Re-post: "Consider it pure joy..." From Deep Thoughts with Jen

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

• God never asks anything from us that He didn't or wouldn’t already give. That is not is God's character. Our perfect Creator has sacrificed all and therefore it is our purpose in life to do the same. Romans 12:1 tells us to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." God wants our everything! Every day He wants us to ask, "What do you want today, Father?! What do I need to give you? What would you have me offer today?" Sometimes He'll respond with, "Nothing! You're putting me first above all! Well done, good and faithful servant!" Sometimes He'll respond with a big, fat, giant list. Oh boy, those are fun days! Sometimes, He'll ask for the one thing that you never thought He'd ask for. You even question Him, as if to say, "Are you sure?" When He asks for these things you wonder, "Why, I don't understand?! I know that you gave me this as a blessing and now you want it back!" Those mornings you cry out in confusion and in part, even defiance because you know that either He has been asking for a while and you haven’t responded or that you already know that you have to give it up, but that this marks the beginning of the battle.
  
• I am sure that Abraham felt the same way when he was asked to sacrifice his very own precious son, even though God also promised him that Abraham would see his offspring through that precious son. We don’t have any idea of the dialogue that went in inside his head after God asked for such a massive sacrifice. However, the word gives many indications that not only did Abraham put his trust in God but he trusted that God would provide a way out as well. In Genesis 22:5 – 8, we can see that Abraham told his servants to stay put while Abraham and Isaac went on and that both he and Isaac would be back. It goes on to say in verse 8 that when Isaac questioned about the offering, Abraham told Isaac that “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” In Hebrews 11:19, Paul writes that Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. So, not only can we see that Abraham was a man of faith and trust, but that he was a man of great hope in the Lord and His promises. Abraham didn’t just believe in God – he believed God.
  
• God is graciously teaching me the value of faith and that faith can only be purified by the testing of it. I am drawing strength from the bible in scriptures like 1Pet. 1:6-7, “. . . though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” and Psalm 66:10 “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” What an incredible time in my life for the Lord to know my heart and know that I am ready for such trials! What faith in me the Lord must have to consider that I am ready for such a fiery test! I am banking on the promise of 1Cor.10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
  
• Father, I long for the faith, trust, and hope that Abraham had in you! I long to look to you and you alone in this trial. I believe in what your Word tells me and I know that you are doing a great and mighty work in me and that you promise rich blessings on the other side. Add to my faith, increase it in measure and then add to it goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, Father! I am taking hold of so many promises that your Word teaches me. Renew yourself to me each day as I keep my eyes fixed on you while I run this race! Be with my family and bless them with everything that they need to give you glory and honor. Clothe them each with your righteousness and encourage them with your unending love. We need you Father! All in your Holy and Sweet name we pray.
  AMEN.

'Brokeback' Rides Away With Oscar Nods

It typically doesn't bother me when hollywood pats itself on the back, but some people do give hollywood stars a lot of admiration and actually base their lives on the stars do. I can only hope that the American public is smarter then hollywood gives them credit for and sees this as the attempt to push homosexuality that it is.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The cowboy love story "Brokeback Mountain" led the Academy Awards field Tuesday with eight nominations, among them best picture and honors for actor Heath Ledger and director Ang Lee.
Also nominated for best picture were the Truman Capote story "Capote"; the ensemble drama "Crash"; the Edward R. Murrow chronicle "Good Night, and Good Luck"; the assassination thriller "Munich."
The Johnny Cash biography, "Walk the Line", considered a likely best picture nominee, was shut out, though Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon earned acting nominations for the film.

Read the rest here.

Coretta Scott King, 78, Dies

A very inspirational and devoted wife of a very inspirational man.

ATLANTA — Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78.
Flags at the King Center were lowered to half-staff Tuesday morning.
"We appreciate the prayers and condolences from people across the country," the King family said in a statement. The family said she died overnight, but did not say where she died. She suffered a serious stroke and heart attack in 2005.
"It's a bleak morning for me and for many people and yet it's a great morning because we have a chance to look at her and see what she did and who she was," the poet Maya Angelou said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"It's bleak because I can't — many of us can't hear her sweet voice but it's great because she did live, and she was ours. I mean African-Americans and white Americans and Asians, Spanish-speaking — she belonged to us and that's a great thing."
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the civil rights activist who is close to the King family, broke the news on NBC's "Today" show: "I understand that she was asleep last night and her daughter (Bernice King) went in to wake her up and she was not able to and so she quietly slipped away. Her spirit will remain with us just as her husband's has."

Read the rest here.

The Greatest Commandment

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.
One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
This is the great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Matthew 22:34-40 (New American Standard Bible)

Views on Pornography Differ Among Sexes

Pornography is wrong. Period. There is nothing good that can come out of it. It is one of the reasons our society is so desensitized towards sex. I'll even take it a bit further by saying that I believe that sex scenes in sitcoms and made for TV movies play their part in the pornography gambit as well. Call me old fashion, but sex needs to remain a private thing between and married man and woman.

(AgapePress) - According to survey findings released last fall by Harris Interactive, Inc., men and women differ in their views about the effects and possible regulation of pornography.
A Harris Poll in September 2004 revealed women to be much more critical of pornography, in general, than men. At the same time, a slightly larger number of women over men favor government regulation of online pornography, if such were possible. Specifically, 57 percent of women believe "pornography is demeaning towards women" as compared to 38 percent of men. In addition, 47 percent of women and 33 percent of men believe porn "harms relationships between men and women."
While there was no unanimity regarding the impact of pornography on children, both men and women agreed the effects were mostly negative. Only 2 percent said "it helps kids better understand sexuality."
Males and females share a similar view regarding the regulation of Internet pornography for the sake of children, although there is still an obvious difference among the sexes. For example, 42 percent of those polled believe the government should "regulate Internet pornography specifically so that children cannot access X-rated material online." Broken down by sexes, 53 percent of women and 30 percent of men prefer such a policy.

Bank Takes Stand for Private Citizens With Anti-Eminent Domain Policy

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I guess the municipalities may have to rethink their plans a bit. I hope that many (if not all) financial organizations will get on board. I don't know though. There's always someone with money who is sleazy enough to do the wrong thing in order to earn a buck. Maybe the Supreme Court will revisit this and overturn their previous decision.

(AgapePress) - One of the nation's top ten banks announced last week that it no longer plans to loan money for commercial projects placed on land taken from private citizens through eminent domain.
The Associated Press quotes BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive John Allison as calling the idea of the government taking a citizen's property for private use "extremely misguided. And recently on Fox News, he placed his feelings about the practice in even stronger terms, equating it with immorality.
According to Allison, BB&T realized loaning money for development under those circumstances was the worst kind of contrast to the dreams of the clientele that the company has served from its beginnings. “Not long ago we were really an eastern North Carolina farm bank," he notes, "and we primarily dealt with small businesses and farms. We realized from feedback from that client base that this is a gut-level issue -- that people’s homes are very important things.”
The bank spokesman says he has seen eminent domain hurt private property owners under the guise of the public good. However, he observes, “A lot of times … what somebody says is for the public good really means it’s good for them and maybe not so good for you."
Allison told Fox News that BB&T's eminent domain policy is a stand the company is taking on principle. "We believe that one of the most fundamental principles on which this country was founded was the concept of individual rights -- and the most important of those rights is the right to private property," he noted.
"Our whole free-enterprise economic system is based upon that right," the BB&T executive contended. "We think it’s morally wrong for the government to use the power of eminent domain to take the private property of one individual for the benefit of another private individual.”
Allison says he has encouraged executives at other financial institutions to take the same stance as BB&T has taken toward eminent domain-based developments. BB&T operates in more than 1,400 branches across eleven U.S. states.

Iran blasts Big Five’s decision to transfer the Iran dossier to UN Security Council

Keep watching this. Iran is run by a madman and there is no telling what they might do.

