Think for yourself!

“Take the risk of thinking for yourself , much more happiness , truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way ..” Christopher Hitchens

I do not understand why people today (worldwide) allow celebrities to dictate or even influence what they should believe, do, eat, wear and even who they should vote for. 

It was obvious the influence celebrities TRIED to have on the 2016 elections in the United States.  A lot of people allowed celebrities to influence their vote.  If you are a celebrity in the Philippines it is almost a guarantee you can win any political position you seek.  Your fame will outweigh your  need for the right qualifications nearly every time.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask a celebrity, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly their opinions on life, and they are more than happy to give it to you freely.  I say this sarcastically.

I know I may seem a bit weird or a lot weird to some, but what celebrities think or say have never made me feel happy, content, hopeful, encouraged, or confident.  No I do not know the name of the MOVIE STAR in the latest movies I have seen and do not care to know.  All I care is did I like the movie or not. 

I do not care what these people think, none of whom I know personally, and all of whom live in a world that is so far out of my reach that we have remarkably little in common. If I and one of their domestic staff met in church or any public place I  would have more in common with their staff member than I would the celebrity.

The same is true of CELEBRITY preachers today.  I am not impressed or focusing  on the prophets and teachers and evangelists that millions of Christians come to follow, and worship, as being wiser, more righteous, and blessed than the rest of us.  I have actually have had people tell me, “They’re rich and well-known so that must be a sure sign of God’s favor.”  No, they just  have a charismatic personality and would be good at selling anything and they would make good con artist.  It could have come from the devil or God.  I have always believed this, but recently when Bishop Jake of Potter House in Dallas, Texas said in an interview that “SELLING Jesus is not all that difficult because it is a GOOD PRODUCT and when presented correctly it will SELL ITSELF.”  I take that to mean hurting and desperate people will fall for a line of hope every time if you are charismatic and have sales abilities.

When the Great Christians Leaders give their opinions on homosexuality, people listen, nod their heads, and say, “Prophet Pulpit said it, so it must be right.” When they promote boycotting a store, the believers do it because their Prophet Pulpit is always right.  After all who am I to question Prophet's? When sensible preachers meet with ecumenical leaders to share in a prayer service, some Christians wring their hands, wondering, “Why do they  do this? Pastor Pulpit said it was wrong. Do they not know that Catholics and Evangelical Protestants differ on fundamental issues? and that Jewish people and Christians differ on a REALLY major issue?

The followers of celebrity Christians do not have enough faith in God or confidence in himself to seek wisdom, considering themselves spiritually unqualified to process the tough issues facing people who live in the world today, after all that is what they have been told from the pulpit by these celebrity preachers.  They think if they do not listen to the celebrity preachers and priest they only have mass-media to give them direction in the 21st century.   What about the HOLY SPIRIT, PRAYER, the brain God gave them and their own personal experiences.

God did not call us to be robots of celebrities.   The world is filled, and has always been filled, and will always be filled with difficult issues — difficult because they involve people — and no smart little saying on television, Tweet, or email from any CELEBRITY is going to solve the world’s problems and we certainly should not allow them to think for us.  Some allow others to think for them because they are lazy and it is the easy way to avoid responsibilities.  Simply put not everyone wants to be wise. We actually have to work at becoming wise.

People need wisdom, and wisdom — unlike money, power, celebrity status, and fame is not out of reach of ordinary people. Wisdom is available for the asking, if we only would ask.  You do not have to be a genius to have wisdom.  I know lots of people with extremely high I.Q.’s that lack in wisdom (common sense) and others with little to no formal education that are VERY wise.  Wisdom and understanding are not something you purchase with tuition and class fees, it is a daily, lifelong process of growth.

I have a friend that constantly puts himself down because he looks for the possible negatives in relationships, decisions in general and especially business deals.  I think that is wise.  It means to me he is dealing with reality.  It does not mean he is ignoring the positives, it is only means he is trying to prepare or prevent the negatives.  Being a “happy go lucky” person is not wisdom.  Wisdom means being able to bear the good and the bad in mind simultaneously.

Proverbs 3:13 says, "Happy is the man (or woman) who finds wisdom and the man (or woman) who gets understanding." Proverbs 24:13–14 says, "My son (daughter), eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." Proverbs 16:16, "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen over silver." It is a matter of life and death.  The ultimate, eternal happiness that all people long for will only be found by those who first "get wisdom."

