Can We Love God Without Loving Our Neighbor?

.......................................................................Often I will get an email (sometimes with illuminating Jesus/God pictures) which enlist me to prove my love for Jesus or God, something such as: “This is the simplest test .. . . if you Love God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done for you, send this to ten people and the person who sent it to you!” If I were to respond it would be, yes, I’ll show my love through the humanity God created in me to serve my fellowman, as Jesus has called in Matthew 25: 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Thus, proving our love for God becomes more challenging; to love God requires actual deeds, work, time, material goods, money, and earnest compassion in sharing all that we have with all of God’s creation family --- not just merely the words “I love God.”

Jesus gives us a direct, unmitigated call that is tough to live by. While I’m not a literal interpreter of Bible scriptures, I know the Bible can provide sufficient instructive moral direction for my life. In such scriptures as Matthew 25, whether taken literally or just seriously as I do, Jesus’ unforgiving words convict us when we do not follow His command: Matthew 25: 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Truly a Jesus salvation moment!) Since “That’s the word of God” that we would respond in Sunday service, “Thanks be to God,” the test of our love for God is found in our response to this scripture and is straightforward the “simplest test,” and for most of us certainly the “the biggest test.” Therefore, how much we love God, just maybe, is commensurate to how fully we respond to Jesus’ call.

As we Christ-Center our lives to bring life to these scriptures, let us think in terms of the universality of God’s creation family, all 6.602 billion of humankind. In Jesus’ answer to the young lawyer: “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Luke 10: 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” My question would be: Is it possible to love God by just merely reciting the words "I Love God," without first loving our neighbor as our self, which requires actual deeds, work, time, material goods, money, and earnest compassion in sharing all that we have with all of God’s creation family? No. As the world's once distant places come closer to us through instant communication and timely travel, the imperative of loving our neighbor expands our opportunity to love God. It's our choice: be it the onerous that God puts on us or, within our capacity, the joy of fulfilling God's call to love our neighbor as our self, it is Jesus calling.

Have a very Merry Christmas! And remember Christmas Never Ends.

Genocide: Chruch/State Business!

Is concern of genocide the business of church as well as governmental and political process in bringing to bear influences and actions to protect the lives of helpless people wherever they are? I fear that too many people may excuse genocide as a political issue, whereby the urgency is negated because to take a stand one might fear being relegated to political expediency. If that’s not the case, otherwise possibly, we have become too indifferent, apathetic, and bored to be moved in action, to take a stand or speak a single word against genocide.

In a “Pro Life” move, William (Bill) H. Frist, the Republican majority leader of the U. S. Senate (2003-2007) on March 21st, a Sunday in 2005, helped lead congress in an unusual, if not unprecedented, legislation, which referred the Terri Schiavo case to the federal court. The act is known as the Palm Sunday Compromise. At that time I wrote in my blog, Life and Death and “A Morsel of Goat Meat”: “What if the same extraordinary mass of energy generated by the citizenry, media, politico, and judiciary put into the Terri Schiavo case could be focused on the plight of humanity in third-world countries?”

But now Bill Frist, a good man according to a friend of mine who knows Frist, comes to an earnest, truly Pro-Life Stance to save human lives from the perils of genocide and starvation. In his recent letter (full text below) to SaveDarfur supporters and in TV interviews, he pointed to his annual trips to Africa as a medical missionary. In his travel this February to Darfur, Sudan he says: “Due to a series of increasingly violent attacks on foreign aid workers in Darfur over the past six months, international efforts to protect civilians and provide them with food, clean water, shelter, and medical care are in a state of crisis.” Frist is appealing to ordinary citizens such as you and me in joining him to call President Bush to save lives in Darfur.

