Yet Another Appeal for Sanity

So I'm in Starbucks this morning reading the always excellent Dallas Morning News religion section and the always banal Daily Oklahoman religion section. An attractive woman pulls up in a RAV4. She sits at the table next to me. In the process of getting settled, she places two books and a package of stationery on the table. I'm always interested in what people are reading. The top book is a Kay Arthur book. Not too annoying and not at all interesting. The other book catches my attention though. It's called The American Prophecies.

There are many stories in the revisionist historical circles of home school and private Christian school America of the prophecies and visions seen and received by George Washington, John Adams, and other Americhurch Fathers. They are almost certainly apocryphal, but they make the rounds anyway. It's easier to keep repeating them than try to work out how a secular nation might make room for religious freedom. Surpisingly, these were not the prophecies of the title.

I looked up the book on Amazon, and this is what I discovered:

How is America tied into ancient biblical prophecies? According to author Michael Evans, a fundamentalist Christian minister, biblical prophets already predicted that America is doomed to collapse unless its government stops accommodating the Arab world for the sake of oil and instead offers full military and diplomatic support to Israel. He believes that God wants Israel to have full control of the West Bank and Gaza, and Americans are risking God's wrath by not fully supporting this biblical mandate. Evans also theorizes that much of America's problems--including the attack of 9-11--are indications of God's fury over America's split allegiance between the two famous descendents of Abraham: Ishmael and Isaac.

Okay, it's very possible that this woman was reading this book to refute its thesis. It's also highly unlikely. Speculation as to her motives aside, can I tell you how sad I am that this book even exists? I've addressed the silly notion of America in Bible prophecy in a previous post. I think the idea is ridiculous, but let's assume America is in Bible prophecy for a second. What the author is asking us to do is judge according to a perceived special status of Israel: that is, we must embrace Israel even if she oppresses the Palestinians because God favors her and wants her to have land that is unfortunately occupied by Palestinian houses and businesses and farms. Now, I'm sympathetic to Israel's plight, especially being surrounded on all sides by nations that would prefer to see her obliterated. However, that in no way justifies a policy of oppression against Palestinian Muslims and Christians. I'm not sure how any Christian can encourage support for a regime that practices injustice, racism, and systematic denials of human rights.

If we really want to consider Bible prophecy in these areas, all we have to do is ask what Amos, Isaiah, II Isaiah, and Jeremiah had to say about oppression, violence, greed, idolatry, and sundry other violations of Torah. If I believed in a covenant with nations, I would say God is in no way obligated to honor a national covenant with covenant breakers, and the nation that supports them would also seem to stand in the path of God's wrath.

Comments

[Jennifer]

This seems to be a logical (???) extension of the whole "America is a Christian nation" crap that I fight as I try to teach the Constitution.

When you read the stuff that the framers read (and how I prefer "framers" to "founding fathers"!) you don't hear that the government exists to forward theology, it exists to protect life, liberty and property! I am only getting to brush the deism of these guys in class, but I love what my ol' boy teacher friend from Miami says "Here, y'll, here's a world, figure it out, fuckers.".

I just tend to filter out translations of Bible prophecy that point to political ends, wonder what ideas you all have.

[Adam]

It seems to me that a very large portion of prophetic literature existed to combat the political agendas of the leaders of such nations as Israel. At one point you see political leaders saying there should be no alliances or mix-breeding and that God wants all of them to dead so as to avoid this corruption. Then the prophets step in and say that God will judge them for their bloodshed, violence and neglect of the idea that God is God of all nations.

Not only this but this whole idea of America in any way being specifically involved in bible prophecy would seem to turn the bible into more of a crystal ball to see the future rather than serve any sort of ethical purposes at the time of writing. It is so very arrogant to think that the biblical writers had anybody except their intended audience in mind when they wrote and/or spoke their prophecies.

[A Progressive Christian]

The weekly world news last week or so was trumpeting the new prophesies of Nostradamus, who I understand has been dead for a few centuries. It was right overtop of a picture of Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy leaning out of a limo and picking up a sasquatch dressed as a hooker (no lie, I couldn't possibly think that up myself).

The capacity of humans to believe what they want to believe, and ignore any evidence to the contrary, is truly frightening.

[bobstevens]

It's kinda funny... I always thought prophecy was supposed to be about what will happen, not what might happen if a certain set of conditions aren't met. Of course, as mentioned, the idea that America exists in Biblical prophecy at all is fairly ludicrous.

I had to abandon my regular computer for a while. I suppose you'll be happy to know that I re-found this site by searching for "Joel Osteem" on Google.

[nick]

dad fwded me this link...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1378227,00.html about bible belt stuff. the english are so clever. just reckoned it might be of interest.