Wise people do not let others do their thinking and make their decision.  They listen to all advice and then seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and make their own decision.  

Things I did not know about Israel/Palestine

Last week I began to think how can the Arab’s believe Israel is taking over the Middle East.  There are 22 Arab and or Muslim nations. Iran is not considered and Arab nation. Israel is surrounded by Arab and or Muslim nations. How can anyone say "expansionist Israel" has "taken over" the Middle East or trying to take over the Middle East?

The Arab countries occupy 640 times the amount of land as does Israel and outnumber the Jews of Israel by nearly fifty to one. How convenient that today's Arab Nations are forgetting that land east of the Jordan River was also part of "Palestine". Why are they not demanding Jordan return that area to the Palestinians?

In 1916 control of the southern portion of the Ottoman Empire was turned over to France and Britain under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region. Lebanon and Syria were assigned to France and "Palestine" (today's Jordan, Israel and "West Bank" and Gaza ) was given to Great Britain.  Because no other peoples had ever established a national homeland in "Palestine" since the Jews had done it 2,000 years before, the British "looked favorably" upon the creation of a Jewish National Homeland throughout ALL of Palestine.

The Jews had already begun mass immigration into Palestine in the 1880's in an attempt to rid the land of swamps and malaria and to prepare for the rebirth of Israel. This Jewish effort to revitalize the land did not only attracted Jews back to the land it also attracted an equally large immigration of Arabs from neighboring areas who were drawn by employment opportunities and healthier living conditions. There was never any attempt by the Jews to get rid of the Arabs in the land.

in 1946 Trans-Jordan was renamed to "Jordan". The remaining 18% of Palestine, now WEST of the Jordan River, was to be the Jewish Palestinian homeland.  However, sharing was not part of the Arab psychological makeup then or now. With the help of the British the Jews were forced out of Trans-Jordan!

The British at first tried to maintain order but soon due to the large oil deposits being discovered throughout the Arab Middle East they turned a blind eye. It became clear to the Palestinian Jews that they must fight the Arabs and drive out the British. Finally in 1947 the British had enough and turned the Palestine matter over to the United Nations.

The 1947 U.N. Resolution 181 partition plan was to divide the remaining 18% of Palestine into a Jewish Palestinian State and a SECOND Arab Palestinian State  based upon population concentrations.  The Jewish Palestinians accepted... the Arab Palestinians rejected. The Arabs still wanted ALL of Palestine... both east AND west of the Jordan River. Therefore, the resolution was not carried out and it never became legally binding! The Arabs started the 1948 war.

On May 14, 1948 the "Palestinian" Jews finally declared their own State of Israel and became "Israelis." On the next day, seven neighboring Arab armies - Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen... invaded Israel. Most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war.

The truth is that most of the Arab Palestinians who left Israel in 1948 – between 400,000 to 500,000 – never saw an Israeli soldier! They did not flee because they feared Jews. They left because they believe the Jews would be exterminated and would return afterwards to reclaim their homes, and to inherit Jewish properties as well. They guessed wrong.  The Jews  did not throw out all the Palestinian Arabs living in Israel they chose to leave after being encourage to do so by the seven Arab nations that invaded Israel. Those Arabs who did not flee became Israeli-Arab citizens.

The end result of the 1948-49 Israeli War of Independence was the creation of a Jewish State. From 1949-67 when all of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem were under Arab [Jordanian, Syria and Egyptian] control, no effort was EVER made to create a second Palestinian State for the Arabs living there. Why do many in the world want the Jews to give up part of their country when none of the Arabs were willing to concede any of their land to the 'so called' Palestinian Arabs?

Throughout much of May 1967, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies mobilized along Israel's narrow and seemingly indefensible borders in preparation for a massive invasion to eliminate the State of Israel. Within two hours the Egyptian Air Force did not exist most of its planes were destroyed while still on the runways. Unaware that the Egyptians had no more air force, King Hussein of Jordan launched his attack from the his West Bank into Israel, while Syrian troops prepared to descend down the Golan Heights high ground into northern Israel. The Arabs lost the battle in six days they had once again underestimated the Jewish Nation of Israel.  

