Netanyahu/Obama Christian Zionism and the Holy Land

With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the USA and meeting with President Obama this week there is renewed hope of a two state solution in the Holy Land. As talks go forward it is important that all sides are fairly represented. This includes the Christian congregations who have been in the Holy Land for two thousand years especially the Palestinian Christians.
There are "Christian" forces at work in the United States and the world that will skew the negotiations if they can for the sake of a heretical worldview known as Christian Zionism.

The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism

Posted On : August 29, 2006 2:20 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
Related Categories: Middle East

Statement by the Patriarch and Local Heads of Churches In Jerusalem

'Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.' (Matthew 5:9)

Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The Christian Zionist programme provides a worldview where the Gospel is identified with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In its extreme form, it laces an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to the end of history rather than living Christ's love and justice today.

We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.

We further reject the contemporary alliance of Christian Zionist leaders and organisations with elements in the governments of Israel and the United States that are presently imposing their unilateral pre-emptive borders and domination over Palestine. This inevitably leads to unending cycles of violence that undermine the security of all peoples of the Middle East and the rest of the world.

We reject the teachings of Christian Zionism that facilitate and support these policies as they advance racial exclusivity and perpetual war rather than the gospel of universal love, redemption and reconciliation taught by Jesus Christ. Rather than condemn the world to the doom of Armageddon we call upon everyone to liberate themselves from the ideologies of militarism and occupation. Instead, let them pursue the healing of the nations!

We call upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of occupation and militarism. These discriminative actions are turning Palestine into impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli settlements. The establishment of the illegal settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall on confiscated Palestinian land undermines the viability of a Palestinian state as well as peace and security in the entire region.

We call upon all Churches that remain silent, to break their silence and speak for reconciliation with justice in the Holy Land.

Therefore, we commit ourselves to the following principles as an alternative way:

We affirm that all people are created in the image of God. In turn they are called to honour the dignity of every human being and to respect their inalienable rights.

We affirm that Israelis and Palestinians are capable of living together within peace, justice and security.

We affirm that Palestinians are one people, both Muslim and Christian. We reject all attempts to subvert and fragment their unity.

We call upon all people to reject the narrow world view of Christian Zionism and other ideologies that privilege one people at the expense of others.

We are committed to non-violent resistance as the most effective means to end the illegal occupation in order to attain a just and lasting peace.

With urgency we warn that Christian Zionism and its alliances are justifying colonisation, apartheid and empire-building.

God demands that justice be done. No enduring peace, security or reconciliation is possible without the foundation of justice. The demands of justice will not disappear. The struggle for justice must be pursued diligently and persistently but non-violently.

'What does the Lord require of you, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.' (Micah 6:8)

This is where we take our stand. We stand for justice. We can do no other. Justice alone guarantees a peace that will lead to reconciliation with a life of security and prosperity for all the peoples of our Land. By standing on the side of justice, we open ourselves to the work of peace - and working for peace makes us children of God.

'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.' (2 Cor 5:19)

His Beattitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah
Latin Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Archbishop Swerios Malki Mourad,
Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal,
Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Bishop Munib Younan,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Published by the Anglican Communion Office © 2009 Anglican Consultative Council

Notable Christian Organizations working for peace in the Holy Land:
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
Churches for Middle East Peace

"My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.""

Our long national nightmare is over.
President Gerald Ford

"It's morning in America again."
President Ronald Regan

O'Biden

I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready for the O'Biden era to begin.
I know there are people who are still fearful of some hidden agenda.
Some say Muslim, some say communist.
I still hear this on local talk radio shows.
No matter how much you try to counter it with the truth some people seem to want to believe what the reactionary right wing pundits like Rush Limbaugh, O' Reilly, and Hannity grind out almost every day
Read Billy Graham's magazine if you want to know if Senator Obama is a Christian or not. There are those who say if you watched Mrs. Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention you would not doubt that Senator Obama is a Christian.
As for a communist agenda for one thing remember that the first Christians called each other "Comrade" and according to Acts 2:42-47 "42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Mr. George Soros is who they often have in mind when they speak of a hidden communist agenda but if you read about Mr. Soros life and you will come to believe that he is no way a communist and has even in his way fought against communism as well as fascism.
The worst thing you could say about Mr. Soros aside from perhaps some insider trading is that he might be an atheist. He considers himself Jewish.
How can you be Jewish and an atheist?
Better to be George Soros than Rupert Murdoch.
Isn't it Mr. Murdoch's television network in Great Britain that broadcasts Al Jazeera?