Russia and China, reluctant to adopt this step until now, signed on to the US-European call to the UN nuclear watchdog at an overnight meeting of the five with Germany in London early Wednesday. They accepted the compromise of waiting for the SC to take up the Iranian case until after ElBaradei submits his report to the IAEA in March.
DEBKAfile adds: The holdouts were persuaded by the failure of the plan to transfer Iran’s enrichment program to Russia after Iran demanded full control over the facility’s production of centrifuges and the volume of output.
Furthermore, the Iranian nuclear negotiator who held talks with three European officials ahead of the meeting of the five came armed with a threat: if its case went to the Security Council, Iran would repudiate all former restrictions and go full speed ahead with uranium enrichment and other suspended parts of its nuclear program.
This declaration of intent to go ahead with building a nuclear weapon puts paid to the dispute among Western intelligence agencies on whether Iran has acquired the resources to manufacture sufficient enriched uranium for a bomb. According to one estimate, the Iranians already have 35-30,000 centrifuge units.
The IAEA board meets in Vienna Thursday.
Earlier this month, Iran broke UN seals at its uranium enrichment plant and announced the resumption of “nuclear fuel research.”

Brownback: 'Fruits' Comment Not Gay Joke

I had forgotten that gays used to be called (and may still be in some circles) "fruits". But once again, it shows how hyper-sensitive people are when their agenda may have been slighted. If one read the Bible, the verse goes like this:

Matthew 7:15-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
A Tree and Its Fruit
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
"So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
So then, you will know them by their fruits."

Jesus was taliing about the false prophets. Sam took it out of context and the gays ran with it. Both of y'all need to just settle down. Sam, keep it in context and gays, stop being so moody. Why would Brownback trust "Rolling Stone Magazine" to not spin his words? C'mon, it's Rolling Stone Magazine, for Heaven's sake!! Ex-Hyppies, college liberals, that sort of thing...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, a potential presidential candidate, said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word ``fruits'' in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
In a lengthy profile titled "God's Senator,'' the magazine quotes the Kansas Republican as criticizing countries like Sweden that have legalized gay marriage.
"You'll know them by their fruits,'' Brownback said, quoting a biblical passage from Matthew 7:19.
Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet said in the story, appearing in the magazine's current issue, that Brownback appeared to be calling gay Swedes fruits.
After gay and lesbian advocacy groups denounced the comments last week, Brownback issued a statement Monday saying his quote "was in no way referring to sexual orientation.''
"While this biblical passage was pertinent to our overall conversation about faith and deeds, it apparently led the writer to believe I was making a joke,'' said Brownback, a frequent critic of gay marriage who is pushing a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
"I was not and would never do so with such a personal and sensitive issue,'' Brownback said.
His explanation was greeted with skepticism by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization.
"It's nice to know that Senator Brownback doesn't resort to name-calling from the 1970s, but unfortunately his anti-gay agenda continues to speak for itself,'' said spokesman Brad Luna.

Is new AOL IM slogan marketing blasphemy?

I'm willing to bet this is just some uninformed marketing group who thought they had a catchy phrase, never giving it a second thought that it does imply the name of God. But with that said, they do need to change it. If it was a muslim complaining, it would already be changed. Let's see how long it takes them to do it for the Christians and Jews.

When Ian Millar opened up his AOL Instant Messenger program yesterday and linked to the new AIM Triton site, he wasn't prepared for what he saw.
"I have been an AIM customer for many years, and although I do not use AOL for my mail client, I have recommended it for relatives and friends," he said in letter to top executives of the company. "In general, I appreciate AOL and your business savvy."
But when Millar saw the company's new slogan, he was shocked and disgusted. He was not alone.
America Online is now acting like God – using what some consider to be His very name in a marketing pitch for e-mail, voice chat, video chat, instant messaging, text messaging and other forms of communication.
AIM's new slogan is "I AM."
Millar wonders is any of AOL's marketing and planning directors ever went to Christian Sunday school or attended Jewish services.
He points out to AOL executives that "I AM" is the English translation of YaHWeH, the self-proclaimed name of God.
"He is the Creator and Savior of the world," explains Millar. "He alone is to be worshipped. To take His name in vain, or use as a common thing is blasphemy, a vulgar sin of offense. Perhaps you have not read the Third Commandment, since they have removed it from so many public monuments in the last decade. But breaking it as a means of marketing your products offends the mind of everyone who worships Him."
The key scripture used to support the sacred name of God is Exodus 3:13-15: "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
"I AM" are the words God used to answer Moses' question about His name.
Jesus, too, used the phrase in John 8:58, when he said, "Before Abraham was, I am."
Millar suggests that perhaps AOL is in need of more religious diversity in its corporate ranks. But he suggests that such oversights would seem implausible in a country "where the Judeo-Christian culture has been pervasive for 300 years."
"You must immediately change the name of your program," he told Jonathan Miller, the chief executive officer of America Online, and John Buckley, corporate communications officer for the company, in a pointed letter. I can assure you that you will lose business over this marketing tactic from people who worship the Almighty. But worse, you have offended Him by your actions; whether they are deliberate or ignorant. To treat as common the name of God is wicked. God is patient, but mankind is today making an error of epic proportions by the deliberate actions of mocking the Almighty; particularly in the technologically advanced society. His patience with the mockery of mankind will come to an end."
Millar suggested AOL would never think of using – or misusing – the names "Allah," or "Buddha" in its corporate marketing efforts.
"This new marketing idea is bad corporate policy," he said. "I implore you to change the name of your programs and rebuke the marketing team who came up with this vile idea. I will stop using AIM and urge all of my colleagues to convert to your competitors, if this is not changed very soon."
AOL officials were not available for comment.

Exodus 3:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

John 8:58 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."

Pro-Homosexual School Posters Fostering 'Intolerance,' Says Family Advocate

And once again the homosexual agenda is being forced down our throats, this time in the schools in the California. I admire the teachers who are willing to make their own lives difficult by standing up to the school system administrators.

(AgapePress) - A pro-family leader says five public school teachers in the San Francisco Bay area are putting their jobs on the line to protect their students from "propaganda" that homosexual activists have forced into the classroom.
Five teachers at San Leandro High School have refused to abide by a school district order to display a rainbow flag poster in their classrooms. The notebook paper-sized poster sports the logo for the San Leandro Unified School District (SLUSD) as well as the inverted pink triangle, an international symbol for "gay pride." Addressing itself to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, [and] questioning youth," the poster reads: "This is a safe place to be who you are. This sign affirms that support and resources are available for you in this school."
Last week, WorldNetDaily reported that the five teachers refused to display the poster because of their religious beliefs. But SLUSD superintendent Christine Lim said the policy calling for the poster to be displayed in classrooms is designed to make schools safe for homosexual students.
"This is not about religion, sex, or a belief system," Lim told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is about educators making sure our schools are safe for our children, regardless of their sexual orientation."
However, Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute (CFI) takes issue with that statement. He believes Lim's talk of safety is cover for the homosexual agenda. "What [such policies] produce is intolerance toward anyone who won't accept homosexuality," he says, adding that in this case, that means "teachers who know that it's not a good thing to sell kids on the idea that it's okay to be gay."
According to Knight, the heated debate going on at San Leandro High is not about safety at all. "This is about bullying people and saying you will kneel down and bow to the Baal god of homosexuality -- or we'll make your life very miserable," he says.
The CFI spokesman maintains the school district is demonstrating intolerance toward the five teachers who are choosing not to display the posters -- and those teachers, he adds, are courageous for standing up to the mandate.
"The school district has no business telling teachers to glorify behavior that has such a long list of known health risks," Knight says. "This ought to be treated as a public health issue -- not a matter of civil rights, as [homosexual activists] like to frame it."
And it is wrong, Knight adds, to force teachers into a situation that implies their approval of an unsafe and unhealthy lifestyle. "When you put a rainbow poster up in your classroom, you're lending the authority of the teacher to the gay-rights movement," he explains. In essence, says Knight, the district is saying: "Kids, go ahead and try this behavior. Even your teacher is for it."
The controversial poster was designed by students in the school's Gay Straight Alliance Club, under the supervision of a homosexual art teacher. The Chronicle reported on Thursday that tensions had eased at the school following faculty discussions about the "underlying message" of the posters. The principal says she expects to see the posters up in all 200 classrooms this week, and will have "a private conversation" with any teacher who is not in compliance with the policy.

Jesus Casts Out "Legion"

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me."
For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him.
They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.
And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.
Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.
And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying,
"Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:26-39 (New American Standard Bible)

Re-Post: Nearing Midnight for January 30th (Part 2)

God’s Prophecy Not Enough?

