In a sphere often dominated by celebrities and lighter fare, the presence of a prayer campaign is a bit unusual. At the heart of the #prayforlondon tweets is the Evangelical Alliance, the largest body serving Evangelical Christians in the UK. It called for a prayer vigil in the Gaumont State of London at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Christians were invited to join in prayer for those afflicted by the riots shaking the country.

Teaching biblical texts can contribute toward making the US more competitive in the global marketplace. We need to educate students who can read critically and make coherent arguments. The Bible is not easy to read, and it does not provide easy answers. Studying the Bible helps students to formulate questions about themselves, their communities, and the texts that they read.

Blair's further message is that the growing aggressive secularism in the West is the wrong response. It misreads and misconceives the nature of the 21st century and the best path to social harmony in a more globalised world... Blair is a champion of both hard and soft power.... Because the struggle is against an extremist ideology it must be met by a soft power strategy in terms of the battle of ideas.