I can just imagine in a few hundred years historians or archeologists talking about the time of the O'Biden.

Top Ten Stories of 2006

Baptist battles dominated news in 2006, editors say
By ABP Staff
Published: December 21, 2006
DALLAS (ABP) -- The election of an outsider as president of the Southern Baptist Convention was chosen by Baptist journalists as the most important story in Baptist life in 2006 -- a year when denominational affairs outweighed world news in the minds of Baptists of the South.
The election of SBC president Frank Page by discontented conservatives and the resignation of Bob Reccord as head of the North American Mission Board, after a probe found ineffectiveness and extravagant spending, were the most important Baptist news stories of the past year, according to an annual survey of journalists conducted by Associated Baptist Press.
Meanwhile, the controversy between "the blogging trustee" Wade Burleson and the SBC International Mission Board and a scandal in the Rio Grande Valley over funding for phony church-starts also commanded the attention of Baptists. The shift in power to a Democratic-controlled Congress was the only non-Baptist story to crack the top five.
Here’s the complete list:
1. An outsider president. In a major upset, Frank Page of South Carolina was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention over two candidates closely tied to the SBC's conservative power structure. Page, who described his election as a victory for grassroots Baptists, won slightly more than 50 percent of the June vote by pledging more openness and power-sharing among SBC conservatives.
2. Reccord resigns. After a trustee investigation produced a scathing report of poor management, Bob Reccord resigned April 17 as president of the North American Mission Board, Southern Baptists' second largest mission agency. Allegations first surfaced in a February expose by the Christian Index newspaper. NAMB's trustees, after their own investigation, put Reccord under strict "executive-level controls" March 23, which many observers thought would prompt his resignation. With his possible ouster looming at the May 2 trustees meeting, Reccord met April 13 with several prominent Southern Baptist pastors seeking advice. Four days later, he resigned.
3. Wade Burleson. The Oklahoma pastor and rookie trustee used his weblog to speak against the decision by his fellow International Mission Board trustees not to appoint missionaries who use a "private prayer language" -- a variation of tongues-speaking -- in their personal devotions. Trustees threatened to dismiss Burleson for posting information about the board's deliberations. After a closed-door session March 22, however, trustees decided not to seek Burleson's removal, which would have required approval by the SBC. Instead the board censured him and adopted new guidelines to prohibit and punish future criticism of IMB actions by trustees. Burleson used his experience to warn of "narrowing" within the SBC and bolster Page's nomination for president.
4. Valleygate. A five-month investigation uncovered evidence that church-starting funds from the Baptist General Convention of Texas were misused between 1999 and 2005 in the Rio Grande Valley. Independent investigators discovered that 98 percent of the 258 new churches reported by three church-planters in the Valley no longer exist or never existed. The BGCT gave more than $1.3 million to those 258 churches. Pastors Otto Arrango, Aaron De La Torre and Armando Vera were accused and face possible legal action. The BGCT was faulted for poor oversight, uneven management, failure to abide by internal guidelines and misplaced trust.
5. A Democratic Congress. In the Nov. 4 midterm elections, Democrats gained more than a 30-seat majority over Republicans in the House and a one-seat majority in the Senate, as voters objected to the Iraq war and congressional scandals. The power shift could refocus Congress' culture wars from arguments over church-state issues and abortion rights to battles over gay rights, embryonic stem-cell research and federal judges. The new Congress includes 68 Baptists -- 61 in the House and 7 in the Senate.
6. Tongues revisited. Dwight McKissic, a pastor in Arlington, Texas, endorsed the practice of a "private prayer language" in an Aug. 29 chapel sermon at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he serves as a trustee of the institution. The seminary banned free distribution of the sermon through its website and announced its opposition to the practice. McKissic also criticized a policy of the International Mission Board that bans the appointment of missionaries who speak in tongues or practice a private prayer language. A wave of discussion ensued in the Baptist blogosphere. McKissic and supporters hosted a conference and plan another on diversity and freedom in devotion and worship.
