“When suffering happens, it forces us to confront life in a different way than we normally do.” [ Philip Yancey ] . . . .”One truly must have suffered oneself to help others.” [ Mother Teresa ] . . . “The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.” [ C.S. Lewis ]
Consider Genesis 6 verse 11: “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence” (NASB)
The Orthodox Jewish Bible gives: “Ha’aretz also was corrupt before HaElohim, and ha’aretz was filled with chamas” (OJB)
Here, “chamas” is the transliteration of the Hebrew word ” חָמָס ” , formed by the three Hebrew letters “chet”,”mem”, and “samech” (reading right to left). The same three-letter Hebrew word, invariably translated as “violence” by English texts is found throughout the Old Testament, link. For Israel, chamas means violence – in its terrorist form, link.
Some prefer to omit the guttural “ch” sound in the Hebrew chamas and simply pronounce it as Hamas with a hard H. So the terms Hamas and chamas refer to the same Hebrew word and invariably mean the same thing (it’s simply a matter of pronunciation).
So, to Israel Hamas means violence in terrorist form, as demonstrated by the massacre of Israeli’s on October 7, 2023. To the Palestinians, Hamas is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, which follows the terrorist objectives of the Hamas Charter.
It is claimed that about 4% of total (global) atmospheric CO2 is anthropogenic, arising for example from man’s combustion of coal, natural gas, oil, and waste materials. The rest comes from natural carbon reservoirs as volcanism and rock erosion release carbon from Earth’s interior. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2020 China accounted for 28% of the anthropogenic 4%, whilst the UK’s contribution was about 1%. Put another way, the UK’s contribution was some 0.04% of the total atmospheric CO2. This sounds small.
But CO2 statistics are not the complete story. Percentage concentrations must be changed to percentage contributions to the so-called greenhouse effect (GHE). The most important greenhouse gas is water vapour, which is responsible for about 95 percent of GHE. When water vapour is accounted for, the contribution to GHE of all anthropogenic CO2 is only about 0.14%. Which implies that the UK contribution to GHE is only about 0.0014%.
So, as long as the UK contribution to CO2 is relatively small, is it meaningful for the UK to commit to spending some £1tn [Financial Times, 2019], or some £50bn per year, in order to generate a carbon-neutral economy by 2050? Will it make any measurable difference to global warming?
The biblical consensus is that Adam and Eve were real people, link. The New Testament writers traced genealogies back to an actual person, Adam, and Old Testament genealogies suggest he lived some 6,000 years ago. The biblical claim that Adam died 930 years old can be scientifically explained.
The Bible claims that, like Christ, Adam was not the son of human parents; he was the son of God (Luke 3:38). This claim replaces evolutionary theory with a deep theological concept: The first man Adam was created a perfect living being. The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45).
In general there is increasing support for legal abortion in all circumstances (pro-choice), despite the claims that abortion gives an elevated risk of medical and emotional problems.
The key question is: “when does life begin?“. Medical science claims “After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being“. The Bible agrees, stating that the unborn is known to God as a person, link. So we might ask “When, if ever, is it right to take the life of a human being in the womb?” Exceptions can be when a mother’s life is in danger, or when there is foetal abnormality.
The Arab claim to Palestine (the land called Canaan and promised to Abraham and his descendants) comes from their misunderstanding of the Abrahamic Covenant. They believe that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the son of promise. But this view contradicts Genesis 17:19-21. God promised this land to the descendants of Isaac and Jacob (the tribes of Israel).
Historically there has never been a “Land of Palestine”, and so there can be no legitimate Arab claim to a land spanning large parts of modern Israel. Even Arab leaders admit to this, link. The good news is that, in the future, Israel will readily embrace “the ‘stranger” in the land, Leviticus 19:33-34.
Jesus told His followers to watch out for signs of the end of the age (Luke 21:34-36). These include some very obvious signs like the return of the Jews to their own land (as promised to the descendants of Abraham), the restoration of the land itself, and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Other signs include the rise of a powerful false church, the cashless society, the rise of a secular World Government, increasing persecution of Christians and Jews, and extreme weather.
Contrary to what many think, we should not eat certain animals, mammals, insects and birds. They have a God-given purpose (such as scavenging to clean the land), and they are not fit for human consumption. For example, buzzards, ravens, vultures and seagulls are all scavengers and should not be eaten.
The same goes for eating bats (as in China). A 2021 WHO report claims COVID-19 probably came from bats. The biblical food laws are given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
The view that Jesus was a perfect man (nothing more, nothing less), is incompatible with many scriptures. Jesus demonstrated His deity through many miracles and in fact claimed deity in many texts in the Gospel of John.
