Shattered on the point of anti-Semitism

The direction that some in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are taking has become frightening. The anti-Semitic video, “I Am Israel” that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) placed on their site this last week is the ultimate example. I have a few more thoughts on the video and the anti-Semitism plaguing our denomination.

First I did send a letter to IPMN’s Moderator, Carol Hylkema explaining how offensive the video was. Her only reply was “Thanks for your input.” As a Presbyterian organization IPMN has proven to be anti-Semitic at its core.

Second one of the commenters, Dexter Van Zile, on my first posting pointed out that there is proof that the statement attributed to Ariel Sharon on the video is fraudulent. He links to a page where he has proven that it is false. That is: Syndicated Columnist Georgie Anne Geyer Uses Fabricated Sharon Quote.

Third, if you are interested in knowing how fraudulent the video’s insistence that Israel has power over the world and the United States media is, just check back to World War II and all the Nazi lies, they are the exact same lies radical Muslims and the IPMN are telling in this video. Every time I watch the video I want to gag.

May I recommend Last Days in Babylon: the History of a Family, the Story of a Nation by Marina Benjamin and Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World by Jeffrey Herf.

I have read the first book which is about the last years of the Jewish community in Iraq before they were threatened, harassed and pushed out of that nation because of the birth of Israel. The author is the granddaughter of one of those who went into exile. The second book I own, but I have not gotten to it yet accept for a skim read. It does have one recommendation that several of my readers will be very interested in. That is a recommendation by Jewish historian, Benny Morris. He writes:

“Professor Herf’s book is a thorough and important description of Nazi propaganda to the Arab world during World War II, and quite accurately and ominously highlights the parallels between Nazi anti-Semitic tenets and Islamist anti-Semitism.”

Both of those books describe how the Grand Mufti Haj Amin Husseini became an advocate for Hitler and was attempting to bring about the final solution to the Jews in the Middle East. Some of those awful stories such as the lie that the Jews control the world came out of that period. Now they are still used by radical Muslims and are showing up on a Presbyterian web site.

A good friend recently wrote “Tonight I explained to my children that we are living in a time very much like the days of Hitler's rise to power [think Iran] and his attempted destruction of the Jewish people. I told them to not fear, to plan on getting married and having children, and to know that their children will be used of the Most High to continue in the battle that has engaged us. Live well--we only get to do this once.”

Most do not know or have forgotten that there was a time before the Holocaust when some people in the United States were either ambivalent to or even for Hitler and the Nazi state of Germany. The friend I quoted above is right.

At this moment we as a denomination have so much to lose. Our integrity, our goodness, our hope, will all be shattered on the anti-Semitism among us. We will take away with one hand what God is trying to put into the other, the righteousness and holiness of God. If we spit on his ancient people we will eventually spit on God.

The Israel/Palestine Mission Network posts a film put together by those espousing radical Islamic views of Israel. UP-date

The Israel/Palestine Mission Network has posted a video on their site entitled “I Am Israel.” Ever hopeful, I thought it would perhaps have something good to say about Israel.

The person who placed the video there writes, “The following video entitled I Am Israel is a powerful and tragically beautiful presentation of the triumphs of Israel as it emerged to become a powerful Middle Eastern state in the modern world of today; an emergence of a people from the tragedy of World War II.”

It is not that at all. Instead the words which are vile were written by Hashem Said who is evidently very radical. He is a member of Hayaat which is supposedly a Washington University student organization for Palestinian human rights.

The video was put together by Jihane Al Quds. Whoever this person is they have a blog profile that lists only the title of their film, “I Am Israel,” with the words to the film and a blog without postings entitled Tulkarem. He also has the You-Tube site that IPMN is linked to where he says he lives in the United States.

The words are bad by themselves but placed over the images of the film they are sheer propaganda.



The words, “I came to a land without a people for a people without a land. Those people who happened to be here, had no right to be here, and my people showed them they had to leave or die, razing 480 Palestinian villages to the ground, erasing their history,” leaves out so much while adding lies.

