President Obama finally made his first really serious attempt to restart the Middle East peace process. And he didn't pull any punches. After what must have been months of hard work and dozens of meetings with the best and brightest scholars and politicians in America, Obama laid out a new plan.
But uber-conservative Christian radio commentator Michael Savage has a better strategy for setting U.S. foreign policy: read Ezekiel, then start a nuclear war!
Everything you need to know about Middle East diplomacy is right there in the Bible. Savage tells us how God is on Israel's side. All of Israel's neighbors are "despicable nations" in God's eyes. "There will be a nuclear war in the Middle East, according to [Ezekiel]," says Savage. He goes on to point out that by associating with Israel's enemies, President Obama is an enemy of Israel, and therefore an enemy of God.
Not only that, but Savage seems to say that there is only one solution in the Middle East: the inevitable war that will destroy Israel's enemies. Ezekiel says it will happen, so it must be true, so bring it on! Anyone who is working toward peace in the Middle East is violating the prophecies in Ezekiel.
Let's be sure we understand Savage's theory. Ezekiel was written over 2500 years ago by a Jewish priest who almost certainly had some sort of epilepsy or other mental illness. He knew nothing of the lands beyond Israel and its neighbors. The armies of Ezekiel's time fought with swords and spears, not missiles, jet fighters, tanks and nuclear weapons. Ezekiel could no more predict what's going on today than I can predict what will happen in the year 5,000 AD.
And yet Savage believes Ezekiel's predictions are about the Middle East of 2011. And if I understand Savage's logic, Ezekiel was not writing about 2001 or 2021. Ezekiel was talking about 2011.
If Savage were in charge, he would immediately engage in a massive war. All of the nations surrounding Israel would be the enemy, and the war would only end when the enemy was completely destroyed. Yeah, that's the Bible for you. All the knowledge we'll ever need. Completely 100% moral in every regard.
It would be funny except that millions of people listen to this whack job, and those people are allowed to vote.
Maybe the reason so many Christians believe Armageddon is coming is because they would create it if they were in charge.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
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Dear readers -- I am no longer blogging and after leaving these blogs open for two years have finally stopped accepting comments due to spammers. Thanks for your interest. If you'd like to write to me, click on the "Contact" link at the top. Thanks! -- CJ.
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The very fact that Israel exists and is in the land is prophesied by Ezekiel. Other than God being true to his covenant with them, there is no reason that the Jews or Israel should exist. He made an everlasting covenant with them and He could not do that with and exterminated people. ALL people of their number have been assimilated ,but miraculously and by God's keeping power they have not. Stop hardening your heart toward God and being a fool. How can you, a puny man like the rest of us ,assume that you know so much. God loves you and wants you to know Him.
ReplyDeleteFrom my understanding, Israel exists because it was artificially created following WWII. Up until that point, it was a Palestinian state and the Jewish contingent was marginal. The creation of an Israeli state was only achieved through civil war, as the Palestinians had rejected a UN plan to form two separate states. In retrospect, allowing a group of people to re-inhabit and displace the local population because of some 2000 year old right to the property wasn't a great idea, and standing behind them regardless of their actions has been even worse. Aside from the fact that Israel is guilty of egregious violations of human rights and international law, expanding its boundaries at will and segregating the Palestinians, they also possess a sizable nuclear arsenal, courtesy of the US. The only reason they haven't been forced to find a peaceful solution to their problems with Palestine is the fact that the US supports them economically and militarily. The fact is that Israel should not exist as it does now, and I fail to see a Godly justification or reason for its existence in a stockpile of nukes and a "right is on our side" mentality despite a complete absence of morality when it comes to how they treat their neighbors. If God made a covenant with them and that's why there are so many problems over there then he's a real dick, and I don't want anything to do with him.
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