If we see Jesus as purely man, we also have to accept the unrealistic concept of a “perfect and sinless man”. No such person is known in history. Moreover, we remove the ultimate act of love for mankind – God dying for mankind to reconcile us to Himself.
Some faiths say this. But what ‘god’ are they referring to? The Bible clearly states that there is really only one God – the God of Israel (Exodus 5:1) – and that God has the attributes of a ‘person’ i.e. God is knowable (Jeremiah 9:24). Isn’t it amazing that, when the apostles asked Jesus to “show God to us”, Jesus replied that they were actually looking at God (John 14:8,9) – a mystery beyond our understanding. Today, God’s intimate knowledge of each one of us is described in Psalm 139.
This is the theology of Pluralism and “multifaith”. It is attractive in that it attempts to promote harmony between faiths, but in reality it is deceptive. Whilst it claims that some “truth” exists in all faiths, it notably omits the only transcendent source of truth – Jesus Christ and His word – the Bible. Jesus said “No one comes to God except through Me” (John 14:6)
This seems fair comment: why would a loving God allow suffering? But our Creator is also holy and righteous and cannot accept sin. Genesis says man rebelled against God from the beginning, and so suffering entered the world. But then God entered the world as a child, (Jesus, Isaiah 9:6), and offered Himself on the cross for mankind (John 3:16). That was God suffering to reconcile us to Himself – surely the ultimate act of love?
Whilst on earth Jesus showed the love of God by healing those who came to Him, and today some are miraculously healed and released from suffering. This is an example of God’s coming Kingdom on Earth. But not all are released; we say “the Kingdom is now, but not yet“. One day God will wipe away all suffering for those who love Him (Revelation 21:4).
Some may use this concept as an escape from the idea of judgement after death (as stated in Hebrews 9:27). So, they argue, life can be lived as they wish. But biblical theology says man is a triune being (a reflection of his Creator) having body, soul and spirit.
After physical death the soul and spirit go back to our Creator; they do not cease to exist. The Christian’s model in death is that of Christ. When Jesus died He said “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Ironically, the claim that absolute truth does not exist conflicts with the world’s claim that evolution is absolutely true! In reality, science only claims “tentative truth” since it is continuously discovering new ‘facts’. In contrast, Jesus claimed to speak absolute and timeless truth (John 14:6) which we ignore at our peril. In fact, the whole Bible is understood to be inspired by God and so speaks absolute truth.
This is the realm of “majority ethics” – the sexual morality of the majority. If the majority deem it’s OK, then its OK. This ethic changes with time and today same-sex physical relationships are widely accepted.
But the Bible provides mankind with an absolute ethic on sexual relations, including those acts within same-sex marriage, and says such actions are always wrong in the site of God. How can unnatural sexual activity be holy in the sight of a holy God? Sadly, the institutionalised church fails to see this and is moving away from biblical ethics.
The Bible claims that the earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1). Man does not own or indeed control the earth, and that includes earth’s climate. So if man proudly tries to solve the global warming issue without his Creator God he will fail. In fact, prophecy implies that, because man has proudly moved away from God’s ways, “a curse devours the earth” and the earth will become hot and dry at the end of the age (Isaiah 24:4-6).
When the astronomer and Lutheran Johannes Kepler remarked “I was merely thinking God’s thoughts after him”, he was merely reminding humanity that science discovers and follows the amazing designs of a Creator God. Read for example Job 38. Yes, science can help solve the world’s problems (as in vaccines), but man will fail if he proudly tries to solve the world’s problems without his Creator God (Psalm 2:1-5).
The evolution of one species to another (“Macro-Evolution”) assumes transitional species exist. But even Darwin stressed that the lack of transitional fossils was the most formidable obstacle to his theory. Even today many claim that the fossil record for evolution is weak, link.
In fact, there is a relatively sudden appearance of a variety of fully formed complex creatures (the “Cambrian Explosion”). Is that surprising when the Bible says each creature is made “according to its kind” i.e. there is no hint of transitions between species (Genesis 1:24-25)? So, at best, evolution is only an unproved theory; it is not fact.
An old earth is required to accommodate the theory of evolution, and Theistic Evolutionists try to align the concept of an old earth with the Bible by using a re-interpretation of scripture.
But conventional earth dating itself is based upon certain assumptions, such as a constant radiometric decay rate. In fact, there is strong scientific evidence to suggest the earth is much younger. And this is in agreement with verified chronological information in the Bible, link.
