Ryan,

Thank you for posting on this matter. I too have been watching the unfolding events in the Gaza Strip for the last few weeks and my heart breaks for the innocent people who have been killed on both sides of the conflict. I have actually heard of Rachel Corrie and remember when she was murdered in 2003; I was studying at Concordia University at the time and one of the students in an art class I was taking made a collage in honor of her sacrifice.

I was actually planning to bring this matter up on Thursday and ask that we pray about it, as I knew you would have an interest in it. I would like to suggest that all of us at TrailBlazer pray for both the Palestinian and Israeli people, asking that God would bring a swift, just, and lasting peace to the land that is the cradle of our Christian faith. I pray that Christians throughout the world become sensitive to the unspeakable suffering that has resulted from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that they would devote themselves to praying "for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6), and for all of those who live in the region surrounding this sacred city - Israeli and Palestinian alike.

Amen, brother. I'll join you in that prayer for peace. At this point, I feel that peace will only come when Americans realize that Israel doesn't want peace. As of January 2, 434 Palestinians have been killed and wounded almost 2300 more, while 4 Israelis have been killed. The Palestinians don't have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do all because of US foreign aid. Peace will not come in this region without first addressing the occupying Zionist regime that also has a very strong influence in this country. For many Christians, that will be hard to do since they have been told that modern Israel is biblical prophecy being fulfilled and that we should expect this kind of violence as the world comes to an end. This is what really troubles me... that Christians have been preconditioned to accept this, or welcome it rather, as a sign of the coming rapture. Furthermore, they are preconditioned to unconditionally support Israel because God will "bless those that bless thee and curse those that curse thee." Therefore their [Christian Zionists] hands are tied against speaking out against the atrocities of the Jews that seem to be still following Old-Covenant Talmudic traditions:

“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are to possess and casts out the many peoples living there, you shall then slaughter them all and utterly destroy them…You shall make no agreements with them nor show them any mercy…You shall destroy their altars, break down their images, cut down their groves and burn their graven images with fire. For you are a holy people unto the LORD thy God and He has chosen you to be a special people above all others upon the face of the earth…” (Deuteronomy, 7:1-8)

My prayer is also that if God plans to use the Emerging Church (through a re-examination of doctrinal traditions that has brought us to this conflict) we may be ready to help open the eyes of unconditional supporters of Israel so that peace is one day possible in Palestine. Amen.

Jesse I guess the real question here is who are the instigators in this situation? Is it Hamas' fault because they brought this on themselves? I think there is much that we don't hear about this situation on the news that we need to learn about before we can start pointing fingers. The IDF has been killing wonderful Palestinian Christians for years, Jesse.

That's 3 million Palestinians including the West Bank. 1.4 million in Gaza.

I'm glad you've brought out the fact that there are many Palestinian Christians, Ryan, which is something that we often miss. It's a mistake to equate Palestinian nationality with Islamic extremism. I also agree that the United States - and the Christian community - can do more to advocate for peace in the region.

I have actually been thinking about holding a 'prayer vigil' event to encourage Christians in our area to begin praying for peace in the Middle East. We could invite believers from other congregations and have a small day of prayer at a local park or some other venue. Would you guys be game for something like this?

How does a prayer vigil work? I might consider that, used to think that prayer vigil were for liberal wackjobs.
Ryan, do you have evidence that Israel is holding 3 million Palestinians captive?

A prayer vigil, as I understand the term, is simply a period of time in which a group of Christians agree to pray for a specific cause or purpose, which usually involves gathering together at a particular location (although a specific gathering is not always necessary). As far as I know, prayer vigils are not limited to liberal churches; I spent two years at a conservative Lutheran college (Missouri Synod) and we held a few prayer vigils for different reasons, such as the 2004 presidential elections. Some conservative churches might also have prayer vigils for the national day of prayer, pray around the flagpole day, etc. Basically, it's just a group commitment to act together as 'prayer warriors' regarding a particular issue or situation that needs to be covered in prayer.