Yes, the business of stopping genocide is not “one or the other,” it is both church and state. As Dr. M. L King, Jr. wrote, condensed and paraphrased: “Inactions of good people perpetrate man’s inhumanity to man as well as the actions of those who are bad.” It is the action of good people, not the inaction, those in our church as well as state that will mitigate the plight of those who suffer. It was somewhat encouraging to hear my pastor mention, if only in a fleeting passage, “Darfur, Sudan” as one of the world’s problems we do not understand. Seldom do we hear a word in prayer or sermon with reference to people of the world in the peril of conflict! While there are political “movers and shakers” for stopping genocide to save the dying, it is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue. As Christians it’s a matter if not addressed with the sincerity it demands gives in to transgression of omission. President George W. Bush wrote in the margin of the “Rwanda genocide brief” he read at the beginning of his presidency: “NOT ON MY WATCH!” We do well to adopt his phrase as our own which has become the byword for saving Darfur; thus, we buy into ownership of responsibility.

There are many ways you can help: In addition to writing one of the powers that be, you may make a humanitarian aid contribution through your church or other humanitarian organization. I hope you will support the effort, if you have not already or even again, to, in the least, give our moral support to governmental leadership by letting them know your concern. Attached herewith is the “Darfur Help Links” I provided at the Genocide Awareness program. It shows numerous ways, addresses, phone, fax, and email to make contact and assist. Just click on the hyperlinks to easily access the website of your choice. Thank you.

Letter from Senator Bill Frist (March 13,2007):
Dear Cornell,
Join Me in Calling the White House
Dial 1-800-290-2662 to urge President Bush to save lives in Darfur by launching "Plan B" immediately.
Once you've hung up, click here to report your call back to the Save Darfur Coalition.
Each year I travel to Africa as a medical missionary. I've just returned from my latest trip, a deeply troubling visit to the Sudan.
Due to a series of increasingly violent attacks on foreign aid workers in Darfur over the past six months, international efforts to protect civilians and provide them with food, clean water, shelter, and medical care are in a state of crisis.
Countless men, women, and children are in real danger of falling prey to violence, starvation, or disease as a result of these attacks.
The U.S. must take the lead in working with the international community to end the violence. The lives of millions hang in the balance.
Please join me in calling the White House comment line today to urge President Bush to launch "Plan B," his tough, three-tiered plan to push Sudan to end the genocide, before more lives are lost in Darfur.
It will only take two minutes of your time and could make a world of difference for millions of people in need. Just follow the steps below:
Dial 1-800-290-2662 (toll-free)
Once you've been transferred to the comment line leave your comment using the talking points below:
I'm calling to urge President Bush to implement "Plan B" to help bring an end to the genocide in Darfur. Specifically, I am asking him to:
Enforce tough sanctions against Sudan;
Work with the UN to authorize and enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur to protect civilians from Sudanese bombers; and
Press the UN for faster deployment of UN peacekeepers to protect civilians in Darfur.
Click here to report your call back to the Save Darfur Coalition (this step is crucial - please don't skip it.)
The U.S. and the international community are all that stand between millions of civilians in Darfur and the Sudanese regime's policy of genocide. Hundreds of thousands have already been killed, and time is running out for millions more.
Without tough "Plan B" measures to accompany diplomatic efforts, the international community's efforts to end the violence in Darfur are doomed to fail.
Please follow the steps above to join me in calling the White House comment line to ask President Bush to launch "Plan B" without further delay, then click here to report your call back to the Save Darfur Coalition.
I hope you will help me spread this message of urgent action by forwarding my email to your friends, family and co-workers and asking them to join you in taking two minutes to call the White House.
Thank you for your ongoing advocacy on behalf of the people of Darfur.
Sincerely,
Senator Bill Frist, M.D.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------P.S. Check out our new t-shirts and sweatshirts! Click here to visit the Save Darfur Coalition's online store to browse our merchandise, including a new selection of t-shirts and sweatshirts featuring our new logo. The logo is an acacia tree, which often serves as the only shelter for Darfuri refugees whose villages have been destroyed, and is therefore a powerful symbol of hope that our work together will result in lasting protection for the people of Darfur.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Donate to Help Save DarfurHelp build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition's crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation.
The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 175 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region. To learn more, please visit http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=300601048&url_num=6&url=http://www.savedarfur.org/

Our Moral Compass

It’s not unusual that media coverage of genocide falls shamefully short. Even more so in recent years, it has been overshadowed by the Iraq war and less-horrendous stories. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, however, has covered the horrifying accounts of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, now into its fifth year, with 400,000 dead and over 2 million in displaced-persons camps. So recently when I learned that Kristof would speak on genocide at NC State University, I attended. The large Nelson Hall auditorium was packed with students lining the isles and standing in the back, mostly college students but a good number of older adults. It was heart warming to see such an outpouring in interest of humankind.