Historically this is not true. Under the 1917 Balfour Declaration, Britain supported the creation of a Jewish home in Palestine, without violating the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities. This theme of Arab protection continued after the Jews declared the State of Israel in May 1948. The Israel Declaration of Independence called upon the Arab inhabitants “to play their part in the development of the State, with full and equal citizenship and due representation in its bodies and institutions”, link.
Instead, five Arab armies invaded Israel with the aim of destroying the State. So many Palestinians evacuated their homes, partly through fear, but also under direction from Arab armies and leaders, hoping to return soon after the “inevitable” Arab victory, link. Over 700,000 Palestinians fled to neighbouring Arab countries and effectively became refugees, link. So, historically, it was the invading Arab armies who created the Palestinian refugees.
From a security point of view, cashless trading using a personal ID is clearly attractive. But this hi-technology will be used by a godless world government to control mankind and persecute those who refuse to take the mark (Revelation 13:15).
Financial control will probably be via Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC’s), where national currencies are replaced by a government-controlled cryptocurrency. Digital Identity and Global Governance are programmed into the World Economic Forum’s “Great Reset“.
A world government is indeed coming; the Bible says so. But what sort of world government? Prophecy says it will cruelly control the nations – much like the historic Roman Empire (some see the European Union as a key-player here). It will be pagan (being led by a godless ruler), and rage against God (Psalm 2:1-3, Daniel 11:36, Revelation 19::17-21). But it will be short-lived and is destroyed by the Second Coming of Christ (Daniel 2:34).
According to prophecy, the true world government will be a theocracy led by Christ from Jerusalem.
Yes, the Bible was “scribed” by men, but what they wrote was inspired by the God of Israel (2 Timothy 3:16). If you doubt this, look at prophecy. The prophets received transcendent knowledge about Jesus (His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection) hundreds of years before He came. In fact, Jesus fulfilled more than 100 prophecies.
As for the future, few could doubt that the Book of Revelation is inspired. It claims Jesus told a Christian called “John” to write about events some 2,000 years in the future. So today we see the cashless society described in Revelation 13:16-17, link, and today’s apostate church described in Revelation 17, link.
Yes, and No! Yes, it doesn’t go into scientific depth. But the Bible DOES make scientific statements which science supports. For example, the Bible describes Earth as a spherical (not flat) object that appears to “hang on nothing” (Isaiah 40:22, Job 26:7). And, medically, the 8th day is the optimum time for circumcision (Gen 17:12).
When it comes to astronomy, the Bible’s succinct terminology regarding “the cluster of the Pleiades” and “the belt of Orion” (Job 38:31) is amazingly accurate. The Bible can also be ahead of science. There is a geological fault running E-W through the Mt. Olives opposite Jerusalem. Is this the cause of a future massive earthquake affecting the mountain (Zech 14:4).
Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital for millennia, but it has never been the capital of any Arab entity (even today there is no Palestinian State to “own” Jerusalem). The city is mentioned more than 700 times in the Bible, but not once in the Quran! So to Jews the entire city is sacred, whilst to Arabs only “the Dome of the Rock” is sacred. In the future, Gentile nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship Christ – the King of the Jews (Zech 14:9-21).
This is ‘Replacement Theology’ and is based upon the assumption that, since rebellious Israel was scattered throughout the nations, the church has taken over as God’s witness. Many institutionalised churches hold this view. But they ignore the fact that God did not destroy national Israel – He simply gave her a ‘writ of divorce’ – and one day soon the nation will return to Him (Romans 11:22-27) and again be God’s witness in the world (Zechariah 8:23).
Hindus and Buddhists believe in ‘Samsara’, or the reincarnation cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth. This belief has gained ground in western society as people move away from biblical teaching, and truth. But reincarnation is not mentioned in the Bible. Instead the Bible says we have just one life and after death the judgement (Hebrews 9:27).
I would like to speak to you today as an historian, because it seems to me that the State of Israel has packed more history into her 62 years on the planet than many other nations have in six hundred. There are many surprising things about this tiny, feisty, brave nation the size of Wales, but the most astonishing is that she has survived at all. The very day after the UN declared Israel a country in 1948, five Arab countries attacked, and she has been struggling for her right to life ever since. And that is what we are here for today, to reiterate Israel’s right to self-defence, inherent in all legitimate countries.
From Morocco to Afghanistan, from the Caspian Sea to Aden, the 5.25 million square miles of territory belonging to members of the Arab League is home to over 330 million people, whereas Israel covers only eight thousand square miles, and is home to seven million citizens, one-fifth of whom are Arabs. The Jews of the Holy Land are thus surrounded by hostile states 650 times their size in territory and sixty times their population, yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution, the State of Israel has somehow survived.
