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"Of course, I will be accused of being an anti-Semite because of such words. But I will just shrug and sneer at that accusation and say: "What makes you a Semite anyway?" Having just read the holocaust account of Elie Wiesel's Night with tears and deep empathy, having Jewish relatives on my Swiss mother's side who fled Germany to Switzerland during the period of the rise of Nazism, being an Arab Christian with Lebanese paternal ancestry, I have more Semitic DNA in me than most who will be reading this. My ethnic heritage may be a mess, but I can still recognize ethical wrong when I see it!" – by Martin Accad, the academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary is angry at evangelical Christians, Israel, Hezbollah, the U.S., and the international community. Read the full article… [Hat tip: Robin]
{ 13 } Comments
Sabbah,
Thanks for the link to this article. It's good to see this perspective printed and widely distributed.
Regarding some of Martin Accad's comments, I have never understood how Judaic people can accuse Arabs and many other citizens of the Middle East of being "antisemitic", after all, Arabs ARE semitic, as the word is supposed to designate anyone whose native tongue is one of the Semitic languages. These include Arabic, Syriac, Aramaic, Assyrian, Hebrew and several others. Hence, when a Jew accuses an Arab of being "antisemitic", he/she is stealing his/her share of their collective identity, then using it as a weapon to bash them over the head! Indeed, if we were to follow this strange semantic logic, we could also accuse Israel of being "antisemitic" due to their persecution of their fellow Semites. We could also say that statements such as those of Rabbi Ovadia Yossef (He likened Arabs to "insects" and stated that "in the old city of Jerusalem they're swarming like ants" … "they should go to hell, and the Messiah will speed them on their way".) and also those of Menachem Begin (he described Arabs as "beasts walking on two legs."), or Rehavam Zeevi (he likened Palestinians to "lice" and "cancer") are HIGHLY anti-semitic too!
The following are some excellent articles concerning Bush and the fundamentalist evangelical connection concerning the current crisis in Lebanon and the Middle East:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1833810,00.html
"Bush's fondness for fundamentalism is courting disaster both at home and abroad" The author is Karen Armstrong, who also authored the book, "The Battle for God, the History of Fundamentalism"
"Bush's fundamentalism seen as a decisive, negative factor in his policies" http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00114
"Theocons and Theocrats" The Nation, Kevin Philips
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060501/phillips
"The Faith of George W. Bush: Christian Supremacy, American Imperialism and Global Disaster" as written in the "American Muslim" http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/the_faith_of_george_w_bush_christian_supremacy_american_imp
Cartoon: http://www.harpers.org/CartoonTShirt.html
And if that's not enough for you, check out this video, "Lebanon, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmYcBjdnNvQ
Now I wonder what Mr. Accad, who is presently here in the US unable to return to his congregation and school in Lebanon would feel when his fellow Southern Baptists, who founded the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon are themselves "rapture waiters" urging complete support for Israel? These FOOLS that think that the end times are near are absolutely giddy over the prospect of the end of the world. Have they ever heard of "free will"? Have they ever heard of the Golden Rule? Just how in touch with God are these whackjobs? This is nothing less than a "holy war" which is being urged on by religious fanatics NO BETTER than those they supposedly are fighting. The only problem is that they are killing civilians right and left, with no compunciton or conscience as long as it fits into their own insane eschatological self-fulfilled prophesy. This is absolutely the most frightening episode the US is going through, that these evangelical nutjobs have taken over our foreign policy. Let THEM tell Mr. Accad that his congregation in Lebanon is all just supposed to put themselves on the altar so that they might be wisked up into heaven sometime sooner than later. This is INSANE and chilling to the bone. Our government has always REGRETTABLY endorsed Israel since the very first day Israel declared itself a nation. To support them now in the genocide they are perpetrating in order to be "raptured" is EVIL!!!!!
I don't quite agree with the "Rapture / Holy War" theory. I beleive that the current tragic events in Lebanon and Palestine are just a mindless repetition of events that have been happening since the the days of Harry Truman and David Ben-Gurion. "Rapturous" Christians refused to even vote until Reagan in the eighties, on the grounds that the only politician they would support would be God, or failing that, Jesus. Whatever rapture people believe about forthcoming events in Megiddo, George W. Bush is merely repeating the mistakes of less fundamentalist US administrations, and Ehud Olmert is repeating Israeli mistakes in Lebanon too.
