Lifespring!98 “Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah”
This is a very different “Lifespring!” show. The war in Israel and Lebanon, involving Hezbollah, has brought much criticism of both sides. With Pastor Steve O’Brien as my guest, we discuss the situation in an attempt to look at things in a balanced and Biblical way.
Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebaa_Farms
http://www.rachaya-al-foukhar.com/
Scripture
Gen 16:1 [show] Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. (ESV)
– 16 (NIV) 1Now Sarai, Abram?s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2so she said to Abram, ?The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.? Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, ?You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.? 6?Your servant is in your hands,? Abram said. ?Do with her whatever you think best.? Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. 7The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8And he said, ?Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?? ?I?m running away from my mistress Sarai,? she answered. 9Then the angel of the LORD told her, ?Go back to your mistress and submit to her.? 10The angel added, ?I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.? 11The angel of the LORD also said to her: ?You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael,? for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone?s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.? 13She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ?You are the God who sees me,? for she said, ?I have now seen the One who sees me.? 14That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.15So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Gen 17:20 [show] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. (ESV) – 21 (NIV) 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to GoDaddy for sponsoring the Lifespring! Family of podcasts!
GODADDY DISCOUNT CODES:
LS1 gets you 10% off any order
LS2 gets you an additional $5.00 off any order over $30.00>
LS3 gets you .COM domain names for only $6.95 a year
Support your favorite podcaster? 
Please remember to use only these codes when you order from GoDaddy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks also to EARTHLINK.
Keep listening for the finalist’s entries in the Earthlink Challenge contest!
2 Responses to Lifespring!98 “Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah”
I’m a Christian from England and heard the cast mentioned on the DSC. I was horrified by what I heard here. Is this typical of “Christian” opinion in the US? I use the inverted commas because I don’t believe Jesus would have shown this lack of compassion for slaughtered women and children.
If your beliefs and bible study have destroyed your human compassion and sense of natural justice so that you can say such things, then you should discard them and start again, because being human and compassionate with a keen sense of justice (as Jesus was) is more important.
Right from the start the (unconscious?) bias is evident – when someone sends you an email you claiming to be closely connected to a Christian Lebanese village which has been bombarded four times by Israel, you say “we must be sceptical of such claims”. When scores of women and children are killed trying to shelter from Israeli bombs (suppied by the US?), you say “they obviously allowed a Hezbollah fighter to bring weapons in their house – all bets are off.” When poor, resourceless and helpless people die you say “Israel warned them to leave South Lebanon – why did they choose to stay?”
This is a very unequal conflict. A country with unlimited destructive power (because supplied by the US) is attacking the civilian population in a country which has no effective defence force. This is cowardly. Who is supposed to defend these people if not the Hezbollah “fighters” (I’m not sure what to call them. The word “terrorist” is constantly abused for propaganda purposes by the US, UK and other governments).
As I have heard someone say, how many Israelis had been killed by Hezbollah rockets in the two years before this conflict started? How many have died since Israel started this assault in response to the kidnapping of their solidiers? I heard on the BBC yesterday that something like 50 Israelis have died (mostly soldiers), 500 Lebanese (overwhelmingly “civilians” by my definition) with 1 in 5 Lebanese now homeless.
Ultimately, Israel needs strong, responsible government in Lebanon – so how has this helped? How many in Lebanon (including Christians) now support Hezbollah as their only defenders, who would have been suspicious of them before? And how many people in the world have lost all faith in Israel – who would otherwise be their natural supporters – and now believe that some Islamic terrorists may have some justification after all? As you know, terrorism was used by Israel’s founders against the British, by Afghans (supported by the US) against Russian invaders, by the French resistance against the Germans, and so on. It is facile to condemn all terrorism without distinction.
To hear some humanity, listen to what Madge Weinstein has to say on this issue (if you can hear it through the sound of eating). Despite the constant vulgarity, I prefer Madge’s humanity to this cold and sinister religion. Lord Jesus help us all.
I?m extremely sorry you were ?horrified? by what you heard on the show. My intention was to bring a perspective to the discussion that is not given much time in the mass media.
My initial statement after reading the listener?s letter was that ?I believe that in much of the press and in most of what you hear from the UN, people are coming against Israel, and making Israel the bad guy in this, and there needs to be balance. And so that?s what hopefully this show will be today.?
