Apocalypse and the War in Israel

Growing up a child of the 60s my parents taught me of the coming Apocalypse. The 1967 Israeli war not only stunned the world but electrified my faith. Israel, the People of God and the coming of the Antichrist and the return of Christ. Wow, forty years later and we are right back where we started from. The difference today is that we have two leaders, one in Iran and the other in the White House who believe this crap!

I woke up from my deluded faith once I saw the facts. The myths we create to give meaning to our lives. Religion truely is the opiate of the people. Where are we going with this war? The Second coming of the Mahdi or Christ isn't where we are headed but an impending World War? Possibly. We do create our own future and self-fulfiling prophecy is the norm. The problem is complex and goes back more than 60 years. Still, the number one reason this conflict continues is because of hate and the use of Religion to justify killing one's enemies. As long as the battle is cloaked in the "Children of Light" vs the "Children lf darkness" this madness will continue.

America gets the blame for a situation created by Europe. The colonial powers, Britain, France among the most aggressive and oppressive, created the current dilema. Even in 1957 it was these two European powers that encouraged Israel to invade Sinai to give them a pretext of going in as peace keepers to punish Nassar of Egypt. If America hadn't intervened and forced Israel to leave and Britain to withdraw who knows what would have been the result? Fear of Communism then took over and America cast her lot with Israel to counter Russia.

People also forget that in 1948 a Palestinian and Israeli state were born. The war by the Arabs killed the infant Palestinian state and Syria and Jordan and Egypt absorbed the newborn state. Ever since the war has been not about Land or the interests of the Palestinians but about Jews. Palestine could have been a stable, progressive, wealthy country by now had the Arabs not used them as pawns in their war against the west and the Jews.

Still, a better solution in 1948 would have been a unified Israeli and Palestinian state, democratic, secular, and not establishing one group to domininate over the other.

Today the issue is no longer between sovereign states but between Dictators and Fundamentalists. Syria is a dictatorship that oppresses the majority Sunni. Hizbollah along with Damascus and Iran seek to create a great Shiite state, which in itself isn't evil, but the intent is to expand the Islamic Jihad and conquest to the entire world. Islamists seek to make the whole world an Islamic State. How can they not if they truely believe? Thus the problem of faith. The Jews, in large, have a similar view but feel that only the Messiah when he comes can create their religous utopia. Christians have a similar view, either that the "Kingdom of God" is within or that in some future day Jesus will return and set up his Kingdom on the earth and as such abandoned their goals of a Theocracy ruled by a Pope centuries ago because of the enlightenment.

Why are 36 dead shiite childred in Lebanon such an outrage in the press and in the arab world but the deaths of thousands daily in Sudan, Somalia, Algieria, Iraq, Pakistan, India, to name a few are not important or cause such a rage? The reason is propaganda because it is against the Jews and Israel. Where is the outrage in civilized muslim countries against the slaughter of jews, kidnapping of jews, indiscriminate killing of civilians in Israel (where Hizbollah missles can't distinquish between arab christian or muslim Israelis from jews? If Hizbollah kills one jew they cry "Victory" and "God is Great". If their missles were to hit a school and kill 100 Israeli children they would see that as righteous and just punishment for infidels. The west buys into this crap and thus demonizes Israel's attempt to protect her very survival. Hizbollah's stated aim is the death of all jews and the destruction of the state of Israel. Do you think they will be as merciful as jews when it comes to trying to prevent civilian casualties?

Apocalypse now, that is their cry and the president of Iran's cry. If Hizbollah really cared about lebanonese children they'd disarm and let the Lebanonese government decide if they want to wage war against their neighbors. Also they wouldn't use terrorism, hide behind civilians to wage this war, which if it were to be fought should be fought by soldiers. But when do civilians ever NOT suffere in war? look at Hitler and the WWII, tens of millions of civilians killed in bombings.

If Hizbollah wants peace then let them free Israeli soldiers, lay down their weapons and preach "Love" instead of "hate". Then what pretext would Israel have but to make peace with the Arab world?