People have, over the years--following the completed Word of God, with its 66 books--made predictions based upon dreams and, less frequently, upon visions. Despite all of the twisting of logic and rewriting of historical record, both recent and of the past that is far removed from the present, the non-biblical dreams and visions have proved to be non-events.
Oh, people can find things supposedly fulfilled within the quatrains written by the French “seer” Nostradamus. His and others’ “prophesies” are declared by many as having come to pass, as demonstrated by the rise of Adolf Hitler and the advent of other “foretold” regimes and events.
I have heard stories of blazing fires in the major cities of the U.S., “prophesied” by both well-known and lesser-known preachers of various stripes. America was going to be judged and destroyed by God’s mighty hand in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s. Now there are predictions –and I get them constantly through e-mail--of the most horrendous fate imaginable for the United States, based upon dreams of the most detailed variety. The dream date-setters missed January 23 on just such a prediction. A married couple saw all of the things we’ve been warned about –American cities aflame, getting exactly what she deserves. They saw the dreams that were almost identical, so the story goes. January 23 (Monday last) was to be America’s judgment day. Defenders of the couples missing the target are saying that their appeals for prayers that the Lord would spare the nation and give America another chance were likely the reason the dreams didn’t become reality.
Now, folks, may I say this as gently as possible? What sort of fodder does such dreamstuff –which is always claimed to emanate from the very throne of God—give Satan’s army in this fallen world that he so effectively rules already? Is it not time to stop disseminating these bad cases of nocturnal indigestion during somnolence –or whatever is prompting such utter nonsense? Do we never learn that these are not from the Lord our God, after every single one of the “prophecy--dreams” have failed to produce a single proof of their validity?
I get them every week. If every one I’ve been sent just since January 1 of this year came true within the time allotted, you wouldn’t be reading this. But, I wouldn’t be writing it, either! We would all be finished! A bit of prayerful and well-studied speculation is within the realm of being good “watchmen,” as Jesus exhorted in Mark 13: 37 and Luke 21: 28. But dreams and visions that are extra-biblical are not right to either issue or receive. They are either bad spaghetti, absolute falsehoods, or “dreams and visions” that emanate from somewhere other than from the throne room of God.
God’s “dreams and visions,” you see, ALWAYS COME TRUE!
My apologies for screaming at you in this cybertext, but we’ve got to realize that dreams and visions that are not already in God’s Word–the Bible—are, well, not from His Son, Jesus Christ, the Living Word. His prophecy ALWAYS comes true –every time, without exception. And that prophecy is based upon the consistent principles laid out plainly in the Word He left us in the form of God’s great love letter, the Holy Bible.
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Pet. 1: 19-2: 1).
I know the cry that will be forthcoming. "That same Bible says: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams’” (Acts 2:17).
Agreed. Very strong proof text that these dreams will again be in effect, following the Bible’s completion, when the last prophet wrote the last prophecy.
But, to understand Acts 2:17, we must also understand that the following, in this New Testament passage, is taken from the Old Testament, which puts it in proper context.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Joel 2:28).
This is what is meant by the above Scripture, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture. Scripture must be looked at in total context; it cannot be dissected and used any way the user wishes.
So what does this earlier passage in Joel say, to give context to the latter in Acts? The key is given by the words: “And it shall come to pass afterward…” Specifically, the operative word is “afterward.”
The Word of God plainly teaches in the preceding 27 passages and before that the day of the Lord--the tribulation--must first have taken place. These wondrous “dreams and visions” for a time yet future are for the glorious days of the millennium!
Still, I realize I will get all kinds of arguments about this. So, let me just ask those who would do the rock throwing: “Where are your dreams and visions that have come 100 percent--or even 10 percent--true, by Bible standards, God’s standards?"
These exercises in hyperbole and sensationalism must stop, for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. Let us simply watch and try to determine the times and seasons we are in, so far as God’s prophetic timeline is concerned. But, let us do so through God’s microscope of Bible truth. Let’s not try to build personal reputations upon false prognostications –or bad pizza.

--Terry

Re-Post: Nearing Midnight for January 30th (Part 1)

The Mad Man Running Iran

In recent months, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly been in the news over his efforts to advance his nation's nuclear program. He has also been in the headlines for making some rather outrageous comments around Israel. He called for the destruction of the Jewish state, denied the Holocaust ever took place, and said that Israel should be relocated to Europe.
I'm sure Washington and Israel are very concerned about what type of man is now running Iran.
Ahmadinejad came to power through a grass roots effort. He reportedly spent no money on his presidential campaign; He won by getting the backing of powerful conservatives who used their network of mosques to mobilize support for him. His presidential campaign focused on poverty, social justice and the distribution of wealth inside Iran.
When Ahmadinejad was mayor of Tehran, he made reform his top priority. He seemed to be a man immune to corruption. For several years, he has lived in a very small house. Even as President, he remains dedicated to a life of modesty.
Iran's President is no Mother Teresa. He has another dimension to his personality that is dedicated to fulfilling a messianic mission. In November, a video surfaced showing Mr. Ahmadinejad telling a cleric that he had felt the hand of God entrancing world leaders as he delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly last September. He claimed to have been bathed in a divine light as he spoke at the UN.
When an aircraft crashed in Teheran last month, killing 108 people, Mr. Ahmadinejad promised an investigation. But he also thanked the dead, saying: "What is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow."
Iran's president blamed Britain and the United States for two bombings that killed at least nine people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. "Traces of the occupiers of Iraq are evident in the Ahvaz events. They should take responsibility in this regard," said Ahmadinejad on State TV.
Ahmadinejad has surrounded himself with men who closely share his views. This past week, the Iranian defense minister made a shocking comment about Israel using Ariel Sharon's unfortunate health situation. "Zionists should know that if they do anything evil against Iran, the response of Iran's armed forces will be so firm that it will send them into eternal coma, like Sharon," Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said.
The most disturbing aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad's views is his devotion to a divine savior, known as the Mahdi, who will appear in the last days. He and his cabinet have signed a "contract," pledging to work for the return of the Mahdi.
Ahmadinejad believes that Israel and America are somehow preventing the appearance of the Mahdi. Their sneaking suspicion is that he actually relishes a clash with the West in the conviction that it would rekindle the spirit of the Islamic revolution and speed up the arrival of the Hidden Imam.
I believe that Ahmadinejad is something of mad man - not the kind that sees a pink elephant, but rather the kind that is so fixated on accomplishing a task that he disregards rational thinking.
Once Israel or the US feels that Iran is near the point of gaining nuclear weapons, I expect to see a precision attack on that nation's nuclear facilities. If that strike takes place, a number of events could be set into motion. Some of the end-time related possibilities: Hezbollah could attack Israel; Syria may join the fray; or Russia may move into the confrontation. In any case, it's wise to be watchful.

--Todd

Hamas hints long-term truce, demanding Israel change flag

Well, how about that...the pali terrorist want a truce. You can bet they would obey it as well as they always have; in other words, they won't. They (and the rest of the world) will expect Israel to obey it while they break it over and over again. I say "No Way". Oh yeah, the pali terrorist are so stupid they don't even understand the meaning of the two stripes on the Israeli flag. They say it stands for "symbols of occupation". What they actually stand for are the Talit, or Jewish prayer shawl, which is traditionally striped.


