1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,120 Choosing life or death is what we're talking about today. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,080 So I said last week that I was I was feeling led to preach on and 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,040 address the the conflict between Israel and Iran and the Middle 4 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:14,960 East and ask for your prayers about that. 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,360 And then I'm going forward with that today. 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,880 Will you can let me know at the end of the message whether this 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,040 is was was God's plan or or just too much sun yesterday. 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,760 This I will tell you upfront, this is a hardest sermon. 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,320 I I have never had such difficulty preparing messages 10 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,320 for this one today. And so if I stumble a little 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,160 bit, I ask your your understanding and your patience. 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,240 I have committed to you and to myself over the years not to get 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,400 partisan or political in in certain not to get partisan. 14 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,000 You can't help but be political in the truest sense of the word 15 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,480 and things that that affect the polity, the community, the 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,520 country, but not to be partisan. And, and, and I, I am committed 17 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,880 to that this morning, too. I believe what I'm going to be 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,800 sharing is not partisan. It might look like it at times. 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,440 And I'll tell you up front, Full disclosure, I'm, I'm going to 20 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,560 take a side in this conflict and in this sermon, but not based on 21 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,600 partisanship or politics. I tell you that there are some 22 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,280 things that I believe that that are in line with what the 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,040 Republicans do. There's some things that I 24 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,080 believe that are in line with what the Democrat Party does. 25 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,600 There's some things that I believe that neither of them 26 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,000 care about and some things that they care about deeply that I 27 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,600 don't care about at all. I'm, I'm all over the board when 28 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,640 it comes to politics. And, and my goal here, and the 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,040 intent here is not to preach a, a, a message that would be 30 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,360 better suited for a news outlet, but to preach the good news of 31 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,760 Jesus Christ as it bears upon this situation. 32 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,760 And, and I this conflict in, in its renewed form has been going 33 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,800 on for well over a year and a half now since October 7th of 34 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,479 2023. And I haven't addressed that 35 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:11,800 from here. And part of that is because it 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,360 felt like in many respects from, from this ministry setting, from 37 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,360 our community setting, it really is a long way away. 38 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,160 It's very important, but it's, it's doesn't seem to directly 39 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,120 bear upon us. We don't have a large Jewish 40 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,880 population in Meggs County. We don't have a large Muslim 41 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,280 population in Meggs County. We don't have military or at 42 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,440 least then we didn't have military actively involved in 43 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,000 the conflict, military from the United States. 44 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,640 So it seemed like this is this is very controversial. 45 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:45,880 It's very divisive. It doesn't directly bear on the 46 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,200 ministry that we have right here and right now. 47 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,200 And so I'm I'm maybe I was just a chicken, but I just said I'm 48 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,360 not going to I'm not going to talk about it from the pulpit. 49 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,640 Then a couple of things happened more recently. 50 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,640 One is the United States got directly involved and the other 51 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:09,800 is, is I found myself involved in a very distressing 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:15,000 conversation at a local small retail establishment where I was 53 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,520 waiting to check out and the person in front of me was 54 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,760 speaking to another person that was there and talking about. 55 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,040 And I, I, I walked up, I eavesdrop. 56 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,160 I don't apply. Apologize for it. 57 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:31,000 You're really interesting things. 58 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,680 And this guy was talking loud so he didn't have to work hard at 59 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,400 it. And, and I was, I, I, I was 60 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,800 heard it midway through the conversation, but he was saying 61 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,240 something that affected not an exact quote because he was 62 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:51,000 talking fast that that there's this going to be a strike on an 63 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,720 American vessel in the Middle East, a ship. 64 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,200 And, and it's going to be under a false flag. 65 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,240 It's going to look like it's Iran, but it's really Israel 66 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,360 attacking the United States to make sure we get involved in the 67 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:10,040 war over there. And I being me, said that's 68 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,040 nuts. I just interjected myself into 69 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,320 the conversation and said, that's nuts. 70 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,720 That's not going to happen. Israel's not going to do that. 71 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,560 Israel's one of our strongest allies. 72 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,600 And he immediately went on all, you've got to be crazy. 