“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7

These verses have been used to justify all kinds of land disputes in the Middle East. Indeed, I have heard people in Christian circles in our own country use this verse to justify their support for Israel in wars to preserve “their” God-given land, because the Israelites were the children of Abram (later called Abraham).

While that is true, Abraham was the father of two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Jewish and Christian believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Muslim believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Therefore, the land God gave to Abraham, and his descendants is not Jewish land, Muslim land or Christian land. It belongs to all of these “cousins” who believe in God/Yahweh/Allah (etc.….).

One of the most alarming trends in the world of faith is the rise of religious nationalism. According to Wikipedia, “religious nationalism is the fusion of national identity with religious beliefs, where a nation is defined by a shared faith, and religion serves as a central pillar of its political and social life. It seeks to align government policies and laws with religious doctrines.” This happens among all of the cousins of Abraham’s descendants. There are Islamic nationalists, Jewish Zionists, and Christian nationalists, and they are all dangerous.

In the same way Zionists will claim the Middle East as given to them by God, religious nationalists use the beliefs and texts (Bible, Koran) out of context to rationalize their political views, policies and even wars. They attempt to convince people that one political viewpoint supports their faith, and others do not. In the United States, Christian nationalism is on the rise. Politicians repeatedly use scripture to support their policies and ideals, attempting to convince us that what they are doing is the “Christian” thing to do, when, in fact, quite often these policies and ideals not only have nothing to do with the Christian faith, but they also occasionally go completely against it.

I once heard a state politician say, “It’s my God-given right to carry a gun.” Say WHAT??? God did not give anyone the right to carry a gun. Period. That’s just foolishness. And nobody even commented about it, which tells me it doesn’t bother us to hear people say things like that.

Our faith in God, no matter which branch of the family tree we come from, should “inform” our political and ethical views, but we cannot become like other countries and base our laws on one religious belief or another. Especially in a country where we are diverse in our religious beliefs. This is not a “Christian” nation, a “Muslim” nation or a “Jewish” nation. It is a nation of people who come from all kinds of faith traditions, and we are promised the freedom to practice our religion, no matter what it is.

God gave the descendants of Abraham – all of the descendants of Abraham — blessings too numerous to mention. We can be grateful for those blessings without trying to claim all of them as our own.

Rev. Janel F. Kolar is the pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Dickinson, North Dakota.

BISMARCK — Fargo Shanley shined in a battle of unbeatens Saturday afternoon at Sanford Sports Complex, while unseating the defending state champion.

The Deacons got goals from Carly Hulstein, Emma Rohrich and Annie Yablonski to earn a 3-0 victory against Mandan for the North Dakota girls soccer state championship.

Shanley completed its unbeaten season, while shutting out defending champ Mandan for the first time this spring.

“The girls were excited to play Mandan, two undefeated teams and someone had to come out as the winner,” Deacons head coach Ryan Christianson said. “Whoever worked the hardest was going to come out champions, our girls were hungry.”

The Deacons (13-0-4) won their first state crown since 2019 and third overall. Mandan (17-0-1) fell one win shy of a repeat.

“Tough game, I felt like we controlled the game, to be honest,” Mandan head coach Aaron McElwee said. “We knew they would be dangerous on set pieces and that’s what they created.”

Shanley converted on a corner kick in the opening half for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Hulstein got a late head touch on a corner off the foot Rohrich, giving the Deacons a 1-0 lead with 16 minutes remaining until halftime.

“The first goal in the first half, that sparked momentum,” Christianson said. “Coming off of last year, we scored a bunch of corners, but this year I think we only had one or two. To make it count in the state championship game, I’ll take it.”

Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune

The first insurance goal for the Deacons came with less than 18 minutes left in the second, as Rohrich scored off a rebound.

“That second goal was a hustle effort by Emma with an awesome finish,” Christianson said. “Emma was locked in from yesterday’s game, two goals sparked the fire and led into today. She deserved that one.”

Yablonski, a freshman, scored her first varsity goal for a 3-0 lead with 1 minute, 31 seconds remaining, as Mandan tried to apply pressure late.

“Annie with the cherry on top with the deep ball after the goalie was pushed up to help her team,” Christianson said. “That’s a way to start off your varsity career. She was close earlier in the game with a shot that went wide of the post, but that was a heads-up play by her, noticing the goalie was out.”

Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune

Mandan’s best chance came from senior Sarah Helderop, off a corner kick in the second half, but Shanley goalkeeper Kailey Ottmar knocked the ball down and grabbed the rebound before any Braves players could arrive.

“Kailey was focused from the beginning of the game, usually I talk to her a bit, but she wanted to be by herself,” Christianson said. “She didn’t have to do too much, but there was a corner, a free kick. She was heads-up and had a good handle on the ball.”

Ottmar finished with six saves to earn the shutout. Gabby Frohlich had three saves for Mandan.

“Congrats to Shanley,” McElwee said. “We were close.”

Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune

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North Dakota

Shelly Frances, Minot, Chapter 7

Garrett Joseph Farnsworth, Bismarck, Chapter 7

Aaron James Goette, Horace, Chapter 13

Destinee L. Reed, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

LaWayne and Ruthanna Smith, Surrey, Chapter 13

Sabrina Marie Odegaard, formerly known as Sabrina Marie Wagner, Dickinson, Chapter 7

Krysti Mae Bench, formerly known as Krysti Mae Gainey, Fargo, Chaper 7

Tera Carleen Geyer, formerly known as Tera Dutchak, Dickinson, Chapter 7

Heath Alan Schaffer, LaMoure, Chapter 7

Nicholas Duane Noel, Fargo, Chapter 13

Jason Walter Lautt, Jamestown, Chapter 7

Bryan Lee Drinkman, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Melia Kay Thompson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Roger Pelzer, Minot, Chapter 13

Jason Valentine and Amy Marie Keller, Bismarck, Chapter 13

Jaden Allen McGregor, Horace, Chapter 13

Rodney John and Jennifer Rebecca Brown, Williston, Chapter 13

Kayden Michelle Pavlicek, Dunn Center, Chapter 13

Minnesota

Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.

Tyler Erick Nelson and Lisa Ann Nelson, formerly known as Lisa Costello, Dilworth, Chapter 13

Ethan Kenneth Edwards and Katherine Elizabeth Edwards, formerly known as Katherine Thornsburry, Park Rapids, Chapter 7

Amber Rae Durkin, formerly known as Amber O’Beirne, and James Robert Durkin, Bemidji, Chapter 13

Sierra Jade Ileene Isum, East Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Elizabeth Charlotte Smith, also known as Betsy Smith, Ogema, Chapter 7

Rebecca Lacey and Matthew Ian Angell, Alexandria, Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.

Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.

Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.

Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.