This is Loving Israel?
 

 
In September, "Christianity Today" (C.T.) online came out with an article titled "What it Means to Love Israel." Knowing C.T. has leaned left in recent years, I dared not get my hopes up regarding the report. I'm glad I did not. I am being kind when I say the article hardly plays fair.
To "Christianity Today," loving Israel means slicing it up geographically and turning over most of the historically Jewish lands to her most bitter enemies. These are enemies who have sworn to destroy her by any means necessary.
But it gets worse. C.T. warns, "Beware of giving the nation (Israel) too much theological meaning..." Excuse me. The Bible is Jewish. Jesus is Jewish. The prophets were Jewish. The apostles were Jewish. The Gospel is to be taken to the Jew first. So what are we to do? Are we to erase or ignore all of this? We would be left with a stripped-down Bible that would make little sense. Gentiles are only grafted in to the Jewish olive tree. In a sense they are an afterthought given prominence only because Israel sinned and didn't fulfill that early calling.
The magazine goes on to say that, "True love is sometimes tough love that builds on God's unconditional love. Genesis 12:3 (I will bless those who bless you, Abraham) is often misused as a warm affirmation of anything done for expansion of Israel's influence or borders."
Wait a minute! Israel's borders are expanded only as she seizes territory to defend herself, and then she is expected to return it. In fact, Israel has not "expanded" in 40 years--not since 1967--when its survival was threatened with calls for war and extermination by her Arab neighbors. At that time she took some territory including Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza.
Today Gaza has been purged of all Jews and what is left? It is a haven for al-Qaida, Hamas, and other terror groups. What blinds people like "Christianity Today" from seeing that the same will happen when other territory is given up for this glorious Palestinian state? And has there been peace since Israel did this two years ago? Hardly. As this is written, terrorists in Gaza are shelling Israeli schools. The Gaza infrastructure is destroyed and the Palestinians there are penniless and jobless. Before Israel ceded control of Arabs in the region to the Palestinian Authority, the Arabs in the area experienced unprecedented prosperity and freedom known nowhere else in the Arab world.
But "Christianity Today" does not mention the fact that the Palestinians are relegated to a life of tyranny and oppression under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas.
And what about the systematic oppression by same of Arab Christians? Remember, the Palestinian Authority is the precursor to the Palestinian state that C.T. so covets and is the answer to world peace according to the United Nations. How can fellow Christians at "Christianity Today" not spend more time condemning Palestinian nationalism responsible for the slaughter or fleeing of tens of thousands of Arab Christians? In some areas there is ethnic cleansing going on, but no mention of that in the C.T. analysis.
The magazine takes shots at Dispensational Theology and suggests those who hold to that refuse to find any fault in Israel's secular leadership. They can get away with anything and we will look the other way. Please understand that the love for Israel by Dispensationalists and others is not based on the character of the Israelis but rather based on Scripture. It would be disingenuous of us not to criticize the secular humanist approach of some of her leaders.
"Christianity Today" concludes, "In a post-Holocaust world, the security needs of Israel must be honored. At the same time, restorative justice must set aside absolute claims from any parties and find a workable middle ground in which Palestinians can have a viable economic life." Yes, if only their leaders would allow them to do that.
Why is the only negative and critical focus on Israel? She remains "the apple of God's eye," a strong American ally, and the only democracy in a region of the world gone mad. Can't she have a few Christians who unashamedly love her and stand by her? A few Christians who say to the Israelis, "Israel, you are not alone." Yet the term "Christian Zionist" today takes on negative implications, slings, and arrows.
So be it. I am one.
You would benefit by visiting out "Israel" category on the Web site here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/israel.shtml There are some moving visuals provided for you. Also visit our category "Palestine" here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/palestine.shtml but only if you are willing to read the inconvenient truth.
Awaiting His return, Jan Markell