Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumNew evangelical movement seeks split from pro-Israel line
WASHINGTON Figures with deep roots in Americas religious right have launched a quiet effort aimed at pushing evangelical Christians away from decades of growing loyalty to Israel and toward increased solidarity with the Palestinians.
The campaign by a coalition of religious leaders, international nonprofits, and activists has taken place in recent years largely behind the scenes and away from the prying eyes of the political press and its being driven by a generation of Evangelicals alienated by the way their faith was yoked to Republican foreign policy during the Bush years. Now, organizations like the Telos Group and the large Christian nonprofit World Vision have joined a small army of ministers and Christian opinion-makers working to reorient Evangelicals stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict producing documentaries about the plight of Palestinian Christians, providing theological rationale for a more balanced view of the issue, and taking Evangelicals on trips to the Middle East.
The goal is to soften the bulletproof political alliance between American Evangelicals and Israel forged over decades of successful courtship by Israeli governments and pro-Israel forces in the U.S. and to make room on the religious right for Palestinian sympathies. If the movement is successful, it would represent a move toward mainline, politically liberal Christian denominations that have long been aligned with the Palestinian cause. The Presbyterian Church USA, for instance, briefly adopted a policy of divesting from some companies doing business in Israel.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/new-evangelical-movement-seeks-split-from-pro-israel-line
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)a more balanced view to them is saving the christians while those who are muslims can burn in hell.
i`ve always found it interesting that these three religions from a small region of the middle east dominate the world today.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Everyone seems to be out for their own agenda.
shaayecanaan
(6,068 posts)Compared with the Christians, the Muslims generally get very strong support from abroad. In the case of the Lebanese Shia (Hezbollah), this support was strong enough to enable them to defy Israel militarily.
I think there is also a recognition that evangelical Christianity is a non-starter in much of the third world as long as the current attitude towards Israel continues.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Would love to get those Christian evangelicals as far from the "pro-Israel" camp as possible. Thanks but no thanks.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)I think Israel's stuck with the fundamentalists, just as it's stuck with the EDL-sorts.
shaayecanaan
(6,068 posts)There are evangelical movements here - such as the Australian Christian Lobby - that share similar views on gay marriage, abortion, education and other social issues with the US religious right. They dont have any strong views on Israel as far as I can see. Same with the religious right in the Netherlands.
To the extent that the US religious right has a view on Israel, I think it is quite a long way down the list, certainly far behind their main priorities.
The only exception is CUFI which is pretty small in the scheme of things. I have a strong feeling that that is more about Chuck Hagee wanting to ride a winning horse than any heartfelt feelings towards Israel.
Its worth noting that much of the rank and file at CUFI events are "Messianics" - people who subscribe to a syncretic mix of Judaism and Christianity.