Now, 35+ years later and despite the fact that Israel won a war started by seven Arab nations and fought by three Arab nations the Israelis are still willing to allow the Arab-Palestinians to have a state on much of the West Bank and Gaza if only they would stop sending their suicide/homicide bombers into the heart of Israel.

Israel was responsible for bringing about some of its own problems. The Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were packed and ready to leave following their 1967 defeat. Suddenly the victorious Israeli General Moshe Dayan persuaded them to stay. I think this was madness. The Arabs would have slaughtered the Jews if they would have had an opportunity to do so and to this day are still trying to. Dayan's plan was to educate them, offer them modern medical treatment, provide them with employment both in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel Proper itself. He thought he would be able to build a healthy relationships with the Arabs – how wrong he was.  If he build a bridge to the Arab world it was a bridge to terrorism.

Jordan accounts for 3/4 of Palestine's original land mass. Though they may call themselves "Jordanians," they are culturally, ethnically, historically and religiously no different than the Arab-"Palestinians" on the "West Bank." Even the flag of Jordan and the flag of the proposed 2nd Arab-Palestinian state on the West Bank / Gaza look almost identical. Why do they not give the 'so called' Palestinians their own land to establish a State or Nation. 

Another thing that is interesting to me is the term "Palestinian". The name had referred to Israeli Jews back in the 1940's, and has been slowly redefined to refer to the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza. I guess political correctness started much earlier than we thought. 

The Middle East Conflict was always a war by Arabs against Jews, not a conflict between Israelis and "Palestinians." The war was repackaged as a conflict between Jews and Palestinians as a public relations gimmick by the Arab fascist regimes. These regimes had never had any interest in "Palestinians," or in creating a "Palestinian" state, or in "Palestinian nationalism" before 1967. The Palestinians are a regional group of Arabs having virtually no cultural nor national distinctive traits separating them from Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians. They are all basically Arabs. Yasser Arafat’s family came to Gaza from Egypt and a wealthy family of current PA President Mahmoud Abbas moved to Tzfat from Damascus, Syria!

The Middle East war continues because it is really an Arab-Israeli war, not an Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is also in large part a war between barbarism and civilization and in many ways an Islamic religious jihad against the Jews.

Was Judas a traitor or revolutionists?

There are two ways to bring about change – revolution or evolution. Revolution is characterized by speed and violence, divide and rule, hierarchies and centralized power. Evolution is characterized by its slow pace. It does not rush change. It empowers instead of dictates.

The Jewish people were looking for a Messiah that would come and take control and restore the Jews to power.  They were looking for a political and military Messiah. The change would be quick.

Read John 13:18-30.

1.      Jesus tells us He must be betrayed in order to fulfill the scriptures.

2.      Jesus knew He would be betrayed and He knew who would betray Him. 

We cannot lose sight of the fact that Judas did have freewill. He could have chosen a different path, but I believe Judas thought the path he chose was the right one at first. He was not an enemy of Jesus Christ he was an impatient friend of Jesus.

4.      We are told Satan entered Judas as soon as he took the bread from Jesus. This indicates to me that Judas gave in to Satan’s temptation as we have all done at one time or another.

5.      Judas controlled the money. Jesus selected Judas to be a disciple and to be the treasurer. I do not believe Judas was a thief. When Judas left the meal the disciples thought Judas had gone to buy provisions for the feast or give money to the poor.

6.      It is true Jesus like to give gifts and Judas did not like wasting money and thought some of Jesus’ gifts were a waste of money, but that in no way means he was a thief or a betrayer.

7.      Jesus’ approach to change was evolution and Judas’ approach to change was revolution.

8.      Judas was the only one from Judea. The rest were from Galilee. People from Judea were thought to be smarter than those from Galilee. Being the treasurer indicates he might have been the most intelligent or best educated.  I believe Judas was the only one that really understood Christ words that night. I think he knew Christ was about to go peacefully and not fight.

9.      Judas most likely thought Christ had the people behind him after he entered Jerusalem successfully. He may have thought now is the time for the revolution and to take power from Rome. He certainly did not want Christ to surrender peacefully. 

Judas was not looking for a servant Messiah and the fact that Christ washed the feet of the others may have offended him or worried him.

