Guest guest Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 , " Violet " <violetubb wrote: > > Dear All, > > i have an interest in the topic of Christian fundamentalism and Zionism, as i was brought up as a fundamentalist Christian with the teaching that Israel was God's special land and people. Shri Mataji has clarified the fundamental truth that the people of every race, culture and religion are God's special people and that Israel is a metaphorical example of that, borne out by what has happened to Her, historically. Israel shows us that although we have lost our true spiritual home, our true spiritual heritage, and have been wandering in the barren desert for many years that if we wish to, we can return to the Holy land that is flowing with milk and honey. Metaphorically, it means we can come back to the Zion Within. > > A lot of the Jewish religion seems to have been overtaken by Zionism, which is not the pure religion of their forefathers. As Christian fundamentalists, we were not aware that Zionism was religion mixed up with politics. If we had been aware of that, some things would have been different. As it is, Zionism has been so subtly interwoven into Christian fundamentalism that it is almost imperceptible. As Mennonites, we were as apolitical as we could be. We did not even fight as soldiers in a war, being the " conscientious objectors " that we were. The Ten Commandments stated that it was a sin to kill any man and for us, war was no exception to that commandment of God. We believed that God would protect us, and He did, as long as we trusted in Him. We thought Zionism to be the coming heavenly Kingdom of God, which we also sang about in this hymn, called " Marching to Zion " : > > Marching to Zion > > Come, we that love the Lord, > And let our joys be known; > Join in a song with sweet accord, > Join in a song with sweet accord > And thus surround the throne, > And thus surround the throne. > > Refrain > > We're marching to Zion, > Beautiful, beautiful Zion; > We're marching upward to Zion, > The beautiful city of God. > > The sorrows of the mind > Be banished from the place; > Religion never was designed > Religion never was designed, > To make our pleasures less, > To make our pleasures less. > > Refrain > > Let those refuse to sing, > Who never knew our God; > But favorites of the heavenly King, > But favorites of the heavenly King > May speak their joys abroad, > May speak their joys abroad. > > Refrain > > The God that rules on high, > And thunders when He please, > Who rides upon the stormy sky, > Who rides upon the stormy sky, > And manages the seas, > And manages the seas. > > Refrain > > This awful God is ours, > Our Father and our Love; > He will send down his heav'nly powers, > He will send down his heav'nly powers, > To carry us above, > To carry us above. > > Refrain > > There we shall see His face, > And never, never sin! > There, from the rivers of His grace, > There, from the rivers of His grace, > Drink endless pleasures in, > Drink endless pleasures in. > > Refrain > > Yea, and before we rise, > To that immortal state, > The thoughts of such amazing bliss, > The thoughts of such amazing bliss, > Should constant joys create, > Should constant joys create. > > Refrain > > The men of grace have found, > Glory begun below. > Celestial fruits on earthly ground > Celestial fruits on earthly ground > From faith and hope may grow, > From faith and hope may grow. > > Refrain > > The hill of Zion yields > A thousand sacred sweets > Before we reach the heav'nly fields, > Before we reach the heav'nly fields, > Or walk the golden streets, > Or walk the golden streets. > > Refrain > > Then let our songs abound, > And every tear be dry; > We're marching through Immanuel's ground, > We're marching through Immanuel's ground, > To fairer worlds on high, > To fairer worlds on high. > > Refrain > > The Zion that we sang about and that was very much in our consciousness had nothing to do with politics as far as we knew. It was purely about our relationship with God, the Spirit within us, and about going to our heavenly home. i thank God that through the Advent of Shri Mataji and Her ability to awaken the Holy Spirit within us (a.k.a. " Self-realization " , i.e., the realization that we are the Spirit) - that myself and others have experienced our heavenly home within, our Zion within, while yet in our physical bodies. We do not have to longingly sing about a future arrival into the Kingdom of God. It is about becoming the Spirit, now. Christ said that He would send a Helper to help the Spirit that is " with us " to awaken " in us " : > > " And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that S/He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not behold Her or know Her, but you know Her, because S/He abides with you, and will be in you. " (Jesus Christ - John 