Paul,
I agree that the same mistakes are being repeated and also note that these rapturists were not politically active in the voting process until late into the process of the US supporting Israel. BUT, since they have become active there has been a double whammy on politics here in the US. Not only are they seeking to influence domestic politics but they are also VERY much into tweeking foreign policy albeit from a religious angle. There are quite a few evangelical Zionist Christian political entities here in the States whose soul purpose is to support Israel because of "end-times" prophesy. Quickly, Israel must be supported in order to rebuild Soloman's Temple (no the Temple Mount just is not the answer for these people) so that Jesus is able to make his second coming. It's these people who have thrown their huge political clout through the mega-churches behind the neocon agenda, the two sharing the same goals. Check out the YouTube offering above and also check this out, http://www.jhm.org// Three weeks ago, this minister, John Hagee, along with other rapturist minded evangelical ministers hosted the Washington/Israel summit. This was a "meeting of the minds" of politicians and religious people, Christian evangelicals, Zionist, politicians, celebreties, lobbyists, you name it, 3000 in total attendance. If you cross-reference PNAC, Gary Bauer, that omnipresent weasel, is one of the key players in all the different organizations as well as several others. So while the US has always supported Israel, Christian Zionists have had a LONG STANDING role in this support and it is due souly to religious convictions concerning Israel's so-called status as God's chosen people and their role in Christ's second coming. The funny thing about it is that many Zionists have been reluctant to accept this support due to the evangelizing efforts of the fundamentalist Christians. Note on the YouTube offering, the Israeli ambassador to the US is asked about the fact that in order for Christ to come again, large numbers of Jews must convert to Christianity. I love how he gets past this technicality, he says, "Well, when Jesus comes again, we will ask him if this is his first or second coming. Depending on his answer this will tell us if we should convert". I LOL when I heard this convenient manipulative answer. I do agree they are all using each other for their own purposes, but the fact that the evangelicals are asserting their powers politically and that our foreign policy is being influenced by these rapturists is quite a frightening development. After all, there's nothing better than a little "self-fulfilled prophesy" to make these people smile for the day!! :( As an American who is completely for separation of church and state, simply put, a Constitutionally minded American, there is simply nothing more chilling to me than to think our country is becoming a sort of de-facto theocracy. This is NOT allowed per our laws, yet it is happening anyway, just as it is happening in many countries in the Islamic world. The only difference is that these people over here want the world to end!!
SCAREY with all big bold capital letters. If you want to have a little nightmare inducing reading material, check out the "Left Behind" series by Tim Le Haye http://www.leftbehind.com/. Theirs is a Holy War, make no mistake about it.
Robin,
Believe me, I know all of this, and I agree entirely when you describe it as a "frightening development" in several different areas. I am not putting forward an "I'm right You're wrong" argument. Rather, I am musing on whether the old school of supposedly "pragmatic" butchery in US foreign policy as exemplified by Kissinger, and the newer school of neoconservative madmen (who Kissinger hates incidentally) has really made alot of difference to what Israelis refer to as "facts on the ground" in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. In short, thousands of innocent people were slaughtered then, and thousands of innocent people are being slaughtered now!
I say "neoconservatives" as they are the people who have courted and indulged the funda-mentalist "Christian" movements within far-right Republicanism, though they are not the same things. Also, I put "Christian" in quotes as I believe that they are about as "Christian" as Beelzebub himself! Basically, my thesis is that I'm not sure if these Armageddonists have "tweaked" US policy towards Israel to any significant degree, not because they can't, but because there isn't really alot to tweak anyway. They have a different (and very frightening) perspective on these matters for sure, but Israel's policy and the US's complete indulgence of it hasn't changed one iota IMHO.
As for George W. although he has supposedly been "born again", I am not completely sure as to his level of sincerity in this. I am also not sure if he really believes in the book of Revelations as literal truth, his brain is so weak that he probably doesn't even remember what's in there anyway. In fact he is so stupid that it probably hasn't even registered with him that the Israelis have persecuted Christians, as well as Muslims in Palestine.
But after all that, you do make a very good point, they hold a balance of power, they have had influence in many areas, and we should watch them like a hawks!
Paul,
Read these articles:
Evangelical Christians, Our New Allies:
http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict/Articles/Leibler-2003-08-15.asp
"Strange End Times Beliefs"
http://www.rense.com/general72/ssome.htm
"Evangelical Christians Swarm the US Capital in support of Israel"
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=151232
"Apocalypse Soon"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,973320,00.html
"Pro Israeli Evangelical Groups say Divestment is Anti-Semitic"
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2005/05572.htm
This one gives you a very good description of how these "Beezelbub" worshipers (I really LOL when I saw that one :))
ARE making US foreign policy concerning Israel: "Will Fundamentalist Christians and Jews Ignite the Apocalypse"
http://www.natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives/101102/101102a.htm
While I definitely agree that US policy has not changed that much in that we totally support Israel no matter what they do, the current situation takes this policy to all new levels never seen before. Interestingly, the Southern Baptist Convention has yet to issue an official statement precisely due to the fact that Lebanon has such a high Christian population. The Evangelical umbrella group also has not made an official statement. This has NOT stopped the rabid individuals such as Jerry Fallwell, Hagee, Pat Robertson and a host of others from speaking out. I am in COMPLETE agreement as to who they worship, ie, no God that I'm aware of who is merciful. But believe me, looking at it from abroad you might just think they are a "quirk" and something to disdain. There are approximately 75 million self-avowed Evangelical Christians in the US. Of these, a growing large number are of the strictly fundamentalist ilk. There are even quite a few in the US Senate and House of Representatives who ARE influencing foreign policy with a very large dose of religion mixed in. Several of these are also prominant members of US unltra-conservative, neo-con think tanks who also greatly influence foreign policy. I agree, Bush is a completely empty-headed opportunist, but it's those behind him wielding the policy who are dangerous. We better be watching them like hawks, because these people are no simple field mice!!
