Israel is not always right.

I have said how I felt about the ‘moderate’ Muslims in-action and now I will say how I feel about the Jewish people, Israel and Trumps remarks at the recent forum. I think it is time that we all begin to be more honest with our words and stop trying to be politically correct. That does not mean I approve of being rude.  

Israel is a ‘secular’ nation. It is not the religious nation of Moses. It’s a secular democracy where Judaism is privileged.  Many orthodox Jews believe that Israel should be a theocratic state where Judaism is the supreme law of the land, but secular Jews do not feel that way. Secular and orthodox Jews are at odds over the future of Israel and have been for years. It's uncertain what will happen or who will win in the end. If they cannot agree among themselves if they are a secular or theocratic state then why should we be trying to apply Old Testament principles in our relationship with them?

Israel’s Proclamation of Independence makes few concessions to the Almighty. Israel, it decrees, will be a Jewish state, but the concept is nowhere defined. The state, it says, will be based on the principles of liberty, justice and peace as conceived by the Prophets of Israel (it does not name the Prophets); it will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, education and culture;  it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and will loyally uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter. It has not upheld all the principles of the United Nation Charter.

Every student of modern Israel should reread the proclamation of May 14, 1948, at least once a year. It is a reminder of the secular vision that the founding fathers had for Israel. Israel was to be a modern democratic state, an expression of Jewish nationalism rather than Jewish faith. Every Christian minister preaching that the United States must deal differently with Israel than other nations because of the Bible should read the proclamation before espousing their Biblical beliefs.

Neither the conservative Likud nor the liberal Labor parties are able to form a government on their own and they certainly do not want to form one together. This means that creating a government requires that they join forces with the political parties of the ultra-Orthodox Jews who have adopted an unapologetically religious vision of Israel.

The Haredi society in Israel is based upon a rejection of modern thinking and modern values, and on the desire to isolate itself so as to be protected from the influence of the modern world. They have views similar to some Islamic Muslims – isolation, opposes the modern world, want to live in the past with strict laws governing all aspects of society. They consider the last 100 years or so to have dealt the Jewish people two tragic blows: the Holocaust and the mass defection of once-Orthodox Jews in Eastern Europe to Socialism, secular Zionism, or just plain non-observance.’

The parallels between these ultra-Orthodox Jews and the American Christian Right are strong. Both regard modernity as a tragedy, both bemoan the loss of power and influence for their respective religions, both would like to transform society by taking it back several hundred years and institute religious law in place of civil law, both are dismissive of the rights of religious minorities, and both would risk war with other nations in pursuit of their religious goals.  Sounds to me like some Muslims, Ultra-Orthodox and Christian Right share similar goals, but a different value system.

All of this is a problem in Israel because the agenda and tactics of the ultra-Orthodox are very likely to lead Israel into greater tension and conflict with its neighboring nations. American support of Israel is often based on the argument that Israel is the only free democracy in the Middle East. Our policies have forced Turkey and Egypt to not be as free a society as they once were and at one time they both were strong allies of the United States. The more the Haredim have their way, the less Israel is a free democracy. Will that lead to a decrease in American support or has it already? Perhaps Obama has gotten one thing right during his administration.

I doubt that the Haredim or the Christian Right care that much about American support because they both believe that God is on their side, so who needs America? If one believes they are doing GOD’S WILL they then will believe God will save them regardless of how they go about accomplishing their goal. It tends to make them more unwilling to negotiate for peace. We should keep in mind the Jews slaughtering the inhabitants of the land (men, women, children and animals) they believed God gave them as their Promise Land. The means justified the end.

In the last election Jews voted for President Obama over Mitt Romney by 69 percent to 30 percent. Should a Republican candidate really be concerned about losing Jewish American votes? What Trump said is true. The American Jews in the past have tended to support candidates they could control. Any party would like to have the votes of all the people, but that is not possible and will never happen. It is my opinion that a candidate should be honest and straight forward when campaigning.  If the candidate wins we know what we are getting unlike what we have in the recent past with Obama and other Democrat and Republican candidates.

