The Israel/Palestine Mission Network lied: should we care? UP-Date

I am so bothered by this …
“CHRISTIANS AND JEWS: PEOPLE OF GOD” AN EXAMPLE OF OCCUPATION THEOLOGY. I am not ready to let it go.

In an attempt to get the Presbyterian General Assembly to not receive the paper Christians and Jews: People of God the Israel/Palestine Mission Network lied about the Jewish organizations in the United States suggesting that they sent a bomb to our Presbyterian headquarters and burnt down a church. They also lied about the Jewish people in their synagogues. The Israel/Palestine Mission Network lied.[1]

Why won’t more Presbyterians speak up? Surely even those Presbyterians who believe that everything Israel is doing is wrong can’t believe that lying about Jewish organizations in the United States is the right thing to do? Why isn’t there an outcry from fellow Christians about this?

The IPMN insists that the rising anti-semitism, the caricatures of Jewish people, in all countries, is caused by the Jews themselves. That is an old story. Less than eighty years ago such lies led to the death of six million Jews.

The book I am deeply engrossed in led me to think deeper about the issues. In Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, there is a chapter on the German Christians, that side of the Church who followed Hitler. As I was reading it I began making some comparisons.

The two groups, the German Christians and the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, were and are willing to cut out parts of the biblical text in order to hold on to their views of God, Israel and the Jews.

For instance the authors of the paper “Christians and Jews: People of God: An Example of Occupation Theology” insist that the original paper “Christian and Jews: People of God” offered by the Office of Theology and Worship, the Office of Interfaith Relations, and the Office of Evangelism misuses New Testament metaphors such as the root of the olive tree and the way the work of Christ has broken down “the dividing wall of hostility” between Christian and Jew.

They also write that the use of historical criticism is helpful because it calls into account those Old Testament texts that are used against the Palestinians. The German Christians rejected all of the Old Testament and used only those parts of the New Testament that seemed anti-Semitic. The German Christians went the whole way in their rejection of scripture, but IPMN is traveling on the same road.

The German Christians continuously lied about the Jewish people blaming Germany’s financial mess and moral decadence on the Jews. Their goal was to rid Germany of all Jews.

IPMN has now reached the stage of lying about the Jews with the supposed goal of not allowing anything to be said about the Jewish people that they disagree with. If they can convince the rest of us that the Jewish organizations in the United States sent a bomb to Louisville and burned down a church perhaps they can accomplish their goal but then we will all be involved in their lie. We will all be guilty.

[1]The Paper I am writing about with the lies in it is attached to this overture
[08-09]
On Referring “Christians and Jews: People of God” and “Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations”
UP-Date:
Because someone asked how they could speak up, and I suggested e-mailing and calling the Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, I stated that I would link to my other postings on this problem.
An overture filled with fury: anti-Semitism again
Slandering the Jewish people-more on overture 08-09
Equpping the saints, telling lies, and other thoughts

A late Pentecost: the heart of the Church-love for the sinner

Writing about Pentecost, Michael Adee speaks of being the Church of the heart. That could mean many things but, at the end of his article, using some negatives to show what it is not, he writes, “Imagine if we became a church of the heart, rather than the church of polity, doctrinal statements or litmus tests for correct belief and practice? As Presbyterians, we do not have to be like we have been for the last 218 years. We can learn to trust God, to trust God's work in each others' lives, to trust each other to work out our salvation, calls to ministry, discipleship and intimate lives.” (Bold authors)

But isn’t there a hardness of heart among us when we do not care for the sinner both bodily and spiritually? A hardened heart does not hear the word of God. A hardened heart does not melt before the holiness of God nor care for brothers or sisters who are walking too close to the worldly culture of our day.

Yes, a church of the heart will share; reaching out to the poor and needy, but there is something more. There is a complete picture of the early beginnings of the church of Acts.[1] “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

So these four things comprise a complete picture of those four areas important to the first Christians:

1. The apostle’s teaching
2. Fellowship
3. The Lord’s Supper but probably meals together also
4. Prayer

And the apostle’s teaching, which is doctrine, would have included this verse which undoubtedly was an ancient hymn of the Church:

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations
Believed on in the world
Taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

And this, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting, save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh." (Jude 20-23)

[1] With Calvin we must agree that God’s Church is not limited to the New Testament it is also found in the Old Testament.