73 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:26,120 The Jews do this and the Jews do that, and the Jews do this. 74 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,600 And then the other person that was present interjected and 75 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,520 said, yes, and they are demonstrating for our freedom in 76 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,840 Germany. Now that puzzled me. 77 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,800 So I looked at her and I said, freedom from what? 78 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:46,600 And she said the Jews, and I thought, this is not far away, 79 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,880 This is right here, this is right here. 80 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:52,760 And, and, and I need to address it. 81 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:57,640 There's no room in the Kingdom of God for bigotry of any kind, 82 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:02,720 whether it's anti-Semitism or Islamophobia or, or, or bigotry 83 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,040 against women, any ethnic class, any group. 84 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,320 There's just no room for it in the Kingdom of God. 85 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,960 And, and that conflict that's happening in a military fashion 86 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,000 on the other side of the world is in reality part of a larger 87 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,720 war that affects all of us, particularly those of us who are 88 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,640 committed to following Jesus Christ. 89 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,520 And, and so as it was at that point that I really began to 90 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,720 think, I need, I need to start addressing this. 91 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,480 And so here we are. And, and this, I got way too 92 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,840 much material and, and, and I, I'm not going to be able to, I'm 93 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,560 going to forget stuff. And, and this is not going to be 94 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,360 a perfect sermon. I apologize for it. 95 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,920 I'm going to be sharing information because there's so 96 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,480 much material. I'm not going to give source 97 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,000 citations if you, I have source citations. 98 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,880 If you want source citations later, feel free to reach out to 99 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:04,560 me and I'll provide those if if you disagree with what I'm 100 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,080 saying today, as again, that no one ever goes to hell for 101 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:12,200 disagreeing with the pastor, OK, particularly when the pastor is 102 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,960 me. So feel free, feel free to share 103 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,600 that with me. I'm happy to have conversation 104 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:20,560 about this. It's incredibly difficult 105 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,000 subject. It's incredibly divisive. 106 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,640 And there are there are people all over the spectrum of 107 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,160 positions on this. And, and I am sharing to you 108 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:34,800 what I believe to be a faithful way to look at this conflict 109 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,720 through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 110 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,000 And like I say, I don't want to do this from a partisan 111 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,760 perspective. This isn't about, you know, 112 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,040 political alliances. And it's not about the type of 113 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,040 biblical framework that says, well, the Jews are God's chosen 114 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,240 people and Israel is the homeland of the Jews. 115 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,240 Therefore we have to support Israel whatever they do. 116 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,560 I don't I don't think that's true. 117 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,960 I think the Jewish people are God's chosen people, But being 118 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,960 Jewish doesn't inoculate someone from being a bad actor and to 119 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,080 simply, you know, Christians are part of God's chosen people too 120 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,080 now. And, and Christian people do 121 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,960 awful things sometimes and, and Jewish folks do awful things 122 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,040 sometimes. And I think that kind of 123 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,680 analysis is too simplistic and and lends too easily to simply 124 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,560 offering a blanket endorsement no matter what is done. 125 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,680 But I do believe that the heart of the gospel in the heart of 126 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:35,160 the Scripture give us a framework that we can use to 127 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,080 look at this and analyze this and other kinds of conflicts to 128 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,000 say where and how can we step in? 129 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,960 Whether it's through political action, whether it's through 130 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,600 military participation, if we want to join the military or 131 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,400 have loved ones that want to do that, or, or whether it's 132 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,240 through how we have conversation with people around us in the 133 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,960 community and on social media about this. 134 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,360 And that framework has to do with the scriptures that we read 135 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:08,840 already this morning. Question that I like to ask. 136 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:13,480 I don't always do it because again, I'm me, but is where is 137 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,920 God in any situation that I'm faced with? 138 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,560 Where is God and what is God doing? 139 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:25,360 And one of the things that we know definitely about God from 140 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,120 the Scripture, it's repeated over and over again in the Old 141 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,360 Testament and in the New Testament, is that God is a 142 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:36,159 giver of life. God created life and he called 143 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:38,720 it good. God put Adam and Eve in the 144 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,159 middle of the Garden of Eden, where they had all that they 145 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:45,400 needed for a wonderful life. And he put a tree in that garden 146 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,280 that was the tree of life. And then he just gave them one 147 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:50,240 rule. Don't eat. 148 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:51,480 I don't know. I've been preaching on this. 149 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:52,760 Why are you saying this again, Blevins? 150 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,400 It's short this time. Don't eat from this. 151 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,720 There's one tree. You don't eat from the tree of 152 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,480 the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat the fruit of that 153 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:06,040 tree, you will surely die. And they did, and they brought 154 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,560 death into the world. God is a giver of life. 155 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:16,240 Evil is a bringer of death. And so a question to ask when 156 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,360 we're faced these with these kinds of situations is who or 157 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:24,720 what is bringing life into the world and who or what is 158 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:29,200 bringing death into the world. And that can be a clear 159 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,680 indication, or at least a way to gauge an indication of where God 160 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:37,360 is and what God is doing and how we as God's people can follow 161 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,440 him in that by action and by word. 162 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:47,000 We Rayan read this from John, Jesus saying quite upfront, I 163 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,560 came that you might have life and have it to the full. 164 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:57,200 So the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, stealing, 165 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,440 killing, destroying. There's a lot of that going on. 166 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,880 But Jesus said I came that you would have life and that you 167 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,280 would have it fully. And in Deuteronomy we get, we 168 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,480 give it even a starker, clearer statement. 169 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:11,880 This is this is the children of Israel. 170 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:13,960 They've they've left slavery in Egypt. 171 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:15,920 They've journeyed through the promised land. 172 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,960 They're on the verge of entering the after 40 years in the 173 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,080 wilderness, they're on the verge finally of entering the land of 174 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:23,680 promise that God is giving to them. 175 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,840 And Moses gives this very long speech and he's speaking on 176 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,800 behalf of God and he's saying, I'm offering you life. 177 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,600 I'm giving you this land. It's, it's in, in some respects, 178 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,000 a second Eden. It's not perfect like the Garden 179 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,880 of Eden was, but it's a land flowing with milk and honey. 180 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,440 It's a land of abundance. And if you follow me and live 181 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,760 out my way in this land, you will have life. 182 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,960 And if you don't, you will have death. 183 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,880 And Moses offers this startling question or statement. 184 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:02,760 I've lain before you. 2 choices, life and death. 185 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:09,080 Choose life, choose life. And I think that's a framework 186 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,400 that we as God's followers can use. 187 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,040 Now, there's a lot of things about that Deuteronomy story 188 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:15,920 that we cannot directly apply to us. 189 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,640 God was making a land covenant or had made a land covenant with 190 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,040 his people, the Israelites, to give them real estate. 191 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,400 That land covenant is not part of our covenant that we live 192 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:29,880 under. We live under the new covenant, 193 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,080 a covenant of forgiveness of sin through the life, death, and 194 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,040 resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so this is not appropriately 195 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,840 used to say we get to go and take whatever land we want in 196 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,680 the name of Jesus and claim God's blessings on that. 197 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,880 That's not what this is about. But what it is about and where 198 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,400 we can find a place to intersect with this story in our thinking 199 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,760 is this business of the choice between what brings life and 200 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,800 what brings death. And God's way brings life and 201 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,960 the way of evil brings death. And when our choices are 202 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,400 bringing death in our own life or into the lives of others, we 203 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,920 need to ask real hard, am I following God? 204 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,520 When our choices are bringing life for ourselves and those 205 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:19,200 around us, we need to look around and thank God and thank 206 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,320 God for that. And so that's the framework that 207 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,120 I want us to take into this and the mindset who and what is 208 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,160 bringing life and who and what is bringing death. 209 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,000 Now, that question is complicated in the midst of a 210 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,560 military conflict where both people on both sides are 211 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:40,640 bringing death. That's how war works. 212 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,520 And, and we, you know, I, I've grown up in a generation far 213 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:50,680 removed from war long past, You know, I, I was still very young. 214 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,680 Some of you will be jealous of this and think, man, he's just a 215 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:55,600 kid. Others of you will think, man, 216 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,600 he really is old. But I, I was a little kid when 217 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,640 the, when the Vietnam War ended. I have no living memory of the 218 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,720 Vietnam War. I have no living memory at all 219 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,320 of World War 2. And the other wars we fought 220 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,400 have been real. There's been conflict, there's 221 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,760 been trauma, there's been death. But, but they were far removed 222 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,120 from me. Nothing really ever touched 223 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,240 American shores aside from the occasional acts of terrorism. 224 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,760 But war is hell. I don't know who originally said 225 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:26,720 that. I can't remember. 226 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,560 I've been told, but it is reality. 227 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,840 There is no war without death. There is no war without killing. 228 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:38,000 And that includes the killing of military combatants, and it 229 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,400 always includes the killing of civilians. 230 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:45,280 Always. And so in war it seems like 231 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:51,000 everybody's bringing death. But unless we are going to 232 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:56,600 commit to the path of pacifism, total pacifism, and some 233 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,000 Christian groups have decided to do that, our Amish sisters and 234 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:05,280 brothers committed to pacifism, I think most of those folks 235 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:10,080 will, maybe not gladly, but will faithfully suffer death 236 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,200 themselves rather than lift up arms and violence against 237 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:18,480 another Quakers or other Christians in that tradition who 238 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,800 have committed to pacifism. Here's the challenge with 239 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:29,720 pacifism is that I don't think nations can choose that route in 240 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:34,120 any meaningful way unless they're so small that no one 241 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,600 really cares to conquer them or they're surrounded by larger 242 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,680 nations that do their fighting for them. 243 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,520 To be a nation in the world where there are bad actors means 244 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,000 sometimes committing to violence. 245 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,080 I think it is worth asking what's the purpose of the 246 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,080 violence? Is the purpose of the violence 247 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:02,720 ultimately to pave the way for bringing life, or is the purpose 248 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,520 of violence simply death and destruction of the enemy? 249 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,960 And, and again, this is, I wish this, I wish I could lay this 250 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,360 out and say it in a, in sort of a black and white clear cut way, 251 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,080 but but I can't see it that way. So I can't lay it out that way. 252 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,720 If you can see it that way again, come talk to me. 253 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:27,440 I'd be happy to hear that too. But I think there is, when you 254 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:33,160 look at history and when you look at culture, that there is a 255 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:37,600 group in this conflict that is committed to bringing life. 256 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,720 And there's a group in this conflict that is 100% committed 257 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,400 to bringing death. And I just want to take a look 258 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:53,480 at that. I'm going to start with Israel 259 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:59,080 and this. And, and I should say this too, 260 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,960 I don't think there is a perfect nation in the history of the 261 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:06,960 world. Whether it's the nation of 262 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,240 Israel or the United States or any other nation, no nation is 263 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,960 perfect. All make mistakes, all do bad 264 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,400 acts at times, all have done bad acts at times. 265 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,480 There's plenty in the history of the United States of America 266 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,120 which is not praiseworthy or laudable or of God. 267 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,080 But what's the overall impact? What's the overall movement of 268 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:36,640 the culture and civilization that that nation is moving 269 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,960 forward and out into the world? I can tell you this, that, that 270 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:47,000 Israel, Israel small, the only Jewish nation in the world, the 271 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,240 only Jewish nation in the world. They have a population of right 272 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:56,680 around 7 million people. By contrast, there are 56 Muslim 273 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,320 nations in the world with a population of about 2 billion 274 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,079 people. If you do the math, and my 275 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:12,200 calculator did that relative, that makes the number of Jews in 276 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:19,160 Israel .35% of the number of Muslims in all the Muslim 277 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:24,200 countries in the world. And, and in that nation of 278 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:31,920 Israel, it is the most democratic, most free society 279 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,040 within the Middle East. Now, all of those other nations 280 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,280 are not in the Middle East. There's, there's, and I get, I 281 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,800 don't want to get lost in the weeds, but Israel has a 282 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,680 democracy, a Democratic Republic similar to ours with free 283 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,200 elections and minority representation. 284 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:56,080 There are Arabs and Muslims in the Hebrew Knesset, which is 285 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:01,040 their version of Congress. There is a Palestinian on the 286 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:09,480 Supreme Court and the nation of Israel and, and there are equal 287 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:15,520 rights, sort of, sort of Jewish folks have advantages in terms 288 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,600 of land ownership. And Palestinians, particularly 289 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:23,960 in Gaza, in the West Bank, have fewer privileges and fewer 290 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,760 rights and live under a different kind of system than 291 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,200 the Palestinians that are citizens in Israel. 292 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:34,640 There are many Palestinians that are citizens in Israel, but the 293 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,880 government is inclusive. Citizens, regardless of 294 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,120 ethnicity or religion, can participate in the democratic 295 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:43,840 process and have representation in their government. 296 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:48,760 Israel supports and affirms freedom of speech and press and 297 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:53,880 religion, including the freedom of protest within Israel. 298 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:55,840 You can say bad things about the government. 299 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,000 You're free to, just like you are in the United States. 300 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,440 Israel guarantees freedom of religion to Jewish, Muslims, and 301 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,280 other religious minorities, including the freedom of worship 302 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,760 and the ability to practice their faith openly. 303 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,960 Religious freedom for Christian worship, including in Israel, 304 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,840 freedom for limited proselytization to go out and 305 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,040 seek converts to Christianity. You can do that in Israel. 306 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,040 They have restrictions. You can't proselytize. 307 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,160 You can't evangelize children without the permission of the 308 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,120 parents, and you can't offer incentives for conversion. 309 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:34,880 Hey, convert and you get a timeshare. 310 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:41,040 Nothing like that. But you can't proselytize in 311 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:42,360 Israel. Christians can. 312 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,400 And there's tension in Israel between the secular and the 313 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,800 religious, just like there's tension in the United States 314 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,560 between the secular and the religious. 315 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,600 The role of women in Israel. Women and women's rights are 316 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,040 strongly protected in the nation of Israel. 317 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,320 Israel guarantees equal opportunities. 318 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,320 Women can work in all sectors, including high political 319 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,440 positions. There was gold in my ear, one of 320 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,560 the his first female, the first woman Prime Minister of the 321 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:11,920 nation of Israel, one of the greatest leaders in history. 322 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,000 According to some, not everyone agrees with that. 323 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,280 There are no clothing restrictions on women in Israel. 324 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,280 They can wear what they choose, whether it's modest or western 325 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,080 style. Ultra Orthodox Jewish women have 326 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,480 cultural pressure to dress in a certain way, but that's not. 327 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,640 Legal pressure and they're free to address our And when there's 328 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,320 marriage equality, women have the right to choose their 329 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,400 spouses, their work and leave marriages. 330 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,720 The law supports women in family court and protects their rights 331 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:46,560 in divorce and custody cases. There's freedom of expression 332 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,000 and arts, music and media in Israel. 333 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,600 Just a small look at it. And again, it's not to say 334 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,360 Israel's perfect, but these are political realities in Israel. 335 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:04,680 I want to compare that with Iran under the current regime, the 336 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:10,320 Islamic Republic of Iran, which is very, very different than the 337 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,480 government that existed in Iran before the Islamic Republic, 338 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:20,600 which was established in 1979. In Iran, freedom of speech is 339 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:24,480 restricted and it's heavily controlled, and criticism of the 340 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,120 government and religious leadership is punishable, 341 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,360 sometimes by imprisonment, sometimes by violence. 342 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:33,800 The media is subject to censorship. 343 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,680 The government controls media outlets. 344 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,520 Journalists who challenge the regime face harassment, 345 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:44,360 imprisonment and execution. There are people in jail in Iran 346 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,680 now because they've criticized the government. 347 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,680 Media state controlled, with most outlets promoting 348 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,360 government approved narratives. Independent journalism has 349 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:57,480 stifled. Websites including social media 350 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,960 like Facebook are censored or banned. 351 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:08,720 Widespread Internet censorship. Online dissent is monitored by 352 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,480 the government, and political protests and dissent are 353 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,200 prohibited in a harshly repressed civil rights are 354 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,880 limited. The regime operates under 355 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,520 Islamic law, Sharia law. Religious minorities have 356 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:28,560 limited rights. Now, interestingly, the largest 357 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,520 Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel is in 358 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,600 Iran. It's in Iran. 359 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,120 They are very, very limited. They're not allowed to 360 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:43,360 participate in government, don't know if they can participate in 361 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:48,080 elections or not. Government limits personal 362 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,960 freedom of political opposition. Only those loyal to the 363 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,960 government are allowed to hold high office. 364 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,520 The Supreme Leader and religious figures hold ultimate power and 365 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,760 opposition parties are banned or repressed. 366 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:07,280 Religious minorities face persecution, including Muslim 367 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,360 minorities, and have limited rights and subject to 368 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:12,080 discrimination. Government crackdowns. 