Posted by
John Corson on Monday, October 29, 2007 7:14:17 PM
This is the first posting for Matters of Faith and Government. We welcome comments to this blog and hope that the various topics offered here will stimulate discussion and debate on some of the lesser covered issues that face us.
The nation of Israel is, without a doubt, one of the most intriguing topics for most fundamentalist Christians and US governmental leaders alike. Both groups approach this foreign entity from differing points of view and for different reasons. For the typical Christian fundamentalist, Israel represents the immediate and the future. The immediate as you hear many televangelist and Christian authors promote its "protection at all cost" view. This view sees the Bible prophecies of future events to be totally wrapped around this nation and its people. Evangelicals preach and believe that it is the mission and God-given responsibility of the United States to economically support, militarily safeguard and internationally uphold Israel. Failing to do so, they say, will result in the rejection not only of God's people, but God's love! If the U.S. decreases or stops its support for Israel, then God will reject the U.S.
Governmental leaders are almost unanimously in total support for the nation of Israel and its policies. More economic and military support is rendered to this nation than any other nation on the earth and the U.S. budgets since 1972 has reflected that more financial aid is rendered to the nation of Israel than any seven other nations combined. There is a little known "pledge" that virtually every politician, Republican or Democrat, must adhere to, either in writing or by vocal affirmation, that he/she will render his/her support to Israel when called upon to do so. This bow to the largest lobby in the U.S. (the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'rith) forms a very different reason as to why governmental leaders support this tiny nation.
The question we pose to our readers is this: Is our allegiance to this one nation our most important foreign policy duty? If so, is it really the ADL or Fundamentalist Christianity that is pulling the strings on the policy makers of our time?