JERUSALEM – Hamas, which catapulted to power in last week's Palestinian elections, might soon offer Israel a long-term cease fire but will not recognize Israel's right to exist, the terror group's chief Mahmoud al-Zahar told WorldNetDaily yesterday after earlier demanding the Jewish state change it's official flag.
Al-Zahar's comments follow a WND exclusive interview in which a top Hamas leader said his group will soon make public a "peace initiative" in which it will offer to trade strategic land with Israel, cease attempts to capture parts of Jerusalem, and sign a 10-year renewable truce with the Jewish state with the aim of later destroying Israel.
"I am not ruling out a long truce period with Israel during which we will hold back armed confrontation as long as the Israeli soldiers respect the truce and do not commit violence against the Palestinian people," said al-Zahar, speaking to WND by cell phone from the Gaza Strip.
Israel routinely conducts operations against terror groups in Gaza and the West Bank aimed at halting suicide bombings, shooting attacks and rocket firing. Hamas openly targets Israeli civilians.
Al-Zahar deflected a question about whether he will modify Hamas' official charter, which calls for jihad against Israel "by assaulting and killing."
Earlier he demanded Israel "remove the two blue stripes from its national flag. The stripes on the flag are symbols of occupation. They signify Israel's borders stretching from the River Euphrates to the River Nile."
Israel's national flag, adopted from a previously used Zionist movement flag, features a star of David within two blue stripes. The stripes signify the Talit, or Jewish prayer shawl, which is traditionally striped.
Al-Zahar's statements regarding a possible long-term ceasefire coincide with a top Hamas leader's outline to WND of a "peace initiative," which the leader justified using Islamic tradition and said is a temporary machination to ease international and U.S. hostility toward his group in hopes of receiving financial assistance.
"We will be ready for a long interim agreement based on a period of cease-fire that can go to 10 or even 15 years like it was done by the prophet Muhammad with the enemies of the Muslims," said the senior Hamas official, who spoke on condition his name be withheld, since he said he was "revealing confidential operative information."
Hamas leaders, including overall Hamas chief Khaled Meshal, who resides in Syria, formulated a "peace proposal" they agreed would be acceptable to their group in which the Palestinians would offer to trade certain lands with Israel, the top Hamas official revealed.
"With the territories we will be ready to discuss the possibility that the three big settlement compounds will remain under the power of the occupation (Israel), and in exchange we will receive territories for the Palestinian independent state," said the Hamas leader.
The leader told WND the "three settlements" he was referring to are Ariel and Gush Etzion, two large regions in the West Bank that contain many of the area's major Jewish communities, and western and peripheral sections of Jerusalem, which he said Hamas considers "Israeli settlements." Jews have resided in Jerusalem, which is mentioned more than 800 times in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, for over 3,000 years.
Hamas, in exchange for the three areas, would want the eastern sections of Jerusalem, the parts of the southern Israeli Negev desert that border the Gaza Strip and the Jordan Valley, which extends from outside Jerusalem toward Jordan and encompasses most of Israel's major water supplies.
The Hamas official indicated his group may be willing to compromise on its territorial demands.
"We are most interested in Jerusalem and the Negev," the leader said.
The leader then justified the Hamas "peace plan" using Islamic history.
"The Muslim hero Saladin gave up land when he gave Acco to the Crusaders in order to keep Jerusalem. Therefore, I say that the possibility of the exchange of territories existed already in the history of Islam and it cohabitates with our principle that all of Palestine is a dedicated land from Allah, may he be blessed to the Muslims, and no one has the right to give up any part of it," said the leader.
There have been concerns that when it assumes control, Hamas may impose hard-line Islamic law on the Palestinians. Yesterday, Hamas gunmen placed the group's flag on the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah and reportedly announced Hamas will soon rule the area by shariah law. Hamas reportedly has banned Western music events and established hard-line Islamic courts. Israel says the group has an "Anti-Corruption Unit" that enforces Islamic rules.
But the Hamas official told WND his terror organization will not impose Islamic law, "in order to reduce the hostility of the international community and the government of Israel [toward Hamas]. We will not take any initiative to change the way of life of the Palestinian people. ... I tell you we will surprise everyone with our new attitude."
The leader explained his group will create a governing coalition it feels will help garner financial assistance from European countries, including allowing another party to hold the foreign affairs and internal security portfolios and likely keeping the PA's current minister of finance, Salaem Fayyad, who largely is acceptable to the international community.
The Hamas leader said his group will not abandon its goal of destroying Israel.
"When I speak about a long cease-fire and a temporary agreement, it means that we do not recognize the right of the state of the occupation on our lands, but we will accept its existence temporarily," said the leader.
The leader insisted the policies are based on the formulation Hamas will not be able to defeat Israel in the near future, but he said his group is confident it ultimately will be "victorious."
"I do not see the Palestinian people and Islamic nation succeeding to liberate this blessed land of Palestine in the very near future," he said. "This is an Islamic land and the Jews are invited to live in Palestine and the Muslims will guaranty their safety and honor. ... But we will never give up our right for the whole of Palestine. We should be realistic to admit that the mission for the liberation of Palestine will pass on to the coming generations."

EU Approves Ban on 'Homophobia'; Christians Remain Silent

For those who don't think this can happen in the United States, I recommend you take a reality break. The liberal courts are more then happy to consider foreign law as they make decisions about our laws. With the "success" of the homosexual agenda to be considered "normal", Christians are going to have to take a very firm stand on this, or like Europe, roll over and let it happen.

(AgapePress) - The European Union has unanimously approved a resolution banning "homophobia." A Christian attorney in Mississippi explains why that should concern the citizens of the United States.
The resolution, called "Homophobia in Europe," defines homophobia as "an irrational fear and aversion of homosexuality and of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people based on prejudice, similar to racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism." It calls for action against member states that do not implement programs directed at fair treatment of homosexuals in employment and occupation. It also seeks to "ensure that same-sex partners enjoy the same respect, dignity and protection as the rest of society."
Steve Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, says although the resolution is not law, it could eventually affect the United States.
Steve Crampton"Our Supreme Court seems enamored with citing to foreign sources of law," Crampton observes. And if that mindset continues, he fears that "what happens in the European Union today is going to become the law and policy of America tomorrow."
For that reason, the attorney advises that family advocates in the U.S. "absolutely ... should be concerned about this -- and we should be rising up right now before it's too late," he adds.
Crampton asserts that the EU resolution is just further proof that society is continuing its slide toward moral depravity. "When you consider that [approval of the measure came] by a vote of almost four-to-one -- and it was basically a restatement of the radical homosexual agenda -- there is great cause for concern for those of us who adhere to the traditional, biblical teachings that homosexual conduct is sinful," he says.
The "Homophobia in Europe" resolution was passed by a vote of 468-149; there were 41 abstentions. Christians and conservatives did not protest the resolution, prompting one former member of Britain's Parliament and a homosexual rights advocate to say that the "lunatic fringe" -- Christians and conservatives -- have learned that "it does not pay anymore to shout against gays and lesbians in the Parliament itself."

Re-post: Letter to Rev. John H. Thomas, U.C.C. from Dexter Van Zile, The David Project

Thursday, January 26, 2006
The Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
700 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115-1000