14:16-17) > > " The Holy Spirit/Shekinah is frequently described as some mysterious, creative power of God. But when we actually turn to that 'Spirit of God that dwells in us', She is mysterious no longer, for She is the One that is present within us to give us that Second Birth " : > > http://www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/ > > But this beautiful Zion of my childhood has gotten mixed up with politics and the external symbolic Israel/Zion is not yet living up to its heavenly symbolism, as we Christian fundamentalists were strongly led to believe it was. We had been led to believe that not only was there this " sweet accord " in the spiritual Zion, but that it was also there in the physical Zion, which is why we sang with even more conviction about Zion, that: > > " Come, we that love the Lord, > And let our joys be known; > Join in a song with sweet accord, > Join in a song with sweet accord > And thus surround the throne, > And thus surround the throne. " > > We really did not know while we were singing, in Canada, about this " sweet accord " that it was not literally there in the physical Zion. We had been told in Sunday School that Israel/Zion was a land flowing with milk and honey. In my child's imagination i found this assertion fantastically unbelievable, but when i questioned its literal truth, i was told that, " It says so in the Bible and therefore it is true! " Children should be told when something is not literally true, but only allegorically true. However, in this case not even the adults seemed to distinguish the difference. If they did, which i doubt, they did not say so. They too had this generational belief passed down to them as children, and questioning it was discouraged, even forbidden. It was simply a core understanding of the Christian fundamentalist values - and that was that. > > It is a fault of Christian fundamentalism that it takes what is metaphorical, literally. Christian fundamentalists have this desire, and are also greatly encouraged to go to the Holy Land sometime in their lifetime, since Jesus Christ sojourned there. But in the deepest recesses of their heart, mind and soul, they are also longing for this Land of Milk and Honey they were taught about as children, which though, can only be found " within " themselves! It can't be found outside themselves. > > For the abovementioned reasons Christian fundamentalists have been at risk of blindly supporting Zion-ism, as the appended article will show. The " ism " indicates that Zionism is something other than the pure Zion within - which is the spiritual reality. Sadly, how many Christians will still in all innocence and honesty be able to sing, " We're Marching to Zion " - as many more must realize that the physical counterpart is not living up to its spiritual namesake, as Christians were led to believe it was. Hopefully one day we will truly be able to say that, " It is a land of sweet accord, flowing with milk and honey. " > > with Love to all, > > violet > > > > WASHINGTON REPORT On Middle East Affairs > > Israeli Extremists and Christian Fundamentalists: > > The Alliance > > By Grace Halsell > > December 1988, Page 31 > > At the time I began my research for my book Prophecy and Politics, I discovered the average American I met in Washington, DC, and New York was not interested in TV evangelists and their link to Israel. Neither were book editors. I went to 25 top editors in New York with my book idea on religion and politics. Michael Korda of Simon and Schuster was typical. " Jerry Falwell? Pat Robertson? Who is interested in those crazies? " > > By the time my book came out those " crazies " were on the front page of every American newspaper and on every news channel. Of course, I didn't give them this instant fame, which extended throughout the world. Two of them earned it themselves by being in the middle of scandals. > > The press told us that Jim Bakker had committed adultery and that Jimmy Swaggart regularly visited a prostitute. A fellow marine said Pat Robertson never had to dodge bullets in Korea because he had used his father's influence as a senator to escape front line duty. But almost everyone ignored the biggest scandal of all: the peculiar mixture of prophecy and politics professed by these and other Christian Zionists. > > The Christian Zionists Message > > What is the message of the Christian Zionist? Simply stated it is this: Every act taken by Israel is orchestrated by God, and should be condoned, supported, and even praised by the rest of us. > > " Never mind what Israel does, " say the Christian Zionists. " God wants this to happen. " This includes the invasion of Lebanon, which killed or injured an estimated 100,000 Lebanese and Palestinians, most of them civilians; the bombing of sovereign nations such as Iraq; the deliberate, methodical brutalizing of the