Posted on 04/03/2008 5:43:10 AM PDT by SJackson
| Divestment: Coming to a Denomination Near You |
For a generation after World War II, particularly given revelations of the Holocaust, most American Protestant denominations embraced a more tolerant attitude toward Jews. Since the 1980s, however, there has been a marked shift, evident in the anti-Israeli positions adopted by more liberal denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC); the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA); and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA). At its April meeting in Fort Worth, the National Conference of the UMC will consider adopting a robust divestment policy toward Israel. When the 218th General Assembly of the PCUSA convenes in San Jose in June, it may adopt a resolution calling for a “temporary end” to military and foreign aid to Israel based largely on specious depictions of Israeli policy and military actions. In general, the vast preponderance of criticisms leveled against Israel by more liberal Protestant denominations betray a blatant anti-Israeli imbalance which the religious left justifies based on Israel’s military, financial, and political power. From the perspective of the religious left, those who have power obtain it at the expense of the powerless and therefore are justifiably open to greater criticism. In the 1980s, the American religious left cast the United States as a behemoth in international affairs, devising a moral equivalency argument equating the United States with the Soviet Union. Reverend William Sloan Coffin, pastor of New York’s Riverside Church (where Nicaragua’s Sandinista president Daniel Ortega spoke in 1986), once prayed, “Were we to repent of our self-righteousness, the existence of Soviet missiles would remind us of nothing so much as our own. … Afghanistan would suggest Vietnam.” This same mindset, with doctrinal roots in liberation theology, undergirds contentions maintaining that Israel, a powerful nation, accord to a far higher standard of behavior than the Palestinians. The argument is bogus. Typical of such justifications are those below, made by a PCUSA peacemaking activist to friends, which maintains that an imbalance in power makes it acceptable to hold Israel to a higher standard of behavior while excusing Palestinian terrorism as a legitimate asymmetric response. The first two justifications specifying a military imbalance, while technically correct, are irrelevant. Israel has never threatened to use nuclear weapons on the Palestinians. Indeed, Israel does not acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons. Furthermore, nuking Gaza or the Palestinian territories would wreak radiological havoc on Israel. Israel’s nukes deter its avowedly hostile neighbors. Certainly, Israel’s first-rate defense forces employ technologically advanced weaponry while the Palestinians use suicide bombers, mortars, rockets, and small arms. Although guerrilla tactics constitute a legitimate asymmetrical alternative for Palestinians, terrorism (violence directed against innocents) does not. Israel uses its U.S.-supplied F-16 fighter-bombers and AH-64 Apache helicopters in precision strikes against terrorist targets. Hamas and other Palestinian groups purposely target Israeli innocents. Israelis riding on buses, shopping in markets or eating in restaurants in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, or simply living in Sderot or Ashkelon, are innocents; Hamas leaders and fighters are not. The third charge is likewise specious. The Palestinians were not “kicked off their land.” First, there never was a Palestinian state or tribe. In 1948, when U.N. Resolution 181 created Israel, Palestinians either fled or joined with six Arab armies attempting to annihilate the newborn Jewish state. Second, while Israeli forces occupy some of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, prior to June 7, 1967, the Jordanian army occupied these areas. International law specifies that treaties establish national boundaries and as yet no treaty defines Palestinian boundaries. Furthermore, while Israel occupied Gaza from June 1967 until 2005, Cairo declined offers to return it to Egyptian jurisdiction. Israel also occupies the Golan Heights, a military staging area seized from Syria in 1967. Giving up Golan would constitute strategic folly. The fourth contention maintains that Israel, a viable nation, must be held to a higher level of accountability than the Palestinian Authority. Approximately 100 nations maintain diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority and around 150 recognize Israel. In the Middle East, however, only Egypt, Jordan and Turkey recognize Israel. Hamas’ Charter calls for Israel’s annihilation. The final charge maintaining that Israel is powerful and the Palestinians are not is meaningless. Lack of power does not excuse violence purposefully directed against innocents. Ultimately, the Palestinians serve as pawns in a very real imbalance of power pitting almost the entire Muslim world, from Algeria and Libya to Iran, from Syria and Saudi Arabia to Sudan, against Israel. As for resources, over the next 10 years Middle Eastern Muslim nations will spend an estimated $330 billion on armaments. The United States will provide Israel $30 billion in military and economic aid, about the same amount specified for Egypt. The fact remains: democratic Israel extends far more rights to its Arab and non-Jewish population than any Muslim nation accords Jews or Christians. Suffice it to say, such charges simply reflect the absurd leftist view that power equates to corruption or evil.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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” The Palestinians have been kicked off their land and had their resources stolen.”
Yes, that’s right. And Jordan should be ashamed of themselves.
Jordan doesn’t want them...
This liberal theology is costing the United Methodist Church a lot of members. If you look at the numbers, mainline Protestant churches are losing members at a record clip.
Trivia question: Which country has killed the most "Palestinians"?
A: Jordan.
• African Methodist Episcopal Church
• The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Alliance of Baptists
• American Baptist Churches in the USA
• Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
• Church of the Brethren
• The Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
• The Episcopal Church
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• Friends United Meeting
• Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
• Hungarian Reformed Church in America
• International Council of Community Churches
• Korean Presbyterian Church in America
• Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
• Mar Thoma Church
• Moravian Church in America Northern Province and Southern Province
• National Baptist Convention of America
• National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.
• National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
• Orthodox Church in America
• Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA
• Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
• Polish National Catholic Church of America
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
• Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
• Reformed Church in America
• Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada
• The Swedenborgian Church
• Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America
• United Church of Christ
• The United Methodist Church •
Thanks.
I am so glad we left last year.
Gee, the ELCA is included in this mess. What a surprise!
First one was about Global Warming and how we are protectors of the Earth. Guess Easter Sunday isn't all about Jesus after all.
Second one was when he was talking about the Resurrection. He said that he is occasionally asked if he believes if it actually took place and if he believes in it. His answer was "yes".
My father-in-law, who doesn't like going to church that much, thought the Global Warming stuff was kooky. I wondered if it was part of the denomination's beliefs. I checked later and indeed, it sure is.
We had a snowstorm here on Easter. There’s no way they could have gotten away with that here.
Some day ask your pastor to see the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline or better yet, go online and look at it. It is full of stuff like you heard in the Easter Sermon (mother earth, global warming, etc.). That is a big reason why so many people are leaving the Methodist church. They have gotten away from the Truth.
I was visiting a UMC church for Easter. I'm a non-denominational Christian.
I'll bet the stuff I found on the internet is the same you are alluding to.
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