Christians - do any of you know about the Palestinian Christians and care about their suffering?

Question

There are Bible-believing evangelical Palestinian Christians who accept the State of Israel as part of God's plan, and have never supported terrorism or voted for Hamas, who are collectively punished along with all other Palestinians. They've had their young children shot dead by Israeli soldiers or settlers, and their houses bulldozed or blown up by tanks, sometimes with sponsorship stickers on the side from American churches.

What hurts them most is not the Israelis or their Moslem neighbours who want to get rid of them (to make them emigrate) but the lack of interest of their Christian brothers and sisters in the West.

Optimus Prime - They aren't Christian soldiers, they're Israeli soldiers who are supported unconditionally by American (and other Western) Evangelical Christians.

Laralyn - and everyone else who'd like to help -

Go to bannerc.com/book.htm

Jack Kincaid, an American Evangelical author who is the primary Christian satellite TV evangelist to the Middle East, has a book to give away to anyone who wants it. It's called Between 2 Fires - the Untold Story of the Palestinian Christians. It's a result of a trip he made there in 2002.

You can read an extract from it at www.cornerstonemag.com/features/2003/January/books.htm

Order it for all your friends!

To continue the web page from above - s/2003/January/books.htm

Dorkmobil - As Christians we care about all who suffer but we have a special duty to care for our Christian brothes and sisters.

Angel of Fire - I congratulate you Thank you for your honesty. "A true Israelite without guile" - what Jesus said of Nathaniel, one of His disciples.

Chinese guy - You have to understand the history and religions of the Middle East; then you will see that it really is to do with religion. Oil is related to the Iraq issue, but the Israel/Palestine issue has been going far longer, and has its roots in the two sons of Abraham approx. 3500 years ago.

Michinoku - seems to make sense except for one thing. They don't WANT to emigrate. They see that as betraying Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Gordios - I know most Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox. But the Orthodox Church is not unwaveringly supporting the Israeli State or financing their soldiers.
I am trying to get the attention of those Christians in America in particular, and in the West in general, who, by unconditionally supporting Israel, are unwittingly oppressing their "Evangelical" counterparts in Palestine.

Michael Bluff - Israel is at present anti-Christian but God has a plan, revealed in Ezekiel, Zechariah and Revelation among other places, for the redemption of the Jews. I am not anti-Jewish or anti-Israel; I just think we all need to be informed about the issue and see that it's not all black-and-white.

Answer 1

I am a Jew who is whole-heartedly in Israel's corner, but I agree with you on this one, Israel is making enemies out of those who would be our friends and it sickens me that my people, the Jews, always sabotage themselves in that way....

Answer 2

Unfortunately the Israelis are working to the Old Testament, where they are told by God to remove all other Alters and religions. This they are doing and it is a case that anyone who is not a Jew is at risk. There were also Jews in Palestine who are no doubt just as affected or have like the Hindu and Muslim in what was India of the raj move out of their original place of residence. The Jews were removed from Palestine by the Romans after a revolt against Roman authority and dispersed through out the Empire, which all Europe has them, and it was the best part of 2000 years before the state of Israel was imposed by the Americans through the United Nations on the Palestinians. if it was my country I would also be very angry. As to the Christians supporting the Palestinian Christians, we support all Christians in difficulties where ever they are. The best thing that you can do is start a movement to stop the Americans arming the Jews in Israel.

Answer 3

Palestinian Christians overwhelmingly identify themselves with the Palestinian cause. There are no differences between the Palestinian Christians and Muslims and the small number of remaining Jews who have lived in the West Bank for hundreds of years alongside the Christians and Muslims. Palestinian Christians are generally wealthier than Palestininan Muslims and have emmigrated from Palestine at a shockingly large rate after the recent intifadah, along with most of the rest of the wealthy populations, concerning Christians around the world that Christianity is losing members of its population at Christianity's birthplace. However, Palestinian Christians have said that they would return to Palestine when the conflict ends. Palestinian Christians do not like American Christian Zionists because they do not research the situation before they donate to Israel.

Answer 4

Sara, I realize your intent is clean. But I think this question is pointless and offensive. I meant, what point are you trying to get across? The issue is not Jews and Muslims. It's Jews and Arabs. To an Israeli, he does not have time to ask for the religious identity of the person, a Palestinian is a Palestinian. Although I have to say, the people that disagreed with you. Are funny as hell loooool. Okay I am done.

Answer 5

This is a good question, but I don't believe the middle east problem has anything to do with religion. It has, however, a lot of things to do with oil. The US has been supporting Israel, not b/c most Americans are Christians, but b/c the US wants to influence and even control the oil producing nations in that region. I believe the US is the editor and Israel is the news announcer. Me? I am simply a TV audience.

Answer 6

I would just like to start by saying i think its very sad that you would prioritise your safety and suffereing because you are of a minority religion in Palestine. All Palestians muslim and christian are suffering and all deserve help from the west, so please change this selfish mentality.
Another thing you need to realise about christians is that there not very good christians. the majority of them don't take their religion seriously. And most importantly unlike muslims they dont see other christians around the world as their brothers and sisters. in case you hav n't realised their are christains suffering all around the world and not just in palestine but they could n't care less. To them your just an arab.
This is where you have to admire islam which is a religion which sees past the colour of your skin, muslims will always unite and help their fellow muslim brothers and sisters in need.
Sorry but it's the truth.

