While the writer of this blog was in São Paulo, Brazil, he noticed what seemed to be a most anomalous sight, namely that of a mega-church type building which is used as a worship center by fundamentalist evangelists, displaying a huge flag of Israel on its roof which could be seen fluttering in the wind for quite a distance as it was located on the top of an elevation of the terrain in a suburb of that city called Santo André.

It was a stunning sight as one normally does not associate a house of religious worship with the flag which represents a political statement reflecting the embodiment of the Zionist nationalization of another religious faith, namely the Judaic one.

Of course upon reflecting on this sight one is lead to comprehend, although not necessarily understand, that this represents the embrace by both,  evangelist Christians and Jews, of the ideo-political extremist Zionist objectives and narratives.  This phenomenon does in no way represent the views, aspirations, or acceptance of most members of the global Christian or Jewish communities though.

Of course, it is known that evangelists believe in the second coming of the Messiah and for that to happen they prophesize that the onset of a horrific catastrophe must occur.

Typically envisaged by these evangelists is a nuclear war, and therefore these evangelists also typically support this nationalization embodiment of the Jewish faith , called Israel, as  a needed presence in the “promised land” of the “chosen people” as it serves in its walled separation state inside of Palestine, as kind of “gate keepers” community who will facilitate such catastrophe so that when the Messiah comes all Jews, and others in that area, will be forced to either convert to the evangelist version of Christianity, which of course the Catholic Church of Brazil does not support, or else these Jews, and others, will be doomed to go the infernal purgatory for perpetuity.

Now comes David Brog  who is the executive director of Christians United for Israel.

While he is a staunch supporter of Israel, he is alerting evangelicals to how their so-called “enemies” are succeeding in converting the  views of the younger more moderate evangelicals who are distancing themselves from supporting the untenable and horrifically destructive agenda and praxis of Israel’s dangerously extremist Zionist misleadership, as has been documentably demonstrated by their message and practices vis-a-vis the legitimate inhabitants of to Palestinians since 1948, namely “submit, leave, or die”, period.

In article by David Brog titled “The End of Evangelical Support for Israel ?: The Jewish State’s International Standing ” he brings up, inter alia, the following reference to an example of this distancing phenomenon he is warning young evangelicals about and that reference is an example of what this writer considers to be positive developments at Bethel University in Minnesota which is reproduced verbatim, infra.

The article by David Brog is published in the Middle East Forum Quarterly

“Bethel University in Minnesota provides a further example. While this school lacks the national reputation of Wheaton or ORU, it is likely more representative of the direction that America’s Christian colleges are taking. Bethel’s leaders are neither leading nor funding the effort to delegitimize Israel but are merely the products thereof. Like many Christian schools, Bethel emphasizes racial reconciliation and cultural openness and has accordingly developed numerous opportunities for its students to study abroad. In 2010, Bethel’s president Jay Barnes and his wife Barb visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority to explore the prospect of building a study abroad program there. During the trip, they visited Bethlehem and were exposed to the standard Christian anti-Israel narrative. Like so many of her fellow travelers, Barb Barnes apparently bought into this one-sided presentation. Shortly after her return, Barnes posted a poem on the university’s website that summarized the leading anti-Israel themes of these tours:

Incredible conflict exists in the land of Jesus’ birth/ I believe God mourns.

The wall[6] is a constant reminder of many lost freedoms/ I believe God mourns.

For more than 60 years, people have lived in poverty in refugee camps/ I believe God mourns.

Apartheid has become a way of life/ I believe God mourns.

Extreme disproportional distribution of resources, such as water, exists/ I believe God mourns.

Hundreds of villages have been demolished to make room for settlements/ I believe God mourns.

Human rights violations occur daily/ I believe God mourns.

The Christian population is declining as many are leaving to avoid persecution/ I believe God mourns.[7]

The Barnes visit did not motivate further study ultimately yielding a more nuanced understanding. In October 2012, President Barnes hosted a “Hope for the Holy Land” evening at Bethel, a one-sided, blame-Israel speaking tour featuring Sami Awad, Lynn Hybels, and other long-standing Christian critics of Israel.”

To secular or religious rational humanists who aspire, root for, struggle for, and or pray for peaceful conflict resolution in the Middle East, this phenomenon is a source of inspiration, hope, and a sign of progress.

If there is a genuine will, there is certainly a wayl to arrive at a peaceful conflict resolution in that region and in fact it is the leaderships of two non-Arab nations that uniquely qualify for this mission, namely that of the moderate and reformist leadership of Turkey,  President Erdogan, and that of the equally moderate and reformist leadership of Iran, Rouhany, both being the only democratically elected Moslem governments in the region, who together can take  the initiative to bridge any Sunni-Shiite distinctions in perspectives to break once for all the sectarian strife logjam which victimizes ALL well meaning Moslem, Jewish, Christian, and Secular Humanist beings in that region with so much potential to harmonize, rebuild and prosper and thereby heal sustainably.

Inspired by the lyrics of a well known song which this writer slightly modifies, “What the world needs now is PEACE, sweet PEACE.”

Love is part of the package since these energizing very human manifestations evolve in tandem.