| Subject: Re: Wow, this is an eye opener. |
Author:
melissa
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Date Posted: 10:05:17 08/01/02 Thu
In reply to:
BRI
's message, "A WARNING FOR CHRISTIANS!!" on 21:17:03 06/27/02 Thu
>My fellow Christians, I have been compelled by the
>Holy Spirit to write to as many as possible to warn
>them against supporting the persecution of our
>brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. We are taught
>to love all, and yet today there is a great evilness
>in the world that seduces the innocent into
>unwittingly supporting the persecution of those in
>Christ in Israel. I will list two sources here and an
>excerpt that reveal that many are blindly allowing the
>persecution of our brethren in the mistaken belief
>that this what our Father in heaven commands. Please
>read the material carefully and then remember that
>God's children are those who do his will and know
>Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The following letter
>is from a Christian evangelist who spent a deal of
>time in the M.E. Please read what she had to say very
>carefully:
>Christianity and the Middle East
>
>An Open Letter to Fundamentalist Ministers From a
>Member of a Christian Fundamentalist Church
>
>By Kathleen Banks
>
>July/August 1998, pages 82, 95
>
>To ministers and leaders of the Evangelical or
>Fundamentalist congregations who support the State of
>Israel in its expansionist policies:
>
>I am a member of a fundamentalist or evangelical
>church. Therefore, for some time I have been much
>troubled upon seeing your names listed in The New York
>Times (4/18/97 edition), or The Washington Post
>(1/22/98 edition) along with a number of other
>prominent fundamentalist ministers who are “joining
>together to support our Jewish brethren and the State
>of Israel.”
>
>The articles indicated that your support for Mr.
>Netanyahu and/or expansionist Israeli leaders and
>governments is based on your interpretation of
>Revelation 7:3-8 and various verses from the Old
>Testament. I understand that you interpret these
>verses to mean that when the second coming of Christ
>is about to occur, the Jews on this earth will again
>possess all of the lands which were once theirs in the
>Old Testament.
>
>These verses from the Old Testament you interpret to
>mean that God has a covenant with all Jews because
>they are the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and
>David. (Genesis 12:17, Leviticus 26:44-45, Deuteronomy
>7:7-8, David 7: 12-16, I Kings 15:4, Psalms 89: 34-37
>and Psalms 105:8-11). In none of these verses is it
>said that this covenant is with all of the seed of
>these Jewish leaders and forefathers.
>
>The Christians and Muslims who are presently living in
>Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza may be the seed of
>these Old Testament Jewish leaders as readily as the
>Jews who are presently living there, many of whom are
>immigrants from elsewhere. Many of the disciples
>themselves were originally Jews who lived in these
>areas. Would you not expect many of their “seed” to be
>there still?
>
>Mr. Netanyahu and his government continue to build
>Jewish settlements on land taken by force and terror
>from the Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. He
>and his government continue to seal off or blow up the
>homes of families in which one member is suspected of
>participation in any violent acts.
>
>Suspected Christians and Muslims are deported or
>imprisoned for years without trial and are tortured
>while in prison. Christian and Muslim families are
>never given permits to enlarge their own homes no
>matter how many children they may have.
>
>Taxes are exceedingly higher for Arab citizens than
>those for Jewish citizens, so high as to drive many
>Christians and Muslims out of business and/or their
>homes. Punishments for the killing of Christians and
>Muslims are usually so minor as to imply that their
>lives are worth nothing.
>
>It has been indicated also that you base your support
>of Israel’s apartheid governments on your
>interpretation of what appear to be signs in today’s
>world that you think indicate the time for Christ’s
>second coming is near.
>
>Christian villages have been taken over by terrorist
>tactics.
>
>In the light of all the Christian as well as Muslim
>villages that have been taken over by means of the
>very terrorist tactics that Mr. Netanyahu and his
>government now decry on the part of the Palestinian
>extremists, and in view of the apartheid treatment of
>both Christian and Muslim citizens in the areas that
>are controlled by the Israeli government, would it not
>be more in keeping with the teaching of Christ to
>consider more carefully the words of Christ in Acts
>1:6 and 7:
>
>“When they therefore were come together, they asked of
>him, saying Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again
>the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is
>not for you to know the times or the seasons, which
>the Father hath put in his own power.”
>
>Time and time again throughout history, groups of
>Christians thought they had determined the time and
>the season by using the signs that are given in the
>New Testament, but each time they were made to look
>foolish when these words of Christ proved to be true.
>
>We are told that part of your support for Mr.
>Netanyahu and his “greater Israel” government is based
>on Genesis 12:3 where God said to Abraham, “I will
>bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth
>thee...” God is speaking to Abraham, not to all of his
>descendants. In the words that follow, “and in thee
>shall all families of the earth be blessed,” surely
>these words refer to the coming of Christ out of the
>seed of Abraham, not to those Jews who rejected Christ
>then and now, and continue to persecute Christ through
>persecuting his followers.
>
>“Who Are My Brethren?”
