A while back, David Heddle commented about why evangelical Christians tend to support Israel. I've actually been sympathetic to Israel for a long time, even before I became a Christian (for the record, the Ayn Rand Institute is also pro-Israel in its editorial stance). To say that this is exclusively a Christian or "Religious Right" issue is not an accurate description of Israel's supporters.
From a secular point of view, I agree with the Ayn Rand Institute, that Israel deserves our support because it is a free country, with a foundation of economic and press freedom. I certainly don't see that in the Palestinian culture, where a zeitgeist of victimhood persists, and a totalitarian government censors the press and kills its own citizens without due process.
I've read some editorials recently where it is claimed Christians support Israel because we want war, as if we could call God's hand if we could just encourage a war to get started. This belief is offensive to me; God will do His will regardless of the acts of man, we cannot force God to do anything, except to forgive us when we repent and turn to Him.
From a religious point of view, I support Israel because the Bible says that I will be blessed if I do. I don't think that God's promises to Abraham became null and void when Jesus was crucified. And as far as responsibility for the Crucifixion goes, it is not theologically sound to lay that on the Jews; the Bible makes it clear that the Atonement was for the sins of all men. From that point of view, this is a true statement for everyone: "I am responsible for the Cross, my sins put Him there".
Posted by joelfuhrmann at December 11, 2002 11:23 PM