For the political aspect of this equation:
"The Influence of the Christian Right on US Middle East Policy"
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/560
"The Godly Must be Crazy" http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2004/10/27/scherer-christian/
This one points out that
"We are not talking about a handful of fringe lawmakers who hold or are beholden to these beliefs. The 231 legislators (all but five of them Republicans) who received an average 80 percent approval rating or higher from the leading religious-right organizations make up more than 40 percent of the U.S. Congress. (The only Democrat to score 100 percent with the Christian Coalition was Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who earlier this year quoted from the Book of Amos on the Senate floor: "The days will come, sayeth the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread or of thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord!") These politicians include some of the most powerful figures in the U.S. government, as well as key environmental decision makers: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Republican Conference Chair Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), Senate Republican Policy Chair Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, and quite possibly President Bush. (Earlier this month, a cover story by Ron Suskind in The New York Times Magazine described how Bush's faith-based governance has led to, among other things, a disastrous "crusade" in the Middle East and has laid the groundwork for "a battle between modernists and fundamentalists, pragmatists and true believers, reason and religion."
I'd say we need some B-52 style vultures rather than simple hawks in order to take on these multiplying less than innocent field mice. This is NOT a phenomenon to just "watch". This is a dangerously growing MENACE to peace in the world as we know it.
Menace to what peace Robin? … we've never had any anyway! You're right though, what that is very scary stuff indeed. However, despite all that influence and suppport, the Republicans still have to cheat to win elections, so there's hope yet!-)
I have to finish this message quickly, as I have to go, but I will have a good look at those links (thanks). I read the Guardian one when it came out originally I think. They like printing scary stories about the US!
Paul,
You are correct in your first question to me, absolutely correct. Somewhere in the deepest part of my soul I just do not comprehend.
Call me naive, but when I see these grave injustices, this horrendous situation being attributed to "God" who wants it this way because he decided from the beginning there could be no peace until one group of people prevailed over their neighbors, it seems to me it has absolutely no basis in the peace I believe so deeply the creator of all mankind wished for us. The "peace as we know it" was the peace for all mankind which I was referring to, not what we have when there is simply a lull in outright hostilities yet millions live under the occupation and brutality of a state which deems itself above all others. The peace that our creator, the God of mercy and goodness, meant for all his children. The peace that I as a Christian (Catholic) believe our creator meant for us each to seek in our own hearts towards others. The peace that is only found when each person accepts that every human being is a child of God equal, no less, no better than any other. The peace that can only be realized when one is willing to sacrifice their own claim to superiority so that mankind can truly reflect the desire for peace of our creator. That was the "peace as we know it" that I was referring to.
Robin,
Thankyou for your last post, and sorry for my late response to it. Sadly, my father is dying at the moment, so I have been attending to him for the last few days.
Robin, if you are naive, then all true Christians are, as your words "the peace that I as a Christian believe our creator meant for us each to seek in our own hearts towards others" are those of a beleiver in the "new" covenant with God, symbolised in the "blood" ritual of the eating of bread and wine at the last supper, and realised with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. However, it is the "old" covenant with Abraham that keeps getting dragged into this war. A covenant which granted Abraham the old land of Canaan (which encompassed land in what is now Israel / Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan) if he and his people lived by God's law(s). This covenant involved severe punishments when transgressed …
"You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother, and each man to his neighbour. Behold, I am proclaiming a release to you, … to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts—the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf and I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. And their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth." (From the book of Jeremiah).
I think you will agree that this is hardly "peace"! However, your comments cut right to the quick of this dispute, and also drag us into a highly complex theological debate, though I am pretty sure that this wasn't your intention!-) A Christian believes that this covenant was replaced by the newer covenant mentioned above, whereas in Judaic theology, the old one still stands.
Incidentally, did you know that the Hebrews were never a "nation"? Canaan was a nation, and the Hebrews were the section of the Cannanite nation who were kicked out of their homes and banished to the Judean desert by the Egyptians when they occupied. Hence, somewhat ironically in my opinion, they were much like the Palestinian refugees of today!
