This year marks the sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War, by far the bloodiest conflict in American history.

The late Shelby Foote called the Civil War “the crossroads of our being as a nation,” because the America that emerged in its aftermath was vastly different from the America before the war.

Making sense of the war is an industry unto itself. There is no shortage of great books on the subject: for instance, Foote’s three-volume history, The Civil War: A Narrative, and James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom. BreakPoint listeners would benefit greatly from reading these books, along with some others we will list at our website. My purpose over these next few days is to highlight the role that Christianity played on both sides of the conflict. more >>

2 Chronicles 33:1-25

Hezekiah was a god-fearing king who brought about reformation among the Israelites. His son Manasseh, however, was an evil ruler. He had watched his father walk with God and live according to Scripture. Yet he chose to ignore the Lord.

Manasseh worshipped false gods, even to the point of sacrificing his sons by fire in order to praise Molech. He practiced much evil-including witchcraft and sorcery- and led Israel astray, thereby provoking God to anger. The king, along with the people, paid a high price for his rebellion. more >>

“I will accept a Palestinian state. It’s time for President Abbas to accept a Jewish state.”

Michele Bachmann says she is going to wait until June to announce her decision on the 2012 race despite hints of an Iowa announcement Thursday.

Bachmann told the Des Moines Register that she is holding out to ensure she and her husband have time to properly plan.

"We want to make sure that what we are doing is deliberate and focused. We want to be prudent and responsible in the decisions that we are making," she said. more >>

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, have held a news conference in London Wednesday. The following is the text of that conference as provided by the White House.

CAMERON: Thank you, and apologies for keeping you waiting. It's a pleasure to welcome President Obama here today.

We've just been having a barbecue in the gardens of No. 10 Downing Street with some of our service - armed-service personnel from the United States and from the UK. And it was a great reminder of the incredible debt that we owe all of them and their families for their service, for their sacrifice, for all they do to keep us safe. It was a great event and it was wonderful to have Barack and Michelle there. more >>

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress for almost an hour today, calling for a fully demilitarized Palestinian state. Netanyahu was interrupted by applause 56 times from the bipartisan body, 26 of which were standing ovations.

Netanyahu began his speech by saying, “Israel has no better friend than America. And America has no better friend than Israel.” Every U.S. President since Richard Nixon has tried to reach a peace agreement with Palestine and Israel, all with little or no lasting results.

The address was in large part in response to President Obama’s comment last week suggesting the borders between Israel and Palestine revert back to the 1967 borders, which Netanyahu called, “indefensible” in his remarks. The Israeli prime minister was in obvious disagreement with Obama over terms for a future Palestinian state. more >>