369 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,800 Women's legal rights are very limited in Iran. 370 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,080 They're restricted under Islamic law imposed by the regime, and 371 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,920 while they can vote, work and attend university, they're 372 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,040 subject to strict rules concerning dress, behavior and 373 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:28,560 movement. Women face gender segregation in 374 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,840 many areas of their life. Their rights are often curtailed 375 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,840 by male guardianship. They face significant 376 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,880 discrimination at work. Equal pay laws are weak. 377 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,400 They're underrepresented in high political positions and 378 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,960 professional positions. Their ability to travel and 379 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,680 pursue certain professions is controlled by the state of their 380 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,080 dress codes. Women are required by law to 381 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,480 wear the hijab, and that's any woman, not just Muslim women. 382 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,200 Any woman, visitors or citizens are required to wear the hijab. 383 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,400 Women who fail to comply face punishments including fines, 384 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:09,440 imprisonment, and harassment by the morality police, including 385 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,880 violent physical harassment. Marriage and family rights are 386 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,000 limited. Women's rights within marriage 387 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,120 are controlled by Islamic law. They must obtain permission from 388 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:23,920 their husbands for certain things, including traveling. 389 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,840 Women's testimony in court is considered to be half as 390 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,720 valuable as a man's, and polygamy is allowed for men 391 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:37,880 under certain situations. Hamas, which is the governing 392 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,880 body, The political military governing body in Gaza right 393 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,320 now, or was, is even more restrictive. 394 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:57,520 Iran's attitudes toward Israel have been clearly stated. 395 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,560 The Ayatollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, 396 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,480 says Israel must be wiped off. Well, he said he's dead now, 397 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,400 said Israel must be wiped off the map. 398 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:11,480 He made that in a speech in 1980. 399 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,080 They're different. They're very my phone. 400 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,080 I apologize for doing so much reading today, but I could not 401 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,000 hold all of this information in my head. 402 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,720 The Ayatollah Khomeini, who is the current Supreme Leader, 403 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:35,120 published a nine point plan for eliminating Israel back in 2014, 404 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,840 where he refers to armed resistance until Israel is 405 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,760 destroyed. He did clarify that he doesn't 406 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,360 support genocide of Jews, but rather the elimination of the 407 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:49,640 Zionist regime. The Constitution of the Islamic 408 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:55,360 Republic of Iran explicitly states that the oppressed well 409 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,600 promote Islamic unity and defend the rights of the oppressed. 410 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,240 And they oppose all forms of domination, especially by the 411 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,400 world of arrogance, which is a phrase that they use to refer to 412 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:12,200 the United States and Israel, IRGC Commander Hossein Salami in 413 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,480 2019 said the Senate, Speaking of Israel, the Senator Stur 414 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,600 regime must be wiped off the map. 415 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,320 And there is no longer, this is no longer a dream, it is an 416 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:27,520 achievable goal, Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 417 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,560 said. Israel must be wiped off the 418 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:37,480 map. Hamas's attitude, Iran, and it 419 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,280 has to be acknowledged, explicitly denies genocide and 420 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,360 explicitly and all their official publications call only 421 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:48,840 for the destruction of the nation of Israel, only for the 422 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,800 destruction of the nation of Israel, but explicitly do not 423 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,800 call for genocide of Jews everywhere. 424 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:02,000 However, Iran is the sponsor, trainer, equiper and supporter 425 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,600 of Hamas and Hezbollah, and they are not nearly so discerning. 426 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:13,040 Hamas's founding charter in 1988 said this Israel will exist, and 427 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,960 will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it just as 428 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:23,240 it obliterated others before it, and that Hamas strives to raise 429 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,840 the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine. 430 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,200 And that the day of the enemies, the day the enemies usurp part 431 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,200 of Muslim land. Jihad becomes the duty of 432 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,960 individual, every individual Muslim. 433 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:43,120 Their 2017 revision endorses complete liberation of Palestine 434 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,680 from the river to the sea, which can only happen if the nation of 435 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,480 Israel is destroyed. It does not recognize the 436 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:56,360 legitimacy of Israel. Some key leaders in Hamas have 437 00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:59,920 said things like this. Deputy Speaker Ahmad Bar in 2012 438 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:07,160 said called to eliminate for the eliminating the Jews and says O 439 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:13,520 Allah destroy the Jews and their supporter And Imam Yusuf Al 440 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:18,240 Zahar in 2008 said it more clear, said this Jews are people 441 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:23,840 who cannot be trusted. Fadi Hamad, former Gaza Interior 442 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:28,680 minister, said, all of you, 7 million Palestinians abroad, you 443 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:33,840 have Jews everywhere and we must attack every Jew on the globe by 444 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,880 way of slaughter and killing with Allah's help. 445 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:43,120 Ghazi Haman, Hamas's political Bureau, said Israel is a country 446 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,680 that has no place on our land. We must remove the country. 