tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560220615271337359.post818541394351900917..comments2024-03-12T08:04:47.314-07:00Comments on Naming His Grace: A need to apologize--before tomorrowViola Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09146967423654966140noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560220615271337359.post-55334605477471882292012-02-13T07:52:40.137-08:002012-02-13T07:52:40.137-08:00Thanks Dexter. Just a few years ago flying to Denv...Thanks Dexter. Just a few years ago flying to Denver thelady sitting beside me told me she was I Christian and I of course responded that I was too. When I told her I was a Presbyterian her first words were why do the Presbyterians hate the Jews. Our leadership seem unable to see how many in the Christian world see them.Viola Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09146967423654966140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560220615271337359.post-10564501796522671892012-02-13T05:24:57.520-08:002012-02-13T05:24:57.520-08:00Viola,
Thanks for your work.
At our blog, Snap...Viola, <br /><br />Thanks for your work. <br /><br />At our blog, Snapshots, someone has written "The Presbyterians clearly understand that the cry of "anti-Semite!" has lost much of its punch due to willy-nilly overuse."<br /><br />Here is my response:<br /><br />First off, the IPMN represents a narrow band within the PCUSA. People within the PCUSA and outside the denomination have known for a while that its witness about the Arab-Israeli conflict is motivated by an undeniable animus toward Jews and Israel.<br /><br />If we look at the overtures coming into the upcoming General Assembly, you will see a few dealing with Israel and to the best of my knowledge dealing with Egypt or Iraq where Christians are attacked on a regular basis. Silence on Syria as well. This may change, but the overtures match the silence of the leaders in Louisville.<br /><br />The fact is, the so-called peacemakers in the PCUSA are obsessed with what Jews and the Jewish state do, but care very little about the obvious misdeeds of Arab and Muslim regimes in the Middle East.<br /><br />So it's not the cries of anti-Semitism that no longer have any credibility, it is the cries of "Peace! Peace!" from PCUSA institutions that no longer have any credibility. PCUSA peacemakers have applied a double standard, delegitimized Israel and have demonized Israel as well. They have also downplayed or denied Muslim anti-Semitism. And they have also trafficked in tropes of Jewish influence, portraying American Jews as a threat to democracy in the U.S.<br /><br />That is, simply put, anti-Semitism.<br /><br />Because the denomination's national leaders have allowed the IPMN to do what it has done without challenge, the denomination's credibility writ large has taken a beating.<br /><br />It is not the cries of "Anti-Semite" that have lost their power. It is the cry of "Peace!" from the PCUSA that has lost its power and credibility.<br /><br />Dexter Van ZileDexter Van Zilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03074355698633723579noreply@blogger.com