Sunday, September 11, 2011

WHY DOES THE WORLD HATE JEWS?

Why does the world hate Jews?

Every month or so we get a reminder from Ahmadinejad when he quotes Khomeini's statement that Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world."

Many efforts to do just that have taken place throughout history including the most familiar Holocaust during the 1930s and 40s.

When one considers the nature of this hatred, it seems to rise above other prejudices such as those forms of racial and ethnic animosity like whites hating blacks; blacks hating whites; orientals hating whites; etc, etc. All this is born out of man's sinful nature, a manifestation of pride, a sense of superiority to anyone who is not like himself.

The hatred for Jews seems to transcend these skin-color/cultural parameters. For one thing, Jews seem to be universally hated, not just hated by their Arab neighbors, for example. They are hated in the East and hated in the West; they are hated by men of all racial compositions. What is it about Jews which makes them the target of almost universal enmity?

I think the answer lies in the perception, not just held by Bible believers but by the world in general, that Jews are in one way or another representative of God. Men naturally hate God, are at enmity with God, are alienated from God by their sin. Since Jews are almost universally viewed to one degree or another as "God's Chosen People" this hatred of God is transferred to the people considered to be His.

One could ask, considering the present state of Israel, how this Christ-less, God-less political entity draws any fire from God-haters. It is as God-less as any nation on earth; it should be right at home with the rest of the world. The present state is as rebellious, unbelieving as ever in the history of the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the world system through its spiritual father, Satan, recognizes both the history and the future of this people created for God's purposes....and because the world hates God, they instinctively hate Israel and the Jews.

Well, it's one thing when the unbelieving world acts out its sin nature and hatred for God in this way--hating a group which is closely associated with God. It's entirely another matter when we find the professing church demonstrating the same attitude, albeit sometimes more subtly. When the German government led by Hitler began and perpetrated their efforts to eliminate Jews from the population of the world, the "church" was silent and consenting for the most part. The leadership in Rome has been condemned for their acquiescence and accused of complicity.

The Protestant "church" in Germany was silent. Apart from a few courageous leaders like Niemoeller and Bonhoeffer, the pews and the pulpits turned their heads as the Jews were led to the gas chambers and ovens.

Today, I see a similar situation. I say "similar" with the intention of being clear that it is not "identical"......maybe "reminiscent".......similar.....like this:

First, we have a political force, growing in strength and openly advocating and diligently working toward the eradication of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. That group is Iran and all its Islamic Jihadist friends and neighbors, some more covert than others.

And then you might ask: Where is the parallel to the professing church's complicity and consent? Especially in view of the obvious "Zionist" element in evangelical circles, the John Hagee types and their ilk, those heretics who have manufactured in their minds the salvation of Jews apart from Christ and solicit millions from the sheep for such projects as moving Jews to Israel from all over the world.

Two things about that group: they are vocal but tiny in numbers; and they are clearly outside the realm of orthodoxy. It's more of a cult. Their abberant views are even further removed from Biblical truth than the majority view which is in my sights here.

Rome played a role in the Holocaust. Rome is playing a role today in the minimalization of Israel. Note how "ecumenical" Rome is these days.......note their efforts to bring back into the fold, for example, the Church of England. Note their outreach to Mormons and Muslims....note their efforts toward building a one-religion world (the capitol of which is Rome, of course).......note further, than there is no equivalent outreach to Jews or Israel.

The Protestant churches were involved in the most recent eradication effort, if only by their silence. Many are involved in today's more subtle efforts, not so much by silence but by proclamation--the proclmation that God is finished with Israel; that their time is past; that God has moved on in His plan, and that the Church has replaced Israel, has been named heir to the promises of God made to Israel and will be the recipient of all blessings once directed toward Israel.

I'm not going into a detailed description of this "replacement theology"...you can look it up, or look up 'supercessionism" for expanded study. My point is that this is a majority view in the professing Protestant church. It allows Christians to say: Israel has no importance to the Church today. God is finished there. The theologians who promote this view are clever word-masters who spiritualize vast portions of scripture which promise future blessings and earthly activies for a restored nation of Israel.....like Jeremiah 33 and the millennial temple passages in Ezekiel 40-48.

The question here is this: Why? What is the motivation for "doing away with" Israel and the Jewish people so far as their future in the plan of God? I cannot help wondering if this is not a much more subtle manifestation of this natural enmity with God and with the things of God. Even as I write this, I am aware that it seems harsh....and I do not mean to condemn any individual who holds to this viewpoint. At the same time, I see no valid hermeneutics at work in arriving at the supercessionist viewpoint. So, what is the source? What is the impetus? What presuppositions are at work when one casts out lengthy passages of scripture, negating them with obfuscatory jargon, rather than taking God at His word?

Saturday, April 23, 2011

LAW vs EMOTION, JUSTICE vs VENGEANCE

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/23/ny-taxpayers-pay-big-heart-transplant-convicted-rapist/?test=latestnews

This link is to an emotion-laden article in the Fox "News" on-line tabloid but reflects thinking which extends far beyond the tabloid mentality.



Look at this exceptionally wicked crime, and now the perpetrator is about to get an expensive medical procedure at taxpayer expense! (Insert gasps, gags, and cries of despair)



Our much-vaunted "justice" system is supposed to be a rule of law rather than rule of mob-mentality or popularity poll. We take men and women out of our general population and incarcerate them when they are convicted of crimes. The crimes are stipulated and the punishment outlined in L-A-W which supposedly is what we're all about.



It is a well-established legal position that incarcerated persons are still human and still have the right to medical care and that care is to be at the "community standard"--that is to say, we do not have inmates treated by veterinarians or shamans.



The questions which arise when sensational cases like this appear are disturbing:



Shall we admit, as a nation, that our heart is indeed so depraved that we would rejoice in seeing offenders locked up without any medical care?....."let 'em die like dogs!" Maybe we could quit feeding them, too?



Suppose this case involved: a woman, not a man? a woman who shot an abusive husband, for example (or something which inspires some sympathy....)? The volume of protests would be much lower, I'm sure. So, maybe for some crimes, for some offenders, the sentence ought to include "no medical care, no food, and no television for 40 years" ?



And, let me include this thought: I'd be happy to see laws changed to include the possibility of the death penalty for such crimes as this guy did....I have no sympathy for him, but I would like to see us obey the law, respect it as the Law, all the while we are bemoaning his law breaking.



Maybe we should take a poll. That's how much policy is determined these days. I wonder what portion of our population would be content to simply execute all felons upon conviction? No muss, no fuss....Guilty! Take him out and shoot him. No more overcrowded prisons, no more escapes, no more medical care for perverts,



The fact is that the State takes on a great responsibility in instituting a legal system such as we have. It does allow that convicted criminals are still human and have human rights. Supporting that highly moral legal code is an expensive project. I think our culture is disintegrating rapidly and that this is questioned at all is an indicator of how sick a society we are.