Saturday, July 29, 2006

Thank you, Mr. LaHaye...

[note- this post originally appeared on my Xanga blog. Clicking the link will take you to the original article, which will allow you to read the original comments]

Okay, I'm officially going out on a limb.

I'm really heartbroken about the conflict in the Middle East. I'm heartbroken because tremendously inhumane acts are being committed and the US is refusing to step in. I'm most heartbroken of all about the Christian response, or lack thereof.

Check out this excerpt from an interview between Newsweek magazine and Tim LaHaye, co-author of the "Left Behind" series:

NW: Does this explain how living right with God, in a Christian sense, would entail supporting the Israeli state right now?
LaHaye: I think those two things are related. Christians who take the Bible literally are generally supportive of Israel because God promises to bless those nations that are a blessing to Israel and curse those nations that are not. And the history of America bears that out.

I can't think of a more damaging PR statement for the cause of Christ. Consider the implications of this statement to the rest of the world: We believe the Bible tells us to support Israel, therefore we will stand by, regardless of what atrocities are committed by that nation.

Flip this around and see it from the opposite perspective. Are we not currently engaged in a war on terror with nations and people groups who believe the same thing- who believe that the Qua'an says they will be blessed if they act a certain way? And this is how they justify their acts of terrorism.

Are we anything more than terrorists in a different wrapper? Many in the Middle East would argue that we are not, and in light of Mr. LaHaye's comment, I think they're justified in their position.

Personally, I would be more blessed in my life (in an eternal sense, not a current temporal sense) if someone were, in love, to hold me accountable to my wrongful actions rather than turn a blind eye to them. Shouldn't the same apply to our relationship with Israel, God's chosen nation? I don't equate "being a blessing" to Israel with refusing to call them to account for their actions.

Consider this final quote from a European security research fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

"The U.S. angle is to put Hezbollah in the same box as the global war on terror: Hezbollah, Hamas and al-Qaeda are all part of the same basket. The Europeans are more inclined to acknowledge the world is far more complex than this Bush mantra."

Friends, I'm no justifier of Hezbollah or any other terrorist group here. But I think the Europeans have a good perspective. The world is not as simple as our foreign policy makes it out to be.

No comments: