HS poses a theological question
I am an Orthodox Jew in Montreal who finds many of your columns interesting. Being acutely aware of the long history of hostile (to put it mildly) relations between Jews and Christians, I am intrigued and gratified by the Evangelical support of Jews and Israel which I am convinced is, in large measure, genuine. In your latest piece, you state that “Most Christians don’t question the imperative to bless Israel any more than they question ”thou shalt not kill.” And certainly, if you compare the life of the average Israel-cursing Muslim with that of the Israel-blessing Christian, there would appear to be some truth to be found in that particular verse.” Yet, here in Canada (and elsewhere) we are witnessing calls for boycotting Israel and other morally-bancrupt anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment on the part of the United Church of Canada and other Protestant denominations. Clearly the latter are not ‘blessing’ Israel. Do you see any evidence, then, that the Almighty bestows more blessing, however one wishes to define it, on the Evangelical community than on the UCC and their ilk? (I sincerely hope the answer is yes because I wish all Evangelicals and other Christians of good faith who truly support Israel be rewarded with commensurate blessing from On High).
I don’t know enough about the United Church of Canada to answer this question, but if I’m correct in assuming that the UCC is akin to the various mainline Christian denominations that have moved dramatically away from Christian doctrine as espoused in the Bible, then the answer is definitely yes.
While I don’t buy into the notion that Megachurchism is in itself proof of Divine favor, I do tend to see church growth and the successful proselytizing of the formerly disbelieving as probable evidence of it. And I see a decline in membership and evangelical activity as the expected result of a theological falling away.
On a tangential note, I told Big Chilly that several years ago that I expected Woodland Hills to dramatically decline in membership when it became clear that Greg and the other church leaders rejected any strictures on female leadership. While this was apparently not a causal factor in the actual decline that subsequently appeared, it is an interesting coincidence. In any event, it’s important to note that spiritual logic necessarily differs from its material cousin even if similar rules appear to govern both.