Kristof’s recounting of the evil deeds perpetrated on innocent women, men, boys, girls, and even babies, penetrates to our most inner core, our humanness, a calling to save the sanctity of our own species. Genocide is so painful, so horrific, and so evil; it seems hardly anyone can bear to look it in the face or even to acknowledge its atrociousness.

In an op-ed, Why Genocide Matters, Kristof wrote last September 10th”: "We have a moral compass within us, and its needle is moved not only by human suffering but also by human evil. That's what makes genocide special - not just the number of deaths but the government policy behind them. And that in turn is why stopping genocide should be an even higher priority than saving lives from AIDS or malaria."

I hope you will join us on Monday, March 12th as we learn together more about genocide, gain courage to look it in the face, become more responsible to our own humanity, to see if the needle of our moral compass can be moved. Collectively, I believe we can make a difference! Also, learn more at http://www.savedarfur.org/.

Genocide Awareness Program
March 12th, 2007
Johnston Memorial Medical Mall
Room 1404B/1404A
Sponsored by The Smithfield Rotary Club. For dinner reservations call 919-934-2137 by March 8th. Dinner at 6:00 PM—cost $10.00. Come for program only, free of charge, beginning at 6:45 PM. Please join us.

GRACE

“I’m not a Bible literalist; I am a Christian.” It’s an avowal only to suggest Christians’ views span a wide scope, literal to an open-mind reading. Either way, hopefully, we all are respectful, grace-filled Christians, and in my case, one who’s in continual search of truth. My maxim: “When you think you have found the only truth, keep searching.” (An axiom as well to be practiced with print and TV news. As I suggested to a friend, just keep flipping those news channels.) That’s not to be cynical but to be open to other possibilities, such as Bible scholar Marcus Borg’s “Reading The Bible Again for the First Time” has availed.

A year ago while attending a Methodist Men’s spiritual retreat, at break, I had an opportunity to speak with our spiritual leader, F. Belton Joyner. Joyner, noted for his humor, is a respected religious author and a teacher of courses on Methodist history and Wesleyan theology at Duke University. I had heard Joyner, also knowledgeable in the Islam faith, speak immediate post-911. The title alone of one of his Sunday school lesson books may provoke ire in some minds: “Being Methodist in the Bible Belt” A Theological Survival Guide For Youth, Parents, And Other Confused Methodist. Sample: “One danger that gets loose in a Bible Belt culture is a narrow definition of what experiences with God look like. Even John Wesley did not insist that everyone have the same experience.” Joyner refers to Social Principals, a part of The Methodist Book of Discipline: “For John Wesley the big issues to be addressed were slavery, the poor, liquor traffic, prison reform, war, politics, and education. Methodist have continued to think it is important to apply the freeing news of the gospel to bringing all humankind to freedom. (How we do this is often a matter of debate and even controversy. Hillary Rodham Clinton, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and John Edwards are all United Methodist, but they do not agree on the best approach to helping humankind.)” Is that scary enough?

As we stood there at break, I mentioned some of the incongruent scriptures and asked Joyner if he had read certain book titles of open-mind theology, such as that of Marcus Borg. Yes. In jest I said, “Are you ready to change your theology/doctrine?” No! And he mentioned something about grace, and my friend Richard standing with us said something about grace. I responded, “I’m in plenty need of that!” Now to the point: GRACE.