7. A new Supreme Court. On Jan. 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 to recommend Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Congress concurred. Alito, a conservative, was tapped by President Bush to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate. With the earlier confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who replaced the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Republicans expect a solid conservative direction from the high court.
8. Katrina recovery. Churches were the “true first responders” to Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005, a new survey found. More than 86 percent of Louisiana churches gave services of some kind to Katrina evacuees, the study found. Nearly three-fourths offered food, more than half gave away clothing, and about 70 percent provided financial aid. The congregations also provided spiritual aid and comfort, researchers noted. Churches nationwide, led by Baptists, gave counseling, transportation, child care, shelter, meals, showers and housing.
9. Warren and Obama on AIDS. The second annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church, held at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., was the loudest voice yet rallying evangelicals to fight AIDS. Some conservatives objected to the open attitude Saddleback pastor Rick Warren, a Southern Baptist, demonstrated in selecting speakers, especially his choice to invite pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). But more than 2,000 people from 39 states and 18 countries attended the training event. Warren wants Christians to mount a global effort to prevent and treat AIDS. He said nothing comes close to the resources, history, tradition or scope of the church.
10. Alabama church arsons. Law enforcement officials arrested three men March 8 in connection with a string of nine fires at Baptist churches in rural Alabama. More than 100 ATF personnel sorting through more than 800 leads worked on the case in the days following the initial fires in early February. A tenth fire, although ruled arson, has yet to be connected to the initial nine. Most of the churches belonged to the Southern Baptist Convention, the statewide Alabama Baptist Convention and the local Bibb County Baptist Association.
Other stories that caught the attention of Baptists included:
11. North Carolina shift. The recent conservative shift in the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina prompted an Executive Board member to resign and several more churches to leave the convention. Tension continues to mount over control of the convention's institutions.
12. Evangelical shame. Ted Haggard, head of the National Association of Evangelicals and a prominent opponent of gay rights, resigned after a Colorado man came forward with allegations that Haggard paid him for sex and drugs. He was also fired as pastor of a prominent Colorado megachurch. After initial denials and changing stories, Ted Haggard admitted to unspecified acts of "sexual immorality." A Denver man, Mike Jones, said Haggard bought sex and methamphetamine for three years until their last encounter in August.
13. Muslim cartoons. Incensed Muslims sacked Christian neighborhoods and burned the Danish Embassy in Lebanon Feb. 5, angered by the publication of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. More than 20,000 protesters threw rocks, burned buildings and sacked cars in an outpouring that left at least one person dead and 30 wounded. The 12 editorial cartoons, originally published in Denmark newspapers in September 2005, sparked demonstrations in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Palestinian West Bank, India and New Zealand.
14. Peace activist killed. Tom Fox, 54, a Baptist peace activist, was found dead in Baghdad March 9. The lone American among four Christian peace activists who were held captive for months in Iraq, Fox was presumably executed by his abductors. His body was found in a garbage dump in the western part of the city. Fox's kidnappers had demanded the release of all Iraqis detained by U.S. and British forces and Iraqi police in exchange for the four hostages' lives.
15. Belmont tug-of-war. Tennessee Baptists voted May 9 to reject an offer of $5 million from Belmont University that would have given the school power to elect its own trustees. The Tennessee Baptist Convention leaders then filed a lawsuit against Belmont Sept. 29 to regain the approximately $58 million in funds it has donated to the school over the years. The suit is pending.
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