Post by Moses on Nov 19, 2004 15:59:36 GMT -5
Defenders of the Faith?
Writes the Rt. Revd. Riah Abu El-Assal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, and others: “It is with tremendous grief and sadness that I inform you that the Israeli special police force entered St. George’s Cathedral Close today without permission and took Mordechai Vanunu into custody. Approximately thirty officers, many with guns, entered the cathedral gardens and interrupted breakfast in the Pilgrim Guest House.” He continues: “This type of entry into a sacred space must not be tolerated by the churches throughout the world, and it must not be accepted by those who respect the rights and dignity of every person. We ask the government of Israel to stop such actions as these, and we call for the respect of sacred places.” Besides the obvious inappropriateness of invading any religion’s holy space, there are many things that come to mind when thinking about this story. One that persists in our minds, however, is as follows: Why, when this kind of thing happens, do the same evangelical Christians who are so quick to demonstrate their ardent support for the most extreme rightwing elements of Israeli politics seem so reluctant to come to the aid of their fellow Christians? How can it be acceptable to them that the sacred space of their coreligionists was violated? Where is the outcry from Pat Robertson and his ilk? Where is General Boykin and his Christian Army? Their silence is deafening. <br>
Writes the Rt. Revd. Riah Abu El-Assal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, and others: “It is with tremendous grief and sadness that I inform you that the Israeli special police force entered St. George’s Cathedral Close today without permission and took Mordechai Vanunu into custody. Approximately thirty officers, many with guns, entered the cathedral gardens and interrupted breakfast in the Pilgrim Guest House.” He continues: “This type of entry into a sacred space must not be tolerated by the churches throughout the world, and it must not be accepted by those who respect the rights and dignity of every person. We ask the government of Israel to stop such actions as these, and we call for the respect of sacred places.” Besides the obvious inappropriateness of invading any religion’s holy space, there are many things that come to mind when thinking about this story. One that persists in our minds, however, is as follows: Why, when this kind of thing happens, do the same evangelical Christians who are so quick to demonstrate their ardent support for the most extreme rightwing elements of Israeli politics seem so reluctant to come to the aid of their fellow Christians? How can it be acceptable to them that the sacred space of their coreligionists was violated? Where is the outcry from Pat Robertson and his ilk? Where is General Boykin and his Christian Army? Their silence is deafening. <br>