447 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,040 We must teach Israel a lesson and we will do this again and 448 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:52,920 again. This was, he said this, by the 449 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:56,760 way, in 2024. So the AL Aqsa flood, which was 450 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:01,200 the name that Hamas gave to their attack on Israel in 2023, 451 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,560 the AL Aqsa flood is just the first time. 452 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,560 And Hamas affiliated TV says our doctrine and fighting you, the 453 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,720 Jews, is that we will totally exterminate you. 454 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,800 We will not leave a single one of you alive. 455 00:29:24,450 --> 00:29:30,090 I see, and I'm going to say that this is, I see a world of 456 00:29:30,090 --> 00:29:35,290 difference between those two cultures and those two regimes. 457 00:29:37,450 --> 00:29:41,160 I see one of them as life bringing, not perfect but life 458 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:45,440 bringing and the others as committed to death, destruction, 459 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,040 stealing, killing and destroying. 460 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:57,040 Part of that has been the rising tide of anti-Semitism around the 461 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,400 world. Literally riots. 462 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,960 Hundreds of thousands of people rioting in the United States, 463 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:12,200 Canada, Europe, Australia calling for global Intifada. 464 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:20,160 Globalize The Intifada, which is a call for global violence 465 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:26,920 against Jews. The nation of Israel has been 466 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:31,880 accused of genocide or attempted genocide against the Palestinian 467 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:39,680 population. Interestingly, in 1948, when the 468 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:43,640 modern nation of Israel was established, there were 156,000 469 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:51,400 Palestinian citizens in Israel. In 2024, there were two million 470 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:57,640 Palestinian citizens in Israel. Palestinians in Gaza, in the 471 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,240 West Bank when they came under Israeli control and directorship 472 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,400 in 1967. There were 1.4 million 473 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,600 Palestinians in Gaza. In the West Bank in 2024, there 474 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,000 were five and a half million. If Israel's attempting genocide, 475 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:24,000 they're doing a terrible job. The calls and claims that Israel 476 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,040 is an apartheid state like South America, South Africa are at the 477 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:35,720 very best, misleading. The rights that Palestinians, 478 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:40,600 even those in Gaza and the West Bank, have are far greater than 479 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,000 the rights that blacks ever had. Under the apartheid regime of 480 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,960 South Africa, Blacks couldn't vote. 481 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,840 Blacks couldn't participate in the legal system, not as judges 482 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:58,040 at the higher levels. And all of those are allowed for 483 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,360 Palestinian citizens of Israel. Now. 484 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,400 Israel withdrew from palace, from Gaza in the West Bank in 485 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:09,280 2005. Hamas took over in Gaza in 2007. 486 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:20,080 I believe there is war going on in Gaza that has been horribly 487 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:23,640 destructive. I might get this number wrong. 488 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,080 I heard it said. I believe I'm getting it right, 489 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,800 but if you want to challenge me on it again, challenge me on 490 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:31,480 anything, we'll look it up together. 491 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,360 If I'm wrong, I'll own it. The international standard for 492 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:42,720 legitimate urban warfare. The the standard to which all 493 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,880 nations participating in international law or to strive 494 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:52,240 in urban warfare, you will be horrified to know is that for 495 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:57,280 everyone Military death. It has allowed three civilian 496 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,320 deaths and urban urban warfare is awful. 497 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,840 It's a warfare itself. Urban warfare is the worst. 498 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:09,760 But the international standard is if you go, if you have more 499 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:13,440 than three civilian deaths for everyone military death, that's 500 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:15,400 bad. That's a violation of 501 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,560 international law. That's war crime area. 502 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:25,080 In its war in Gaza since 2023, the ratio has been 1:00 to 1:00. 503 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,560 It's the most precise urban warfare in history. 504 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,000 And lots of civilians are dying, but not because Israel has been. 505 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:42,040 Israel drops Flyers and sends out messages to alert civilians 506 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,480 when there's going to be a military strike so they can get 507 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:49,200 out. Hamas hides their military 508 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:53,640 behind civilians to say if you want to kill us, you have to 509 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:59,600 kill them too. As IDF forces have gone through 510 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,920 Gaza inspecting homes, looking for entrances to tunnels and 511 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,520 hidden armaments and music munitions, they consistently 512 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,159 find the entrances to the tunnels and the weapons and 513 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:14,320 explosives in the nurseries of the Palestinians. 514 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,159 They hide the weapons in the tunnels in their children's 515 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:34,440 bedrooms. To me, there's no It's hard. 516 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,320 I find it hard to support war of any kind. 517 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,320 I do. I can't say that I'm a pacifist. 