“What’s so Amazing About Grace?” The author Phillip Yancey brings a whole new understanding about the significance and consequence of grace in all people’s lives. Yancey grew up a racist in Atlanta, where the south practiced a perfectly legal form of apartheid, prior to and the years of Lester Mattox’s governorship. Since, Yancey has grown in a faith extolling the powerful virtues of grace in an ungraced world --- were too often grace is shamefully deficient in the Christian church. The book is filled with real-life stories of what grace have wrought in the lives of givers and receivers, referencing well-known writers, people and organizations you’ll easily recognize. The book was first published 10-years ago, and it’s clear that some fears expressed have come to pass since: While Yancey values the moral conscientiousness of all religious people in state matters, he is a state/church separatist who warned against the coziness of “religion and state,” stating that it’s the church that suffers in the cozy relationship. (Martin Luther King Jr.: “The church is not the master or servant of the state. It must be the guide and critic of the state, and never its tool.”)

The book reinforced my beliefs about grace, even though I don’t often use the word; I believe it’s often what I feel and have an inner desire to dispense. John Wesley said prevenient grace is God given to all human beings, and it’s how we are able to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. So everyone begins with some grace, including secularist.

In tie with my previous Critical Actions’ “Palestine” by Jimmy Carter, I comment on a passage of the book: Carter (being recognized as one of the most religious U. S. President we’ve ever had) refused to admit a mistaken support (whether right or wrong) of the repressive Shah in exchange for Iran’s offer to release Iranian hostages unharmed. (See today’s Looking Iran right in the eye: “As the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate there's considerable talk about how, when or if the United States should "engage" with Iran. Whether it is this administration or its successor, at some point we will do so.”) We’ll never know what a good measure of grace may have fashioned if Carter had acted on the promise. Carter said, “No apologies. Our National Honor is at stake.” I do know that the U. S. is not always right on foreign policy, probably far from, which raises the question: Is America a nation of too much hubris?

Oswald Chambers on the works of grace through prayer: “It is not so true that "prayer changes things" as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man's disposition.”

The book is so well written, easy to read; I was attached to it until end. I think it’s a book for anyone who ever claimed the title of Christian, or otherwise. It’s much more than coverable here, including a chapter on the loopholes of grace. Grace may not be the answer to all problems, but it must to be the Christian’s defining response. Yancey quotes Dorothy Day as saying, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Leave aside all the doctrine and liturgy of the church; Grace defines Christianity to barebones: Grace, the love of God, but first the love of fellowman, and Jesus’ new commandment, love one another as I have loved you= Salvation by the grace of God.

(Interestingly a quick electronic Bible search, of various translations, of the word “grace” only appears in two books of the gospels: Luke 1 to 2 times; John 2 to 3 times in most translations; in the New Living Translation in John the words unfailing love, faithfulness and gracious blessing are substituted. “Grace” appears in Acts 7 and more times and in Paul’s Epistles 80 and more.)

Responses to Palestine

Today’s NY Times: Thomas Friedman says, More important, when people say, “The most important thing America could do today to stabilize the Middle East is solve the Israel-Palestine conflict,” they are wrong. It’s second. The most important thing would be to resolve the Iran-U.S. conflict." (Friedman’s “Not-So-Strange Bedfellow” contrast our events/associations between Iran and Saudi Arabia to value diplomacy (Baker-Hamilton Iraqi Study Group has suggested) with Iran as the most important thing to Middle East problems.) This article is tagged at end of Palestine responses.
______________________________________________________________________________
The responses to “Palestine,” regarding Jimmy Carter’s book, generated more replies than usual. For the reader’s interest I have included them herewith. Responses may also be made at anytime on the blog at Critical Actions, anonymously or by name. Either way I will receive an immediate email with full script of your reply.

I appreciate all of the honest, straightforward, respectful dialog.