Trump, I think is a strong supporter of Israel, but he was booed by the wealthy Jews at the forum when he refused to commit to moving the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which both Palestinians and Israelis consider their capital. Don’t we have enough problems in the world without tackling that issue at this time!

The other candidates at the forum also bragged about their Jewish ties — their friendliness toward Israel and the depth of their friendships with Jews. They spoke of the danger to Israel the deal the Obama administration and other powers negotiated with Iran this summer. That agreement lifts some sanctions on Iran and I definitely am not for it. Iran’s leaders continue to threaten Israel and the UNITED STATES.  Obama naively thinks the agreement will rein in Iran’s nuclear program.  

The other Republican candidates at the forum warned of the dangers of Islamic extremists, but they were careful to avoid rhetoric that would have offended Muslims. I found that amusing because that is the same thing they criticize Obama for.  I think you call it “straddling” the fence.

I am against the Obama Iran deal because I do not believe it is good for the United States. I am more concerned how it will affect the United State than Israel. I am for supporting Israel because at this time I think it is good for the United States and not because of something that appears or does not appear in the Bible.

I still do not know if I will vote for Donald Trump in the primary election, but the more he is criticized by Democrats, Republicans and Liberals for not being ‘politically correct’ he becomes more and more an attractive nominee.

 

 

Did Jesus teach us to pray "Lead us not into temptation"?

Did Jesus teach us to pray “lead us not into temptation” or is there a problem in the translation or a problem in the construction of the sentence?   We know from James 1:13 that God does not tempt us to sin.  If He did, He would be acting contrary to His holy nature, against His desire for us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16), and against all other commandments in Scripture that tell us to avoid sin and flee temptation.

Some people will say the phrase must be understood in the sense of "permitting."  Do not "allow" us, or "permit" us, to be tempted to sin.  This implies God has control to save us from temptation if we call upon Him.  I believe whole heartily God is in control of everything, but is it better to try and fix a scripture in the Bible in order for that scripture to makes sense to us or just admit it could be some kind of error and we do not know for sure.

It is possible that the Greek, which has three, rather than two, degrees of active/passive voice suffered from a misinterpretation of the Aramaic and that what Christ said actually meant "do not let us be led into temptation".

I like the petition offered by David in Psalm 141:4: "Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with the workers of iniquity."  Regardless of either petition we must remember God is our deliverer and we are to pray to Him as such.  It is never God's desire for us to be led into sin.  If we resist the devil, we are promised that he will flee from us.  James 4:7 states, "Submit your selves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  

God doesn't tempt us, but He allows us to be put into situations where our faith is tested and strengthened.  God always provides a way out of or around temptation.  It is also important to remember that we are unable to resist temptation without God's grace.  I believe it is not the temptation itself that leads us to sin, but the lack of resistance and trust in the Lord for deliverance from the temptation.  As Christians, we are in a constant fight with the desires born of our sinful natures - should I please myself or God?  We are in constant need of God's guidance so that our needs and desires are kept in proper balance. 

Do not throw out the entire Lord’s Prayer because of the confusion you may have with one line or simply because the English interpretation of the line may be an incorrect translation of what Christ actually said.  If you feel a need to then substitute, “Help me not be led into temptation". 

St. James wrote, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything," (James 1:3-5).  Perhaps we do not want to avoid temptation all together, but instead not give into temptation. 

Do not allow theological questions; despite the enormous debate and trouble they may cause becomes a barrier to your faith.  I try not to get hung up on such small questions.  I would rather not be tempted and I have no problem asking God not to tempt me or not to let me be tempted.  He knows that I am trying to pray in the way I was told Christ taught us to pray.  When you say the line "lead us not into temptation", God understands that you are praying not to sin and that you are worried that you might give in to temptation.  You don't have to have a Ph.D. in theology to be a good Christian. 

If you are praying with a sincere heart God knows what you mean.  He knows you are asking for help to resist temptation and that is what really matters.