All of this is putting words into the mouths of those the radical Muslims hate. Words that they did not say. The Israelis did not show them that they had “to leave or die”-instead they fought for their own survival as many Arab nations attacked them.

The words, “carved in 1948 out of 78% of the land of Palestine, dispossessing its inhabitants and replacing them with Jews from Europe and other parts of the world,” are untrue.

As Mitchell G. Bard puts it in his book, Myths and Facts: A Guide To the Arab-Israeli Conflict:

“Nearly 80 percent of what was the historic land of Palestine and the Jewish National Home, as defined by the League of Nations, was severed by the British in 1922 and allocated to what became Transjordan. Jewish settlement there was barred. The UN partitioned the remaining 20 percent of Palestine into two states. With Jordan’s annexation the West Bank in 1950, Arabs controlled approximately 80 percent of the territory of the Mandate, while the Jewish State held a bare 17.5 percent (Gaza, occupied by Egypt, was the remainder.)”

Is it even necessary to refute such words as “I have the power to control American policy. My American Israel Public Affairs Committee can make or break any politician of its choosing, and as you see, they all compete to please me. All the forces of the world are powerless against me, including the UN as I have the American veto to block any condemnation of my war crimes. As Sharon so eloquently phrased it, We control America.”

That is a truly anti-Semitic statement suggesting that Israel controls the world.

And this, “I influence American mainstream media too, and you will always find the news tailored to my favor. I have invested millions of dollars into PR representation, and CNN, New York Times, and others have been doing an excellent job of promoting my propaganda. Look at other international news sources and you will see the difference,” should remind the reader of Henry Ford’s The International Jew, an anti-Semitic diatribe written in praise of Hitler's Germany.

The lies about the 1948 War fought by Israel against her Arab neighbors who attacked her, and the total disregard for Israel’s need to defend herself against those terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, who believe Israel has no right to exist, is captured in this film.

The fact that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network continues on unabated by the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is damaging to the souls of this denomination. I believe we have lost our will and integrity. May God help us.

Up-date-

The person who made this video has visited my comment section. He has complained that I lied because I put up the IPMN introduction to his video.

He thought I was saying he wrote that introduction. Which was "The following video entitled I Am Israel is a powerful and tragically beautiful presentation of the triumphs of Israel as it emerged to become a powerful Middle Eastern state in the modern world of today; an emergence of a people from the tragedy of World War II. But it is also a powerful presentation of the tragedy of the Palestinian people on whose land powerful Israel now resides. It reminds us of the tragedy of two people, one living in Europe before the founding of Israel and the other in Palestine."

The maker of the video understands that he was saying nothing good about Israel. Was the IPMN trying to fool the public with that lead in that made even the video maker mad?!

Is an overture for a one state solution looming on the horizon?

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has for several years advocated for a two state solution for Israel and Palestine. Just the other day, I was telling someone, I would not be surprised if at least one if not several overtures were sent to 219th General Assembly calling for a one state solution. By that I mean a state which includes all the Palestinians as well as the people of Israel. This would of course destroy the State of Israel as a Jewish nation forever.

I conjectured that this might happen because lately I have noticed many articles on web sites, which various Presbyterian organizations link to, that advocate for a one state solution.

Now I find that Ali Abunimah co-founder of the Electronic Intifada a Palestine news site recommended in Steadfast Hope, a booklet published by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has a book recommending just that, "One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Palestinian-Israeli Impasse."

I also see that Abunimah has been a speaker at a Presbyterian Church just this year, First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, hosted the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, featuring Abunimah.

Abunimah insists that a Jewish state could only be a racist apartheid state. He states “When we get to the point where the mantra ‘Jewish State’ no matter what the cost ... it’s always wrong. He then speaks of what he and others call the ethnic cleansing that happened in 1948, and goes on to repeat that there is no way to have a Jewish State without ethnic cleansing.

I believe those Presbyterians who are pro Israel need to understand that there is a move among activist to see Israel as racist and undemocratic unless she gives up her real meaning. That is, they want Israel to give up her sole purpose, which is a place of safety for the persecuted Jewish people.

I do not believe we understand how close we are to another massive pogrom aimed not just at a village in Eastern Europe but at a whole nation.