Rev. Thomas:
I write to you both in my capacity as Christian Outreach Director for the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership and as a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ. As you are aware, I have been highly critical of the stance the UCC and other mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S. have taken in regards to the Arab/Israeli conflict. The failure of Protestants in the U.S. to speak honestly about problems in Arab and Muslim societies that inhibit the prospects for peace in the Middle East, coupled with an undeniable tendency to blame Israel – and only Israel – for the conflict’s existence raises troubling questions about Protestant attitudes toward Judaism as a religion and the Jews as a people. For one reason or another, mainline Protestant leaders in the U.S. are gripped by a tendency to think the worst about the Jewish State its policies and its motives, without taking into consideration the circumstances its leaders – and people – confront on a daily basis.
The recent outcome of the recent elections in the Palestinian Authority has prompted me to write. Hamas, an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel, has won a large majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council.Hamas' victory, though no surprise, raises grave concerns about Israeli security, the welfare of Christians in Palestinian society and the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
The corruption of the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat (an ongoing problem which was ignored by the peace-making resolutions passed at the UCC's General Synod in July) and the subsequent failure of Mahmoud Abbas to rein in this corruption is one factor in the Hamas success.
It is not, however, the only factor. Many Palestinians are committed to the destruction of Israel as a Jewish State and for this reason, Hamas was their logical choice. Regardless of the motivations behind the Hamas victory, it does not bode well for Israeli security or for Palestinian welfare. Hamas' founding document calls for the destruction of Israel and the imposition of sharia law in the Palestinian State. Such an agenda has profound implications for the safety of Jews in Israel, for the status of women and the welfare of Christians in areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Ominously, Hamas leaders have stated that they will not change one word of their covenant calling for Israel's destruction – despite their success at the polls. It does not appear that the acquisition of power will result in Hamas’ moderation as some would have hoped.
Sadly, the public pronouncements issued by the UCC’s leadership in Cleveland and by its General Synod provide little if any context for Hamas’ victory in yesterday's elections. The resolutions, as they were written and passed, with direct input from the denomination's leadership in Cleveland, expressed no expectations of the Palestinians to work for peace.
In particular, the Tear Down the Wall resolution, written with substantial input from Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem and professionally framed by Peter Makari, Area Executive for Middle East and Europe Global Ministries for the UCC, demanded that Israel take down the security fence it is building to prevent terror attacks emanating from the West Bank, without asking the Palestinians to stop the attacks that prompted the Israelis to build the barrier in the first place.
This is not peacemaking, but a clear effort to place the onus for the conflict on the Israelis. It is one thing to ask that the barrier be moved to a more acceptable location, but asking Israelis to take it down altogether – without asking Palestinians to stop suicide attacks – exhibits a troubling naïveté about the Arab/Israeli conflict and an inexcusable indifference to the murder of Israeli civilians.
The Tear Down the Wall resolution embodies a persistent habit of mind exhibited by Protestant leaders in the U.S. – a tendency to portray Palestinian terrorism as an unavoidable response to suffering caused by Israeli security measures. I ask, beg and implore you to fight this impulse. Rooting Palestinian suffering almost entirely – if not entirely – in Israeli policies, as leaders from UCC and other denominations have done, denies the Palestinians moral agency and ultimately undermines their motivation to build a future for themselves and their children. It also allows leaders in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East to continue to use the Palestinians to promote radical and dictatorial agendas in their own countries without so much as a rhetorical slap on the wrist.
The failure of the UCC to express any expectations of the Palestinians to work for peace is rooted in unwillingness on the part of the UCC to speak prophetically about problems endemic to the Middle East. In particular, there is a taboo on discussion in mainline Protestant circles about the religious motivation for the war against Israel. For many Muslim scholars and their followers in the Middle East, the existence of a Jewish state on land previously governed by Islamic rulers is a theological impossibility. For Hamas, the thought of Jewish sovereignty and freedom in the Middle East is intolerable. To be sure, not every Palestinian feels this way, but it must be noted that Hamas did win a strong majority in the recent election.
If Protestant leaders in the U.S., including those in the UCC, are going to condemn Christian Zionism as a threat to peace, they have an obligation to acknowledge the religious motivation of violence against Israel. Religiously-motivated hostility toward Israel, which Hamas embodies, turns the conflict from a disagreement over borders and settlements into a fight over its existence, an issue over which their can be no compromise. Sadly, the UCC has remained silent about the religious hostility that motivates many of the terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Hamas' victory underscores problems in Palestinian society that help to prolong the conflict and encourage violence against Israelis. These problems include anti-Jewish incitement on Palestinian Television, hostile, anti-Semitic passages in Palestinian textbooks, and the PA's financial support to families of suicide bombers, who, in some instances, have official soccer tournaments named in their honor. Sadly, the UCC and its leaders have offered little, if any, acknowledgement of these problems.
If UCC leaders are going to call for a two-state solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict in their efforts to promote peace and improve the welfare of the Palestinian people, they have an obligation. They must acknowledge those aspects of Palestinian society that represent an obstacle to creating a state that can live in peace with Israel and secure the human rights of its citizens. Calling for the creation of a Palestinian state while remaining silent about collapse of civil order in Gaza encourages the creation of nothing more than a failed state that oppresses its own people and menaces its neighbors.
If Protestants in the U.S. are going to invoke America's "special relationship" with Israel as justification for the focus on its misdeeds, they have an obligation to acknowledge the support terrorists targeting Israel have received from Syria, Iran and up until recently, Iraq. The UCC has remained silent about this support.
At this point, I feel compelled along with many others to ask that you rethink your unqualified support for Naim Ateek, founder and director of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. His repeated use of deicide imagery is clearly intended to evoke feelings of contempt for Israel as a Jewish state. It is not, as he and his defenders assert, merely an attempt to portray Palestinian suffering in the “Language of the Cross.” It is important to note these statements were offered at the height of the Second Intifada, which killed thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. The use of this imagery did not calm the flames of hostility and fear, but fueled them.
It should be noted that Ateek has, on numerous occasions, stated that he does not acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state in the Middle East and has even repeated the canard that Israel should have been created in Europe. Sadly, on this score, Ateek’s words have been echoed by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who you laudably condemned for calling for Israel to be wiped off the map. This echo should be cause for concern amongst those who would defend Ateek and the group he leads as peacemakers.
Sincerely,
Dexter Van Zile
Christian Outreach Director
David Project Center for Jewish Leadership
Boston, Mass.

Calling The First Disciples

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Matthew 4:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

Hamas Says It Will Not Change

And this surprises us somehow?? Here's what I say...The pali's selected hamas to be their leaders, they deserve what they get. I hope they get it too.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Following their resounding election victory, the Islamic militants of Hamas met the question of whether they will change their stripes with a loud "no": no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, no renunciation of terror.
But the world holds out hope that international pressure can make them more moderate. At stake is the future of Mideast peacemaking, billions of dollars in aid and the Palestinians' relationship with Israel, the United States and Europe.
Hamas' victory — winning 76 of 132 parliament seats in Wednesday's election — has created a dizzying power shift in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, overturning certitudes and highlighting the failure by Palestinian leaders, Israel and the international community to ease growing desperation in the Palestinian territories.
Weekend violence between Hamas and Palestinian policemen mostly allied with long-dominant
Fatah, and angry demonstrations by disgruntled gunmen fearing the loss of jobs and income after the Hamas win, have raised the specter of widespread civil strife.
After a brutal five-year campaign by Israel to destroy Hamas and assassinate its top leaders, the organization emerged stronger than ever and is poised to take over the Palestinian Authority.
The U.S. has pushed for democracy in the Middle East, hoping to promote moderation and head off more 9/11-style attacks, but, as in recent votes in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, a clean and fair election has empowered Islamists in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel and the international community repeatedly have demanded that the Palestinian government disarm militias, but now that the main militia appears to have become the government, no one knows what will happen to its weapons.
The win by Hamas — which is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings on Israelis and has long called for the destruction of the Jewish state — caught everyone, including the organization itself, off guard.
Both Hamas and the international community face agonizing dilemmas. Hamas leaders say they won't renounce their violent ideology, but the consequences of failing to do so are likely to be catastrophic: loss of life-sustaining aid, international isolation and a profound setback to their statehood aspirations.
The United States and many European countries say they'll have nothing to do with a Hamas government, but a sharp cutoff in aid and an overly zealous stance could steer the Palestinians further away from moderation at an extremely delicate moment.

Read the rest here.

Hamas, Fatah gunmen battle over election results

This does my heart good. Now we have slimy pali terrorist shooting at other slimy pali terrorist. These people can't get along with anyone.

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas and Fatah gunmen exchanged fire on Friday amid political turmoil as the long-dominant Fatah faction was threatened with a violent backlash from within after its crushing election defeat by the Islamic militant group.
Hamas, whose shock parliamentary election victory changed the face of Palestinian politics and plunged Middle East peacemaking deeper in limbo, said it would hold talks soon with President Mahmoud Abbas on a "political partnership." But Fatah leaders have rejected a coalition with Hamas.
The United States said it will review funding to the aid-dependent Palestinians if Hamas enters government and Israel suggested it could suspend customs revenue transfers, adding economic uncertainty to the political upheaval.
Some 20,000 Fatah supporters took to the streets in angry protests across the Gaza Strip, burning cars outside the Palestinian parliament building and firing rifles in the air. Some Hamas posters were ripped down by the crowd, which burned tires in the streets.
Acknowledging Hamas's new standing as a political powerhouse, Abbas told reporters: "We are consulting and in contact with all the Palestinian groups and definitely, at the appropriate time, the biggest party will form the cabinet."
The militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Fatah, issued a statement threatening to "liquidate" the faction's leaders if they changed their minds and joined a Hamas-led administration.
At separate rallies, thousands of Hamas backers celebrated their surprise victory.
While Fatah leaders have called for a peaceful transition of power, bad blood runs deep between the secular and Islamist rivals. Many Hamas gunmen still harbor resentment over crackdowns by Palestinian security forces amid peace overtures by Abbas to Israel, which has sought a clampdown on armed groups.
In the first armed clash between Hamas and Fatah militants since Wednesday's vote, three people were wounded in a gun battle near the southern city of Khan Younis.
In later flare ups there, Hamas gunmen and Palestinian security forces exchanged fire in Khan Younis, wounding a Hamas gunmen and two security officers.
Security sources said a further two policemen were wounded when masked gunmen, wearing trademark green Hamas headbands, fired at a patrol car, underscoring the difficulties ahead.

