Does anyone else think this is part of the mid east problem?

Question

It seems that people view these issues as religious issues and clump them together with things that happened in the bible thousands of years ago.

It's actually pretty racist, when you think that words written about a culture that came and left in Caesar's time are being applied to recent transplants?

My point is that border disputes with guns happen all over the world. Isn't it poor on our part to assign Israel's problems a special status?

Nobody's fighting over God so much as "Turf". It's got more in common with "West Side Story" than what Isaiah and Ezekiel and the boys wrote.

I don't mean to make light of anyone suffering, and I exaggerate to make my point, but does anyone even see what I'm saying, even if you disagree?

BobM: I respect your opinion completely, but you just proved my case in that so many people (including our government) would overlook wrongdoings in the rest of the world because of Biblical speculation.

Again, all respect~

I stand corrected, Jennifer.

Answer 1

The mideast problem is religious. The Jews consider Jerusalem their religious holy city, and the Muslems consider Jerusalem their religious holy city. Muslems and Jews both believe they have a right to occupy Jerusalem. Obviously the Jews have it now, and they are not giving it up. And don't forget that the Jews worship a God named Jehovah, and the Muslems worship a totally different god named Allah.

This bitterness between the two religions has been going on almost since the beginning of man, and it will not go away any time soon.

Israel is not getting special status. Over 60 years ago it went to war to try to win a land and a country for itself, and guess what? It won the war! That is why Israel now occupies Jerusalem. The Muslems will always believe that Jerusalem belongs to them, and they will always fight to get it back.

This is a very, very basic history lesson at best, but what makes this whole situation worse is when people use words like racism and spew venomous words about Israel's attacks. Why? Why should they have to leave a country that they fought for and won?

This is a very deep religious and cultural problem, and there is no easy answer. Remember, though, that the Pilgrims fought their former country, England, to win the right to have their own country and religious freedom. Israel is doing the same thing, and in a sense so is the Muslem world. Muslems don't have Jerusalem, but they want it back, and they're willing to die for it, just as the Jews are.

Please do not trivialize this issue in any way. It is impossible to understate the importance of what is going on in the mideast to the people who live there.

Emotionalism is not productive either.

Like I said, there is no easy answer, but clear-headedness and respect are essential.

Answer 2

I think the main reason people look at it that way is that the prophecies in the Bible are completely accurate and since the Bible prophecies certain things about the end times, people are looking for them.

What is interesting though, is that the Jews as a culture and race have survived intact through almost 2000 years of dispersion. It seems to me that throughout history there has always been a disproportionate attention to the Jews. These two facts alone are enough to make me believe that there is definately something supernatural going on with the Jews. Combine it with the Bible and you realize that they are God's chosen people and it has been His grace sustaining them as a people.