Answer 7

The fact that Israel is anti-Christian makes a sad mockery of the support they get from American Christians. A friend who grew up in a Holiness church vistited Israeli and Palestinians. She likened the Israelis to Nazis in their treatment of Palestinian Arabs. That's pretty sad commentary.

Answer 8

CORRECTED-EDITED:

What I was responding to in your statement was "There (they?)are Bible-believing evangelical Palestinian Christians"

It seemed a dishonest ploy to tug at the sensibilities of western evangelical protestant Christians who have a "Sola Scriptura" mindset.

The phrase "Bible-believing" is accepted as code in the west for "I only believe the Bible, I don't want to hear about anything outside The Bible and The Church is invisible, not visible".

You know yourself that this is not the position of Palestinian Christians, who have a rich heritage of about 2000 years of Holy Tradition that is the foundation for their acceptance of The Holy Scriptures. These are Christians closely descended from members of The Seven Ecumenical Councils of The Early Church.

You also know that while Orthodoxy accepts the same New Testament as it appears in The King James Bible, we also accept ALL of the books that appeared in THE ORIGINAL KING JAMES BIBLE and were later discarded by the Puritans.

You also know that the "Old Testament" accepted in Orthodoxy is The Septuagint, translated by Jewish scholars BEFORE Christ Jesus was Incarnate, Crucified and Resurrected.

Western bibles (spread like a virus through the Roman Church and The Council of Trent) are based on the Masoretic Text, a retranslation of The Hebrew Bible by NON-BELIEVING Hebrew Rabbis, completed in the 10th Century.

This translation had it's genesis in the non-believing Hebrew response to Holy Scriptures that confirmed the Divinity of Jesus Christ, starting about the year 150 AD/CE.

So, when you use that phrase to attempt to call the western world to task and plea for their support, you do it in a dishonest manner.

Say what you are: Orthodox Christians who have preserved The Faith (through the power of The Holy Spirit) for about 2000 years while surrounded by Islam and Judaism.

Yes, it is wrong that you are dying in part due to misperceptions as to who all Palestinians are, but don't stoop to the rhetoric of the west in order to engage their support.

They will only feel betrayed when they find out that Orthodox Christianity is an entirely different mindset than western Christianity (lumping Rome with Protestants, which is quite appropriate).

----original post-----

Most Palestinian Christians are Eastern Orthodox Christians (like myself), either Antiochian, or Alexandrian or of The See of Jerusalem.

The Orthodox Christian Church is evangelical and does hold up the Holy Scriptures as the divine word of God. Yet all hold that without Holy Tradition there would be nothing for The Church to hold the scriptures up to, to prove them of The Holy Spirit.

They have little in common with the mindset of western protestants, as they were not infected by the virus of western rationalism that Augustine of Hippo introduced into the Roman See, and which the Reformation carried throughout the world without a hint that they were infected in mindset.

As for support for Isreal, they support them in that they know from whence The Church came. But they also know that when Israel formally rejected Christ Jesus--through The King and The High Priest--that the promise was fulfilled through The Body of Christ Jesus, our Lord and our God, which is The Church itself.

Certainly God can regraft what he has pruned. But note that scripture never implies that The Church will be rejoined to Israel, but rather that Israel will be rejoined to The Church.

Answer 9

Just ask your self :
Why did Jesus come?

Because judaism is wrong, remember how he whipped them in the temple, the romans bumped him off to appease the Jews.
does this sound reasonable to you:

Levitcus 19:20 "If a man has sex with a slave girl he is not to be punished. She is a slave." (remember this is the same chapter that people quote to for being against homsexualtiy) So we can keep slaves??

Rape and pillage is encouraged:
"When you go to war against your enemies and you see a beautiful woman and find her desirable, you may take her. If she ceases to please you send her away." Deut. 21:10

"They waged war as god had commanded them and killed every male. But they kept the women as captives and took their wealth as spoil. Moses was enraged. 'So you spared the women? Kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse and kill every little boy, but keep the virgin girls for yourself. Divide them up evenly.'" Num. 31:7, 14

"If a man rapes a girl in the city, you must stone him to death, and the woman as well." Deut. 22:24

Go to the link below for a wake up call.

Answer 10

I'm sorry. Israel should stop defending itself, and counter attacking, because innocents will get killed in the cross fire.

Makes perfect sense to me.

For the guy below me.....waltzed right in? They owned %80 of the original property in the original Jewish state. They BOUGHT IT. The lovely oppressed Arabs also had pressured the British to restrict Jewish immigration for years. They also were the first side to attack...they birned down a Jewish village during a riot.

Most of the other territory was taken during wars against ARAB aggression.

Has Israel made mistakes? Sure. Have innocent Palestinians lost land? Sure.

Does Israel have any ability to negotiate with an unstable Government that can't stop terrorism, provide any security arrangements, or even recognizes its right to exist?

NO.

%50 of people in the refugee camps never lived in, or were descended from those that did, in any part of Israel or the occupied territory. This entire situation is a lie.

No innocent people EVER have died in war before this conflict.

Answer 11

Yes, I've heard about them and I think it's terrible that they're caught in the middle of things there.

By the way, don't forget about the Catholics and Orthodox in that part of the world. They're suffering just as much as the evangelical Protestants.

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