The broken covenant: When belief betrays and the faithful must rebel
At its heart, faith is a promise—a covenant of justice, refuge, and truth. But across the world, that covenant lies in pieces, shattered by leaders who offer platitudes for violence and dogma as a shield for indifference. From this betrayal, however, a rebellion of conscience is rising.
A year can change everything. It’s been that long since we last spoke on these pages and in that time, my own world has been quietly remade by the arrival of my son. Becoming a father while continuing to publish has been a profound balancing act, one made possible only by the incredible support of my wife, my co-editor, Adrian Liberto, and the entire UN-aligned team. I’m deeply grateful.
You’ll notice we’ve been remade in other ways, too. With this eighth volume of Gordian, we’re launching on a completely new digital platform. For you, our readers, this means a faster, cleaner and more seamless experience. For us, it’s a foundation to grow and continue the work you expect from us: to scrutinise, to campaign and to share knowledge without restraint.
This sense of the new, of fragile hope, stands in stark contrast to the world our leaders offer. In this issue, we confront an age of abandoned posts. We examine global religious authorities who offer only platitudes or, worse, theological justifications for violence. We look at a United Nations that has traded its charter for a passive observer’s seat. We trace this decay from the foundational myths of settler-colonial states to the pathology of a capitalism that sells empathy back to us as a commodity.
The pieces in this volume are a testament to what happens in the void left by indifference. They bear witness to the erasure of peoples and the corrosion of principles. But they also light up the resistance: journalists reporting from the abyss, thinkers imagining radical new paths and individuals who refuse to be silenced.
This is our call to attention. The world we stand to inherit is fragile, and the forces aligned against justice are relentless. Yet, our most potent act of defiance remains the same: to look closely, to question boldly and to refuse to turn away.
Step in, read and carry something forward with you.
Ariana Yekrangi, Editor the Gordian and co-Founder of UN-aligned