11.  The words of Jesus, “…whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” This would have challenged what Judas believed in. Judas did not want the power of the priest done away with. He wanted top/down management to prevent chaos. Judas was not the only one wanting Christ to take a political role. 

I think Judas thought he could force Christ into taking the political role he wanted for Christ.

13.  I do not think Judas took the action he did out of hate, betrayal or wanting Christ dead. Judas took the action he did out of frustration/inpatients. Christ was not playing the role Judas wanted Him to play.

14.  Judas was guilty of naivete thinking he could outsmart the priest.

15.  I think the symbolism of the broken bread and shared wine consolidated Judas’ fears. Judas understood Christ was about to give His life freely without a fight. This would go against Judas’ political desires and the Jews once again being a ruling nation.

16.  I think Judas thought the crowd that was following the soldiers to take Jesus would riot as soon as the soldiers attempted to take Jesus. Christ would surely take up the revolution then.

17.  Initially it looked like Judas’ plan was going as he may have planned there were swords drawn. But, then Christ put an end to Judas’ plan and ordered everyone to stop fighting. He made it clear He did not want a rebellion.

18.  Judas was overcome with remorse and tried to return the money, but the religious leaders refused to take it back and Judas threw the money on the ground in front of them and left. The money must not have been the key issue of the betrayal.

19.  Judas then took his own life.

Most Christians refuse to look for a bit of Judas in ourselves. We find it easier to see Judas as filth, cast him away as the betrayer and not learn from his mistakes. I believe his remorse and grief were sincere. I believe God forgave him. 

The disciples may have been more forgiving than us for in Acts 1, Judas is described by the disciple as simply the “guide for those who arrested Jesus.” They found someone to replace Judas. That indicates to me Judas had a vital role in Christ ministry and was productive. I think the disciples realized that there was a part of Judas in them and I think there is a part of Judas in us.

When we try to get Christ to do what we want a part of Judas comes forth. When we try to control who can and cannot have access to Christ a part of Judas comes forth. When we insist that everyone must come to Christ as we believe they should a part of Judas comes forth.

God will no longer be held captive to rules of men and women who preach to enrich themselves or become powerful and especially men who try to dictate who can and cannot take part in the sacraments that Christ instituted. 

We all freely have access to God! I want to learn from the religious leaders, but I do not need them to represent me before God. I will represent myself.

The Book Of Jonah is more than a fish story.

I am sorry if I offended you when I wrote about Jonah and the big fish the other day. I have never said or written anything in an attempt to change anyone’s mind to believe as I do. All during my ministry I have spoken and written to try and get people to think for themselves. If it helps you to have a better relationship with God by believing that Jonah literally was swallowed by a big fish then I encourage you to do so.

It is significant to me that the fish in the Book of Jonah is only mentioned in three of the forty-seven verses of the book, which leads me to believe that the fish is a minor character in the story, and is not the central theme of the book.

I would also like to clear up that I know technically a whale is not a fish.

I happen to believe the book of Jonah is not really a book about a fish, but a book about priorities, obedience, and submitting ourselves to the will of God, even when God's plans conflict with our own personal plans.

God had a plan for Jonah's life. Jonah had other plans. Jonah had to learn that in the end it is God's will that has to be done rather than his own. The book of Jonah is a challenge to each of us to submit ourselves to the will of God. If we do not we will find ourselves in a struggle with God until we do.

I have said many times we can understand the Bible better if we know the history of the time period in which it was written and the Book of Jonah is no exception.  The issue that would have upset Jonah in the book and the issue that would have upset most of the original readers of the book was not that God had a plan for Jonah's life, but that God called Jonah to prophesy in Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Jonah and the original readers hated Assyrians. They hated the Assyrians because the Assyrians had a history of killing them.

God was asking Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach to the people there, and call on them to repent and Jonah did not want to go there. If you were in Jonah’s sandals would you want to go?

Jonah was not God he was human and he thought like a human.  He hated the Assyrians and he feared the Assyrians, but he also did not want to do anything good for the Assyrians.  Jonah feared God may use him to do good for the people of Nineveh and Jonah certainly did not want to be an instrument of good for the people of Nineveh.