Going back to the rapturists and the book of Revelation, I am not sure that this should be a part of the New Testament at all, I beleive that the "John" (of Patmos) who wrote it was not the apostolic John who wrote one of the Gospels, and that it is not representative of any "true" Christianity.
Finally, relating to our discussion, I have some quotes which you may find of interest …
"Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stabliseth a city by iniquity". Habbakuk 2:12
"…And now a word to the Jews in Palestine. I have no doubt that they are going about it in the wrong way. The Palestine of the Biblical conception is not a geographical tract. It is in their hearts. But if they must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart."
M.K.Gandhi 1938.
Paul,
You are right, I didn't mean to invoke a theological debate because it is theological debates which lead to disagreements and at their worst lead to wars. I may be Catholic but I am also a citizen of the world at large who looks around and sees strife between fundamentalists of all the great religions. Each fundamentalist of whatever ilk believes that their's is the only true path to God. Well, common sense tells me that maybe they are ALL wrong and perhaps there are many paths to God and that the details are the stumbling block. Perhaps some in the Catholic Church might deem me a heretic, but when I see peaceful human beings worshipping in different manners than myself, who am I to say I am right and they are wrong? I do not care one iota what one believes religiously as long as they are promoting a peaceful coexistance on this earth. I have utter respect and acceptance of people of all faiths and have no desire whatsoever to convert them to my own religion. On a personal level, this is also what I experienced towards myself from my former Muslim inlaws and every single one of my Muslim friends. Not a single one of them tried to convert me to Islam, probably because Islam itself frowns upon wishy-washy people and does not seek to evangelize as do those of most in the Christian faith. Islam also accepts those of the other two religions of the book, Jews and Christians (yes I know all about dhimis and such) This view is NOT the view of fundamentalist Christians believing in the "end-times" scenario and CERTAINLY not the view of fundamentalist Jews who accept nothing after their own belief. I think about it alot, I think it is because they are all connected yet different that causes so many problems. But it doesn't have to be this way. Religion SHOULD be a conviction kept personal and used as a means to lead our daily lives, NOT a competition for land or an e-ticket to heaven. So maybe although my above statement might have seemed completely Christian I was trying to step outside that which I hold personally to an acceptance of those who worship differently (of all faiths) in the belief that we are all the children of one common creator. I hope that makes more sense.
On that note, I reach out to those of all faiths seeking peace in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon in a prayer for peace and justice for all those suffering.
Paul,
I am sorry I did not address your current personal situation. I will hold you and your father in my prayers for mercy. So many on this earth are suffering their daily sufferings in addition to those suffering extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes we forget that we all have our personal tragedies. Just as so many dismiss the personal tragedies of each and every individual suffering in war. Let us all reach out to each other in the love of our common creator seeking peace and mercy for all. Yes the fighting is still going on, but on individual basises we can each one of us turn to our faiths for strenghth and hope. In turn, we must each do all we can do to bring this madness to an end. Stay strong Lebanon, stay strong Palestine, steadfast in your fight to survive. And please know, there are MANY Americans praying for your survival against this onslought. Just this week alone I spoke to three ministers of different Christian faiths who condemn Israel's actions. These evangelical end-timers are NOT the voice of all of America and they WILL go down in a blaze and straight to Hades for wishing this upon you.
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Ù? اÙ?Ø°Ù?ب اÙ?Ù?صÙÙ? – Ù?ØاÙ?Ù?Ø© تصÙ?Ù?رÙ?ة«Do Not Disturb»Times, they are a changinâ??Paris: Who is Tony Blair?jon stewart – is israel’s response disproportionate?Evangelical Blindness on LebanonArundhati Roy on the Palestinian / Israeli ConflictInternational Criminal Tribunal for Israel
Ù? اÙ?Ø°Ù?ب اÙ?Ù?صÙÙ? – Ù?ØاÙ?Ù?Ø© تصÙ?Ù?رÙ?ة«Do Not Disturb»Times, they are a changinâ??Paris: Who is Tony Blair?jon stewart – is israel’s response disproportionate?Evangelical Blindness on LebanonArundhati Roy on the Palestinian / Israeli ConflictInternational Criminal Tribunal for Israel
s Night with tears and deep empathy, having Jewish relatives on my Swiss mother’s side who fled Germany to Switzerland during the period of the rise of Nazism, being an Arab Christian with Lebanese paternal ancestry, I have more Semitic Read the rest
Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon
Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon On August 5th, 2006, from Sabbah's Blog
Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon Arundhati Roy on the Palestinian / Israeli Conflict International Criminal Tribunal for Israel Better to Tell Truth Than Parrot Propaganda ××?×?×? ש×?×¢×? ×?ק×?×?×? ש×? ש×?×?× ×¨×?×?×