Poitical Stew

Just because I'm a pastor doesn't mean that I don't think I have a duty to speak out on subjects effecting our whole world.

Recently there has been a surge in political viewpoints made by Christians which I think merit writing about; mainly about the nation Israel and their place in the Bible.  The covenant that God made with Noah offered no land; even with Abraham what was made between God and Abraham didn't specify exactly which land God would give him.  It is laid out in the covenant that God made with Moses....and God wouldn't let Moses take the tribes of Israel into that land, but chose another.

I believe that all the promises made to Israel are 'natural'/earthly' ones....that they are types of what God had in store for His Son Jesus Christ.  The Christian church has inherited all those promises made down through the centuries, including especially those of the prophets. 

In 1948 the UK and USA saw the suffering of the Jewish people as over 6 million of them perished under the dictatorship of Hitler, and so they decided to help all the Jews to have a land of their own, that of Palestine, to include Jerusalem and the holy places revered by Muslins, Christians, and Jews. 

Since then, as the out come of other wars, the Jews have pushed the Palestinians further back from Jerusalem, Bethlehem and onto the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas.  While Israel continues to grow in military strength and is ready to wage war on other Islamic nations near then, President Obama has called repeatedly for peace talks and try to see that both Israel and Palestine have their own land and sovereignty.  This has led to a division with the USA political scene where extreme groups such as the Tea Party are calling for more support for Israel and claim that our forefathers would want it that way, along with less government, more individual freedoms, and especially the right to own arms, including military style weapons.

It leaves America in between two parties; one who continues to block any legislation that the Democrats think is right for the average peron....and yet, the GOP continues to want more tax benefits given to the wealthy and trust the 'trickle down effect' for our economy.  The new Pope, has condemned this sort of idea, and said that Christians should do what Jesus taught them to do; to care for the poor and to share their wealth with those who are in need.

This is not setting well with those who are wealthy as they argue that without the wealthy there would be no one to provide jobs.  That has not been happening; the wealthy continue to build their vast fortunes and the poor just become poorer.

Last year our nation grew at an astonishing rate; the Stock Market indexes were up as much as 30% and it looks like the improvement will continue into this new year.  However, banks are sitting on the piles of wealth they have for fear of another 'bubble' that nearly ruined our entire county in what is called now, 'The Great Recession", and having come out of that it seems that if we can move ahead with the right political policies, we will continue to prosper.  That's it for now...stay tuned, there is bound to be a lot more later.  Brother John