National hatred of an enemy’s race or religion is a terrible thing, but something we are all familiar with. Hitler hated the Jews, Muslim radicals hate the Christians, in Ireland the Catholics and Protestants hated one another, genocide in Africa and parts of Europe. The Book of Jonah confronts these prejudices.

It is quite possible the Book of Jonah was being read around the same time that Ezra and Nehemiah were active in trying to rebuild the ancient city of Jerusalem - a city that had been lying in ruins since the Babylonians had destroyed it 50 years earlier. It was a time of great nationalistic fervor. The Jews were returning to their homeland and they were rebuilding their ancient city and they were rebuilding their temple, and all of a sudden, for the first time in many years, it felt good to be a Jew again. Ezra and Nehemiah did a great deal to encourage the patriotic fervor of the returning Jews and to get them excited again about their city, about their religion and about their God. In the process of doing that the issue of racial purity became an important issue for a lot of people. Ezra and Nehemiah - became very upset over the issue of inter-marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

Ezra accused the men of mixing their 'holy seed' with the people of the lands and he encouraged large numbers of Jewish men to divorce their foreign wives and to send them away, along with the children of their mixed marriages. I'm not saying that the Book of Jonah was written specifically as a response to the nationalistic 'reforms' of Ezra. I am suggesting that some may have been bringing up the story of Jonah to demonstrate the God of Israel loved and respected foreigners too - even the people of Nineveh.

The Book of Jonah is a very appropriate book for our time It is a book that strikes at the heart of every sign of religious nationalism, it confronts religious arrogance in all its forms, it reminds us that the God of Israel, the God of the faithful and the God of the upright, is also the God of the Assyrian, of the unfaithful and of the not-so-upright too. It is time for Muslim, Christians and Jews to once again hear the message of the Book of Jonah.

Don't fight ISIS - Islamic radical terrorist love them!

I just read an article written by JR Vassar the lead pastor, Church at the Cross, Grapevine, Texas.  He claims, “I am saddened by the tendency of some Christians to call for the sending of missiles upon our nation’s enemies more than to pray for the sending of missionaries to the hardest places.” When is he leaving for Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan? I am capable of praying for both.

He admits, “The Islamic State is a horrific evil and must be stopped. The destruction it is bringing on innocent life and human civilization is heartbreaking and should fill us with righteous indignation. Likely, it will take the international community to defeat the Islamic State, and it will almost certainly mean military conflict.” Who does he expect to volunteer for the military conflict non-Christians?

He is, “… grieved that some influential pastors and Christian leaders eagerly call for the bombing of regions that will inevitably lead to the destruction of human life (innocent image-bearers who suffer as collateral damage), and do so without tears and a broken heart.” I do not know of any Christian leader that would call for the bombing of ISIS if they thought there was another way.  I also do not think any Christian leader has ever called for the destruction of ISIS without having a heavy heart when doing so.

He suggested we, “Pray for our enemies and desire their salvation.” He claims God would want us to show them mercy and give them an opportunity to repent. He knows that is what God would want us Christians to do. If he believes in the literal translation of the Bible he must know that God called for the destruction of innocent women, children and animals of the Israelites enemies. I do not believe in the literal translation of the Bible so I think it was more the men of Israel that wanted their destruction, rather than God, but they may have thought that was what God wanted them to do.  The same as Reverend Vassar thinks he knows what God wants us to do as it pertains to the terrorist. If God wanted the enemies of the Israelites destroyed, but does not want our enemies destroyed does that mean God loved the Israelites more than He loves us?

He went on to write, “Our call is to follow the command and example of Jesus who told us to love our enemies and pray for them, and who himself laid his life down for his enemies, even praying for their forgiveness as they killed him. Again, if we are calling for missiles, but not praying for missionaries, we have lost touch with the heart of God.” I am sorry, but I am not prepared to have my throat cut by the followers of ISIS and honestly I do not think he is either. It is easy for him to write or say the things he does from Grapevine, Texas. I guess if his wife and children were caught in a terrorist situation he would prefer to allow them to be slaughtered than try to kill his enemy.

Jesus was not fighting a foreign enemy He was trying to reform His own people – the Jews. Jesus did not have a military, but he had no problem displaying his anger in the temple turning over the tables of the money changers. King David had a military given to him by God and he certainly used it. If we are going to use Biblical comparison King David and his enemies are more like our enemy ISIS and Muslim terrorist than Jesus and His enemies. If it was Protestants and Catholics (Ireland) fighting over differences I would agree with Reverend Vassar, but it is not. It is good versus evil!  

