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Cult Watch Title: Author Of "Tea Party Manifesto" Claims That Joplin Mo. Tornadoes Are Obama's Punishment For Asking Israel To Give Up Land It was only a matter of time before the evangelical bull horns would start blaring about the cause of the Joplin tornadoes. Joseph Farah, editor in chief of the conservative news site World Net Daily, and author of The Tea Party Manifesto has fired the opening salvo: he believes that the Finger of God that hit Joplin, Mo., is Obama's fault. Joplin, Missouri seems to be attracting all kinds of negative religious types, with the Westboro Baptist Church organizing a protest there, and people like Mr. Farah insisting that 200 people are dead in Joplin because he claims that President Obama wants Israel to return to pre-1967 borders: Bible prophecy may have a bad name in the light of Harold Camping's misguided date-setting, but the biggest sign of the end may have been overlooked in all the rapture hysteria of last weekend. Once again, we've seen the U.S. hit with a series of deadly superstorms following Barack Obama's pledge to return Israel to pre-1967 borders. Just days after Obama insisted Israel must give up lands it won through military victory with its enemies, some 200 people were killed by a tornado in Joplin, Mo. There's a pattern here. We saw it in Katrina, when George Bush forced Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. In fact, as everyone from Israeli rabbis to U.S. senators have noted, it seems to happen every single time the U.S. pressures Israel to divide the land. The phenomenon was best documented by Bill Koenig, author of "Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel." There's a pattern here all right, and other bloggers are picking up on it. The Turner Report fired back: Yes, there is a pattern. A pattern of grandstanding glory seekers twisting religion to their own purposes.We are seeing that today with the Westboro Baptist Church's arrival in Joplin to protest today's 2 p.m. memorial service at Missouri Southern State University, as well as their cyberattack Saturday on memorial websites set up for tornado victims, including Joplin High School graduate Will Norton and JHS student Lantz Hare. Sadly, Farah, who also, not surprisingly, is one of the leaders of the Birther movement, is not alone in his beliefs that the President is responsible for the Joplin tornado. The comments on his column have more Amens than 100 revival meetings. This demented interpretation of the Scriptures, is not the kind of religion that offers solace to the suffering and offers a hand to those in need. The dementia is rampant in Farah's column. He neatly anticipates the naysayers by saying: You can choose to believe it or not. It won't make any difference. But he that touches the apple of God's eye will pay a price: "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." – Zechariah 2:8 If you want to understand prophecy, don't listen to Harold Camping – keep your eye on Israel and study your Bible. He goes on to spout numerous Bible verses that assert the authority of Israel and its superiority as God's chosen people. Never mind that those verses were written during a time when Israel was a combination of Caananite cultures. Never mind that the land Israel sits on was a British possession that originally belonged to Palestine: What really happened was that the Zionist movement, from the beginning, looked forward to a practically complete dispossession of the indigenous Arab population so that Israel could be a wholly Jewish state, or as much as was possible. Land bought by the Jewish National Fund was held in the name of the Jewish people and could never be sold or even leased back to Arabs (a situation which continues to the present).The Arab community, as it became increasingly aware of the Zionists’ intentions, strenuously opposed further Jewish immigration and land buying because it posed a real and imminent danger to the very existence of Arab society in Palestine. Because of this opposition, the entire Zionist project never could have been realized without the military backing of the British. The vast majority of the population of Palestine, by the way, had been Arabic since the seventh century A.D. (Over 1200 years) In short, Zionism was based on a faulty, colonialist world view that the rights of the indigenous inhabitants didn’t matter. The Arabs’ opposition to Zionism wasn’t based on anti-Semitism but rather on a totally reasonable fear of the dispossession of their people. One further point: being Jewish ourselves, the position we present here is critical of Zionism but is in no way anti-Semitic. We do not believe that the Jews acted worse than any other group might have acted in their situation. The Zionists (who were a distinct minority of the Jewish people until after WWII) had an understandable desire to establish a place where Jews could be masters of their own fate, given the bleak history of Jewish oppression. Especially as the danger to European Jewry crystalized in the late 1930’s and after, the actions of the Zionists were propelled by real desperation. But so were the actions of the Arabs. The mythic “land without people for a people without land” was already home to 700,000 Palestinians in 1919. What do Christians–or namely, Christian Zionists like Mr. Farah have to do with the Israel/Palestinian question? Challenging Christian Zionism: Christians Committed to Justice has this to say: Today Christian Zionists – particularly those with dispensationalist leanings - are at it again. Although their motives are couched in terms of compassion toward the Jewish people based on a literal reading of scripture the political agenda of territorial expansion advocated by Christian Zionists has given rise to injustice against Palestinians and added fuel to the fire of conflict in the Middle East. For some time, individuals, and theologians have spoken out against Christian Zionism. In