Me and Israel

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I'm a life-long friend of Israel.

Even as a kid, when I was more enarmored with end-times prophecy than with Christianity, I was
firmly impressed that the creation of the modern state of Israel was one of God's signal works in
our times.  And I was pleased to reflect that Israel's birth and mine were within a few days of each
other.

By the time I was old enough for the draft, Vietnam was much on my mind, and I didn't want to end
up there if I could avoid it.  Not that war was then a great evil to me: just that, even in its early stages,
the Vietnam war seemed the kind of ill-conceived muddle nobody should risk their life in.

But I remember staying up all night excitedly listening to the news of the outbreak of war between
Israel and its Arab neighbors.  It was the kind of war I could genuinely consider a "cause:" Israel's
rightful fight for national survival.

I wrote to the Israeli Embassy the next morning, asking how and where I could volunteer for the
Israeli Army.  I was no doubt thinking, as most people probably did, that the war would continue
for some time.  The fact that hostilities ended after six days, with the Israelis sweeping the board
(including most significantly, the formerly Arab-held parts of Jerusalem), was marvelous, and made
me jubilant: and even more certain that God (as little as I knew of Him at the time) had re-asserted
that Israel would exist.

It was also a bit disappointing.  A letter from some junior military aide at the Israeli Embassy only
arrived weeks after the war was over, thanking me for my wishes of support for Israel.  I think I still
have it somewhere in my papers.

When I became a Christian, I had even more admiring interest in Israel.  I'd gone back to school,
and the university I was lucky enough to attend had a program in Judaic Studies, which became
my minor.  I wanted to learn Hebrew anyway, for studying the Bible; and also picked up some hours
on Biblical archaeology and history.

Interestingly, one course under the Judaic Studies program was on Middle Eastern society, taught by
an authority on Islamic civilization (herself Jewish).  One of the most informative courses I took, it
really didn't deal much with politics: but treated Israel as one of the nations whose society was, and
is, shaped by Arab people, and by Islam.

(My Hebrew teacher Tzivia Gaba, the sweetest lady, was by contrast not an academic at all, but a
local housewife.  I think she got the gig because of her fluency in the language.  I learned later that
her husband Joe "had friends" who'd illegally shipped guns to Israel in 1948.)

But the greatest influence on my love for Israel was the man under whose ministry I was baptized in
the Holy Spirit, and whose teaching I've followed ever since, Derek Prince.  A teaching Fellow in philos-
phy at Cambridge before the war, he'd taken a Bible with him to critique when he was drafted in 1940:
and felt that he personally encountered Christ, reading one night in an Army training barracks.  ("From
that day to this, I never doubted that Jesus is Alive.")

He served as a medical non-combatant in North Africa and the Sudan during World War II.  When the
war ended, he moved to Ramallah in the British Palestine Protectorate to marry a Danish woman he'd
met on leave, Lydia, who had started a small Christian orphanage there.  He became the father of her
adopted Jewish and Arab orphans, and began to preach Christ.  The family remained there until 1948,
and had what he called "the very dangerous privilege" of being in Isreal as it became a nation, and
fought for its survival.  (When his ministry became international, he maintained a home in Jerusalem,
where he lived 6 months of each year, and where he died in 2003.)

A lot of my understanding of rightful Christian love for Israel traces back to Derek Prince' teaching.
Too much to summarize it all; but only to say that my conviction of Israel's centrality in God's plans
is firmly rooted in scripture.

From that viewpoint, I have to regard the current "Christian" political adulation of Israel as completely
unscriptural.  It has made love of Israel a political "issue;" and fostered the inevitable unGodly mindset
of angry partisanship.  Its teaching is that love for Israel must entail contempt for Palestinians; if not
hatred of them.

This fits nicely into the mindset of many American "conservative Christians," with whom contempt for
Arabs is an article of faith "sanctified" by the fact that they are Muslims, followers of a violently anti-
Christian religion.  It's a false belief, which overlooks the fact that the minority Christian community in
both Israel and Palestine is Arab, and the oldest continuing Christian community in the world. It's also
an unChristian belief that any race or nationality are inherent enemies of Christ.

But it has served the purposes of "conservative" Israeli politicians (Bibi Netanyahu, for example) that
America's "Christian conservatives" support, as "love of Israel," whatever violence and hatred Israel's
government visits on Palestinians.  (There's a close parallel in "Christian conservatives" willingness to
support the violence and hatred their faction inflicts on Americans, as "making America great again.")

The best counter to what today's "Christians" teach as "love for Israel" is scripture.  Simply this: that
America's "Christian conservatives" show they "love Israel" by approving Israel's unrighteousness and
violence towards its neighbors.  In His love for Israel, God continually excoriated and chastised the Jews
for their unrighteousness and violence toward their neighbors.

