Author: MD Harris Institute

MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, PhD, ThM, DBA-C Colonel, US Army (ret) President and CEO, MD Harris Institute Fire and Disaster Chaplain - BVFD and WVCSB

Jerusalem’s Hidden Gems

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Tourists, pilgrims, scholars, and activists can encounter little-known places outside and inside the Old City of Jerusalem. By looking at these hidden gems in Jerusalem, the minds, bodies, and souls of faithful Christ-followers will receive a blessing.[1]

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The murmurs of tourists and the low rumble of shopkeepers fill the Old City of Jerusalem. From the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Wailing Wall, Christians and Jews come here to find God, or to find Him again. Muslims visit the Islamic Quarter, the Dome of the Rock, and the al-Aqsa Mosque. Many tourists jet in for a week, visit the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, jet out, and never set foot elsewhere in Israel, the West Bank, or other areas mentioned in scripture. Others stay much longer to soak their bodies and souls in the Land of the Bible.

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Biblical Theology 101

a man writing on a notebook while reading a bible
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Too often, Bible study seems unsatisfying and unproductive. Biblical Theology (BT) seeks to understand Scripture as a whole and in relation to every other part. BT helps readers see the forest and not only the trees.

The attached booklet covers Biblical Theology. It is drawn from a class on Biblical Theology of the New Testament that Dr. Harris taught at the Kyiv Theological Seminary from August to November 2025. The visuals communicate some of Dr. Harris’ most important sources and key concepts in the class.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Biblical Theology 101

Biblical Theology of the NT – visuals

Students can also use the crossword puzzles below to test and increase their understanding of Biblical Theology and how to use to improve life and ministry.

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – why study

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – topical

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – theology

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – methodology

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – history

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – global metanarratives

Biblical Theology 101 Crossword Puzzle – Exegesis

 

 

Does Theology Matter?

statue of jesus christ on mount in evening
~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Does the study of God, who He is and what He wants, matter in how we live our day-to-day lives? It does.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

American conservative icon Charlie Kirk was slain by an assassin on 10 September 2025. Within hours, flaming rhetoric from both sides flooded the airwaves and social media. Many called Kirk a faithful Christian, husband, father, and rebuilder of America. Some called him a bigot and a sexist. Real harm results. Conservatives lost jobs for speech that the left considered unacceptable under Biden, and liberals are losing jobs for speech that the right considers unacceptable under Trump.

Our local Republican party wanted to honor Charlie’s legacy with a vigil for him at the local baseball stadium. The idea, in the minds of some, was to hold a vigil to pray for him, though he was dead. One woman mentioned that honoring Kirk for his life and work was appropriate, but praying for him, that is, praying for the dead, was not. A middle-aged politician replied, “Let’s not debate theology. We just want to get together and say a few prayers.”

The issue is not “should we pray for the dead?” The issue is “should we debate theology?” A related question is “does true theology, the opinion of God, matter?” God has an opinion on prayer for the dead, and is it worth our time to learn what that opinion is? It seems that our politician friend did not care to discover what is scripturally true, at least at that moment. We need to ask ourselves, “Does theology matter?”

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Civil Rights Legislation in the US

sculpture of martin luther king jr memorial in gray concrete wall
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Despite mountains of paper, oceans of ink, and general support for civil rights, civil rights legislation remains controversial. This article summarizes the key parts of the current US civil rights legislation, including the Constitutional basis and disparate impact. It touches on the relationship between morality, religion, and rights. Finally, the article addresses some key ideas in the Bible about civil rights and their source.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

What are civil rights?

A common definition is “Civil rights refer to the fundamental rights and freedoms granted to individuals by a government and are protected by law.”[1] This definition invites several questions.

  1. What are rights? Things that people are allowed to do? Things that people are allowed to abstain from doing? How do rights interact between individuals and groups?
  2. What rights are fundamental? The US Declaration of Independence includes the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Are there others? The US Supreme Court and International Courts have interpreted fundamental rights broadly. For example, the term civil rights now includes a right to privacy, which was never mentioned in any of the founding documents but came from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976).
  3. What are freedoms? The ability to do whatever you want? The ability to do whatever God created you to do? Who decides, the individual, the society, or someone or something else?
  4. Who “grants” civil rights? God? The king? In a government of, by, and for the people, wouldn’t the people be “granting” such rights to themselves?
  5. What is “government?” Definitionally, it is “the action or manner of controlling or regulating a nation, organization, or people.” What are the jurisdictional limitations? Does the US government “grant” civil rights to residents of Mauritania? Is the United Nations a government, and does it grant civil rights?
  6. Who are individuals? Citizens? Visitors? Men? Women? Members of a certain race or socioeconomic class? No civilization in history has granted equal rights to every member of society. No society in history has ever held that every person should have exactly equal civil rights (criminals and the physically incompetent often have their rights limited by governments). Ancient civilizations from Rome to Xian to Tenochtitlan have held the emperor to be divine, thereby exercising rights far beyond anyone else. In Hammurabi’s Babylon, the Amelia (elites) had far greater protections than the Mushkenum (freemen) and the Ardu (slaves).
  7. Which law protects civil rights? English common law? Muslim Sharia law? Christian canon law? Hindu Manu Smriti? Buddhist Sangha regulations? Something else?
  8. Should certain groups be protected? If so, which ones? How do you define these groups? Under Sharia, Christians and Jews are dhimmi, not enjoying the same rights and liberties as Muslims. Under the Hindu caste law, each caste has more rights than those below.
  9. What is the relationship between civil rights law and other categories of law, such as civil liberties law? Does a statute or regulation requiring people to use preferred pronouns in addressing a transgender individual violate the US Constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech?

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Income Inequality and Investing

man wearing black framed eyeglasses with hand on his chin
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In the United States and throughout the world, income inequality is growing. While some degree of inequality is inevitable and even beneficial, inequality for reasons unrelated to personal merit is often problematic. In one example, investors do not share the same opportunities. The rich have many more options to build wealth than the poor do, in addition to having more resources and commonly more financial education. While many of these problems cannot be solved by governments, political leaders can limit income inequality and encourage investment.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Income inequality is not necessarily an evil but rather can be a motivator. It can be a fair reward for labor. However, extreme inequality of income and net worth, especially when unrelated to personal effort, is a vexing global problem. Television, the media, and social media highlight the differences between those who are too rich to drive and those who are too hungry to walk. Entrenched money holding, greater financial opportunities, and increasing societal complexity make the problem worse.

As income disparities have increased, certain individuals and organizations have accumulated sums of money unimaginable to most of the world. These hyper-rich private actors can shape the economic system, sometimes to the detriment of other people. Wealth consolidation can be a social good by motivating people to work hard and contribute to society at large. Extreme wealth consolidation, however, raises resentment, feelings of helplessness, and social instability. Though completely unjustified, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the lionization of his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, is an example.

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