>
>In Matt. 12:48-50, Mark 3:33-35 and Luke 8:21, Christ
>(the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David) stated
>who His seed are when he said, “Who is my mother? And
>who are my brethren? And He stretched forth His hand
>toward His disciples, and said, Behold my mother and
>my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my
>Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and
>sister and mother.”
>
>Many fundamentalist Christians are following the lead
>of Christian ministers who are giving support to those
>very people who best fit the description of the
>antichrist. I am not speaking of those Jews who truly
>desire peace with justice in Israel, the West Bank and
>Gaza, many of whom place themselves in great jeopardy
>by speaking out or writing books to expose the
>insidious pressures and organized power used as well
>as the horrible injustice and cruelty practiced by the
>Zionists in order to obtain their objective of a
>greater Israel. I am speaking of the Orthodox,
>right-wing, hawkish Jews, many of whom look upon
>Christians and Muslims as subhuman and not worthy of
>human treatment.
>
>In Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Dr. Israel Shahak,
>himself a Jew, quotes this special curse against
>Christians from the daily prayer book used by many
>Orthodox Jews in Israel: “And may the apostates have
>no hope, and all the Christians perish instantly”
>(page 92). On page 93 Dr. Shahak says that a devout
>Jew must utter a curse when passing near a Gentile
>cemetery, and upon seeing a dwelling inhabited by
>people other than Jews must ask God to destroy it.
>
>The Israeli government, in response to the demands of
>these Orthodox Jews, bans the use of the plus sign in
>mathematics because it resembles the cross.
>
>Should not our Christian leaders consider the
>possibility that the remnant of converted Jews spoken
>of in Revelation may consist in part of the persecuted
>Christians in this area whose ancestors may well have
>been the earliest Jewish converts, or the Jews who (in
>a more Christian spirit) abhor the cruelty and
>injustice inflicted on Christians and Muslims by the
>Netanyahu government and other “greater Israel”
>motivated governments? Surely the latter are the more
>likely candidates for conversion.
>
>Would it not behoove us to walk every day as if the
>second coming were going to occur on that very day by
>simply trying to live as Christ commanded, one aspect
>of which would be to support our fellow Christians and
>give comfort to them in their suffering even as we
>forgive the persecutors? Surely Christ would not have
>us support those who persecute them? By the latter
>action is it possible that we might be endangering our
>immortal souls?
>
>Another book written by a Christian minister is Blood
>Brothers by Elias Chacour, whose Christian village in
>Palestine was demolished by Israeli soldiers. Pastor
>Chacour preaches forgiveness. Still another book is
>What Price Israel? by Alfred Lilienthal, a Jew who
>served the U.S. government in the Middle East during
>and after World War II.
>
>In the report by the U.N. Committee Against Torture
>can be found the verification of the apartheid
>treatment of Christians and Muslims in Israeli
>occupied territories. In the May 9, 1997 issue of The
>New York Times the following quote serves to
>substantiate my statement regarding the use of torture
>by the Israeli government or the Shin Bet with the
>acquiescence of the Israeli government: “According to
>Israeli human rights organizations, in recent years
>about 5,000 Palestinians have been subjected to
>violence in detention annually.” Also the following:
>“Human rights groups claim that 80 percent of the
>Palestinians who are tortured are never indicted for a
>crime.”
>
>If you are interested in verifying anything I have
>said by reading the sources from which I have quoted
>and cannot find them in your local library, they can
>be obtained from the Washington Report , P.O. Box
>53062, Washington, DC.
>
>May you be constantly filled with and governed by The
>Holy Spirit, acting in His wisdom and, as such,
>walking in His peace.
>
>cc: Dr. John Hagee (Pastor—Cornerstone Church, San
>Antonio); Pat Robertson (Chairman, the Christian
>Broadcasting Network and President, The Christian
>Coalition); Oral Roberts (Founder & Chancellor Oral
>Roberts University); Bishop Charles E. Blake
>(Pastor—West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Los
>Angeles); Pastor George Morrison (Pastor—Faith Bible
>Chapel, Arvada, CO); Dr. Jerry Falwell (Pastor—Liberty
>Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA); Ed McAteer
>(President—the Religious Roundtable); Dr. E.V. Hill
>(Pastor—Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Los
>Angeles); and Dr. David Allen Lewis
>(President—Christians United for Israel).
>
>
>
>-------------------------------------------------------
>-------------------------
>Kathleen Banks is a Virginia-born teacher who retired
>in 1985 after teaching in both the United States and
>the Middle East.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
>-----
>Here is a letter endorsed by several Christian
>ministers teaching in the Holy Land:
>http://www.salam.org/policy/falwell.html
>Letter to Rev. Jerry Falwell
>February 1, 1998
>
>The Reverend Dr. Jerry Falwell
>Liberty University
>Lynchburg, Virginia
>
>Dear Rev. Falwell,
>
>We, Palestinian evangelical pastors serving among the
>Palestinian evangelical Christian communities in the
>Holy Land, write to express our concerns regarding
>statements that you made in January 1998.