Read the rest here.

Philo-Semitism has believers, skeptics

I had not heard this term before today, but it makes sense that if the world has anti-Semitism that it could have "pro-Semitism". I do apologize for the left leaning tone of the article. It seems they put the spin on something positive to make sure us Christians know we have no place in government. Only the immoral and non-religious have place in the decision making processes of our nation. I bet that sounds really funny to the founding fathers. I guess someone forgot to clue them in before they wrote the Constitution. They then go on to spin the article to advance the theory that being a Christian is really being "anti-Semitic" because of our belief in the second coming of Jesus (if you read Revelations, you will see that many Jews come to a belief in Jesus, thus making them Christians instead of messianic Jews). So without further ado let me introduce "philo-Semitism".

DANVILLE, Va. -- Everyone who worships at The Tabernacle quickly learns three facts about its deeply conservative pastor. He comes from a broken home. He rides a canary-yellow Harley. And he loves the Jews.There is some murmuring about the motorcycle. But the 2,500 members of this Bible- believing, tradition-respecting Southern Baptist church in southern Virginia have embraced everything else about the Rev. Lamarr Mooneyham.Out of his painful childhood experiences, Mooneyham, 57, preaches passionately about the importance of home. Out of his reading of the Bible, he preaches with equal passion about God's continuing devotion to the Jewish people.
"I feel jealous sometimes. This term that keeps coming up in the Old Book -- the Chosen, the Chosen," says the minister, who has made three trips to Israel and named his sons Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. "I'm a pardoned gentile, but I'm not one of the Chosen People. They're the apple of His eye." Scholars of religion call this worldview "philo-Semitism," the opposite of anti-Semitism. It is a burgeoning phenomenon in evangelical Christian churches across the country, a hot topic in Jewish historical studies and a wellspring of support for Israel.
Yet many Jews are nervous about evangelicals' intentions. In recent weeks, leaders of three of the nation's largest Jewish groups -- the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Union for Reform Judaism -- have decried what they see as a mounting threat to the separation of church and state from evangelicals emboldened by the belief that they have an ally in the White House and an opportunity to shift the Supreme Court.
"Make no mistake: We are facing an emerging Christian right leadership that intends to 'Christianize' all aspects of American life, from the halls of government to the libraries, to the movies, to recording studios, to the playing fields and locker rooms ... from the military to SpongeBob SquarePants," the ADL's national director, Abraham H. Foxman, said in a Nov. 3 speech.
Julie Galambush, a former American Baptist minister who converted to Judaism 11 years ago, has seen both sides of the divide. She said many Jews suspect that evangelicals' support for Israel is rooted in a belief that the return of Jews to the promised land will trigger the Second Coming of Jesus, the battle of Armageddon and mass conversion."That hope is felt and expressed by Christians as a kind, benevolent hope," said Galambush, author of "The Reluctant Parting," a new book on the Jewish roots of Christianity. "But believing that someday Jews will stop being Jews and become Christians is still a form of hoping that someday there will be no more Jews."
The result is a paradox -- warming evangelical attitudes toward Jews at a time of rising Jewish concern about evangelicals -- that could be a turning point in the uneasy alliance between Jewish and Christian groups that ardently back Israel but disagree on much else.

Read the rest of the article here.

Marriage Defenders Lose Ground in Maryland, Move Forward in Virginia

Keep praying that God will open people's eyes to the sin of homosexuality.

(AgapePress) - A Christian activist says a dark shadow has been cast over traditional marriage in Maryland. Last week, a trial court struck down a state law banning same-sex "marriage" on the basis that it violated the Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA.
In 1972 voters in Maryland ratified the ERA, which stated that a person should not be denied rights because of their sex. The next year the General Assembly passed a law recognizing only traditional marriage. Now, however, Judge M. Brooke Murdock has ruled that the state's marriage law violated the ERA.
Tres Kerns, executive director of VoteMarriage.org, says a poll taken last year showed overwhelming support for traditional marriage. "We reached over 20,000 homes in the state and literally over 70 percent of them agreed with it," he says. "Even in what we would call the most liberal area, which is Rockville, Maryland, 55 percent of the people said they believe that marriage is between a man and a woman."
Hence, Kerns contends, "It's clear what the citizens of Maryland want." He says the case will be appealed and, at the same time, an effort is under way to amend the state constitution to protect traditional marriage.
"We are in a real battle here for our families," the traditional marriage advocate says. "The family's been under attack for a long time. You just can't sit on the sidelines." Those who are doing that are "acquiescing to the aggressor," he contends.
"The aggressor is the people who are against the family and want to destroy the family as we know it so they can do whatever they want," Kerns declares. "It's what I call sexual anarchy, and we've got to stop that."
Meanwhile, in nearby Virginia, the lengthy, nearly two-year process of amending that state's constitution took another small step forward as the Senate voted to give Commonwealth citizens the opportunity to weigh in on the definition of marriage.
Victoria Cobb, executive director of the Family Foundation, is hailing this latest bit of progress in the marriage protection battle. "Virginians will now have nearly ten months to consider this question before casting their ballot in November," she notes.
However, Cobb points out, "Opponents to traditional marriage are well funded and are already on the offensive. While we have little doubt that the vast majority of Virginians support this amendment and will vote in favor of it in 2006, we will not sit by and allow those opposed to traditional marriage to dominate the debate."
The Family Foundation spokeswoman says that group has, along with several other pro-family groups in Virginia, helped to create "VA4Marriage.org" to lead the push to get the state's marriage amendment passed. The pro-family project includes a website, voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts, as well as representatives ready to speak on the amendment at community and church meetings. Radio, TV, and newspaper ads are also planned as part of an extensive media campaign.

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17 (New American Standard Bible)

Response to "Anonymous" to Comments Made About My Article "World Taken by Surprise by Hamas Victory"

Anonymous said...
"Why should Hamas recognize Israel when they live under occupation? If we had lost WWII and had lived under Nazi occupation since then perhaps we would have similar bad feelings towards Germany. It is sad that the Christian Zionists are destroying our country by behaving in a very un-Christian way and never considering the Palestinian viewpoint. Check out dundeesblog.blogspot.com"

My response:
"Hello anonymous. Thank you for posting on my blog.
Let's give this situation a rational thought for a moment; put the emotion aside and try to think logically. Let's start by taking a look at history.

1917-1922: From 1517-1917 Turkey's Ottoman Empire controlled what is today Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. During World War I (1914-1918), Turkey supported Germany. When Germany was defeated, so were the Turks. In 1916 control of the southern portion of their Ottoman Empire was "mandated" to France and Britain under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region into zones of influence. Lebanon and Syria were assigned to France... and "Palestine" (today's Jordan, Israel and "West Bank") was assigned to Great Britain. It is important to mention that “Palestine” is a name that was coined by the Europeans. It did not exist before this point. Because no other group of people had ever established a national homeland here since the Jews had done it 2,000 years before, the British "looked favorably" upon the creation of a Jewish National Homeland throughout all of Palestine. The Jews had already begun mass immigration into Palestine in the 1880's in an effort to rid the land of swamps and malaria and prepare the rebirth of Israel. This Jewish effort to revitalize the land attracted an equally large immigration of Arabs from neighboring areas, who were drawn by employment opportunities and healthier living conditions.

1923-1947: In 1923, the British divided Palestine into two administrative districts. Jews would be permitted only west of the Jordan River. The British had allocated 75% of the originally proposed Jewish Palestinian homeland to lay the seeds of what would become in 1946 the Arab Palestinian Nation of "Trans-Jordan," meaning: "across the Jordan River." The Palestinian Arabs now had their "Arab Palestinian" homeland. The remaining 25% of Palestine (now WEST of the Jordan River) was to be the Jewish Palestinian homeland. However, the Arab population was determined to claim all of Palestine for itself, and wanted to “drive the Jews into the sea.”

Encouraged and incited by growing Arab nationalism throughout the Middle East, the Arabs of that small remaining Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River launched incessant terrorist attacks upon the Jewish Palestinians in an effort to drive them out. The British at first tried to maintain order but soon (due to the large oil deposits being discovered throughout the Arab Middle East) turned a blind eye. It became obvious to the Palestinian Jews that they must fight the Arabs AND drive out the British.