Before World War II many nations and leaders talked and wrote about what was called the ‘Jewish problem’ and how to solve it. Some Jewish people tried to assimilate into whatever country was their homeland but that was never to be a safe decision. Many times when nations faced a crisis the Jewish people became the scapegoat.

Of course Hitler and the Nazi’s solution were gas chambers, while the Zionist solution was a homeland for the Jewish people. And, indeed, that appears to be the solution of the sovereign Lord of history.

Perhaps this is an apologetic to soon. I hope so!

But I believe the idea of wiping out Israel as a Jewish State by turning her into a state where the Jewish people are a minority among her enemies is not different then pogroms or gas chambers and will lead to another Holocaust.

Blogs, friends, granddaughters and daughters

I have a Session retreat to go to starting tomorrow so I am leaving everyone some great blogs to explore.

The first one is a new blog by my granddaughter Melissa. She is an artist and a writer so you will find this an extremely interesting blog. The name of her new blog is a pun-well I see it as a pun anyway. It is The Sacramentalist. The pun is that Melissa lives in Sacramento and she loves the high liturgy of the Church. She and her husband attend a Lutheran (Missouri Synod) Church.

You will find many wonderful art works there, as well as great writing. I, in particular, like her picture and confession, under, "Confession # 1" She writes that she needs to love people more.

Another blog, and it is new, that I enjoy is View From the Hood. Marita Styrsky is a faithful, insightful and witty Christian. She lives not far from my home in what is considered by some, well, a hoodish type of neighborhood. But it can't really be that because she lives there.

Marita is married to Victor who is the Eastern States Director of Christians United for Israel. (Gasp!) They are good friends. Marita's last posting is about her experiences with her Muslim neighbors, "Why can't I just love people?" I think I have a theme going here.

Rather then ending this with another blog I want to post some music for my three beautiful daughters, Penny, Jenny and Andrea, who are all experiencing some hard times mixed in with all of God's blessings.

Free in Christ

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

I just couldn't resist, I'm directing this toward my good friend Bayou Christian (Bill Crawford) who lives for Christ and lives to fish.

The video is put together by Beanscot, (I do not know who she is but she does a wonderful job of placing pictures and music together).

Christian students facing an oppressive atmosphere at Bowdoin College because of their views on homosexuality

Professor A. J. Robert Gagnon, who had asked for prayer as he was giving a presentation on homosexuality at Bowdoin College near Portland, Maine, on Friday Oct. 30, has now posted information about both his presentation and the extreme opposition that both he and Intervarsity experienced.

He begins his report with these words:

"My speaking engagement at Bowdoin College near Portland, Maine, on Friday Oct. 30 presented me with a glimpse into the oppressive future of homosexualist ascendancy. The talk was attended by about 150 persons, including a large contingent of “GLBT”[1] students and staff who, I heard from other students, had been planning how they might derail my presentation. During the Q&A time after my presentation the Director of Student Life, a homosexualist activist named Allen DeLong, called me “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and made an implicit threat to the Intervarsity staff responsible for bringing me there.

Before I go into the details, first a little background information. I was invited by the Intervarsity chapter at Bowdoin to give a presentation on the Bible and homosexual practice primarily intended for Bowdoin’s Christian fellowship group but also open to the whole campus. There were pleasant features about Bowdoin College. I found the Bowdoin campus to be aesthetically pleasing. Another nice thing about Bowdoin is the presence of two outstanding Intervarsity staff persons, Robert and Sim-Kuen Chan Gregory, who have committed their lives to helping the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) over the last five years. They have done so at considerable financial cost and sacrifice to themselves.

Yet, if you are thinking of sending your child to Bowdoin, consider this: Bowdoin suffers from a major inhibitor of free speech. Let’s just say that if you want to go to a college where homosexualist ideology reigns supreme at the highest levels, a place where you will be belittled as a homophobic bigot if you express your conviction that homosexual practice is wrong, then Bowdoin is the place for you. Bowdoin has not only the usual “Gay and Lesbian Studies” program but also a special “Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity,” just recently renamed from the more descriptive “Queer-Trans Resource Center.” The Center has its own building and full-time director.

