After meeting for two weeks to study the exodus of Christians from the Middle East, bishops at a Vatican synod blamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the exodus and issued a document declaring that Jews are not the ‘Chosen People,’ that Jews have no right to the ‘Promised Land’ and that Israel cannot use the holy scriptures to impose ‘injustices’ on the Palestinians. The synod also called for the internationalization of Jerusalem, Israel’s declared capitol.
Naturally the synod’s declaration, which strongly condemned all of the Jewish settlements and clearly blamed Israel for all of the turmoil in the Middle East, has received widespread coverage by the Arab media.
Here are some excerpts from Arab News.com:
__Asked about the passage at a news conference, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, said: "We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people."
__"The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians," he added. "The justification of Israel’s occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."
__While recognizing "the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live" and the need for Israel to enjoy peace within internationally recognized borders, the document was more expansive and detailed on the situation of Palestinians.
__It said Palestinians "are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees."
__The synod’s concluding message repeated a Vatican call for Jerusalem to have a special status "which respects its particular character" as a city sacred to the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. [Special status is a euphemism for internationalization.]
I would strongly suggest that before Catholic bishops get all lathered up about injustices imposed on the Palestinians by Israelis, they look after the worldwide injustices imposed on young boys by their pedophile priests.
2 comments:
This is what happens when "Church Tradition" replaces Biblical teachings. When you alagorize scripture, you can make it mean just about anything you might want it to mean.
The Vatican doesn't speak for true Christians. True Christians don't modify the Word of YHWH to suit their politics.
Joel Rosenberg says it better than I...
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE VATICAN'S LATEST, PAINFUL PRONOUNCEMENT ON ISRAEL IS WRONG
* Come to Israel and the Epicenter Conference with The Joshua Fund in 2011 to show your love for the Jewish people.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Jacksonville, Florida, October 25, 2010) -- A new headline in the Jerusalem Post reads: "Vatican synod calls for end to Israel's 'occupation': At conference on Christians in the Middle East, U.S. Melkite archbishop says: 'There is no longer a chosen people.'"
With all due respect, the Vatican is wrong on this issue. The entire Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - makes crystal clear again and again the Lord's love for the Jewish people, His decision to choose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants for His very own, and His eternal promise to give the Holy Land to the Jewish people. As such, it is the duty of all true followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bless Israel and reaffirm her fundamental legitimacy and right to the Land. Yes, we should bless and love the Palestinians, as well, because our Lord Jesus said as a Jew living in Israel, "Love your neighbor," and, "Love your enemies." But we should never accept the false teaching that God has rejected the Jewish people or rescinded His promises to the nation of Israel. That simply is not Biblical.
In Genesis chapter 12:1-3, the Lord makes it clear He has chosen Abram to "make a great nation" and the Lord says to him, "I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." In Genesis 13:14-18, the Lord specifically takes Abraham to the land we now call Israel and said, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are (the Jordan Valley), northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever."
Doesn't "forever" mean forever?
Interestingly, the Apostle Paul prophetically anticipated that the Christians in Rome would one day think that God would reject the Jewish people and His promises to them because many Jews initially rejected Jesus as the Messiah. So Paul wrote this in his letter to the Romans, chapter 11, verse 1 and 2: "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew."
On the weblog, I've posted several more key passages from the Old Testament and New Testament, all of which affirm the Lord's love for the Jewish people and for the nation of Israel. Indeed, in the Book of Revelation, we specifically see the nation of Israel regathered and playing a key role in the End Times. God defends Israel. God fights for Israel against her enemies. God blesses Israel and the Jewish people. And then the Lord Jesus Christ Himself comes with His saints to reign from Jerusalem. To deny such truths is to deeply and fundamentally misunderstand the Word of God.
May I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to share this message with others. Be kind towards the Catholic leaders. Let us show them the mistakes they are making, but do so in love. Let us also teach followers of Jesus Christ around the world the Lord's deep love and compassion for the Jewish people, and His desire that they - and all people - come to faith in Messiah Jesus.
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