Palestinians-breaking bones, shooting children, and demolishing homes; and the expulsion of Palestinian Christians and Muslims from a land they have occupied for over 2,000 years. > > My premise in Prophecy and Politics is that Christian Zionism is a dangerous and growing segment of Christianity, which was popularized by the 19th-century American Cyrus Scofield when he wrote into a Bible his interpretation of events in history. These events all centered around Israel-past, present, and future. His Scofield Bible is today the most popular of the reference Bibles. > > Scofield said that Christ cannot return to earth until certain events occur: The Jews must return to Palestine, gain control of Jerusalem and rebuild a temple, and then we all must engage in the final, great battle called Armageddon. Estimates vary, but most students of Armageddon theology agree that as a result of these relatively recent interpretations of Biblical scripture, 10 to 40 million Americans believe Palestine is God's chosen land for the Jews. > > Has the power of the Christian Zionists diminished? > > I do not think so. Rather, we are seeing how the Christian Zionists, motivated by religious beliefs, are working hand in glove with politically motivated, militant Jewish Zionists around the world. It is the Christian support of Zionism that emboldens Zionists to believe they can dictate to relatively weak and dependent countries such as Austria, whom they may choose as their president. > > It is the Christian support of Zionism that allows Manuel Noriega to remain the strongman in Panama, misusing his power, regardless of what harm he causes to the United States, his neighbors, and his people. > > It is the Christian support of Zionism that enables the militant Israelis to take over Palestinian homes surrounding the Al-Aqsa mosque in pursuit of their well-documented plan to destroy Jerusalem's most holy Islamic site, sacred to a billion Muslims around the world-one-fifth of humanity. > > Christian Zionists and the Iran-Contra Scandal > > Remarkably, it was this Christian cult of Israel that brought us the Iran contra scandal, perhaps the most self-destructive act in the history of the United States. Marine Col. Oliver North, the perpetrator of this misguided series of actions, is a Christian Zionist. A born-again charismatic figure, he endeared himself to the militant Israeli Zionists who plotted Iran-contra. " He is more Israeli, " said one Jewish general, " than we Israelis. " This is often the case. In his zealotry, the Christian Zionist can become more Zionist, more militant, than the Jewish Zionist. > > In the Iran-contra hearings, Sen. James McClure (R-ID) explained to North that the US had a stated policy of neutrality in the Iran-Iraq war. That policy differed radically from Israel's policy of selling arms to Iran. Yes, agreed North, the two policies were not the same. The question, to which McClure's efforts yielded no response, then becomes: Why would the US forego its American policy to pursue Israeli policy? > > The answer, unfortunately, lies in the belief system of Christian Zionists: They believe that what Israel wants is what God wants. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to give the green light to whatever it is Israel wants and then conceal this from the American people. Anything, including lies, theft, even murder, is justified as long as Israel wants it. > > Another perfect example of a Christian Zionist is Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI). Throughout the hearings on the Iran-contra scandal, the Hawaiian kept the focus on the contras and steered determinedly clear of any criticism of Israel. If, in answer to questions, witnesses sought to explain the seminal and continuing role of Israel, Inouye abruptly broke off the line of questioning that had led the hearings to this unwanted destination. > > Despite the political problems created by its lay practitioners and the scandals that rocked some of its TV ministries, this belief system-this cult of Israel-has not been diminished. > > Indeed, I hold that Christian Zionism threatens not just the lives of Palestinians and other Arabs, but the very existence of the United States. Because of the cult of Israel, we have become a nation that does not have its own Middle East policy, but the policy the government of Israel tells us to have. > > Despite the terrifying aspects of the alliance of militant Christians with militant Jewish Zionists, I find some encouraging developments. In my visits to colleges, clubs, and churches around the country, I have found strong support for the message and warning in Prophecy and Politics. It has come not only from liberal congregations, but from across the whole spectrum of Christianity, including those Christians who call themselves fundamentalists. These supporters see Christ as the bearer