We must light a candle when the shadows are uncertain

Here is a very bright candle GAhelp.net

I would like to commend a web-site that will be helpful not only to commissioners coming to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly, but to all Presbyterian members. It has been carefully laid out by Robert Austell a pastor in Charlotte North Carolina who blogs at Lighthouse/searchlight Church. His very important new site is GAhelp.net. Picture by Stephen Larson

On the GAhelp.net site Presbyterians will find news, articles and advice on the coming General Assembly. There is a page that is meant just for commissioners Commissioner Basics - where? what? how? .

The information listed on all pages comes from all sides of the Church. As Austell states, his site provides “equal access to all the information out there.” If you want to read GA information coming from the Layman or the Covenant Network, from the Mad Parson or Michael Kruse here is the place to go. I will put a link at the top of my side links so it will be there until the end of General Assembly.

Equpping the saints, telling lies, and other thoughts

Late Tuesday evening I returned from an out of state trip. After partially catching up on what needed to be done in the house, writing a letter to the editor, which in this case was a joy because I could dig deep into one of our confessions, and returning to another joy, a new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I spent far too much time on Google.

I was searching out a mystery created by the San Francisco Presbytery with its overture 08-09 and the overture’s link to a paper created by the Presbyterian Israel/Palestine Mission Network.

Truthfully it is the IPMN which has created the mystery. With their paper, Christians and Jews: People of God” an example of Occupation Theology, they have created such a lie that it is impossible to untangle it. And so several of us have googled trying to find out what church in what Rochester city in what state (probably New York) was burnt down and why. (picture: Early Rising by Lauren Ford)

We already know that the footnote connected to their accusations of threats has liable information in it. That is they accuse Jewish organizations and members of Jewish synagogues in the United States of sending, (perhaps a bomb) to the Presbyterian headquarters in Louisville. Remembering the past plus reading news articles we know the truth about that. It isn’t true. But did the Jewish organizations and the Jewish citizens really burn down a church?

This is all that can be found, “Fire guts historic New York church,” at the Presbyterian News Service or anywhere else for that matter. The church was struck by lightning.

The above thoughts all came together as I made coffee and my husband asked me if I knew which epistle had the verse about Jesus ascending to heaven and giving gifts to the church. So after suggesting it might be in Ephesians I sat down and read chapter four. I thought how we can all be gifts to the church by walking in the newness that Jesus gives us or we can insist on damaging the church with our own personal agendas.

That chapter in Ephesians speaks about the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who equip the “saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” But it also speaks of what we need to lay aside which includes anger and stealing and this, “Therefore laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

This brings me back to the biography of Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, there is a section on Martin Luther and how he at first understood how badly the church had treated the Jewish people and then how he in several ways became mentally unhinged and said some very horrible things about the Jews. His later words were used by the Nazis, his earlier sane words were used by Bonhoeffer and others.

“If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian.”

Martin Luther must have been looking over some of our backs. I am pleading with myself and others: use the gifts Jesus gives us to help the church, equip the saints, bring others to Jesus Christ, bring discernment to the body, care for one another and the lost. Anchored in the One who is the Truth, tell the truth.

"As a result [of being built up] we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in decietful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building of itself in love. (Eph 4:14-16)"

-

H.T. to Dexter Van Zile of Camera for Church News

We are not standing alone, He is with us

Having done all stand, yes, that is holy Scripture, but he is the one who makes it possible.

Just last week I saw a video on the blog of Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile which I posted on my site. Tonight trying to help a friend find the song to post I looked again at Anyabwile’s site, Pure Church and found something else he was pointing to that I liked. Great for Sunday. So this is on Pastor Wyeth W. Duncan’s site, A Debtor to Mercy. And it is him singing. Beautiful song but read some of the posts there also, and then read some more of Anyabwile’s.





When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me;
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me.
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship upon the sea,
Thou who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me.