1947-1948: The Palestinian Jews, forced to form an organized defense against the Arabs, formed the Hagana, the beginnings of the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF]. There was also a Jewish underground called the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin (who later became Prime Minister of Israel). Besides fighting the Arabs, the Irgun was instrumental in driving out the pro-Arab British. Finally, in 1947 the British turned the Palestine matter over to the United Nations.The U.N. Resolution 181 partition plan was to divide the remaining 25% of Palestine into a Jewish Palestinian State and a second Arab Palestinian State (Trans-Jordan being the first) based upon population concentration. The Jewish Palestinians accepted the proposal, but the Arab Palestinians rejected it. The Arabs still wanted ALL of Palestine - both east and west of the Jordan River. On May 14, 1948 the Palestinian Jews finally declared their own State of Israel and became "Israelis." On the next day, Israel was at war with seven neighboring Arab armies: Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen. Most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war. When the 19-month war ended, however, Israel won and survived, despite a 1% loss of it's entire population. Those Arabs who did not run away became today's Israeli Arab citizens. Those who fled became the seeds of the first wave of "Palestinian Arab refugees."

1949-1967: The end result of the 1948-49 Israeli War of Independence was the creation of a Jewish state slightly larger than that which was proposed by the United Nations two years before. What remained of that almost-created second Arab Palestinian State was occupied by Egypt (occupying the Gaza Strip) and by Trans-Jordan (occupying Judea-Samaria (the "West Bank" of the Jordan River) and Jerusalem. In the next year (1950) Trans-Jordan formally merged this West Bank territory into itself and granted Jordanian citizenship to all those Arabs who lived there. Since Trans-Jordan was no longer confined to one side of the Jordan River, it renamed itself simply "JORDAN. In the final analysis, the Arabs of Palestine ended up with nearly 85% of the original territory of Palestine. But that was still not 100% and thus the conflict between Arab and Jew for "Palestine" would continue through four more wars and continuous Arab terrorist attacks upon the Israeli citizens. It continues to this very day.From 1948-67 when all of Judea-Samaria (the West Bank, including Jerusalem) came under Arab [Jordanian] control, no effort was made to create a second Palestinian State for the Arabs living there. It seems ironic that Yassir Arafat and his Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), discovered their "ancient" identity and a need for "self-determination" on this very same West Bank ONLY AFTER Israel regained this territory (three years later in 1967) following Jordan's attempt to destroy Israel. Why was no request ever made upon King Hussein of Jordan when he "occupied" the West Bank? The PLO later went on to become the Palestinian Authority of today.

The 1967 War (Six-Day War): Throughout much of May 1967, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies mobilized along Israel's narrow and seemingly indefensible borders in preparation for a massive invasion to eliminate the State of Israel. But the Israel planned and executed a perfect pre-emptive strike against Egypt. Within two hours, the Egyptian Air Force did not exist. Most of its planes were destroyed while still on the runways! Unaware that the Egyptians had no more air force, King Hussein of Jordan, launched his attack from the West Bank into Israel's belly while Syrian troops prepared to descend down the Golan Heights mountain range into northern Israel. After ONLY six days grueling warfare, Israel defeated all three Arab armies along three separate fronts, taking control of the entire Sinai Desert from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem and its Old City) from Jordan. Most importantly was the return to Israel of its holy 3,000-year-old city of Jerusalem along the western edge of the West Bank.Unfortunately, Israel then became an "occupier" of this "West Bank" and the Gaza Strip along with its 850,000 Palestinian Arabs who were living there. These Arabs would refer to themselves as "refugees" and joined the masses of refugees from the previous war of 1948-49.The Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were packed and ready to leave following their defeat. Suddenly the victorious IDF General Moshe Dayan persuaded them to stay. Dayan's plan was to educate them, offer them modern medical treatment, provide them with employment both in the West Bank AND inside Israel Proper, and to live amongst them in hopes of building a bridge to the Arab world.

1982: Israel wanted to gain some international respect, and therefore returned the entire Sinai (oil fields, air bases and endless miles of security buffer) to Egypt. Israel still occupies Syria's Golan Heights, which had been used solely for terrorist incursions into and artillery bombardment upon Israel's northern settlements. And of course, Israel still occupies the West Bank with its population of 1,200,000 "Palestinian" Arabs.
(courtesy of Contender Ministries)

You called me a “Christian Zionist”. Let’s look at that term and see how it may apply to me.

According to Wikipedia, “as a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation "Christ", which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. The first known usage of this term can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, in Acts 11:26. The term was first used to derogate those known or perceived to be disciples of Christ. As an adjective, the term may describe an object associated with Christianity. For many this also means to be a member or adherent of one of the organized religious denominations of Christianity. The term Christian means "belonging to Christ" and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means "anointed one," which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written "Messiah"), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their faith, in the city of Antioch. Xian or Xtian is another word used to describe Christians and is similar to using Xmas in place of Christmas; the X or Xt used as a contraction for "Christ" ("X" resembles the Greek letter Χ (Chi), the first letter of "Christ" in Greek (Χριστός [Christos]).”
Put more simply, according to “WordNet, a lexical database for the English language”, part of the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University, a Christian is “a religious person who believes Jesus is the Christ and who is a member of a Christian denomination.”
So far so good. I do believe, without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ and I do belong to a Christian denomination.

A Zionist is part of Zionism and as ascribed by Wikipedia is “a political movement and an ideology that supports a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel, where the Jewish nation is believed to have originated and where Jewish kingdoms and self-governing states existed at various times in history. While Zionism is based heavily upon religious tradition linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, the modern movement was originally secular, beginning largely as a response to rampant anti-Semitism in late 19th century Europe.”
Again, simplified by the folks at Princeton, a Zionist is “a Jewish supporter of Zionism.”
Well, I’m not Jewish, but I do support a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel. Hummm…guess we’ll have to split hairs here and say that although I’m not a card carrying Zionist, I do support the main crux of their cause. If you are determined to assign me the title of Zionist, I guess that means you also lump the United States Government, the entire European Union, the entire United Nations and the majority of the Christian faith into this category? All of these entities have pronounced by law or declaration that they support a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel. Guess I’m in good Company.

You said “It is sad that the Christian Zionists are destroying our country by behaving in a very un-Christian way and never considering the Palestinian viewpoint.” I have to ask, in what way is supporting the chosen people of God and being a follower of Jesus “un-Christian”? What viewpoints about the palestinians are not being considered? Is it the one where they walk into malls and restaurants and blow up innocent civilians, woman and children, just trying to live their lives, using explosive belts filled with nails to make sure they kill and maim as many civilians as they can? Or maybe the one where their leaders call for the complete destruction of every man, woman and child in Israel; complete genocide? You probably agonize when a palestinian gets their house destroyed, or a stray bullet finds one of them, while completely ignoring the fact that armed gunmen were using the house as a firing position and that the bullet could just as easily be from the pali side as much as from the return fire from the Israeli side.

I’ve tried to answer your comment from a complete secular view. Keep in mind that to Jews and Christians alike, the land belongs to the Jews, given to them by our God many thousands of years before a "palestinian" was ever heard of. The palis are the squatters, not the Jews."

Moussa: Hamas must accept Israel, despite its declarations

So now that the slimy terrorist organization, hamas, is in charge of pali land, it seems that even the arab world is sweating a bit. I'm not sure why though. The only use they have for the pali's is to use them to kill Israelis. That way they don't have to get their hands dirty. Hamas is ready and willing to continue to do that. The arab world really doesn't care for the palis at all. If Israel had not been reformed in 1948, the palestinian people would not even exist today. The land they current covet would be a part of Egypt, Jordan and maybe Syria. If Israel was ever destroyed, you would see just how quick the palis would follow as the arab word got rid of all of it's undesirables.