If you go to Bowdoin’s website, click on “Campus Life,” and scroll halfway down, you will see a prominent reference to this Center that takes you to “Bowdoin Queer Web.” Here one finds prominently displayed a statement from the Bowdoin Student Handbook that forbids “discrimination or harassment of others because of … sexual orientation” and requires “respect for the differences of all.” From what I can gather from my own observations, this statement means: The “GLBT” community can slander at will anybody who declines to pay homage to the homosexualist agenda, while all others have to shut up about that agenda or face dire consequences. I have seen firsthand the very real fear and intimidation that students experience as regards expressing any criticism of homosexual behavior.

You can link from the “Bowdoin Queer Web” not only to the “Sexual Diversity” resource center, but also to the “Bowdoin Queer-Straight Alliance” and to “Faculty-Staff Advocates.” The latter includes the Director of Student Life, Allen DeLong (mentioned above), who (the site declares) also “holds a monthly dinner conversation for Men who Date Men”; the Director for Career Planning for all students; and, of course, the Director of the “Queer-Trans” Resource Center. In short, homosexualist activists at Bowdoin control all student life activities and all use of career planning resources. "

To read the whole report go here, Back to the Oppressive Future:
Homosexualist Attempts at Suppressing Rational Debate at Bowdoin College and the Maine “Gay Marriage” Referendum.

The great speckled bird of Jeremiah

Writing, several days ago about living in the country and country music, I was reminded of a song my father liked, “The Great Speckled Bird.” That is a Christian song and I found a great recording by Kitty Wells. But my curiosity was sparked by the words which included a reference to a Great Speckled Bird in the Bible. The reference is in Jeremiah 12:9.

“Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side? Go gather all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour!”

The author of the song sees the verse as the people of God in faithfulness and is dispensational in its outlook. The Church will fly away into the arms of Jesus until the tribulation is over. "In the presence of all her despisers/With a song never uttered before/She will rise and be gone in a moment/Till the great tribulation is o'er."

But in all of this, the text is taken out of context and misused.

It is true this verse is about the people of God, Israel, and can be applied to the Church that is birthed out of Israel. But one must understand Israel in the context of the whole chapter in order to understand the verse and how it might be applied to the Church. It is a tragic story, but it ends beautifully. Its promise is unique.

But before looking at the context I want to say something about the difference between the song’s dispensational views of safety and the Reformed view.

In the song the Church is being attacked by her neighbors but is lifted, in their presence, to safety and kept from the “great” tribulation. But not so the Reformed teaching. The Church was born in tribulation, and still endures the tribulation, not in all places but in some places all the time. From Nero to Hitler, from Domitian to Idi Amin, from North Korea to radical Islam the anti-Christs keep appearing and being destroyed by the will of God. And yes, there will undoubtedly be a final anti-Christ destroyed by Christ’s glorious return.

But not out of the tribulation is there safety, rather in the midst of common life and tribulation, normal workdays and dark eras the Christian finds peace, safety and comfort in the arms Jesus Christ. His people are united to him, nourished by him, kept faithful by him.

And here, speaking of faithfulness, is the better understanding of the great speckled bird. As Calvin notes, The bird is a bird of prey, a wild bird that is not unlike the lion in an earlier verse.

“My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has roared against me; therefore I have come to hate her.” (8) God calls for the enemies of his people and Israel goes into exile.

But why? Because she has copied the sins of her neighbors, she worships the Baals and enters into their sexual rites and she kills her children before false gods. But there is a promise here and interestingly it is focused on the neighbors.

The Lord is uprooting all of them because of sin. But he will restore them and if the neighboring peoples who have taught Judah to sin, to worship the Baals, will now, instead, learn the ways of the people of God they will be “built up in the midst of” his people.

This is the great reversal. The culture captured the people of God and taught them to sin. But God promises restoration not only to the children but also to a corrupt culture. Calvin points out that it isn’t Judah that changes the surrounding nations but it is God and his law. In the same way it is the work of Jesus Christ in the midst of his people that changes the surrounding culture.