When during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Medal for bravery; today Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted twenty times as long.
Jerusalem is the site of the Temple of Solomon and Herod. The stones of a palace erected by King David himself are even now being unearthed just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Everything that makes a nation state legitimate– bloodshed, soil tilled, two millennia of continuous residence, international agreements ,argues for Israel’s right to exist, yet that is still denied by the Arab League. For many of their governments, which are rich enough to have economically solved the Palestinian refugee problem decades ago, it is useful to have Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from the tyranny, failure and corruption of their own regimes.
The tragic truth is that it suits Arab states very well to have the Palestinians endure permanent refugee status, and whenever Israel puts forward workable solutions they have been stymied by those whose interests put the destruction of Israel before the genuine well being of the Palestinians. Both King Abdullah I of Jordan and Anwar Sadat of Egypt were assassinated when they attempted to come to some kind of accommodation with a country that most sane people now accept is not going away.
“We owe to the Jews,” wrote Winston Churchill in 1920, “a system of ethics which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all wisdom and learning put together. The Jewish contribution to finance, science, the arts, academia, commerce and industry, literature, philanthropy and politics has been astonishing relative to their tiny numbers. Although they make up less than half of one percent of the world population, between 1901 and 1950 Jews won 14% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded for Literature and Science, and between 1951 and 2000 Jews won 32% of the Nobel Prizes for Medicine, 32% for Physics, 39% for Economics and 29% for Science. This, despite so many of their greatest intellects dying in the gas chambers.”
Civilisation owes Judaism a debt it can never repay, and support for the right of a Jewish homeland to exist is the bare minimum we can provide. Yet we tend to treat Israel like a leper on the international scene, merely for defending herself, and threatening her with academic boycotts if she builds a separation wall that has so far reduced suicide bombings by 95% over three years.
It is a disgrace that no senior member of the Royal Family has ever undertaken an official visit to Israel, as though the country is still in quarantine after more than six decades. Her Majesty the Queen has been on the throne for 57 years and in that time has undertaken 250 official visits to 129 countries, yet has not yet set foot in Israel. She has visited 14 Arab countries, so it cannot have been that she wasn’t in the region. Although Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, is buried on the Mount of Olives because of her status as Righteous Among Gentiles, the Foreign Office ordained that his visit to his mother’s grave in 1994 had to be in a private capacity only.
Royal visits are one of the ways legitimacy is conferred on nations, and the Coalition Government should end the Foreign Office’s defacto boycott. After the Holocaust, the Jewish people recognised that they must have their own state, a homeland where they could forever be safe from a repetition of such horrors. Putting their trust in Western Civilisation was never again going to be enough. Since then, Israel has had to fight no fewer than five major wars for her very existence.
She has been on the front line in the War against Terror and has been fighting the West’s battles for it, decades before 9/11 or 7/7 ever happened. Radical Islam is never going to accept the concept of an Israeli State, so the struggle is likely to continue for another sixty years, but the Jews know that that is less dangerous than entrusting their security to anyone else.
Very often in Britain, especially when faced with the overwhelmingly anti-Israeli bias that is endemic in our liberal media and the BBC, we fail to ask ourselves what we would have done placed in their position? The population of the United Kingdom of 63 million is nine times that of Israel. In July 2006, to take one example at random, Hezbollah crossed the border of Lebanon into Israel and killed eight patrolmen and kidnapped two others, and that summer fired four thousand Katyusha rockets into Israel which killed a further forty-three civilians.
Now, if we multiply those numbers by nine to get the British equivalent, just imagine what we would do if a terrorist organisation based as close as Calais were to fire thirty-six thousand rockets into Sussex and Kent, killing 87 British civilians, after killing seventy-two British servicemen in an ambush and capturing eighteen. There is absolutely no lengths to which our Government would not go to protect British subjects under those circumstances, and quite right too. Why should Israel be expected to behave any differently?
In the course of researching my latest book on the Second World War, I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. Walking along a line of huts and the railway siding where their forebears had been worked and starved and beaten and frozen and gassed to death, were a group of Jewish schoolchildren, one of whom was carrying over his shoulder the Israeli flag, a blue star of David on white background. It was a profoundly moving sight, for it was the sovereign independence represented by that flag which guarantees that the obscenity of genocide which killed six million people in Auschwitz and camps like it — will never again befall the Jewish people, to whom the rest of civilisation owes so much.
I said at the start that I was speaking to you as an historian, and so I say: No people in History have needed the right to self-defence and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel, and that is what we in the Friends of Israel Initiative demand here today.
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