COLIN'S TEXT to me:
"As for the continuing slaughter in Gaza & The West Bank, I can't see any prospect of an immediate end to it, as illustrated by the deliberate sabotage of ceasefire negotiations usually by Netanyahu whilst the God-fearing continue to look the other way.
"The depressing thing is that it doesn't have to be this way. If we all lived by the fundamental principles of most major religions & basic common decency & respect we, the planet & all its creatures would be in a much better place. Sadly, we are too readily influenced & manipulated by political & religious leaders to do their bidding in the pursuit of their own aggrandisement & self-interest. In doing so we betray the very principles for which we claim to uphold.
"This ceasefire is wafer thin & with so many who favour ongoing hostilities, sabotage is a real possibility. Even Trump is pessimistic that it will endure.
"In his Executive Orders, Trump has effectively legalised racism, misogyny, armed private militias (The Proud Boys), violence against law-keepers, willful pollution.
"He boasted about great America's role in ending slavery, seemingly forgetting that it was that country that pioneered it." SELF: Our American colonies fully engaged with us Brits in pursuing slavery but the English engaged first in piracy under Elizabeth 1 that soon degenerated into slavery as we stole 10 million Africans for free labour in our colonies and looted their treasures to further enrich ourselves. The Bible Belt of the southern USA, remains the heartland of evangelical Christianity. Contrary to Scripture, the Bible Belt fought to uphold obscene slavery. The result was 620,000 American young men being slaughtered in the 1860s Civil War to ensure slavery and racism continued. This is NOT What Jesus Would Do, methinks! This massive figure is only slightly less than all Americans killed in all subsequent wars around the globe, to the present! (https://www.statista.com/
"As a "non-interventionist" in other country's affairs, Trump has now insulted Mexico, Panama, China, England, Wales, Denmark, Germany, France, Greenland, Canada. Yet, no criticism of Russia or Israel. Strange times.
"A brilliant sermon delivered by the vicar at the inaugural prayer service leaving Trump & Vance looking like naughty schoolboys. Have a look if you can." END OF COLIN'S TEXT to me
EXTRACT of the brilliant sermon:-
MY EMAIL:-
It was great to see you this last weekend and to have a chat and to hear you speak, too. A double pleasure.
My last email to you was about, for me, Christian discipleship and allegiance to the non-violent Christ being pre-eminent over the commands of the Romans 13 v 1-7 to go to war or to do anything contrary to conscience and Jesus' teaching.
You wrote:
"a sniper is targeting a community (in the USA that was founded by Christian believers fleeing persecution in Europe and is still much more Christian than the UK/Europe, with the Trump supporting and powerful evangelical Christian Church), or children are being abducted and abused or whole families (by US/UK/European armaments being used in Gaza and the Israelis wrongly occupying Judea and Samaria) or nations being slaughtered (Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, Iraq) I think I can, with great reluctance see a justification of the use of lethal force, of armed defence and even pre-emptive action."
I think your examples, Andy are similar to what our side and our arms exports to Israel are doing, until 19 January, for over 15 months in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria and for a shorter period in Lebanon. We think we are on the side of righteousness and holiness but our Western governments are, yet again on the side of lawlessness, aggression, with "a plausible case for genocide" in Gaza. Plus, our Top Man in Israel, Bibi and his Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, are charged with war crimes, too. Israel and the West has gone rogue, I think!
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA
In our service on Sunday 19 Jan, we heard that we must love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us and pray for our persecutors. Yet, my own Linda and Barbara fully support the actions of the Israeli government. The majority of born again Christian believers in the USA, certainly fully support the State of Israel's war on Gaza and with taking over the Occupied West Bank in total and, eventually as in Likud's Charter, all of the unHoly Land from the River to the Sea. Linda and I have two very good friends whom I have known since my days living at BBI at 3 Pakenham Road in the early 1970s, who also fully support Israel taking over all the Promised Land (Gaza, Judea, Samaria) for itself in accordance with the Scriptures, they firmly believe. A secular, largely Godless, Jewish state is equated with God's promises to the Jews that they will have their own territory from the River to the Sea, where the Lord will reign in Righteousness and Peace forever.
All my Christian Jewish friends avoid the BBC and, in particular, Jeremy Bowen who is the worst of the lot! All their news seems to come only from Israel broadcasters. Far too many evangelicals don't want a two state solution or agree with the present peace agreement of 19 January. Astonishing!
THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM have let the side down.
The largest Christian church in Halesowen was called Zion Christian Centre until last decade. Now, Life Central is their new name. But Pastor Leon is, I expect, still very much on the side of Israel as being at the centre of God's plans for the unHoly Land and the return of Christ to the land. All this biblical teaching was central to the politicians in the First World War, like Lloyd George steeped in the Bible, who were so sympathetic to the Zionists wanting to take over Palestine that they promised it to them in 1917 without even any consultation with the Palestinians/Arabs living there, comprising 90%, for over 1800 years, since the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD!! Two very different world faiths, yet both Children of Abraham, were given the same land by the all powerful Christian British Empire. The stupidity of our leaders giving Two Nations, Two Peoples to battle over the One Land! Both, from the outset, have not been able to get on with each other with intermittent but recurrent massacres for well over 100 years. It is tragic and reflects so badly on the God of the Bible making only the one people His Promised People. He must have known how we humans would turn out. Hence, it is we Brits who are solely responsible for the Almighty Mess that is now the unholy land, in caving in to Jewish/Zionist terrorism in 1948 that had its roots dating back to the 1914-18 war. The most stupid and unnecessary war in the history of humanity that was fully backed by born again Christians in Britain and in Germany, who ended up killing each other!
HOW THE MIGHTY ARE FALLEN!
We Brits, with our mighty and biggest Empire in the world, were defeated by the coercion, force and violence of the Zionist terrorists between 1945 and 1948. It has been a catastrophe ever since and, with no sign of things getting better with Biden, now Trump both encouraging and arming Israel to the teeth.
HISTORY OF CATASTROPHES from 1914:
In 1914, we were much more Christian as British people but we still all, apart from the Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and a few extremely brave Christians refusing conscription, rushed to war and fought defending the side who were responsible for the assassination of the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, too! How immoral and, how back to front that was, in supporting the side, the Sebians who had done the two murders!! We Brits fought (to lose nearly 1 million of our own citizens), in effect, to encourage them to do more assassinations!
Our idiocy then resulted in world wide 20 million dead and 21 million injured/maimed.
It led to the stupidity and economic revenge on Germany with the tragic Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
That led to the rise of Hitler in the 1930s and the second half of the all out World War initiated by the Christian Western empires of Europe.
That led to the Cold War, of Stalin's purges, of a nuclear arms race that very nearly resulted in nuclear holocaust for the planet.
But the Cold War was ended by our Number One Enemy with their bulldozing of the Berlin War in 1989 and the disbanding of the USSR and of the Warsaw Pact military alliance in the 1990s.
We upright Westerners would never have even dreamt of doing that!
That led to the backlash with Putin changing his mind over joining NATO and the EU.
That led to the over enthusiastic pro American/European hotheads in Ukraine who were unable to wait for an election to replace their pro Russian President, and went ahead with their Revolution of Dignity in February 2014.
So, war between Russia and Western weapons backing Ukraine, ever since.
WE ARE THE PROBLEM
The last century, I think, has turned out to be the most evil and destructive in the history of humanity, not because of Communist or Muslim countries but because of greedy capitalist ones exploiting finite resources as if they are infinite AND, with centuries of Bible and Christian teaching that cannot be clearer:- that killing one another is not the way, as your Dad said in one or two sermons I heard. Instead, protect yourself and others without killing the assailant.
We have to have the Police and military but they must operate within national and international law. There have been too many violations since 1914, in particular - by OUR side! And since 300 AD the Christian Church has been identified with emperors, monarchs and governments who have used power, coercion and force to gain territory and to get their way, contrary to the life and teaching of Christ, on whom we are all supposed to be basing our lives!
WE BRITS UP TO NO GOOD!
It is our Christian ancestors who are responsible for slavery for 300 years, for apartheid in S Africa and, with wiping out the original inhabitants of New Zealand, Australia and America (especially North). A shameful, disgraceful, despicable record now going on apace in the unHoly Land with the blessing of Trump who has the support of leading evangelicals like Franklin Graham and Dr Micheal Youssef!
Repentance begins in the House of the Lord. But you would never think so. Anyway, do give me your thoughts, Andy - if you wish.
All the best
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