Will the True God of Abraham Please Stand UP

Part 2

So much has transpired since I wrote part 1. Firstly, Israel has invaded Gaza, in search of the leaders and players of Hamas. Secondly, Israel bypasses the calls for a ceasefire. Israel is digging in, deeply. Thirdly, after much thought, and being called cold hearted because of my neutral stand on this fight, I’ve done a mythologist schtick, which is to look at it as a great story moving forward with an unexpected ending.

The Invasion

Yes, it is okay to call things for what they are. Israel has invaded that pesky wasps nest referred to as Gaza. For many years, Israel attempted to play the spider that builds its web over a wasp’s nest, but the wasp got as many spiders as spiders got wasps. Israel would love to find the nest’s queen, which they probably will.

Continuing on with the insect analogy, Hamas plays the insect quite well, in that it is a parasite. The ordinary citizens of Gaza are used as incubators for Hamas. And protectors. And weapons. The difference between the people and insects, is that people have choices. It is the point of the monotheistic religions, that the individual is to decide for themselves.

Good decisions, however, come from three sources: knowledge, experience, and perspective. How much of any of these factors go into the average Palestinians decision making we cannot know, unless we have been there. We can see that Hamas was voted in, as the leaders of this political area. Which tends to inform us that democracy is used for evil. Constantly.

The Palestinian people are both Muslim and Christian. Which are children of the God of Abraham. However, both are  more like grandchildren, not the original offspring, which are the Jews.  The difficulty is, as one man of the cloth said to me, years ago, Muslims will always have that Ishmael chip on their shoulder. Nonetheless, they too are the holders of  the Abraham mythology. That needs to be recognized.

If you do not believe our myths have a deep hold on us, I suggest you rethink that. Even atheists, who pride themselves that they are rid of religion, are reactionary to these Biblical myths. Otherwise they wouldn’t bother casting stones at religion.

When you want to find a motive, follow people’s reactions first. What is motivating them? Both Muslims, and Christians, have motive to hate Jews. (Please, don’t protest over that. I have listened to Christians speak on this topic. It ain’t pretty.) Muslims are about abandonment, and Christians are about rejection.  Both these hurts can too easily be blamed on Jews. Read the stories, of Abraham, and of the early Christian writers to understand why. This is not to say it is anyone’s fault. I give this information so that people may get an understanding of the big picture.

Rejection and abandonment, these are two powerful, deeply imbedded psychological issues. It stems from a drama that has played for at least two thousand years. Because no one thinks to change their perspective on these ancient stories. Reading the Bible or the Quran with a different mindset, changes the view. As Solomon said;

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”  Proverbs 4:7

Getting “wisdom” from memes doesn’t cut it. There is no context on a meme. Truth is skirted, and downright lies are told. The teachings of the books are eschewed. People like to think they know what is in those books, I speak of the Bible, and of the Quran. But as the adage says, actions speak louder than words. As for the other book, the Quran, it is quite clear on this action idea:

62  “Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.”

The note on this passage says this: “…that salvation cannot be attained by mere lip-profession by any people, not even by the Muslims, unless they adhere to a true belief and do good deeds.” Holy Quran, translated by Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat

Sounds like faith and good works to me. I would say Hamas is guilty of disobedience. Well is there any doubt that they are? No one I know thinks beheading children is a “good works.”

2 A Relentless Israel

The bypass of the ceasefire suggestion shows that Israel has learned the lesson. No more playing humanitarian when this approach has never worked before.

It is time for the wasp’s nest to be found, and eliminated. So think of Israel as the bug guy.

Doesn’t this hurt innocent people? Yes.

In my book, Don’t Do Dumb Stuff, which comes out next year, I address the fallacy of innocence as a virtue, several times. In my experience and perspective of the world, not being innocent, gives an individual a much better chance of survival. When one can spot the liar, through experience, one protects themselves, both outwardly and inwardly.

We call this state of being, consciousness. Awareness. Mindfulness.

How does one overcome innocence? By experience. A hero’s journey is a place to start.

People who live in democracies must never be kept innocent about the consequences of their votes. Yet the leaders of nefarious movements will work hard to keep their supporters innocent. Their propaganda is steered toward this. In Gaza, their leaders, once voted in, could not be voted out. The people were lied to. The people were encouraged to play the innocent victim. No one seemed to encourage them to take responsibility for their own fate. They could not act against the scourge, because Hamas’ control of the people was not stopped.

Hamas, of course, has the support of other scourges, including the progressives in the West. Is that not an interesting partnership, the godless with those who profess to be religious? Herein lies another issue, that Hamas lies about their intentions, religious wise. They are not good Muslims, this is not a thing about their god, but about the hatred that has been taught for 1400 years. Even within their own religion. The issues has always been about envy and jealousy.

There is a good reason for the 10th commandment: “You shall not covet…”

How innocent are the Palestinians? Surely they have seen enough of what their Hamas leaders are about to know, only too well, what they are about. The children, of course, are another issue. I am so sorry this has happened to them. But this goes to my argument, about innocence. It is not a virtue in anyone over 8 years of age.

3 A Story with Questions

We do not know how this will all end. Sitting in safety, writing about what is going on thousands of miles away, and professing all sorts of empathy, does no one any good. Except to make people look good. Westerners on Social Media love to post memes, that essentially say, look at me, I say nice things. Unless you have boots on the ground, you do not truly understand how complex these situations are. For there are issues buried in issues, and complexities surrounded by complexities.

Let me use a distasteful analogy to make it more visual. Let’s say there’s a cesspool that needs emptying out. This cesspool lies on two adjoining properties. One side wants to empty it out. The other doesn’t understand the urgency. They are used to the mess, used to the smell. Even the side that would clean out the cesspool, has gotten used to a certain amount of stench. They tolerate it.

One day, the earth shakes, allowing a great deal of sewage to spill out. This harms people. And yet, the one side will not clean out the shit. So the other owners decide to do the job. It will not be easy, because some people are so used to the smell of malevolence, they still will not take matters into their own hands, and clean out the sewage. Or to destroy the leaders who refused to do the job.

Do you ever wonder what the God of Abraham, is thinking about all this? What questions might he have?

That Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil, and yet people still don’t get it? That Lucifer is the god they love, not him? That there is plenty of blame to go around? That opportunities for cooperation have been ignored? That too many people get involved in other people’s problems, without having an understanding of them? That they prolong the problems by their interference? That people judge others without understanding them? That too many people don’t mean what they say?

This is where we bring in that wonderful story about the great flood. Noah got the message, and told everyone that on such and such a date, they must enter the ark, or drown. Pretty straightforward, yes? He didn’t go around trying to get people to listen to him. He said his peace, and then Noah got busy with his preparations. Some folks laughed at him. Others, perhaps, got a bit worried, but worried more about how would it look if they got onto the ship, and no rain came. Until the rain came, and wouldn’t stop, and the doors were shut. Do we feel sorry for those folks who didn’t get on the ark? Yes. But do we blame others for not forcing them to get onto the ark? Not at all. It is a harsh reminder about making choices and having to own them.

What do you think the God of Abraham needs to do with us?

Is it time for another flood? Or should another big, space rock hit us? How about a Super Ice Age? Or several super volcanoes going off, all at once? Or, my personal favorite, an alien of great power shows up, and shuts everything down. Not for a day, but for a decade.

Or?

God lets us figure it out, with this advisory;

Grow up, people.