Posted on 05/22/2006 2:48:37 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Israel bears the burden of responsibility for the present crisis in the Middle East, the World Council of Churches has announced, following a meeting of its Executive Committee in Geneva from May 16-19.
The Christian Left's leading ecumenical organization stated Israel's actions towards the Palestinians "cannot be justified morally, legally or even politically."
The failure "to comply with international law" had "pushed the situation on the ground to a point of no return," they concluded.
The WCC condemned the killing of innocent civilians by "both sides" in the conflict and called for the Palestinians to "maintain the existing one-party cease-fire toward Israel" and asked Israel to base its security on "the equitable negotiation of final borders" with its neighbors.
However, the present disparities between Israel and Palestine were "appalling," the WCC said.
"One side is positioning itself to unilaterally establish final borders on territory that belongs to the other side; the other side is increasingly confined to the scattered enclaves that remain. On one side there is control of more and more land and water; on the other there are more and more families deprived of land and livelihoods.
On one side as many people as possible are being housed on occupied land; on the other side the toll mounts of refugees without homes or land. One side controls Jerusalem, a city shared by two peoples and three world religions; the other-Muslim and Christian-watches its demographic, commercial and religious presence wither in Jerusalem," the WCC said.
The WCC claimed a double standard was at work in the international community that favored Israel, saying, "The side set to keep its unlawful gains is garnering support from part of the international community. The side that, despairing at those unlawful gains, used legitimate elections to choose new leaders is being isolated and punished."
"Democracy must be protected where it is taking root," the WCC said, calling for a relaxation of American, British and EU sanctions against Hamas. "Peace must come soon or it may not come to either people for a long time," they concluded.
The WCC's Executive Committee called upon its 340 member churches in over 100 countries representing approximately 550 million Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant Christians to "share solidarity with people on both sides of the conflict," and to "use legitimate forms of pressure to promote a just peace and to end unlawful activities by Israelis or Palestinians."
It also asked its members to "find constructive ways to address threats experienced among the Jewish people, including the nature, prevalence and impact of racism in local, national and international contexts."
In March 2005, the WCC urged its member churches give "serious consideration" to pulling investments out of Israel and endorsed the 2004 decision by the Presbyterian Church of the United States to seek "phased selective divestment" from Israel. "This [Presbyterian] action is commendable in both method and manner, uses criteria rooted in faith and calls members to do the things that make for peace," the WCC said.
The Presbyterian Church will revisit its 2004 divestment decision next month at its 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama, in response to criticism that the divestment call was one-sided and ill-informed.
Meanwhile most American Fundamentalist Protestants would gladly die for Israel, but American Jews whore after liberal Protestants and Catholics.
One reason for my ongoing expose of the truly fundamentalist nature of genuine Orthodox Judaism is to puncture the image of uebersophistication which makes Jews ashamed of their traditional teachings and seek the worldly-wise hyper-intellectual image that comes with shunning "fundies" and bedding down with liberals and non-inerrantists.
I'm thinking of writing a new essay on my web site for Jews in denial. I think I'll all it "releasing your inner bumpkin."
who are those FOOLS?
In other news, ursine mammals are believed to excrete in forested habitats.
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What is so ridiculous about this conflict is if you go back 3000 years these people the Jews and the Muslims were all the same race. Only religion is dividing them.
The Church of Laodicea speaks.
Thanks for the Ping. I left the United Methodist Church because of their unending, undying support for the WCC. I never looked back and I'm glad I left.
I did the very same thing, Goddess. I wouldn't tithe to the church either. When I left, I began tithing faithfully to the church I'm in now. Such a difference!
Any resemblance between the WCC and Christianity is purely coincidental.
Calling all people who are members of the Presbyterian Church USA, United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church USA, United Church of Christ, and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Each of you, by being members of the above churches, are complicit in what the WCC is doing through your contributions. The above denominations are the principal financial supporters of the WCC.
Take action today and send a message to your local church leadership demanding they stop sending money to the denomination that is filtered up to the WCC,
ping
Actually it should read apostate World Council of Churches.
Doggone it. If dog poop is considered pollution and you have to pick up after your dog, who picks up after the squirrels, raccoons, birds, horses, etc. which poop in the woods, too? Does the Sierra Club organise wild animal pooper scooper parties?!
Maybe Greenpeace can develop ecofriendly diapers for wild animals to wear so these wild animals won't pollute our pristine environment.
ROTFLOL! Sometimes I have to laugh or I'd be crying like a baby all day.
All they need to do is mark the memo line of their check with the department they want their money to be spent and the church, by Federal Law, can't diver that money to other purposes.
So, for example, let's say you gave the church a check for $250. You can put on the note accompanying the check that you want $100 to go to the Sunday School, $100 to go to the janitorial budget and $50 to go to the choir (or any other places depending on your church's activities) and by law, they have to make sure that money is only spent in those areas you specify. You don't have to totally boycott your liberal church to prevent your money from going to the WCC.
Now that would be "Man bit Dog" kind of news.
Their own pension and retirement plans could be a place to start.
That seems to be lost on so many people, and religions...
All they REALLY need to do is get out of that church (and I use that expression loosely) just as fast as they can...
No because they have the Da Vinci Code :)
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