to humanity of God's message of peace, brotherhood, love, and reconciliation. These Christians do not endorse either the cult of Israel or its killings and beatings of Palestinians. > > I have found many such Christians in my frequent visits to my home state of Texas. There and all over this slowly-awakening land of ours, I have found a small but increasing number of ministers and lay people who are deeply alarmed by the cult of Israel and willing to stand up and speak out about it. > > Grace Halsell's book, Prophecy and Politics. The Secret Alliance Between Israel and the US Christian Right Is available through the AET Book Club Catalog to readers of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. > > (This article was adapted by author Grace Halsell from her speech at the North American Regional Non-Governmental Symposium on the Question of Palestine held in June 1988 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.) > Zionist Pioneer Renounces Zionism HELENA COBBAN August 17, 2009 I've never met Dov Yermiya, a Jewish Israeli peace activist who is now 94 years old. But I read of course the book he published in 1983 in which he wrote with anguish about the torture and other gross mistreatment of civilians he witnessed directly during Israel's invasion of Lebanon the year before. I have it in my hand now. I just learned, from an open letter published by Uri Avnery, that Yermiya, recently renounced the ideology and practice of Zionism with these stirring words: " I, a 95 year old Sabra (native born Israeli Jew), who has plowed its fields, planted trees, built a house and fathered sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, and also shed his blood in the battle for the founding of the State of Israel, " Declare herewith that I renounce my belief in the Zionism which has failed, that I shall not be loyal to the Jewish fascist state and its mad visions, that I shall not sing anymore its nationalist anthem, that I shall stand at attention only on the days of mourning for those fallen on both sides in the wars, and that I look with a broken heart at an Israel that is committing suicide and at the three generations of offspring that I have bred and raised in it. " ... for 42 years, Israel turned what should have been Palestine into a giant detention camp, and is holding a whole people captive under an oppressive and cruel regime, with the sole aim of taking away their country, come what may!!! " " The IDF eagerly suppresses their efforts at rebellion, with the active assistance of the settlement thugs, by the brutal means of a sophisticated Apartheid and a choking blockade, inhuman harassment of the sick and of women in labor, the destruction of their economy and the theft of their best land and water. " Over all this there is waving the black flag of the frightening contempt for the life and blood of the Palestinians. Israel will never be forgiven for the terrible toll of blood spilt, and especially the blood of children, in hair-raising quantities... " Avnery's response is fascinating. He too is a veteran peace activist, and of about the same generation as Yermiya. But in the letter he is, I think, pleading with Yermiya not to renounce Zionism completely, but rather to reconnect with the " idealistic " Zionism that they both experienced during their youth. He writes, " When I think of our youth, yours and mine, one scene is never far from my mind: the 1947 Dalia festival. " Tens of thousands of young men and women were sitting on the slope of a hill in the natural amphitheater near Kibbutz Dalia on Mount Carmel. Ostensibly it was a festival of folk dancing, but in reality it was much more - a great celebration of the new Hebrew culture which we were then creating in the country, in which folk dancing played an important role. The dancing groups came mainly from the kibbutzim and the youth movements, and the dances were original Hebrew creations, interwoven with Russian, Polish, Yemenite and Hassidic ones. A group of Arabs danced the Debka in ecstasy, dancing and dancing and dancing on. " In the middle of the event, the loudspeakers announced that members of the UN Commission of Inquiry, which had been sent by the international organization to decide upon the future of the country, were joining us. When we saw them entering the amphitheater, the tens of thousands spontaneously rose to their feet and started to sing the " Hatikva " , the national anthem, with a holy fervor that reverberated from the surrounding mountains. " We did not know then that within half a year the great Hebrew-Arab war would break out - our War of Independence and their Naqba. I believe that most of the 6000 young people who fell in the war on our side, as well as the thousands that were wounded - like you and me - were present at that moment in Dalia, seeing each other and singing together. " What