<>
Good question. I have no idea. I have never claimed to be the voice of the typical US Christian, nor do I try to be. As a matter of fact, I?m pretty positive I am not the typical anything. Listen to my show for awhile and you?ll see that I am as much an individual as you probably are.
Let me correct the above statement. I am a typical flawed human being, in desperate need of God?s saving grace. I certainly will not deny that.
Now, back to my response to your comment.
< < If your beliefs and bible study have destroyed your human compassion and sense of natural justice so that you can say such things?>>
Which things? What part do you disagree with? The statement where I said, ?If I pray for their (Israel?s) peace, that also means, by the way, that I am praying for the peace of their enemies.? Or when I said, ?God loves these people?on both sides.? Perhaps you missed when I said, ?God doesn?t hate the Arab people,?, and, ?When Jesus came, He came for everybody. He didn?t come just for the Jews.?
The fact remains that Israel was forced into this war. The fact remains that Hezbollah?s stated goal is to drive Israel into the sea. The fact remains that weapons are cached in the homes of ?civilians? and in mosques.
Israel must defend itself. Terrorists respond only to strength. Israel has restrained itself for many years. How long would you have them absorb the attacks of the neighbors on every side who want their destruction?
Of course, the death of women and children (and men) is tragic! And not just Lebanese women and children (and men). What about the innocents killed by ?suicide? bombers who walk into restaurants and end the lives of non-combatants?
< < Right from the start the (unconscious?) bias is evident>>
Let us be clear here. What is your bias?
I was very clear during this podcast that I believe that it is the responsibility of the Christian believer to support Israel. I also made it clear that I do not think that they are perfect.
< < when someone sends you an email you claiming to be closely connected to a Christian Lebanese village which has been bombarded four times by Israel, you say ?we must be sceptical of such claims?>>
Please listen more carefully. Nothing was said about doubting my listener?s claim to have a close tie with the village, or that it was bombed once, twice, or four times. What was under question was whether or not weapons were in that town. Recent history tells us that it is not uncommon for terrorists to use this ploy. Did Israel have such information that lead them to attack this village?
< < When scores of women and children are killed trying to shelter from Israeli bombs (suppied by the US?), you say ?they obviously allowed a Hezbollah fighter to bring weapons in their house - all bets are off.>>
I did not say that. Please be more careful with your quotes. What I said was that according to ??the rules of war, if you are allowing your home to be a cache for weapons,you are no longer a non-combatant. You are no longer a civilian.? And then a few sentences later, ?Were there weapons in these homes??
<>
A question I would still like to have answered.
< < This is a very unequal conflict. A country with unlimited destructive power (because supplied by the US) is attacking the civilian population in a country which has no effective defence force.>>
Really? Who do you suppose is supplying Hezbollah?
Iran? Syria?
Defenseless? I think not.
<>
What would you call suicide bombing? Or car bombing?
<>
No defense was necessary until Hezbollah started this war. Israel pulled completely out of Lebanon in 2000, according to UN treaty.
I submit to you that Lebanon?s biggest problem is Hezbollah, not Israel.
< < As I have heard someone say, how many Israelis had been killed by Hezbollah rockets in the two years before this conflict started? How many have died since Israel started this assault in response to the kidnapping of their solidiers? I heard on the BBC yesterday that something like 50 Israelis have died (mostly soldiers), 500 Lebanese (overwhelmingly ?civilians? by my definition) with 1 in 5 Lebanese now homeless.>>
Since Hezbollah will not allow UN or Red Cross representatives to confirm or deny these numbers, I remain skeptical.
Am I to believe the BBC on its word? Forgive me if I decline to do so. Please don?t misunderstand. This is not a statement against the UK or its fine citizens. I am merely doubtful of the press, and its bias.
I will not respond to your rhetorical questions.
< < It is facile to condemn all terrorism without distinction.>>
Of course. Here?s where I make the distinction:
In fighting against tyranny, in fighting for freedom, in fighting to defend one?s homeland against an aggressive invading force, the rules of war apply.
When deadly force is exported, in order to kill non combatants, to achieve the goal of bringing a people into submission or obliteration, as it is with radical Islamic terrorists, THIS MUST BE STOPPED.
< < To hear some humanity, listen to what Madge Weinstein has to say on this issue (if you can hear it through the sound of eating). Despite the constant vulgarity, I prefer Madge?s humanity to this cold and sinister religion.>>
I like Richard. He has a good heart.
<>
On that, we agree.