{"id":66352,"date":"2015-11-16T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=66352"},"modified":"2015-11-16T12:23:51","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T12:23:51","slug":"5-reasons-that-im-a-christian-who-stopped-supporting-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/11\/5-reasons-that-im-a-christian-who-stopped-supporting-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons That I\u2019m a Christian Who Stopped Supporting Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"israel<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Nov 2015 – <\/em>Growing up conservative Evangelical, we loved Israel as much as we loved America\u2013 probably even more.<\/p>\n

And why not, right?<\/p>\n

We truly believed that among the world\u2019s nations, God actually has a favorite\u2013\u00a0and that he will curse\u00a0anyone who doesn\u2019t blindly support his team.<\/p>\n

When you sincerely believe that, there\u2019s little room left for actually thinking,\u00a0<\/em>because anything you see is filtered and given meaning by the narrative we were given at church. This false narrative we\u2019re told about Israel makes it almost impossible to see the situation fairly or clearly, because we become victims of confirmation bias\u2013 we\u2019re only willing to consider evidence that verifies the narrative we were taught.<\/p>\n

As an adult at seminary studying theology and international culture, I finally broke free from the confirmation bias that had caused me to support Israel and ignore Palestinian suffering. As such, I\u00a0now see the Israel and Palestinian conflict in a completely different light\u2013 one where my Christian faith itself dictates that I cannot stand with Israel and still be faithful to Jesus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here are 5 reasons why I stopped supporting Israel:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I realized\u00a0that loving Jewish people was completely different from supporting the modern, secular state of Israel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Many quickly confuse loving Jewish people with supporting Israel\u2013 but a religion\/people group<\/em> and a secular<\/em>\u00a0nation state<\/em> are not the same thing. For example, one can be opposed to US policy without being \u201canti-American.\u201d In the same way, one can look at Israel and say, \u201cWow, this is absolutely wrong\u201d without being anti-semitic (though that\u2019s the first thing you\u2019ll be accused of).<\/p>\n

    I love the Jewish people because as a Jesus follower, I love\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>people. But I do not\u2013 I cannot\u2013\u00a0support\u00a0Israel as a nation,\u00a0precisely because I love all people<\/em>.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. I realized Israel was a violent military occupation, much like the one Jesus lived under.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I used to think the Israel was a peaceful nation\u00a0who just wanted to mind their own business but couldn\u2019t because those darned Muslims wouldn\u2019t leave them alone, but that\u2019s not the case at all. Israel is a violent military occupation, with no end in sight.<\/p>\n

      Where Palestinians once lived in peace and security, they now live under military rule by\u00a0a foreign military that controls nearly all aspects of their daily lives. \u00a0Their access to water is tightly restricted, their movement is restricted, and they are denied security in their homes by military forces who\u00a0often\u00a0stage middle-of-the-night raids\u00a0under the accusation of \u201crock throwing.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Furthermore, children are often Israeli\u00a0targets and\u00a0are imprisoned and tortured by Israeli solders<\/a>. There have even been cases of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian children for sport.<\/a>\u00a0How a Christian can support this is literally unfathomable to me.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. I realized Palestinians weren\u2019t terrorists, but a frustrated people living under apartheid.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Imagine it this way: what if you woke up one morning and world leaders had given the Southern United States to Russia, to be a country for displaced Russians? The Russians arrive, kick you off the land that\u2019s been in your family for generations, confiscate your homes and possessions, burn your farms, and put everyone into refugee camps or segregated into ghettos, which are then policed by the Russian military.<\/p>\n

        Would it not be understandable that once in a while you\u2019d attack\u00a0the Russian soldiers? In fact, if that were in America, most conservatives would call it self defense.<\/p>\n

        While I am against all violence, it\u2019s important to understand\u00a0why<\/em> violence happens, and in this case it is quite understandable that such an oppressed people would resort to violence against the oppressors. However, this violence\u00a0is not about Muslims hating Jews\u2013 it\u2019s about people being tired of an occupying army taking their homes, their land, and harming their children. Truth be told, as wrong as I believe it is,\u00a0I\u2019d be tempted to throw a few rocks too<\/em>.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. I realized Israel continues to steal land and violate international law.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          I once thought that Israel just wanted to peacefully exist, but the truth is they are on a violent conquest to take all the land they can get\u2013 even though it is a total violation of international law.<\/p>\n

          Day by day new Israeli settlements crop up on land that still belongs to Palestinians. Quite often the Israelis will burn down Palestinian crops <\/a>\u00a0before harvest (this is in the news often), and try to take Palestinian land by terroristic force. Illegal settlers have firebombed Palestinian homes, most recently burning a baby and mother to death<\/a>. Settlers recently even attacked a Rabbi <\/a>who had previous work with Christian Peacemakers, showing they\u2019re willing to not just attack\u00a0Palestinians, but even their own peacemakers.<\/p>\n

          This reminds me of someone who once said, \u201cOh Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those God sends to you.\u201d (That was Jesus, BTW<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

          Until Israel stops violently and unapologetically violating international law by their conquest for more land, they could never have my support.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. I realized Christians were being persecuted and oppressed, and I choose to stand with them.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            One of the ways Evangelicalism continues selling support for Israel is by painting this as a Muslim vs Jew situation\u2013 but that\u2019s not reality. This is a situation of a violent, secular nation state, who is oppressing a group of people that include Christians.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Palestinians include both Muslims and Christians, and Christians are being just as persecuted as the rest of Palestinians.\u00a0Israel has targeted Christian schools<\/a> while Christians in the West remained silent. Christian churches and institutions have a long history of being\u00a0burned and vandalized<\/a>\u00a0by the Israelis. Furthermore, Christians have lamented that the Israelis spit on them<\/a> as they walk down the street, with many Christians ultimately accepting that being spat on in Israel is part of daily life<\/a>. (Can you imagine if it were the Muslims doing that? Conservative leaders would be calling for war.)<\/p>\n

            And this is perhaps the top reason why I no longer support Israel: to do so would be a complete betrayal<\/em> of\u00a0my Christian brothers and sisters who suffer under anti-Christian\u00a0persecution in Israel.<\/p>\n

            \u2026<\/p>\n

            So, your pastor growing up taught you to support Israel.<\/p>\n

            I get it. Mine did too. As a result, I blindly supported Israel for many years\u2013 even to the point of voting for candidates I thought would be the most pro-Israel.<\/p>\n

            But now that I have set aside my bias, and been willing to consider the facts as they are, I realize I can\u2019t support Israel and still be faithful to Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

            ___________________________________<\/p>\n

            Benjamin L. Corey is a scholar in the areas of theology and missiology. He is also author of <\/em>Undiluted: Rediscovering The Radical Message of Jesus<\/a>. He holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, a Master of Arts in World Missions (<\/em>Cum Laude)<\/em>, also from Gordon-Conwell, and is a member of the Phi Alpha Chi Honors Society. Ben is currently completing his doctorate at Fuller Seminary in the field of missiology\u2013 an area of theology that explores the mission of the Church in the context of various cultures. His dissertation research is on the application of a theology of shalom applied to human trafficking aftercare. He currently lives in Auburn, Maine with his wife Tracy and has two teenage daughters (Julissa 16, Johanna 13) who they adopted from Peru.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Go to Original \u2013 patheos.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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