state did we think of then? What state did we set out to create? " What has happened to the Hebrew society, the Hebrew culture, the Hebrew morality that we were so proud of then? " Then, he pleads this: " You, Dov [Yermiya], have invested in this state much too much to turn your back on it in a gesture of anger and despair. The most hackneyed and worn-out slogan in Israel is also true: 'We don't have another state!' " Other states in the world have sunk to the depths of depravity and committed unspeakable crimes, far beyond our worst sins, and still brought themselves back to the family of nations and redeemed their souls. " We and all the members of our generation, who were among those who created this state, bear a heavy responsibility for it. A responsibility to our offspring, to those oppressed by this state, to the entire world. From this responsibility we cannot escape. " Even at your respectable age, and precisely because of it and because of what you represent, you must be a compass for the young and tell them: This state belongs to you, you can change it, don't allow the nationalist wreckers to steal it from you! " True, 61 years ago we had another state in mind. Now, after our state has tumbled to where it is today, we must remember that other state, and remind everybody, every day, what the state should have been like, what it can be like, and not allow our vision to disappear like a dream. Let's lend our shoulders to every effort to repair and heal! These are very weighty issues that these two longtime Zionists are debating. " I remember the evening I had back in early March with longtime Jewish-Israeli nonviolence activist Amos Gvirtz. Gvirtz is " only " in his late 60s or early 70s. But like Avnery and Yermiya he grew up in Israel. He told me in March, " I became an anti-Zionist after Oslo, when the government expelled the Arabs of Jahhaleenn to make room for the big new settlement area of Maale Adummim... Like the Zionists, I believe we Jews need a state of our own. But unlike the Zionists I don't think this should be built on the ruins of someone else's home. So our state need not necessarily be right here. " Gvirtz, too, like Avnery, identified a strong link between the events of 1947-48 and the situation today--though the nature of the link Gvirtz identified was very different from Avnery's: " The Nakba wasn't really a single event that happened in 1948, so much as a long-drawn-out process, that continues to this day. " In other words, he was quite unwilling to neatly divide Israeli history, as Avnery still does, between the idealized, prelapsarian days of the 1947 Dalia festival and the post-lapsarian era that was inaugurated--in Avnery's view--only by Israel's conquest of the West Bank. Obviously, this is a very weighty issue for Zionists and their supporters to grapple with. Did 1967 mark a notable break between a laudable past and a troublesome present? Or were there indeed, as Gvirtz and many other current non-and anti-Zionists have argued, many elements of continuity from the 1947 period right through to the present? Anyway, I'd love to see the whole text of the latest Yermiya letter from which Avnery is quoting, if anyone can provide a link to it, preferably in English. The only recent English text that I could find by him online was this letter, published in the Communist weekly Zo Haderekh in June 2008. In it, Yermiya was returning to Defense Minister Barak the invitation he had been sent to attend a ceremony to honor all veterans of Israel's 1948 " War of Independence " . He wrote, " As a veteran of the 1948 war, who was already wounded in face to face combat two weeks before the Declaration of the State, I feel obliged herewith to return the invitation to you, as Minister of Defence. I do so regretfully but see this as my duty. " I consider you, Ehud Barak, as one of the top military commanders and prominent political leaders who were responsible for converting the army from 'the Israeli Defence Force' to an army of occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people and defender of the criminal settlements in their country. " 40 years of occupation have utterly corrupted the Israeli army and all strata of Israeli society. They are both characterized by the nationalist 'east wind' [the east wind brings the chamsin and locusts] which blows and kindles conflagrations of endless wars, which threaten our people and land with the third and final destruction. Your share in the responsibility for all this is enormous, and therefore I return your invitation to you, without thanks... " Helena Cobban is a veteran writer, researcher, and program organizer on global affairs. Since 2003 she has published " Just World News " , a lively blog on international issues that has gained a broad international readership. 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