the past few years, whole church bodies are adding their official voices to the distortions and injustices perpetuated by Christian Zionism. Various denominations give their views on Christian Zionism, and they are not favorable to Christian Zionism at all. The Presbyterian church issued the following statement: We are called by Scripture to love God and all our neighbors. Christian Zionism promotes a theology that justifies grievous violations of basic rights of people who are also made in the image of God and is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Its teachings invite contempt for fellow Christians in the Middle East, and foreclose decent human relations with many Evangelical Christians in our own American society and in our churches. The implications of this issue need to be understood and to be given much broader attention by our denomination. The term, “Christian Zionism,” is used to refer to the use of passages of biblical prophecy out of context to influence political and religious leaders to accept the State of Israel as a necessary condition of the return of Jesus Christ and the eschatological end of time (Armageddon), when Jews and others will be given the option to either convert or perish. Christian Zionism fails to relate to or defend Palestinian Christians who are fleeing their homeland because of Israeli occupation, economic closures, continuing confiscation of land and settlement construction, military aggression and now the “Wall.” Christian Zionism is actually anti-evangelical in that it undermines the presence and witness of the indigenous Middle East Christians, whether in the Holy Land itself or throughout the Middle East. Christian Zionism creates a false image of Christianity, one that is militant, western, and Zionist; and the repercussions often affect the continuity of indigenous Middle East Christians. Our Palestinian Christian partners urge us to speak out on this issue, notably the churches of the Middle East, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Sabeel Ecumenical Center, and others, as well as our good friends, the leaders of these bodies: the Reverend Naim Ateek of the Sabeel Center in Jerusalem, the Reverend Riad Jarjour, general secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the Reverend Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, who last year served as a mission partner in residence on the Worldwide Ministries Division staff of the PC(USA). The Mennonite Church released this statement entitled "A Biblical Theological Reflection on Israel:" Christians should not give a "blank check" to Israel. The prophets critiqued Israel when Israel acted unethically. Oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government calls for critique and action. God is not a tribal God. God cares for the well-being of all people. God wished to bless all families of the earth. Israel was to be an instrument for that blessing. Justice and compassion are key themes in the Hebrew Bible. Our empathy for Jewish suffering should not close our mouths to Palestinian suffering caused by Israeli policies. We should encourage Israel to pursue reconciliation and peace making. Christian Zionism, by defending Israel without critique, has led to injustice for Palestinians. Christians can remind Israel that security is found not by military might but by embracing justice. Jesus Reinterprets Jerusalem and Israel Many Christians have an Old Testament rather than a New Testament view of land, Jerusalem and Israel. When Jesus was asked, "Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6), he replied, "It is not for you to know the times and periods that the Father has set by his own authority" (Acts 1:7). Rather they were to witness to Jesus in Jerusalem, and throughout the whole world. Christians should focus on Jesus rather than on Jerusalem and the state of Israel. Prophetic Critique Jesus, by prophetic word and action, called Jerusalem to repentance. In critiquing Jerusalem, Jesus expressed mercy and compassion. He did not criticize from a distance but entered into Jerusalem's daily life. Jesus rebuked Jerusalem because the Holy City became unholy (Luke 13:34). Christians are often reluctant to criticize wrongful injustice in Israel because they view Israel in light of "signs of the times." Some Christians, instead of calling Jerusalem to repentance, only bless Israel and emphasize God's promises, ignoring the conditional nature of God's promises (Lev. 20:22). Jerusalem is not exempt from God's will revealed in Jesus. Justice is required of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Ethical Discernment The "sacredness" or "specialness" of Jerusalem/Israel blinds many Christians to ethical discernment. But devotion to Jerusalem/Israel without righteousness leads to unholy nationalism. Religious claims to the holiness of Jerusalem/Israel often lead to dispute and war rather than ethical behavior or peacemaking. Holiness of space must not usurp the place of ethics. Holy behavior is more important than holy places. When justice is lacking there is no holiness. Devotion to Jerusalem can become an idol. Jerusalem must not take the place of God or be revered at the expense of the values expressed by Jesus. The tornadoes happened in Joplin, Missouri because sometimes tornadoes happen. Our hearts and minds are with the people of Joplin as they recover from this disaster, and any self-respecting Christian would appreciate the fact the last thing the people of Joplin need is an evangelical nut job telling them they are being punished for something totally out of their control. There are many Christian people who live in this city, good, God fearing people who do not deserve the self righteous "judgments" of people completely out of touch with humanity at large. Shame on you, Mr. Farah.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
He has no shame, he's a Christian reconstructionist.
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