As noted on header Not-So-Strange Bedfellow is included below responses. It is yet another, I believe, important perspective on the Middle East journey to peace.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Responses:
I think Mr. Carter speaks for many of us who are frustrated by an almost blind, one-sided view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Like you, I have the highest respect for this gentleman who has become a towering figure for good since he left the Presidency 26 years ago.One thing's for sure: Whether we're talking about Iraq or Israel, "stay the course" just ain't working in either place. WL
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Cornell, You raise good questions. I tend to agree with your line of thinking. JH
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I agree that the United States should use every diplomatic means possible to broker peace in the Middle East. However, I disagree with Carter's statement: "there is little doubt that the lack of a persistent effort to resolve the Palestinian issue is a major source of anti-American sentiment and terrorist activity throughout the Middle East and Islamic world." I am apparently in the minority described by Carter as "little doubt" in that I believe it is the United States change from a predominantly isolationist country to one of interventionist (sometimes construed as imperialist) which has spawned increased anti-American sentiment and terrorism. One of the founding principles of the United States is one of religious tolerance. As a nation we must tolerate and respect the religious freedom of individuals and only intervene when absolutely necessary to prevent genocide. Personally I think that national security would have benefited if the U.S. had not gone and stirred the hornet's nest but instead sealed the walls and improved the processes by which foreign nationals are allowed into the country. It is not the U.S. duty to take sides on any issue with religious consequence but to be tolerant and accepting of both sides despite their historical transgressions. As a nation the U.S. must forgive but not forget the religiously motivated actions we have witnessed over the past decade. The only question remains, now that the U.S. has stirred a hornet's nest how does it plan to pacify it? Enforcing religious tolerance in chaos is a near impossibility and is something that can only be learned through exemplary behavior. The U.S. has not set a good example in its recent actions but instead has garnered a shoot out in the religious world. The best defense is not a good offense... a good offense is simply offensive. LC
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Dear Cornell,
Thanks for sending me your article and asking me for my thoughts.

I do have an opinion about this book and even though I haven't read it, I have been listening to reviews and excerpts about it and do have my thoughts regarding it. I'm a member of the Jerusalem Prayer Team and am very supportive of Israel's efforts to fight for the restoration of their land that that God gave them. Read Isaiah 45:17 and Is. 62:6 and 7, and especially Genesis 12:3. That last verse is why our country has to support Israel.
God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who don't. We can't compromise with Israel's enemies whoever they are. We are instructed by His Word to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but we do know there will never be any real peace until the Prince of Peace returns.

I also read that after Jimmy Carter's book came out, that 13 members of his committee resigned because they do not support what he said and neither do I.

Thank you for inviting my thoughts and opinion.

Fondly,
SW
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Dad,Good insight. I'll respond more later. I do want you to know that I looked everywhere for this book...but it was out and on backorder in 4 bookstores. I'm glad you found it, though. I saw an interview with Jimmy Carter regarding the book...very interesting. Hope I can find time to read it sometime! Much love, JP
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I must admit I don't read all your ' blogging ' but this one I found the time. Found your insight / information very interesting . Saw Jimmy carter on nightly news the other night. He got very emotional as he recalled the camp david summit and how Sadat almost walked out. SA
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Carter has a better grasp of the situation than our politicians and most Americans. No doubt our politicians are afraid to speak out against Israel because of the big bucks they receive from the Jewish community. Palestinians on the other hand have not reciprocated positively with any peace proposals made by Israel in the past. They've responded with suicide attacks. They seem to only want to destroy Israel and have only Palestine. Only God knows the answer! BW
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Hello Cornell,
Thanks for your letter. As a fellow Georgian Carter is sometimes looked at with pride for his personal character, but several reservations on his policies while president and stands afterwards. Overall I think it is important to remember that the Israel is under constant attack and has loss of civilian life due to homicide bombers on a regular basis. Yet they have persevered with a democracy despite the issues. Yes I am sure they make many mistakes along the way but after all, survival is the basic instinct. With all there neighbors calling for their destruction continuously, I think it is wise to be a little paranoid.

As far as the US taking unfair sides, I would have to agree that we are biased towards Israel. But then again, with some many hostile neighbors in the mid-east, without the constant US support, Israel may not be able to exist. When you look on the other side and see the massive amounts of daily terrorist attacks in the territories, many of which are between rival factions in the West Bank, it makes you wonder how they could govern if Israel were to leave the entirely to their own government. Overall the West Bank and Lebanon both seem to be fractured by warring groups that, though they all hate Israel, yet they also hate one another so much they really can't govern the country anyway.

We all long for peace but the reality is that security concerns are probable out weighing the desire for peace on both sides.