That sounds like a neat idea Michael. I would suggest somewhere indoors because its kind of cold outside. I would be surprised though if we could find many people that will give a hoot though.

The population and demographics of the area are pretty easy to find. You can find it on Wikipedia or any other government website. As if they believe they are being held captive or not I'll let them speak for themselves. For starters, I'd say the very large wall that contains them should cause a wee bit of grief.

I'll have to do more research on how Israel treats it's Palestinian neighbors.

I would encourage everyone interested in this subject to please read this article:

http://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=2770

Corresponding YouTube Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjfm6pEw84

From the article by Charles Carlson, here are 5 points that I would love to share:

1. Hamas is the lawfully elected government of Gaza and the West Bank as well. It still has the respect of the people. It not only has the right to lead but has the responsibility, which Hamas recognizes.

2. Israeli and American officials lie about Hamas routinely, it’s strictly business to lie, and they are not ashamed when they are caught. A recent official Israeli statement claimed "Hamas came to power in a bloody coup." In fact, the Palestinian election was supervised and certified to be fair and free by an international team lead by a former US President, James Earle Carter.

3. Gazans do not train their children to be suicide bombers anymore than Americans do; "Human Bombs" are the product of lost dreams and the frustrations of 40 years of occupation. Some children who grow up without hope become dangerous adults. Anyone who goes to Gaza, as I did, will learn they are not trained to hate us, nor to carry bombs. They learn to hate by being bombed.

4. Gaza children are considered a blessing. Most families have lots of them and half the population is sixteen or under. As an example, abortion is practically unknown in Gaza; but in Israel it is a government provided utility. It is fair to say the Gazans practice a life culture; Israelis practice a death culture.

5. Gazans co-exist side by side, race and religion, Muslim and Christian, church beside mosque. Their Children often go to the same school, Hamas and Muslim kids with Catholic, Orthodox, and a few Baptists, until Israel bombs the school with US weapons. I have seen it and talked to the parents. A massive USA/Israeli propaganda campaign has the objective of convincing Christians that Muslims hate them.

Also for another list of five, here is an article titled "Top 5 lies about Israel's assault on Gaza"

http://palestinechronicle.com/

Great points Ryan! I'll have to study the other side to officially believe lock step what your saying. I'll have to study more on Hamas and it's government.

The Gaza Baptist Church still stands:

http://www.stephensizer.com/2009/01/the-christians-of-gaza/

Is anyone interested in the statistics of this conflict? This will blow your mind...

http://ifamericansonlyknew.org/

Michael--I don't think I could hold hands and be quiet long enough for a 'prayer vigil.' I AM OUTRAGED ABOUT THIS! I'm ready to pick up a sign and start marching up and down main street fer cryin' out loud. You guys know me as a calm easy going fellow, but this issue has lit a fire in my belly and I want the truth to be heard. I see now that Israel is now arrogantly claiming a victory in the PR war:

http://www.thejc.com/articles/israel-claims-success-pr-war

this makes me want to scream!!!

I guess if I was watching FOX news right now I wouldn't be so pissed off but I don't have satellite hooked up yet. I not only choose to get my news from the internet but it is also a necessity right now. I just read a story about a man who pulled his wife and 3 children's corpses out of the rubble of his home. I understand now Israel is using heavy artillery on Gaza... one of the most densely populated places on earth. If this is not evil I don't know what is. I guess the reason I am so outraged about this is because I used to be what I would consider today, an actively-passive "Christian Zionist." You know the kind. You guys have only known me for a short while but I used to hold to the views that I am now actively speaking out against! I have seen both sides of the coin. Discovering that the theology and politics that I once adhered to was behind ALL OF THIS was like a man finally getting that strange lump under his arm looked at by a physician and upon examination discovering that it was malignant. When our economy is going down the tube right now and we're still pumping something like $8 million dollars a day into that murderous country, I don't know whether to cry or scream. If Americans only knew...

Ryan please post more on this topic either here or on Will Not Delay.