In the midst of tribulations,
Stand by me;In the midst of tribulations,
Stand by me.
When the hosts of hell assail,
And my strength begins to fail,
Thou who never lost a battle,
Stand by me.

In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me;
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me.
When I do the best I can,
And my friends misunderstand,
Thou who knowest all about me,
Stand by me.

When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me;
When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me.
When my life becomes a burden,
And I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
O Thou Lily of the Valley,
Stand by me.

Hat Tip to both pastors.

Why the PC(U.S.A.) should not adopt the Confession of Belhar: Answering the “Report of the Special Committee on the Belhar Confession”

A confession of faith must have as its main focus the Church's confession of Christ. All other important concerns of the Church, including her unity, the justice she advocates for, the reconciliation she calls for, must be subsumed under the heading 'Jesus Christ is Lord.' Lack of that focus is the problem troubling the Confession of Belhar. The Confession of Belhar has an incomplete Christology and fails to make a clear confession of Jesus Christ. It also lacks scriptural boundaries.

The Committee to Consider Amending the Confessional Documents of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to include the Confession of Belhar in The Book of Confessions has unanimously recommended the Confession (16-012). That means that the 219th General Assembly, (2010) will vote on the recommendation. If it passes at GA the Presbyteries will then vote, needing approval from at least two-thirds of the denomination’s 173 presbyteries.

The Committee gives several reasons why the PC (U.S.A) should adopt Belhar beginning with the statement, “The Confession of Belhar Confesses the Christian Faith powerfully, touching hearts especially at those places where we are struggling today to be faithful.” The authors of 16-12 go on to speak of reconciliation, unity and justice.

Still, despite the above words of reassurance that Belhar confesses the Christian faith powerfully the Confession itself has little to say about Jesus Christ the living Word of God. Nor does it refer to texts in the Holy Scriptures.

The Confession of Belhar was adopted by the South Africa Dutch Reformed Mission Church in 1986 and later adopted by the Uniting Reformed Church of South Africa. Belhar was an attack on apartheid and its awful use by the white Reformed Church in South Africa. The Confession of Belhar was meant to denounce a theology of racism. Members of the various ethnic churches of South Africa understood that Belhar was about racism

However, some members of some Reformed churches in the United States, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), believe that Belhar was meant to address more than racial issues. They believe that Belhar will also allow the ordination of unrepentant gays and lesbians, and will also sanction same gender marriage. Using a document that does not properly define the Lordship of Christ or the authority of scripture they take several statements from the Confession and use them to make a case for unscriptural actions by the church.

One such Statement is:

"We reject any doctrine which absolutizes either natural diversity or the sinful separation of people in such a way that this absolutization hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation."

This statement, pulled from its important subject, racism, allows some to insist that the requirement of church officers to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001) or chastity in singleness” is sin. The statement would also be applied to the biblical and confessional doctrine that marriage is always between a man and a woman.

There are absolutes in the Christian faith. Racism is sin (Gal. 3:28). Marriage is between a man and a woman (Matt.19:4-6). Disobeying the absolutes of God’s word may cause divisions within the Church.

Reconciliation: The principle of reconciliation, in any confession of the church, must be understood within the boundaries of Christ’s Lordship over the Church as is taught in the scripture. In the pastoral letter offered by the Special Committee the connection between Lordship, the word of God and reconciliation is recognized. They refer to several scripture texts, Eph. 1:9-10, 2:11-22; 2 Cor. 5:16-21; Gal. 3:23-4:7. Yet, there is no scripture text in the Confession of Belhar.

Reconciliation occurs because of the love of Jesus Christ. Because of his great sacrifice on the cross we love him and we love our brothers and sisters. Such love includes faithfulness to the Lord and care for one another. Such care embraces admonition against sin, including the sin of racism and unbiblical sexual actions.

Unity: Unity within the Church always occurs because Christians are united to the Lord of the Church. In their union with the Jesus Christ they are united to all other believers. That is a fact that some may deny in their sinfulness, it is nonetheless true. While Christians, who belong already to the One Universal Church, are truly united, yet it is proper to call all believers to unity in both truth and fellowship. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer of John 17 he prays that his disciples will be one as he and the Father are one. But he also prays that the Father will “sanctify them in the truth” going on to state that God’s “word is truth.”

