'Jesus Would Support Palestinian Statehood'
Editor's Note: Carl Medearis is an international expert in Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations and is author of the book Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism.
By Carl Medearis, Special to CNN
This week at the United Nations, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to ask for recognition of a Palestinian state. If he does, the United States will veto. Why?
Largely because of something we'll call Christian Zionism, an American theological movement that preaches a Christian obligation to help Jews reclaim the biblical Promised Land.
I travel constantly, speaking about the Middle East to evangelical Christians across America and Europe. I lived in Lebanon for 12 years and churches invite me to talk about how to love their Muslim neighbors.
Often before I get invited to speak at churches and Christian conferences, I go through an awkward period of questioning, an interview that feels more like an interrogation.
Pastors and conference leaders want to size me up to make sure I’m “safe” for Christian audiences. The interrogation usually goes something like this:
“Carl, we love your books and your message. You have a lot of insight on how Christians can be more Jesus-like to our Middle Eastern neighbors. We hope you’ll talk a lot about that!”
Translation: Please, for the love of God, don’t say anything controversial about Israel or the Palestinians.
Though they are too polite to ask, what those pastors and conference leaders want to know is what is my position on Israel. For them, the modern Jewish state is a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the catalyst for a series of events that will culminate in the return of Jesus.
As the Palestinians press ahead in their bid for statehood, prepare to hear from this crowd. These Christians number in the tens of millions and they go into a state of frenzy every time a politician so much as winks at the idea of Israel giving up a few settlements or withdrawing to pre-1967 borders.
They’ll tell you their concern has nothing to do with their particular interpretation of the Bible and everything to do with America and Israel’s national security interests.
Don’t believe a word of it.
When it comes to U.S. policy on Israel and the Middle East, Christian Zionism is the elephant in the room.
Christian Zionists believe that when God told Abraham 4,000 years ago, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you” he was making a promise that extends to the modern state of Israel. Any nation that “curses” Israel will face God’s judgment.
Not all evangelical Christians believe this, but the ones that do are the loudest voices in the media, and they lead huge organizations.
Television evangelists like Pat Robertson and John Hagee mobilize millions of Christians every year to write to their congressmen demanding that Israel be allowed to expand settlements indefinitely. They seem to oppose every peace deal that comes to the table.
There’s a reason for this. In their minds, the modern Israeli state is not only a fulfillment of biblical prophesy. In a bizarre twist that leaves most outsiders dumbfounded, Christian Zionists say the Bible predicts that Jews and Palestinians will forever be at war until Jesus returns.
They say the only person that will bring peace before the end of the age is—wait for it—the devil, in the form of the anti-Christ.
When you hear some Christian politicians say, “The land belongs to Israel”, what they’re really saying is if America blesses Israel – that is, if it gives uncritical support to the Jewish state - God will bless America. If America curses Israel, God will curse America.
When it comes to Israel and her neighbors, many Christian Zionists believe that peacemaking is the devil’s work.
They may forget that it was Jesus who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers."
One of the reasons Jesus was crucified was because of his refusal to embrace a nationalist agenda. But Christian Zionism blesses military action by the modern state of Israel, under the banner of "national security," including the demolition of Palestinian homes to pave the way for new settlements.
So how would Jesus vote this week if he had a seat at the U.N.?
Surely love, compassion, justice and peace-making would top his lists of concerns for all involved. Maybe he would give a new parable - the Parable of the Good Palestinian - offending all who would hear.
Rather than allowing obscure Old Testament promises to dictate our foreign policy, what if we stuck to the clear commands of God - love your neighbor, your enemy and the foreigner in your midst - which appear in Exodus, Leviticus and three of the four gospels.
Many Christians in America think of Jews and Christians as “us” and anything that sounds Muslim or Arab as “the other.” But the call of Jesus is to be more loving towards the “other” than towards the people we think of as “us.”
This command works both ways. When I’ve had audiences with leaders in the Hezbollah or Hamas, I tell them the same thing: That Jesus said to love your enemies. Who are your enemies? Israel.
It’s true that there are elements of Palestinian society that do not want peace, no matter the price. They need to be isolated and dealt with.
The same goes for elements of Israeli society that don’t want peace. The good news is that extremists are a minority on both sides of the conflict.
People ask me all the time what I think about Israel and end-times theology, and how the Palestinians factor into that.
Here’s my answer: If your end-times theology trumps the clear commands in Scripture to love neighbors and enemies, then its time to rethink your theology.
Meditation Group Notes: September 12, 2011
Click here for ticket information for the Paul Winter Consort's Winter Solstice concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem, New York.
The meditation group is reading The Tao of Pooh.
"What's for breakfast? said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said.
NEW MEDITATION CLASS - NAUGATUCK
We have started a new Meditation group in NAUGATUCK.