In response to the Thursday announcement of Hamas's landslide victory in Palestinian Legislative Council elections, the secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said on Friday that Hamas must accept the Arab League's Beirut Initiative, including the recognition of Israel, despite the organization's declared positions.
Moussa made the statement at a discussion dealing with the results of Wednesday's Palestinian Legislative Council elections at the Davos Economic Forum meeting.
The initiative, which advocates an Israeli withdrawal to the 1949 cease-fire lines and the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, was rejected by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as soon as it was approved by the Arab League in 2002.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, declared during a security cabinet meeting Thursday night that any Palestinian Authority government that included Hamas would not be a partner for Israel.
"If a [Palestinian] government should arise of which Hamas is a participant, the world and Israel will ignore it and render it irrelevant," Olmert said.
READ MORE ON THE PLC ELECTIONS
In one Nablus home, Hamas is all in the family
Peaceful vote something to celebrate
Hamas leader: Negotiations 'not taboo'
Hamas political platform
Former head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Avi Dichter said that Hamas would not be able to lead the Palestinian people while it persisted with the type of extremism it has employed until now.
"They need to define their status and choose which direction to take," Dichter said, adding, "They need to decide whether they want to go with Iran or Israel."
MK Silvan Shalom said on Friday morning that both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships could have prevented the Hamas victory by deciding not to allow the elections to take place with its participation.
He said, "The Palestinians made a commitment that terror organizations would be forbidden from taking part in the elections, but Abu Mazen [PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] chose to appease Hamas rather than to confront them."
The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement after the cabinet meeting that read, "Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government, even if only part of it is an armed terrorist organization calling for Israel's destruction, and in any case will continue to strenuously fight terrorism everywhere."
Olmert effectively muzzled his ministers and government spokesmen Thursday as the government grappled with how best to deal with a brand new reality: "Hamastan," following the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections.

Read the rest here.

Re-Post: Hamas Without Veils

Hamas Without Veils
No more hiding behind the PA.
By Emanuele Ottolenghi

Contrary to initial responses, Hamas’s projected victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections is a positive development. Not, as its apologists claim, because the proximity of power will favor a process of cooptation into parliamentary politics, and therefore strengthen the pragmatic wing of Hamas. There is no pragmatic wing in Hamas, and all differences within the movement — the armed wing and the political wing, Palestine Hamas and Hamas in Syria — are arguably tactical differences. No, the reason is, as Vladimir Ilich Lenin would put it, "worse is better."
Hamas’s favored outcome was not victory, but a strong showing that would leave Hamas with the best of both worlds: It would remain in opposition (or would be invited to join a coalition as a junior partner) but would impose severe limitations on the Fatah-led government on how to manage its relations with Israel. Hamas could thus claim to reject Oslo, decline to recognize the Palestinian Authority and its commitments under the Oslo accords and the roadmap, and continue to use its rising political clout and its military strength to sabotage any effort to revive the moribund peace process.
What victory does to Hamas is to put the movement into an impossible position. As preliminary reports emerge, Hamas has already asked Fatah to form a coalition and got a negative response. Prime Minister Abu Ala has resigned with his cabinet, and president Abu Mazen will now appoint Hamas to form the next government. From the shadows of ambiguity, where Hamas could afford — thanks to the moral and intellectual hypocrisy of those in the Western world who dismissed its incendiary rhetoric as tactics — to have the cake and eat it too. Now, no more. Had they won 30-35 percent of the seats, they could have stayed out of power but put enormous limits on the Palestinian Authority’s room to maneuver. By winning, they have to govern, which means they have to tell the world, very soon, a number of things.
They will have to show their true face now: No more masks, no more veils, no more double-speak. If the cooptation theory — favored by the International Crisis Group and by the former British MI-6 turned talking head, Alistair Crooke — were true, this is the time for Hamas to show what hides behind its veil.
As the government of the Palestinian Authority, now they will have to say whether they accept the roadmap.
They will have to take control over security and decide whether they use it to uphold the roadmap or to wage war.
There will be no excuses or ambiguities when Hamas fires rockets on Israel and launches suicide attacks against civilian targets. Until Tuesday, the PA could hide behind the excuse that they were not directly responsible and they could not rein in the "militants." Now the "militants" are the militia of the ruling party. They are one and the same with the Palestinian Authority. If they bomb Israel from Gaza — not under occupation anymore, and is therefore, technically, part of the Palestinian state the PLO proclaimed in Algiers in 1988, but never bothered to take responsibility for — that is an act of war, which can be responded to in kind, under the full cover of the internationally recognized right of self-defense. No more excuses that the Palestinians live under occupation, that the PA is too weak to disarm Hamas, that violence is not the policy of the PA. Hamas and the PA will be the same: What Hamas does is what the PA will stand for.
Continuing to pursue a violent path will automatically switch off all international aid. Perhaps Hamas intends to offset the resulting loss of revenue by hosting Holocaust-denial conferences in Gaza and terrorist training camps in Rafah, but it will still have to explain to the Palestinian public why it’s better to renounce public aid to wage war.
Meanwhile, Hamas will have to confront the Egyptians (and the Jordanians) and tell them what the PA under Hamas now stands for. And Egypt and Jordan will have to change course, accordingly. Egypt has an increased military presence along the Gaza border and several officers in Gaza to help "stabilize" the security situation — which so far has meant keeping the flames low enough not to bother Egypt but high enough not to let Israel off the hook completely. What will Egypt do now? Cooperate with Hamas in Gaza while it dreads Hamas’ twin, the Muslim Brotherhood, at home? Will it act more decisively to stop the ever growing flow of illegal weapons being smuggled into Gaza from the Sinai, or turn a blind eye even as the increased militancy in Gaza might embolden the Brotherhood in Egypt? No more ambiguity for Egypt either.
The Arab world will also be watching wearily. Hamas now will have to show to the Arab world that an Islamic party that wins a democratic election — everyone’s nightmarish scenario — is not as bad as it seems. For now, the Palestinians have chosen an Islamic option over a secular one. Let them have it. Let them enjoy life under Sharia. It is their choice — that is what self-determination is about — and we must respect it. After all, the spectacle of an Arab government that is defeated in a fair and free election, and that as a consequence resigns (resigns!), has no precedent in the Arab world. This is good news. Let’s have some more and put Hamas to the test of democracy: this experience will tell us if Islamists can embark on a road that leads to the Turkish model or whether Palestine will become a Sunni Iran. If democracy succeeds under Hamas’s leadership, there is a legitimate government in power that enjoys support and popularity in Palestine and might be more honest and more competent than its predecessor — not a difficult task, given the ineptitude of Fatah. Otherwise, we can tell once and for all that co-optation is not the way to moderation, but a recipe is self-defeating appeasement.
Hamas hoped that a narrow Fatah victory would allow Hamas to enter government in junior positions while pursuing violence against Israel — much like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Their victory forces them to make a choice now, and the international community, while respecting the democratic verdict of a fundamentally fair electoral process, must hold them to account. The issue is not whether Europe, the U.S., or Israel should talk to Hamas. The issue is whether there is anything to talk about with Hamas, and the burden of proof is on Hamas to demonstrate they are capable of becoming interlocutors. If Hamas meets the true test, namely accepting the road map, renouncing violence, disarming its own terror network, recognizing Israel and embracing the two-state solution, then no obstacle should remain for a dialogue with Hamas. Otherwise, they can taste Israeli steel, courtesy of the U.S. and the full backing of the EU of Israel’s right to defend itself.
Don’t hold your breath though.
In commenting on this electoral upheaval, Jerusalem Post’s editor David Horovitz has written
Some may seek comfort in the belief that an ascent to government could prompt a greater sense of responsibility, a move to moderation. But Hamas's intolerance is based on a perceived religious imperative. No believing Muslim, in the Hamas conception, can be reconciled to Jewish sovereignty in the Middle East. To deny that, for Hamas, is blasphemy. And that is the ideology to which the Palestinian people, for whatever reason and by their own free hand, have just tied their fate. That is the guiding ideology with which Israel and the West will now have to grapple.
The appeasers and the apologists are already cuing up to argue that Hamas has already embarked on the road to realism. But unless Hamas reneges on its ideology and endorses a new course, then Israel’s claim that there is no Palestinian partner is vindicated. The resulting Israeli policy of unilateralism is vindicated. Israel’s argument that the Palestinians do not want peace is vindicated. Israel’s argument that Islamists’ nuances and differences of opinion are just tactical, not strategic, is also vindicated. And the prospects of a Palestinian state will become even more remote.
The uniform message that the world gives Hamas should thus be: Take off your veil, and expose your true face for the entire world to see in the naked and transparent light of democracy.

— Emanuele Ottolenghi teaches Israel studies at Oxford University.