518 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:44,480 I'm not. But every time someone is killed 519 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,719 in a war, someone that Jesus died for has been killed and 520 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:52,440 placed beyond the possibility of repentance and redemption if 521 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:53,840 they were not already a Christian. 522 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:01,680 And yet, if you have an enemy that is explicitly stated and 523 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:06,760 and graphically and violently acted upon their intention to 524 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,760 destroy your country and to kill every single one of your Jewish 525 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:14,240 citizens, both in that country and if possible around the 526 00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:22,520 world, and to defend yourself, you have to attack the enemy and 527 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,240 the enemy's hiding behind civilians. 528 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:29,000 Here's the thing. I can sit back and armchair 529 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:34,840 quarterback those decisions all day long because I have 0 530 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:40,960 responsibility politically, legally, officially, for 531 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:45,240 protecting Israeli citizens. The government of Israel has a 532 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:47,920 responsibility to protect Israeli citizens. 533 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,320 And if they are not to be destroyed, I don't know how they 534 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:56,200 do it without violence. And when the people firing the 535 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,400 guns and the Rockets are hiding behind children in places of 536 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,120 worship and hospitals, I don't know how they do it without 537 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:08,120 awful civilian casualties. And I don't say that to excuse 538 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,160 those things. I say that to say as as we're 539 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:19,040 talking about these things, our perspective is different because 540 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:24,240 we're not the ones responsible. Benjamin Netanyahu is not 541 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,680 perfect, but if I were Prime Minister of Israel, I don't know 542 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,320 what I would do if I had a response. 543 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:37,160 And I it's my job to protect. It's my job to protect. 544 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:41,840 I think God, I don't have to make those decisions, but we as 545 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:46,880 followers of Jesus Christ, we do have a responsibility to seek 546 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:51,680 out and look for where is the life, what culture, what 547 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:56,200 civilization, what regime seems to be more like it's promoting 548 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,080 life and which one seems to be more like it's promoting death. 549 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,760 As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a responsibility to stand 550 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:11,560 against bigotry, whether it's Islamophobia or homophobia or, 551 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:17,680 or, or anti-Semitism or sexism or racism or any of these other 552 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:19,320 things. We have a responsibility to 553 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:24,400 stand against that. And, and when we look through 554 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:30,800 history and see that for at least the last 2000 years in 555 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:35,040 Christian civilizations and Pagan civilizations and 556 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:39,280 atheistic civilizations, the number one scapegoat always 557 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:43,640 seems to be the Jews. When you look as far apart as 558 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:48,440 the Nazis were and the Soviet Communists were ideological 559 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:54,960 opposites in every way, nearly every way, the one thing the 560 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:59,480 Nazis and the Communist Soviets agreed on was scapegoating and 561 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,600 killing Jews. The Nazis murdered 6,000,000. 562 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:08,160 The estimates are that the Soviet empire murdered 7 million 563 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:14,800 or more Jews. Why is it always the Jews that 564 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,000 get made the scapegoats? I heard one person say recently 565 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,600 when before the creation of the nation of Israel, one of the 566 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,640 reasons used to justify suspicion of Jews is they're 567 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,800 just a Vagabond mongrel race with no nation of their own. 568 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:32,000 That's why we hate them. After the nation of Israel is 569 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:36,480 created there, they have this nation, and that's why we hate 570 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:38,760 them. They don't have a right to have 571 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,880 their own nation. We as Christians have a 572 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:46,680 responsibility to stand against scapegoats, whoever they are. 573 00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,800 And lots of different groups are scapegoats. 574 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:53,800 There are lots of different groups that have been scapegoats 575 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,440 in the history of the United States, including Jews, and we 576 00:38:57,440 --> 00:38:59,520 have a responsibility to stand against that. 577 00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,480 As followers of Jesus, our responsibility is to take 578 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:06,720 responsibility for the problems in our cultures, in our 579 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:10,680 communities, and work as hard as we can in the name of Jesus to 580 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:14,360 make our communities better and more life giving, not to 581 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,760 scapegoat and blame people for problems. 582 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:21,080 That Jesus has sent us to be part of the solution. 583 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:29,280 And so all I ask for us as we look at this situation is to ask 584 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,520 where's the life and where's the death? 585 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:35,200 And that we would faithfully choose life. 586 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:40,560 Lord gone for times when we have chosen death rather than life. 587 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:46,840 Have mercy on us, Lord, for times when we choose life over 588 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,920 death. Give us strength and grace and 589 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,560 mercy even when opposition rises. 590 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:59,160 We pray your grace and your wisdom and your mercy on us, on 591 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:02,680 this community, on in this world, in Jesus name, Amen. 592 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:03,520 Amen.