United States, has developed to create the “China Triangle”, which poses new challenges to the US.

To Bear the Sword against ISIL
To Bear the Sword

According to Sebastian Gorka, ISIL is simply another form of totalitarianism, a political regime seen under Hitler and Nazi Germany that recognizes no limit to its authority and attempts to permeate every aspect of public and private life. Yet, peace with ISIL and other jihad-driven Muslim groups seems much more difficult to attain.

The Good Samaritan
Who Is Our Neighbor? Lessons from the Good Samaritan

Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) leads to the core question: who is my neighbor? Although he answers with a parable, Jesus surprisingly does not directly define the term but, rather, he demonstrates something greater. But drawing lessons from this parable today presents a challenge. The world is much bigger, the problems often larger, the potential danger much higher, opinions more varied, and the methods and means at our disposal far more vast. As the scenario is changed, how does the lesson in the parable influence what we do? What if the Samaritan showed up a few minutes earlier, while the robbery was occurring? What is the appropriate response then?

Memorandum of Understanding
A New Covenant: The Case for Renewing and Improving the Memorandum of Understanding with Israel

Despite an adamantly proclaimed right to self-defense and a proven ability to carry it out during historic conflicts like the Six-Day and Yom-Kippur Wars, the tensions in and around Israel have only seemed to worsen. Cooperation with our Judeo-Christian cousin is more crucial now than ever.

Islamic Exceptionalism
For Better or For Worse?

Hamid’s Islamic Exceptionalism argues that Islam is far different from other religions in how it relates to governance, law, and the modern nation-state.

Lessons from South America: Looking Down While Moving Forward
Lessons from South America: Looking Down While Moving Forward

It may have been the food, the people, the chance of hiking in Patagonia, or the prospect of mastering my…

Forgiveness
Forgiving Justly

Lucinda Mosher and David Marshall’s Sin, Forgiveness, & Reconciliation: Christian & Muslim Perspectives examines pivotal differences and shocking similarities between the two religions.