Best wishes to all and keep up the good thinking,

JW
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
January 31, 2007 – New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist
Not-So-Strange Bedfellow
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Here’s a little foreign policy test. I am going to describe two countries — “Country A” and “Country B” — and you tell me which one is America’s ally and which one is not.
Let’s start: Country A actively helped the U.S. defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan and replace it with a pro-U.S. elected alliance of moderate Muslims. Country A regularly holds sort-of-free elections. Country A’s women vote, hold office, are the majority of its university students and are fully integrated into the work force.
On 9/11, residents of Country A were among the very few in the Muslim world to hold spontaneous pro-U.S. demonstrations. Country A’s radical president recently held a conference about why the Holocaust never happened — to try to gain popularity. A month later, Country A held nationwide elections for local councils, and that same president saw his candidates get wiped out by voters who preferred more moderate conservatives. Country A has a strategic interest in the success of the pro-U.S., Shiite-led, elected Iraqi government. Although it’s a Muslim country right next to Iraq, Country A has never sent any suicide bombers to Iraq, and has long protected its Christians and Jews. Country A has more bloggers per capita than any country in the Muslim Middle East.
The brand of Islam practiced by Country A respects women, is open to reinterpretation in light of modernity and rejects Al Qaeda’s nihilism.
Now Country B: Country B gave us 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11. Country B does not allow its women to drive, vote or run for office. It is illegal in Country B to build a church, synagogue or Hindu temple. Country B helped finance the Taliban.
Country B’s private charities help sustain Al Qaeda. Young men from Country B’s mosques have been regularly recruited to carry out suicide bombings in Iraq. Mosques and charities in Country B raise funds to support the insurgency in Iraq. Country B does not want the elected, Shiite-led government in Iraq to succeed. While Country B’s leaders are pro-U.S., polls show many of its people are hostile to America — some of them celebrated on 9/11. The brand of Islam supported by Country B and exported by it to mosques around the world is the most hostile to modernity and other faiths.
Question: Which country is America’s natural ally: A or B?
Country A is, of course. Country A is Iran. Country B is Saudi Arabia.
Don’t worry. I know that Iran has also engaged in terrorism against the U.S. and that the Saudis have supported America at key times in some areas. The point I’m trying to make, though, is that the hostility between Iran and the U.S. since the overthrow of the shah in 1979 is not organic. By dint of culture, history and geography, we actually have a lot of interests in common with Iran’s people. And I am not the only one to notice that.
Because the U.S. has destroyed Iran’s two biggest enemies — the Taliban and Saddam — “there is now a debate in Iran as to whether we should continue to act so harshly against the Americans,” Mohammad Hossein Adeli, Iran’s former ambassador to London, told me at Davos. “There is now more readiness for dialogue with the United States.”
More important, when people say, “The most important thing America could do today to stabilize the Middle East is solve the Israel-Palestine conflict,” they are wrong. It’s second. The most important thing would be to resolve the Iran-U.S. conflict.
That would change the whole Middle East and open up the way to solving the Israel-Palestine conflict, because Iran is the key backer of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Syria. Iran’s active help could also be critical for stabilizing Iraq.
This is why I oppose war with Iran. I favor negotiations. Isolating Iran like Castro’s Cuba has produced only the same result as in Cuba: strengthening Iran’s Castros. But for talks with Iran to bear fruit, we have to negotiate with Iran with leverage.
How do we get leverage? Make it clear that Iran can’t push us out of the gulf militarily; bring down the price of oil, which is key to the cockiness of Iran’s hard-line leadership; squeeze the hard-liners financially. But all this has to be accompanied with a clear declaration that the U.S. is not seeking regime change in Iran, but a change of behavior, that the U.S. wants to immediately restore its embassy in Tehran and that the first thing it will do is grant 50,000 student visas for young Iranians to study at U.S. universities.
Just do that — and then sit back and watch the most amazing debate explode inside Iran. You can bet the farm on it.

