Wonga isnt the only ethically dubious organisation with links to the Church of England. The C of E is a partner of a missionary organisation called the Chuchs Ministry Among the Jewish People. The ostensible purpose of the CMJ is to convert Jews to Christianity. But underlying this is a wholly Christian Zionist approach. In essence, and despite historical evidence, they have since 1809 been in favour of the creation of a State of Israel to which Jews from around the world would return (despite most not actually originating from Palestine in the first place), thus facilitating their literal interpretation of Biblical prophecy of the occupation of Palestine by Gods People, creating conditions conducive to the return of Second Coming of the person they regard as the Messiah. Many Jews are not messianic; and, among those who are, only a tiny minority have converted to Christianity. This would all be interest only to those of us who observe religions were it not for the fact that in the West the Zionist agenda has weedled its way into gaining friends and advocates among politicians. It has taken a long time, but the Zionist goal of encouraging people to equate political Zionism (the creation of a country called Israel, existing only because God has designated land for use by Jews) and religious Zionism (the concept of Zion as a spiritual metaphor) has become unquestioned fact among many. The State of Israel itself has adopted aspects of this to tap into the Wests concepts and obtained continued support (political and practical) from Christian-orientated countries. We in the UK arent used to the idea that religions wield political power. Its different in the US, where the Bible Belt continues to pressure governments with great effect. But lets not presume that Zionism -- a movement which very many Jewish people regard as contrary to the traditions and culture of Judaism -- lacks influence. For, as has been highlighted recently, it certainly does have influence. The CJM is just one of the most obvious of the many evangelical Christian groups which overtly or covertly promote Zionism. Were this all, that would be a matter of comment, but not concern. But in fact it actively encourages those over whose opinions it holds power to equate anti-Zionist comments and activities with anti-Semitism. In turn, this encourages the faithful -- the majority of whom are not acquainted with the history or facts of history in the Middle East -- to regard any activity which does not support Israel as being anti-semitic, anti-Biblical, anti-Christian, and wrong. By providing support for the CJM, the Church of England -- which, lets remember, has representatives in the House of Lords -- actively encourages ongoing governmental support for Israeli policies.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 21:52:19 +0000
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