THE EDITOR, Madam:
Amid the current conflict between Israel and Gaza, many scenes from my early childhood to my late teens come to mind as I recall a small group of Christians in Highgate, St Mary, to whom I visited mainly during the summer holidays, praying “for peace in Jerusalem.” “.
A pastor and his wife, who had been converted earlier under the “Jesus Only” United Pentecostal teaching, met with a group from Kansas in the United States and then focused their attention on teaching the “Restoration of Israel “. Early morning prayer and Bible study meetings, sometimes midday prayer sessions, and frequently midweek and Sunday services, focused heavily on what was happening in the Middle East, even in the midst of other traditional Christian themes.
The names of various leaders of Israel, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries were often cited in tear-filled intercessions. There was a literature focused on political, religious and social life in Israel. Symbols of Judaism, such as the Star of David and the Temple menorah (the seven-stick candelabra), were on display.
Later, I learned that other local Christians leaned toward adopting Jewish symbolism as a central part of their worship – from wearing tallit (prayer shawls) to blowing the shofar, or even observing the days Jewish holiday. This deep interest in things Jewish is rooted in the origins of Judeo-Christian worship and in a reading of the Bible that places “the nation of Israel at the center of God’s plan for humankind.”
For many, social and political developments in the Middle East, and in Israel in particular, are like the hands of a clock indicating an apocalyptic approach to expected world events. As a former colleague said almost 20 years ago: “Israel is God’s clock.”
In this context, whatever concerns some may have about the current conflict in Gaza and Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of civilians, including women and children, are set aside in deference to the idea that “Israel is God’s chosen people.” No matter what the United Nations or any other world group wishes to say, they are guided by the biblical directive, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those who love you will prosper. The Hamas incursion of October 7, 2023, which fueled the current fighting, reinforces the perspective that the Israeli response, in its entirety, is justified.
Few local Christians seem to know or care that “modern Israel” is a secular state with liberal policies on abortion and same-sex relations – lifestyles that are antithetical to their current beliefs. For them, they will always be on Israel’s side because God is on Israel’s side. Christians who express concerns or criticism of Israel’s policies are either dismissed as ignorant of “the times” or seduced by Western secular liberal humanism.
So what about the lyrics of the song, “Jesus loves little children; all the children in the world. Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his eyes. Jesus loves the little children of the world?
COLIN DIRECTOR