He admits that as we pray to God we know there will never be peace on this earth, “…we know that ultimately complete peace and justice are a world away, in the new heavens and new earth.”

He says, “We do not need to fear Muslims, but love them, befriend them, and seek to share the good news of Jesus with them.” I do love some Muslims, those that are not trying to kill me, my caregiver is Muslim.

I probably have more experience dealing with Muslims than he does, since I have lived on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines for the past ten years. I live in Davao, but I am not about to travel to Cotobato or Sula where Muslim terrorist are kidnapping foreigners regularly. I welcome him to come to Southern Mindanao at any time and love the Muslim terrorist and the Communist insurgents to the peace table. The Philippine government has been trying to do it for thirty years and have failed.

 “We are not Americans first, but Christians first. We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world — a kingdom with no boundaries or borders. We may disagree on policy or diplomacy, but infinitely more important is that we agree on Jesus, his rule, and his great love for his people and for this world. We don’t have to be divided by our lesser loyalties when we are united by our greatest loyalty.” This all sounds good, but it is not realistic when it comes to dealing with terrorist in 2015. I do not think God intends for us to let Islamic terrorist cut our heads off, destroy our religion, invade our country and not resist.

I think a diplomatic solution would be impossible with groups like ISIS or other groups of Islamic Muslim Terrorist. Reverend Vassar wrote Jesus faced radicals and He did not try to kill them if I am not mistaken Jesus was killed.  Jesus knew pain, suffering, persecution and terrorism first hand is Reverend Vassar willing to do the same, is he willing to sacrifice his family without a fight, I am not.

If men like Reverend Vassar had reached out to the young men that make up ISIS and other terrorist groups a decade ago maybe we would not be in the mess we are in today. I think Reverend Vassar should consider that perhaps the church failed in reaching out to the Arabs in the Middle East.

Paul was once a terrorist killing Christians just at ISIS is doing today and he came to accept Christ as his Savior so there is hope. But, who is willing to go today and try to convert ISIS members. Is Reverend Vassar willing, if not he should not be so asking someone else to.

Jesus’ way of putting His enemies in their place was by shaming them. How does Reverend Vassar propose that we shame ISIS?

Christian leaders should have taken more seriously education reform, business opportunities, economic reforms and employment opportunities in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Africa and Afghanistan and maybe there would be no ISIS today. Was Reverend Vassar pushing for those reforms prior to now?

I am not Reverend Pat Robertson and I do not say, “Convert or die”. I would like to see them convert to Christianity, but that is not a requirement for me to have peace. But, I do not think it is possible for us now to love the members of ISIS to a negotiated peace. I say that because they are telling us, “Convert or die”.

The Iraqi Christians since 2003 until about 2014 were known for being passive. They finally realized they could no longer be passive and stay alive. Unfortunately they began to stand up for their religious liberty and their freedom too late. Are Americans being ask to do the same by religious leaders like Reverend Vassar? Are we going to wait for ISIS to tell us to convert, pay a tax or die as they did the Christians in Mosul? Did not Obama take the passive role and allow ISIS to grow stronger, accomplish more evil and kill more Christians?

I am not for the destruction of ISIS only because they are killing Christians. I am for the destruction of ISIS because I am against any group of people that practice genocide against a weaker group of people.

ISIS is nothing more than a gang like those in any large city in the United States that kill people in order to expand their territory.  They both are criminals (terrorists) who are determined to murder people in order to gain control. They must be stopped and I truly believe God condemns their actions.

I do not believe God expects us to only pray and take no defensive action against them. Most of us do not sit back and refuse to work and expect God to feed us. Most of us do not refuse to take preventive action to maintain our health simply because we believe God can heal us. Most of us would not sit down on the couch and watch while a robber took our belongings and possibly raped our wife and do nothing but pray. Why do some Christians expect us to only pray and take no military action to protect our families, neighbors, country and us?

I believe in prayer and I have no doubt that pray is powerful, but I also believe God expects us to take action along with prayer. Why don’t we just stop being charitable and pray to God to take care of the poor, orphans and widows?  

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.