Blessed are those
The last two weeks I have been traveling together with Marie, my parents and two of their friends throughout Israel and the occupied West Bank. Two weeks is obviously not enough time to see and experience it all. But we have done our best. We have covered many religious places both to the Jews, the Muslims, and the Christians. We have seen historic places dating back as far as 10,000 years. In the West Bank we witnessed the ever tightening rope of the occupation in many different ways. As foreigners we were met with both respect and hospitality by locals, and disrespect and seemingly nonsensical behavior by the Israeli military. On the “Via Dolorosa” we tried to imagine what Jesus must have gone through two thousand years ago, and in the checkpoint to Bethlehem we experienced the humiliation Palestinians have to go through today.
I had the chance during this stay to visit the place where Jesus is believed to have given the Sermon of the Mount. These words must be some of the most beautiful words in the entire Bible.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who morn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
To me these words are not only beautiful, but a foundation of my faith. I do not doubt that the people in my picture also marvel when they read the Beatitudes in their Bibles. Why wouldn’t they? Are not these words a great comfort to us all? I would think so.
But on two of the people’s sweaters I read the logo “Ahava”. A famous Dead Sea product. For me this is a grieving contrast to the Beatitudes. Jesus says “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” but Ahava is a symbol of the injustice that takes place in the Holy Land. A cosmetic product, whose name means love in Hebrew, but which is in reality a stolen produce by every international standard, since its ingredients are taken by the occupying power from the occupied territories.
I’m not sure if they know what they are supporting. I don’t think most of the religious tourist that come to Israel every year know what is going on. But I think that we as Christians ought to know. I think that we must seek the knowledge that enables us to choose between what is right and what is wrong. I think that this is our mandate. And I know that Ahava has nothing to do with love.
You can read more about this product here.
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Nice to see you blogging again, Gjermund.
Hope you are enjoying your time in Palestine, even while there is so much to be upset about. Only six weeks left now!
PRETRIB RAPTURE POLITICS
Many are still unaware of the eccentric, 180-year-old British theory underlying the politics of American evangelicals and Christian Zionists.
Journalist and historian Dave MacPherson has spent more than 40 years focusing on the origin and spread of what is known as the apocalyptic “pretribulation rapture” – the inspiration behind Hal Lindsey’s bestsellers of the 1970s and Tim LaHaye’s today.
Although promoters of this endtime evacuation from earth constantly repeat their slogan that “it’s imminent and always has been” (which critics view more as a sales pitch than a scriptural statement), it was unknown in all official theology and organized religion before 1830.
And MacPherson’s research also reveals how hostile the pretrib rapture view has been to other faiths:
It is anti-Islam. TV preacher John Hagee has been advocating “a pre-emptive military strike against Iran.” (Google “Roots of Warlike Christian Zionism.”)
It is anti-Jewish. MacPherson’s book “The Rapture Plot” (see Armageddon Books etc.) exposes hypocritical anti-Jewishness in even the theory’s foundation.
It is anti-Catholic. Lindsey and C. I. Scofield are two of many leaders who claim that the final Antichrist will be a Roman Catholic. (Google “Pretrib Hypocrisy.”)
It is anti-Protestant. For this reason no major Protestant denomination has ever adopted this escapist view.
It even has some anti-evangelical aspects. The first publication promoting this novel endtime view spoke degradingly of “the name by which the mixed multitude of modern Moabites love to be distinguished, – the Evangelical World.” (MacPherson’s “Plot,” p. 85)
Despite the above, MacPherson proves that the “glue” that holds constantly in-fighting evangelicals together long enough to be victorious voting blocs in elections is the same “fly away” view. He notes that Jerry Falwell, when giving political speeches just before an election, would unfailingly state: “We believe in the pretribulational rapture!”
In addition to “The Rapture Plot,” MacPherson’s many internet articles include “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “Edward Irving is Unnerving,” “America’s Pretrib Rapture Traffickers,” “Thomas Ice (Bloopers),” “Pretrib Rapture Secrecy” and “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty” (massive plagiarism, phony doctorates, changing of early “rapture” documents in order to falsely credit John Darby with this view, etc.!).
Because of his devastating discoveries, MacPherson is now No. 1 on the “hate” list of pretrib rapture leaders!
There’s no question that the leading promoters of this bizarre 19th century end-of-the-world doctrine are solidly pro-Israel and necessarily anti-Palestinian. In light of recently uncovered facts about this fringe-British-invented belief which has always been riddled with dishonesty, many are wondering why it should ever have any influence on Middle East affairs.
This Johnny-come-lately view raises millions of dollars for political agendas. Only when scholars of all faiths begin to look deeply at it and widely air its “dirty linen” will it cease to be a power. It is the one theological view no one needs!
With apologies to Winston Churchill – never has so much deception been foisted on so many by so few!
[Also Google "David Letterman's Hate, Etc."]