That kind of unity that includes the believer’s journey of sanctification shaped by the word of God will leave behind all habitual sin including racism and sexual immorality. “Such were some of you [fornicators, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers] but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:11 with 9-10 NAS)”

Justice: The Bible simply swims in the good waters of justice. Whether God’s law, or the prophets, or apostles they all speak to and for justice; they lift up the immigrant, the orphan, the widow and the oppressed. But such justice is tied to the holiness of God. God’s words to his people often begin with their careless disregard for his holiness. They worship idols and commit sexual sin. And then they turn with hatred to their brothers and sisters.

But the justice of God is also tied to the costly grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ blood was shed for the sins of racism and bigotry. He transforms the racist. He died for the sins of sexual brokenness. Jesus forgives and heals. He certainly died for a humanity who seeks innumerable ways of ignoring a holy God’s warning and care. It is that forgiveness and healing that brings about the justice of God.


Jesus is Lord; that is the ultimate Confession for the Church of Jesus Christ.

Slandering the Jewish people-more on overture 08-09

In my blogging post, An overture filled with fury: anti-Semitism again, I partly focused on the slander used by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network when they wrote their paper, “CHRISTIANS AND JEWS: PEOPLE OF GOD” AN EXAMPLE OF OCCUPATION THEOLOGY. The paper is a reference in overture 08-09 which has been placed in the Ecumenical Committee for the Presbyterian General assembly.

Part of the slander accuses the Jewish organizations, who opposed the divestment actions of the 2004 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) General Assembly, of sending a package to the Presbyterian Headquarters which might have been a bomb. The truth is someone sent a letter threatening to burn Presbyterian Churches. You can read about the letter and the arrest of the person who wrote it here at the Presbyterian News Service. The man, Jeffrey A. Winters, had no connection to any legitimate Jewish organization.

You can also read about how all the various Jewish organizations denounced the threat as soon as it was aired, Jewish Leaders Condemn Presbyterian Arson Threat. For instance, reporter, Pauline J. Chang of the Christian Post quotes Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Union for Reformed Judaism who stated:

“We are disgusted and outraged by those who have threatened to use violence and arson against Presbyterian churches to protest the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s recent steps toward divestment from Israel,”

She also quoted Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. “The thugs who have made these reprehensible threats are far outside the mainstream of American Jewry, and we, the largest branch of American Judaism, condemn them forcibly, vigorously, and unequivocally.”

Chang also wrote, “The Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the US, joined in the condemnation, saying it “repudiates any and all threats of violence against the Church,” in a statement.

The Jewish people in Germany during the time of Hitler were also accused of such things. Supposedly they were behind the horrible Versailles Treaty (but of course they weren’t.) But so many Christians in Germany preferred to listen to lies. They failed to stand up to Hitler and the Nazis, and the German Christians who helped propagate the lies. They aided the Nazis in killing six-million Jewish people.

It seems that the Church must always be confessing her sins. She did during the Nazi days. She will now need to again. Dietrich Bonhoeffer one of the Confessing Pastors in Germany who died rather than let such lies live, wrote a confession for the Church during those days. I have written parts of it here before. But now we, I, need this part now.

“The Church confesses herself guilty towards the countless victims of calumny, denunciation and defamation. She has not convicted the slanderer of his wrongdoing, and she has thereby abandoned the slandered to his fate.

The Church confesses that she has desired security, peace and quiet, possessions and honour, to which she has no right, and that in this way she has not bridled the desires of men but has stimulated them still further.

… By her own silence she has rendered herself guilty of the decline in responsible action, in bravery in the defense of a cause, and in willingness to suffer for what is known to be right. She bears the guilt of the defection of the governing authority from Christ.”

It is time to confess sin, while confessing Christ. It is also time to stand up for those who are slandered.

The Israel/Palestine Mission Network have lied about the Jewish people in the United States. And because I am a Presbyterian (U.S.A.) church member I have lied and must confess that I have hurt the Jewish people.