>
>On page four of the International Herald Tribune,
>January 22, 1998, under the title: Christian Right
>Backs Israel, the Herald wrote; "Mr. Falwell has said
>that he and several leaders of the Southern Baptist
>Convention told Mr. Netanyahu that they would mobilize
>evangelical churches to oppose steps to give up any
>more territory to the Palestinians, The New York Times
>Reported."
>
>We, your brothers and sisters in Christ, prayerfully
>and in the spirit of love, appeal to you to reexamine
>your positions regarding Israeli policies in
>Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
>
>We, who live and serve among Palestinians, grasp the
>harmful effects of denying over 3 million Palestinians
>living in the Holy Land and another three million
>Palestinian refugees who are in exile, the right to
>live in their homeland, the right to freedom and the
>right to statehood. This denial has been the very
>cause of much blood shed and suffering in the last
>five decades.
>
>Please understand that our concern for justice for the
>Palestinians must not be interpreted as a rejection
>for Jews to live in security and peace in Israel. As
>concerned evangelicals, we are called on to approach
>these complicated issues with Christian compassion for
>both Israelis and Palestinians and to endorse only a
>settlement that addresses the legitimate rights and
>aspirations of both parties. We also condemn all acts
>of terrorism and aggression regardless whether
>Palestinians or Israelis are responsible for such acts.
>
>Let us assure you, Reverend, that your statements are
>hindering the cause of Christ here in the Holy Land,
>throughout the Arab World (the home of about 250
>million people), and throughout the Islamic world
>(over one billion people). Our task of sharing the
>love of Christ in this region is becoming increasingly
>difficult as our brothers and sisters in the West
>openly express sentiments and endorse policies that
>produce greater injustice and aggression against
>Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
>
>Your call on evangelical leaders to write to President
>Clinton to express opposition to the current peace
>process, is disheartening to all who seek peace and
>justice. In the absence of a viable peace process,
>there will be renewed rounds of violence and the
>possibility of an all out war. By lobbying against any
>further Israeli troop withdrawals from the West Bank,
>you are endorsing the theft of Palestinian lands and
>adopting the dangerous position of Israeli extremists.
>To continue to carry out such excessive positions will
>sooner or later bring major disasters to all Israelis
>and Palestinians.
>
>As evangelical pastors, teachers and theologians we
>understand that your positions on these issues may be
>motivated by your understanding of Biblical
>prophecies. We also realize, however, that while
>Christians differ as to the interpretation of Biblical
>prophecies, we all agree with the following Biblical
>mandates:
>
>We are called to love all God's creation: "For God so
>loved the world ..." John 3;16. We believe that this
>love of God also embraces the Palestinian people, both
>Muslims and Christians. No man or woman can truly
>claim to love the Palestinian people, while at the
>same time, he or she uses every opportunity available
>to promote injustice against them. God's love cannot
>be expressed to Palestinians by supporting policies
>that result in their eviction from their ancestral
>homelands or by keeping Palestinian refugees stranded
>in refugee camps.
>We are called to be peacemakers: "Blessed are the
>peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of
>God" Matthew 5:9. Your statements, Rev. Falwell,
>indicate that you have a greater passion to see
>Biblical prophecy come to fulfillment than to see
>peace and righteousness reign in this land.
>We are called to seek justice. "He has showed you, O
>man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of
>you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk
>humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
>Jesus Christ, after whom we model our faith and
>action, taught his contemporaries that justice and
>mercy are the most important aspects of the law.
>
>Addressing religious leader Jesus declared:
>
>"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
>hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint,
>dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more
>important matters of the law--justice, mercy and
>faithfulness. You should have practised the latter,
>without neglecting the former." Matthew 23:23
>
>Finally, Reverend, we pastors and leaders of most
>evangelical churches in Jerusalem and the West Bank
>serving among the Palestinians, wish to extend to you
>an invitation to visit us in the Holy Land. Come and
>be our honoured guest. We desire for you to travel
>with us down a modern-day Jericho Road.
>
>We want you to discover for yourself the true victims
>of this conflict. We wish for you to draw near enough
>to hear the cry of the oppressed and see with your
>eyes the wounds of those who are crushed. We pray that
>you will not decide to walk by on the other side.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Reverend Musa Abu Ali Bible Baptist Church, Beit Hanina
>Reverend Alex Awad East Jerusalem Baptist Church,
>Jerusalem
>Reverend George Awad Bible Presbyterian Church,
>Bethlehem
>Reverend Bassam Bannoura Shepherd Field Baptist
>Church,Beit Sahour
>Reverend Atallah Esawi Church of God, Aboud
>Reverend Naju Issa Bible Baptist, Jericho
>Reverend Munir Kakish Pentecostal Church, Ramallah
>Reverend Ibrahim Mseeh Local Baptist, Ramallah
>Reverend Botrus Mualem Church of God, Beit Jala
>Reverend Magdi Anwar Missionary Alliance Church,
>Jerusalem
>Reverend Nizar Tuma Nazarene Church, Jerusalem
>Reverend Nihad Salman Church of God, Bethlehem
>
>
>May we all live in Godly peace,
>Bri
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