.
Every Sunday at 10:AM at the BOND SCHOOL OF SELF DEFENSE, 671 Rubber Ave., Naugatuck.
All are welcome - no experience necessary.
Hi I'm Brian and this is my 7th year of the AngelRide it is difficult for me to tell you all the reasons why I ride every year. If you choose not to ride with me here are some face saving reasons you can use.
The 10 reasons why you shouldn't ride this year.
1.You probably like going to your sister-in-laws house, as you do every year, for that potato salad that has been cooking in the sun all day.
2. You enjoy diving home on the evening of the 'drinkinest' weekend of the year for the challange of makeing it home with no dents in your car.
3. You make such a big difference in the world that you deserve a break.
4. You dont want to spoil this weekend by thinking there are some less fortunite that you.
5. This is about kids and 'Children and their problems should be seen and not heard:"
6. If it rains my bike will get wet.
7. Spandex makes my butt look fat.
8. All those riders are so filled with alacrity they make me sick.
9. I dont want show those amatures up,
10..Beer is better for you than Gatgor Aid.
11. If I do it just once ill probably want to do it again.
12. I would'nt be caught dead in one of those Jonny-on-the-spots.!!
13. There might be places on the route where there is no cell coverage.
14. I would have to tell my friends what I'm doing this weekend and ask them to support me and they probably wouldn't like me any more.
15. I might finish last,.
16. I might come in first.
17. If I do well I might be asked to ride in the Tour de France
18. Helmet hair, sun burn,.
19. Possible years of theropy at the Betty Ford clinic afterdeveloping an addiction to butt balm.
20. Mild Taretts Syndrom from uncontroble yellling "on your left".
21 Because i will have to train 3 miles for every mile of the ride by time the ride is over i will have lost enough pounds that i will have to buy some new clothes and tha will cost me a bunch and a half of money.
Retreat February 6th
Our TAO group will be having a retreat on February 6th. It will be held at Bill and Carol's home in Plymouth.
The retreat will be mostly in silence. We will have a simple vegatarian lunch around noon. We will start at 9 AM and end at 5 PM. Eat breakfast before you come. If you have any special food considerations bring your own. We still have room for a few more people.
Any questions or to register call me at 203 558 3641.
The Other Side-A Dream...
I have been hearing a lot about Michael Jackson lately. He has gone over to the Other Side. I guess I wonder every now and then about the Other Side. Last nite I had a dream about the Other Side.
In the dream I was on the boat going over to the other side. In this boat on the second floor there was a bar.
The boat was a Mississippi river boat. And a Buddha was the captain. It was the fat Buddha one sees in Chinese restaurants- HoToi.,He was dressed like Mark Twain in a white suit, white shoes, white bow tie and he talked with a southern accent. And he was definitely in charge. There is a quote from Mark Twain that goes something like this. "I do very much believe in a Creator God. And I believe I was made in His image. But not so much so that anyone would every get one confused with the other."
Jesus was there- he was sitting down and playing the piano. And with a cigarette in his mouth and a drink in his hand, resembling a young Frank Sinatra he was singing 'My Way'.
Michael Jackson was doing the Moon Walk on the bar. Back and forth he went. Non stop. Playful and at peace he was the center of attention.
Elvis was there-he was waiting tables. He wore a shirt that said "Michael Jackson died for our sins."
I think this dream came from a koan or question I have been pondering - What is the Other Side like ???
I do hope the other side is like this dream. I would like to meet these guys and chill with them for a while after their job here is finished and before they start their next one - if there is a next one.
THE FACTS OF LIFE: EGOLESSNESS
Egolessness means that the fixed idea that we had about ourselves as solid and separate from each other is painfully limiting. That we take ourselves so seriously, that we are so absurdly important in our own minds, is a problem. Self-importance is like a prison for us, limiting us to the world of our likes and dislikes. We end up bored to death with ourselves and our world. We end up very dissatisfied.
We have two alternatives: either we take everything to be sure and real, or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in stain open and curious--to train in dissolving the barriers that we erect between ourselves and the world--is the best use of our human lives. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron)
We have two alternatives: either we take everything to be sure and real, or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in stain open and curious--to train in dissolving the barriers that we erect between ourselves and the world--is the best use of our human lives. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron)
JOURNEY OF THE WARRIOR-BODHISATTVA
On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear. At the bottom, we discover water, the healing water of bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is our heart--our wounded, softened heart. Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die. This love is bodhichitta. It is gentle and warm, it is clear and sharp, it is open and spacious. The awakened heart of bodhichitta is the basic goodness of all beings. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron)"GOD BLESS AMERICA" MEANS WHAT, AGAIN?
These are my thoughts on the words "God Bless America." What do they mean to you? How do you feel when you hear them over and over again during a political campaign? What could they mean?
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