Palestine

This past Christmas my suggested gift list to receive from my children (they usually ask) failed to yield the book I was most interested in currently, by Jimmy Carter, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. So I immediately went out to purchase it. Since learning of the book I had been attracted for several reasons: a) In conversation with a friend on recent mission trip, he implied, in essence, that our government gave too much favor to Jewish lobby, something I had question in my own mind at times. b) The initial accusation of misrepresentation of Middle East proposals advanced by the Clinton administration in 2000 (See Don’t Play With Maps by Dennis Ross in NY Times Jan.9th.) Controversies surrounding the book have since caused the resignation of 14 members of a board of over 200 members at the Carter Center. At least one of these members, in a TV interview, stated that Carter had gone from neutral mediator to siding with the Palestinians and sited page #213, without giving a specific passage, for his reasoning.

If you prefer not to read all I have written, have not read the book and would like to know more about it, you may go direct to the full text, Carter refers to as a brief summary of his book, of speech he gave last evening at Brandeis University, a Jewish founded college with 50% Jewish students.

Carter has said the book’s title was intended to provoke a refocus of the Middle East de­bate, too long an absence of any viable peace initiatives. While the book covers a wide range Mid East issues, including chapters addressing relations with all of Israel’s neighboring countries, a general theme reveals the negative impact for peace because of Israel’s occupation/segregation walls and/or settlements of Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem ---- and Israel’s unrelenting political, economic, and military will for continued expansion, further oppressing Palestinians. Israel has not complied with the U. N. Resolution 242 of 1967 or subsequent resolutions requiring withdrawal from Palestinian occupied territories. Carter, of course, points out that The Palestinians and their Arab neighbors have a responsibility to stop terrorizing.

Carter says, the majority of Israelis, Palestinians, and other Arab people want peace, not usually evidenced by political leader’s public statements. These statements do not reflect what their private conversations are willing to concede. (It’s my opinion this disparity is endemic with politicians/regimes throughout the Mid East who use ignorance, prejudice, and ex­tremism for political expediency, probably one of the most onerous impediment to peace ad­vancement. Most notably this is characterized, I believe, in the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or does he really believe all that stuff?)

In summary Carter writes, “There are two interrelated obstacles to peace in the Middle East: 1. Some Israelis believe they have the right to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land and try to justify the sustained subjugation and persecution of increasingly hopeless and aggravated Palestinians; and 2. Some Palestinians react by honoring suicide bombers as martyrs to be rewarded in heaven and consider the killing of Israelis as victories.” Further part of his summary: “There are constant and vehement political and media de­bates in Israel concerning its policies in the West Bank, but because of powerful political, economic, and religious forces in the United Sates, Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned, voices from Jerusalem dominate in our media, and most American citizens are unaware of circumstances in the occupied territories.” ----- “there is little doubt that the lack of a persistent effort to resolve the Palestinian issue is a major source of anti-American sentiment and terrorist activity throughout the Middle East and Islamic world.”

Surely Carter made mistakes in his presidency, and possibly a snafu or two in this book. But, even if a slight senility has set in which I don’t believe is the case, I would give him the benefit of doubt, because of his unsurpassed understanding, long study, and first hand experiences of many issues involving the Middle East. Certainly there’s no other U. S. president who, on a sustained level, put forth the effort to advance world peace and un­derstanding and to insure that democracy has a chance wherever it takes root. It’s my sense that President Carter took a courageous step to say some things that had to be said, if there is ever to be a lasting peace in Middle East.

The full text, Carter refers to as a brief summary of his book, in a speech was given last evening at Brandeis University, a Jewish founded college with 50% Jewish students. Carter speaks to the fury in N& Jan. 24th. Read what Israeli’s are saying for a Just Peace. You might find Carter’s answers to questions about the book interesting in an interview with Amazon.com, along with many reviews of the book, some downright abusive and ugly.

I found the book educational. Additionally, it brought back to mind some thoughts I had prior to reading the book:

* As a country of Judeo-Christian (78% Christian) heritage/orientation, do we show undue favor, whether intentionally or passively, in Jewish matters, being derelict in our duty to truly search for a better understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian is­sues?
* Are there unreasonable influences the Jewish lobby has on our government’s for­eign policies?
* Do Jewish big-money-campaign contributions have inordinate influence on U. S. policy makers?
* Has the United States been the primary inhibitor to any of the United Nations’ direc­tives against Israel being enforced?

As usual I would like to know what you are thinking.