Ryan,
Stephan is right on; we need to treat Israel as any other nation, no better, no less.
Jesse

I hope I'm not misunderstood by anyone by always bringing up the subject of Israel. To me it's not all about our country's political relationship with Israel. The nation of Israel is the effect of Christian Zionism and to deal with this whole issue we must understand the cause.

The core of the issue is what Sizer mentions in his opening statement and this is why this issue is probably THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT IN CHRISTIANITY, "...it is not an understatement to say that what is at stake is our understanding of the gospel, the centrality of the cross, the role of the church, and the nature of our missionary mandate. If we don't see Jesus in the Hebrew scriptures, we're not reading them correctly. This is the theological foundation of this movement, it's scary, it's dangerous, it's pessimistic, it's apocalyptic, and we need to refute it."

We are united on this. Great thoughts. One of the most tragic tenets of dispensationalism runs in diametric opposition to the Scriptures and is the scourge of modern Christianity.

I love the Israelis. But I love the Palestinians and my mail carrier. They are all in desperate need for Christ and should never be singled out according to their heritage. According to Brother Andrew, a man who has endured grave danger due ot his unfailing dedication to the proliferation of the Gospel, is realizing the negative impact of Christian Zionism as it is manifested behind the Muslim curtain.

How long will we continue in our failure to recognize that "in Christ" there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free?

Some time back I wrote a blog article entitled, "Are Arabs and Jews Destined for Eternal Enmity?". Based upon the writings of Lindsey, LaHaye and Hagee, they will in fact live to the death.

Christian Zionism must be opposed! Gary Bauer has called me an anti-Semite simply because I don't believe the New Covenant favors a particular genetic predisposition. He says that I am "preaching replacement theology". In fact that's exactly what he's extolling, believing that his regathering efforts will "soon" result in the discarding of the Church through rapture (another myth) as it becomes clear that Israel is the true apple of God's eye. Yet what does Gary believe is wondrous outcome of his effort? 66% of the Jews will be massacred in the final bloodbath. With compassion like that who needs enemies!

I don't believe we (the Church) "replaced" Israel. Every one who names the name of Christ (Jews & Arabs) IS the Israel of God. We are one "in Christ" and we are all children of Abraham. Jew, Arab, African...

Jesse, bless you and Ryan for your efforts to spread the truth of God's Word.

Blessings,
Chuck <><

Excellent points Chuck. Adding to what you said about Gary Bauer's self-contradicting "replacement theology" accusation, I like what Irving Wesley Hall said in the latest video uploaded by alternatefocus.org, "Onward Christian Zionists." He says towards the end, "The Christian Zionists see the Jewish Zionists as sacrificial lambs, while the Jewish Zionists see the Christian Zionists as useful idiots!"

Isn't it also funny how the label "anti-Semitic" ALWAYS comes up when these things are discussed? Sizer says in this video that it is time that we dealt with "the elephant in the room" of anti-Semitism and move on, or else these people will lead us into another major conflict with Iran. I think Bishop Richard Williamson deals with this rather effectively, "Anti-Semitism can only be bad if it is against the truth. But if something is true, it can't be bad. I am not interested in the word anti-Semitism."

Once we decide to take the red pill to learn the truth, we'll be shocked to see how far down the rabbit-hole goes. What Bauer and Christian Zionists offer is the blue pill to keep things carrying on as they are; they need the support of the millions of Christians in America to continue their project in the Middle East. They need to keep people hooked on the emotional and experiential.
When religion becomes mainly experiential, when theological content is stripped away, it can serve as a powerful and dangerous vehicle for political ideology.
All this red/blue pill imagery is from the movie The Matix, of course. As Neo reaches for the red pill Morpheus warns Neo "Remember, all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

I enjoyed reading your blog post, Chuck, lets continue to keep passing out those red pills, brother!

Thanks Chuck! I didn't know about you and Gary Bauer. What's the story behind this, do you have a link?
Talk to you later Chuck!
Jesse