personal blog site for Sigmund Brouwer

In late July, nearly 5,000 evangelicals gathered in Washington, D.C. at a conference called Christians United For Israel. The essential message to politicians: don’t pressure Israel into peace deals or giving up any land. The essential reason: it’s against God’s will.

Unfortunately, this view is backed by as many as 70 million evangelicals, willing to exert significant political pressure against a two-state solution in the Middle East and the peace it might bring.

It’s a long and unfortunate tradition.

“The Christian fundamentalists were vehemently opposed to the peace process,” says Itamar Rabinovich, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. from 1993-1996. “They believed that the land belonged to Israel as a matter of divine right. So they immediately became part of a campaign by the Israeli right to undermine the peace process.”

In 1998, evangelical leader Jerry Falwell threatened to mobilize thousands of pastors if U.S. President Bill Clinton pressured Israel into peace efforts; Clinton quickly backed down. High-profile evangelical John Hagee is continuing this pressure through CUFI.

Much of the Arab world’s shared outrage against the United States began and continues over the Palestinian land claims conflict. Without questioning in any way Israel’s right to exist, crucial geo-political decisions ought not to be affected by a theology that needs critical examination, especially since orthodox Christians disagree markedly among themselves on Israel’s divine right to the land. During his time on earth, Christ stated his mission was to establish a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one. Furthermore, the apostle Paul tells us that the true Israel includes all of those with faith in the divine Christ — Jews or non-Jews. In short, God is not a land broker.

What’s truly frightening is a broad evangelical belief behind the support for Israel, that God wants a rebuilt temple on the site of the Muslim Dome of the Rock. If there ever was the potential to trigger Armageddon, this is it.

For millions in comfortable evangelical church pews across the United States, the conflict is merely an abstract consequence of a holy battle. To them, violent and indiscriminate deaths in Palestine or Israel are mere headlines, and the process for peace takes second place to a supposed Biblical mandate.

Forgotten in this are the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the shadow of Israel’s wealth, living far below poverty. One report showed that up to 75% suffer from malnutrition. If this were any other place in the world, American Christians would flood it with relief efforts instead of relying on the few groups already there.

Let’s allow Washington to help Israel work towards peace without interference from racist theology that discriminates against Arabs. In the meantime, given the immense suffering of an entire lost generation of Palestinian children, evangelicals could serve the process much better by uniting in Palestine under the directive Christ left his followers: feed the hungry and cloth the poor.

If this shift were made and the Arab world saw a different crusade by American evangelicals, the world truly would be a better place.

I’ve just finished a two-hour radio show with my Fuse co-author Hank Hanegraaff. One of the questions that came up was how to help kids in Palestine, so I wanted to immediately post this. As soon as I’ve finished this blog, I’m going to the web-site for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund to sign up to sponsor a child. (http://www.pcrf.net/first.html).

If you are interested, I would suggest first going to this website to learn more about PCRF:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Children’s_Relief_Fund.

Here you will learn that “In June, 2006, PCRF president and founder, Steve Sosebee was featured on NBC Nightly News’ “Making a Difference” series which focuses on individuals and organizations that are making a positive impact in the world.”

You will also learn that “For the past three years, the PCRF has received the highest rating (4-stars) by Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities’ fiscal management. It has received support and endorsements from Senator Paul Sarbanes, Congressman Albert Wynn and actor/humanitarian Richard Gere. In October 2006, U.S. former President Jimmy Carter issued a video endorsement of the organization.”

However, you should be aware that the organization has critics. “NGO Monitor, an Israeli non-governmental organization with the stated aim of monitoring other non-governmental organizations operating in the Middle East, criticizes PCRF for receiving assistance from Global Relief Foundation and the International Islamic Relief Organization, both of which it writes were closed down by the U.S. government for funding terrorist groups.”

I read the criticism with a critical eye, and my decision to sponsor was based on three reasons.

The first was Jimmy Carter’s endorsement via video clip on the PCRF website. Certainly a Nobel Peace Prize winner and world statesman has credibility. More over, I’m assuming that Jimmy Carter would not put his reputation on the line without having researched PCRF enough to know it is a worthwhile cause. Lastly, I’m reasoning, if there was any truth to even the slightest taint of terrorism links, as the NGO seems to be trying to imply, Jimmy Carter’s critics would have uncovered it and used it to embarrass Mr. Carter. After all, his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid drew a barrage of detractors.

My second reason was in analyzing the NGO criticism. I’m setting aside my questions about the motivation of a Israeli non-governmental organization criticizing an organization founded to help Palestinians. If the Global Relief Foundation and the International Islamic Relief Organization were guilty of funding terrorist groups, it does not necessarily follow that all groups these organizations funded were terrorist groups. That conclusion, in my mind, is strengthened by the endorsement from Jimmy Carter.

The third factor was 4-star rating by Charity Navigators, combined with one of the points that I was trying to make in Fuse: politics should not get in the way of helping kids. While other critics have accused its founder of anti-Israeli views, whether that criticism is accurate or whether I disagree with any or all opinions given by the founder of this organization, the 4-star rating tells me that my sponsorship money is going to make a difference in the life of a little girl.

Here she is: Rayan Ahmad Farhoud.

Hope you’ll consider getting involved too.

Fuse of Armageddon is just out. (If you click on the video link you will see a short, unpolished interview; more on the novel at www.coolreading.com)

While Publishers Weekly gave Fuse a great review - hey, trumpet the good reviews and hide the bad! - one point in the review was important to me: ‘This novel is notable because several of the characters explicitly and cogently criticize the premillennial dispensationalist theology that has shaped much of evangelical America’s thinking about the state of Israel.’
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