I do not for an instant believe that "Christian conservatives"are better "friends of Israel" than God.  And
fiercely believe that their politically-motivated "love for Israel" is spiritually destructive to Israel.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Bill O'Reilly and Truth

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Disgraced Faux “News” commentator Bill O’Reilly has just come out with a biography of the current
president.  An interview in which he called the man "brilliant" probably gives some idea of what
readers can expect.

O'Reilly also described the current president's political success as “hardscrabble.”

It's the first time I’ve heard the success of a multi-millionaire’s son called “hardscrabble.”

It's interesting to look at political figures O’Reilly disparaged as "elitists" during his career on
Faux "News."

     There was the biracial son of a single mother, raised by his grandparents;

     the daughter of a small businessman in Chicago;

     the son of a Jewish immigrant paint-salesman in Brooklyn;

     and the daughter of a janitor in Oklahoma City.

It looks like "elitist" is O'Reilly's sneer at people who succeed by being smart and working hard.

In what O'Reilly calls “The United States of Trump," it looks like "truth" is what you get by turning
every fact about America inside-out, and standing it on its head.

God, THANK YOU that You will not abide lying tongues, false witnesses, and those who spread strife
among brothers.  God, judge them in Your righteousness and call Your people back to your Truth.  Amen !

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Deleting a Recommended Blog: One Year Out

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the quandry of feeling I had to remove a
website from my list of recommended blogs.

https://cross-purposes.blogspot.com/2018/06/why-delete-link.html

The writer was a man I'd considered a brother.  His blog was more floridly "pious" than
I cared for, but sometimes he had a good insight about God's "call to the remnant" of
saints alienated from the current church, which was the focus of his blog.

Over time, I'd noticed his blogs about events happening in the church and the world
took attitudes that seemed at odds with reality. One shrill post compared the Nazis
to (as he claimed) the crowds of Obama-supporters on college campuses who shout
down everyone who disagrees with them.

I still remember the pains I took to craft a scripture-based reply, non-judgemental and
diplomatic, but saying "surely you know that isn't reality ?"  He didn't post my reply--which
I considered dishonest blogging--and he never responded, on his blog or privately.

It seemed that was a good time to remove his blog from my recommendations, and to
stop following it myself.  I fiercely believe real piety, and any insight God is pleased to give
us, corresponds to reality.

I got to wondering last night if that blogger had come to his senses, so I looked up his blog.
Many of his posts were, still, couched in the flowery language and tropes of Nineteenth-
century religiosity, and off-putting.  Nothing there struck me as spiritually insightful.

And then he had a post about the coming persecution of the saints, a regular topic on his
blog.  It began this way:

"Prosecution plus politics equals inquisition. In an inquisition it is not about guilt or innocence.
One is already presumed and announced to be guilty. Only by bowing to the authority of the
inquisitors can one be exonerated. You may believe what happened to Brett Kavanaugh or
President Trump are isolated cases of judicial madness, where the strongest and most dominant
voice in the room is the shrill scream of the demented masses, but you would be wrong."

The responses to his post were also enlightening.  All spoke agreement with his words (any that
didn't may have been suppressed).  Most were also in the same florid piety of language and
terms he favors.

But one angry response railed at the "Demoncrats" for persecuting God's people.  No blogger,
of course, is responsible for what his commenters say.  But it seemed significant that this blogger
published, and let stand, such a response.

But most telling to me was that this blogger adduced "what happened to Brett Kavanaugh or
President Trump" as the prototype of the coming persecution of the saints.  That probably told
me everything I needed to know about this individual's perception of spiritual reality.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Facebook Opinions

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

When I make posts on facebook, I sometimes get back-chat from "friends" who don't
"like" my politics.  When I make posts on facebook, it's certainly . . . thanks be to God . . .
always clear what I like, and what I hate.

It doesn't matter if people disagree with me.  Not because people's "right" to hold and
speak whatever "opinion" they wish is a real thing, but because people's opinions don't
ultimately matter.  One take-away of John 1:3  ("All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being") is that God
Alone created reality as He wished. Contrary the central doctrine of "democracy," no
other "opinion" has any bearing on what reality is, or how it works.

What's left to us is to acknowledge God's sovereignty in the matter, and  live in synch
with God's reality, and His ways and purposes in it . . . or not.

I think it's clear in all my facebook posts that I "like" people who tell the truth. Every-
one else is a deceiver.

Clear too that I "like" people who do good to others. Everyone else is, in Jesus' terms,
ia murderer (Matthew 5:21-2).

Those are the political principles I'm coming from: same as the principles of my life
and my religion.

People are welcome to take issue with my politics all they want.

But anyone who "likes" principles of life, religion, and politics contrary to the ones
I'm coming from is a damned fool . . . in this world and the next.

Not just my opinion.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

A Worthwhile (!!) facebook Post

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I spend as little time as possible on facebook: there's seldom anything there that's
really worth reading, or pondering.

