← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Texas Dissident
Thread ID: 3684 | Posts: 4 | Started: 2002-11-25
2002-11-25 08:23 | User Profile
[url=http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/1675878]'Kinship' bridges sectors of faith[/url]
5,000 Christians, Jews vow to unite, denounce `evil' in support of Israel
Nov. 25, 2002, 12:16AM
By JOHN W. GONZALEZ Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle San Antonio Bureau
SAN ANTONIO -- Five thousand Christians and Jews, led by a top congressional leader and viewed by a global television audience, vowed mutual support on Sunday in a special religious service that called for the eternal preservation of Israel despite constant threats from "evil" enemies.
The Rev. John Hagee's giant Cornerstone Church was nearly filled for his 21st annual "Night to Honor Israel." Those in attendance left no doubt they support Israel's defense efforts and endorse President Bush's efforts to oust Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian Authority's leader and to confront Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
"Since the Republican party became the majority party in the House of Representatives, our leaders have consistently supported Israel as a just and democratic nation," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.
"Let me assure all of you here tonight, as long as I remain majority leader I will use every tool at my disposal to ensure that the House of Representatives continues to preserve and strengthen America's alliance with the state of Israel," DeLay said, drawing a standing ovation from a crowd of three busloads of Jews from the Houston area.
"America has a clear duty to stand beside a democratic ally that is besieged by terrorists," DeLay said, adding, "I believe most Americans feel the pull of kinship with the men and women of Israel."
Citing numerous biblical references, Hagee said Israel has a divine right to its land and is entitled to defend it.
"Victory will come over these fanatical Islamic terrorists. Peace will come. Joy will come. Singing and laughter will replace this long night of heartache," Hagee predicted.
"To our Jewish friends in Israel and around the world, we represent 70 million evangelical Christians in America. We are Zionists. If a line has to be drawn, then draw the line around both Christians and Jews. We are one. We are united. We are indivisible," he said.
"It's time for Christians in America to stop praising the dead Jews of the past -- meaning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- while slandering the Jewish people across the street. They represent the same family," Hagee said.
Noting that the broadcast would be seen in the Middle East, including Iraq, Hagee said, "Listen up, Saddam ... you can sleep in a different bed every night trying to escape the judgment you richly deserve. It's not going to help you. There's a Texan in the White House and he's gonna take you down," Hagee said, drawing wild applause and cheers.
"The window of opportunity to defeat Saddam Hussein and the axis of evil is limited ... I am thankful that America has a president like George W. Bush, who has the courage to call Saddam's hand ... to stand up for Israel under fire," Hagee said.
Jews are accustomed to attacks on the legitimacy of the 54-year- old Israeli state and -- with the support of Christians -- they are prepared to continue fighting for its existence, said Yael Ravia- Zadok, the Houston-based Israeli consulate general for the southwestern United States.
"Tonight, as we stand here together, we are saying to the world that despite all the obstacles -- the painful price that we had paid and we are still paying during the last two years of cruel terror -- we are here, we are strong and we are resilient," she said.
"Here, from the Cornerstone Church, we share our friendship and commitment -- a commitment for peace, a commitment for democracy, a commitment to struggle against those who threaten our lives and our freedom, a commitment to assure our children a better world," she said.
"We won't let the terror win," she said, likewise drawing a thunderous ovation.
2002-11-25 08:28 | User Profile
[url=http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1675736]Christians barred from Bethlehem shrine[/url]
Nov. 24, 2002, 9:10PM
Israeli troops occupying Manger Square block entry into Church of the Nativity
Associated Press
BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- On the first Sunday since Israel reoccupied Bethlehem, troops barred Christians from worshipping at the Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's most sacred shrines. Soldiers in another part of the West Bank searched four mosques for suspected militants.
There were no signs that the Israelis were near an end to the operation in the biblical town, despite a State Department call for troops to leave as soon as possible, with Christmas just a month away. Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born in a grotto under the Bethlehem church.
Israeli forces rolled into Bethlehem, in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, early Friday after a Palestinian suicide bomber from Bethlehem blew himself up on a Jerusalem bus a day before, killing 11 passengers and injuring more than 40 other people.
The army has conducted house-to-house searches for militants there, and more than 30 Palestinians -- three believed to be connected to suicide bombing operations -- were arrested, army officers said.
Church bells rang Sunday, but Manger Square, like the streets of Bethlehem, was empty Sunday as soldiers enforced a strict curfew, confining the town's residents to their homes.
At the fortresslike fourth-century church, a few monks and nuns sang hymns and prayed. Israeli forces allowed about 15 Franciscan monks to enter the ancient structure. Greek Orthodox priests celebrated a liturgy. The more modern St. Catherine's Church next door, where the Christmas Eve Mass is conducted, was empty.
The scene reminded the Rev. Ibrahim Faltas of an even more tense situation six months ago, when dozens of Palestinian gunmen fled into the church ahead of invading Israeli forces, setting off a 39-day stalemate.
Israeli forces encircled the church and demanded that the gunmen surrender.
The standoff ended when Israel and the Palestinians agreed that 26 of the gunmen would be sent to Gaza and 13 others exiled to Europe.
"The church is sad without worshippers, who are the lives of the church," Faltas said. "On this Sunday, we are praying for peace in Bethlehem and call on God to decrease the suffering of the people."
2002-11-25 21:40 | User Profile
Christians are being misled by false teachers.
2002-11-25 22:17 | User Profile
Originally posted by Malachi@Nov 25 2002, 15:40 Christians are being misled by false teachers.
I couldn't agree with you more, Malachi. Hagee and his growing ministry at Cornerstone in San Antonio is fastly becoming one of the worst.