But a few days ago my daughter posted a tweet (which I don't do at all) on facebook
that seemed worth re-posting to my friends, and worth mentioning here.

It's from someone named Mark Sandlin, whom I think is a pastor:

"After close study, I have concluded that Jesus believed there are two kinds of people:
your neighbors, whom you are supposed to love; and your enemies, whom you are
supposed to love."

AMEN !!


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Communist Christians

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all
things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were
giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was
upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were
owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 
and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any
had need."

                                                                                                          --  Acts 4:32-35

Many Christians have accepted a political worldview that "conservative" is somehow
the equivalent of good.  That was indeed the purpose of the political "Christian
conservative" movement of the late 1970s: to convince Christians that identifying
with that human politico/socio/religio philosophy was kinda the same as believing in
Jesus.

Politicians (and their "Christian leader" allies), whose self-promotion was served by
thus deceiving Christians, also taught their followers that "liberals" and "socialists"
are evil.

Let's face it, most people are rather sketchy on "politico/socio/religio philosophy,"
even their own: and It's nearly impossible to get any large group of people to agree 
on what they all believe.  Much easier to gather a faction around what they're all
against.

And the most successful factions, around who they're against.  Jesus Himself said
it's always easy to see what's wrong about other people (Matthew 7:3).  Leaders of
human factions don't understand His words as warning...it's their playbook.

If you disregard that stuff the Bible says about our enemies not being flesh and
blood (II Corinthians 10:3 and Ephesians 6:12), and discountenance its teaching
that "factions" are contrary to the working of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20)...you've got
the makings of a dandy little faction.  One that could even draw in Christians who
are rather sketchy on what the Bible teaches: and that's millions of votes...sorry,
I mean, "Christians."

It was easy.  When Christians bought into the unBiblical, manifestly human-political,
teaching that "conservatism" is equivalent to Christianity, they swallowed the "conser-
vative" faction's moral worldview: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

The problem is that it's not a moral worldview at all, but a political one...which self-
serving politicians (seconded by their "Christian leader" allies) claim is a moral one.
Claim blasphemously, for who but God defines what is "good," and what is "evil" ?

The question for Christians buying into the false political "moral" view would be simply,
"where does the Bible teach that ?"  But those who fail to practice the Bible's command
of self-examination don't seem to ever come to that question.  And it's a certainty that
people who don't honestly measure their beliefs against the Bible's teachings...which
includes, unfortunately, very many Christians...will default to man's "natural" thinking:
including the "factionalist" worldview, "us vs. them," that the Bible warns us against.

So it's not surprising that the "moral" worldview of many Christians today comes down
to the politicians' simplistic, wrong, formulation: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

For many of my generation, there's also the groundwork for moral-political confusion
that was laid by our Cold War childhood indoctrination: that "we" (people of democracy
and "freedom") are good...and communists are "evil" incarnate.  Peopleof my generation
are especially susceptible to the current deceivers' manipulation that "socialists" are, on
the political spectrum, "almost-communists," and "liberals," nearly socialists.

So it's always clear to all "Christian conservatives"...whose factionalist worldview makes
them slaves of politicians, rather than Christ...who the real "enemy" is to hate and fear.

But I've always wondered what "Christian conservatives" make of Acts 4:32-35 ?

If they read it at all, that scripture should raise some uncomfortable thoughts, if any at all.

As soon as the Church was born, believers began practicing "communism."  There's no
other way for politically-minded "Christians" to understand those verses.

Of course, the first Christians' political beliefs had nothing whatever to do with it.  And
the term "communist" for what they were doing wasn't even coined until some eighteen
centuries later.

The early Christians that passage talks about would of course have understood what
they were doing in spiritual terms: that they were acting in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and obeying Jesus' teachings to love each other, and die to self.

I think their interpretation of their experience was exactly right: and I think that should be
the understanding that every Christian who reads that passage with spiritual eyes gets
from it.  Probably even political "Christians" would have to agree that was the first Church'
understanding of their experience; and that the much-later political interpretation of it was
questionable.

So I have to wonder what my "Christian conservative" friends make of it, that when God
fills people with the Holy Spirit, and they begin radically living out Jesus' teachings...it's
exactly what their political-"religious" faction calls "communism" ?

Perhaps they should re-think their faction's politicized perception of Christianity ?


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Death and Evil: Anniversary

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Today is the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II: the day in 1939 when Hitler's armies faked
a "border incident" to justify their invasion of Poland.  Within days, England and France, allies of Poland,
also declared war on Germany, and all the nations of the earth were plunged into the most destructive
war mankind has yet seen.

The best official estimates are that, in all the world's nations; from military actions, war-crimes, and
war-related famine and disease; between 70- and 85-million people died.

We won a great victory over evil...as we think.

But the evil motives for which that war was fought, and every war is fought...

and the evil ideas by which men always tell themselves it's God's work to kill each other...

are still alive.