Broken Masterpieces

December 12, 2006

What Should Israel Do?

Iran president says Israel's days are numbered | International News | Reuters.com

"Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want," he said.

"Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out," he added.

So what should Israel do? Israel is one of our real allies in the world and I'm afraid with silly things like the Iraq Study Group report we'll completely back away from this situation. We are in a place where some tough decisions need to be made. It's not going to get any easier as we've got a lot on our plate. We need to remember who our friends are (Israel), what works (democracy doesn't work everywhere), who's whacked out of their minds (I'm thinking of a certain leader in Iran) and what our country's responsibilities are.

Posted by Tim at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2006

A History of Israel/Palestine

MidEast Web - Brief History of of Palestine, Israel the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Arab-Israel conflict, Middle East Conflict)

I've become quite interested in how Israel has come into being. I've not read it all but it looks like a pretty balanced account of the history of Israel/Palestine. I think Evangelicals need to get out of the "this is the end times" to understanding the history and be honest brokers. I'm a supporter of the only true Western style government in the Middle East but want to learn more about this conflict and how it can be solved, if that is even possible.

Posted by Tim at 10:39 PM | Comments (1)

July 14, 2006

CNN - Hezbollah ready for 'war on every level'

CNN.com - Hezbollah ready for 'war on every level' - Jul 14, 2006

"You wanted an open war, you will have an open war," Nasrallah said. "You don't know who you are fighting today. You are fighting the children of Mohammed, ali Hassan and Hussein. You chose the war to fight against people who believe in their pride."

I'm not one of those Israel right or wrong type Evangelicals but this is a time where Israel has had enough of Hezbollah and now is the final straw. I'm not going to opine about how Israel should fight this war. They are surrounded by enemies and will fight all out. I do hope civilians will be spared but it's going to be nasty.

One of the silly things I hear from some folks is that Israel should only return fire in proportion to the damage done to Israel. That's just a pant load of crap! If a terrorist organization planted themselves outside Mexico and were launching missiles into San Diego would be just keep up the tit for tat? Heck no, we'd kick the crap out of them. Regretfully, Israel is at war. If Iran or Syria gets involved then we've got a world war. If Israel feels they act alone then I fear the use of nuclear weapons. Again, I'm not telling Israel what to do but just expressing the fears I have about this situation.

I also hope the American Evangelicals don't turn this into an end-times nut case scenario. I really don't believe this is an act of God. We need to remember that there are human beings involved here. If this really explodes it will affect us all.

Posted by Tim at 05:26 PM | Comments (2)

April 23, 2006

Book by Brother Andrew - Operation Desert Light

I just completed reading this book by Brother Andrew and it's a must read for any Christian, especially if you are one who falls into the "Anything Israel does is OK because it is God's chosen nation" camp. Let me be up front and say that I do support the right of Israel to exist but I also believe that all parties involved needs to take into account human rights first and foremost.

This book stands for the role that the Church needs to take. There are real live churches in the occupied territories with Palestinian Christians. Does anyone think that God loves a Jewish person more than an Arab? According to many Bible teachers in America I'd get the impression that only the interest of Israel matters. Brother Andrew doesn't take sides in this issue other than believing that the Church must be built up and lead the way.

As the Christian west we need to understand the full humanity of the people in the middle of this horrible situation. The Israeli who is afraid of getting blown up on the bus and the Palestinian stuck in there apartment awaiting the end of a long curfew are both living in tough situations. They each love their spouses, their children, their parents and friends. Many have seen senseless destruction and the hate is entrenched in those societies. The cycle seems endless and only the love of Christ through His Church will offer true peace.

I'm hopeful that the western Church will start supporting the churches in Israel and the occupied territories. The Jewish and Palestinian Christians are working hard at true peace and we need to find ways to support that peace. It seems that the western Church has mostly made itself irrelevant to the Palestinians with our current views that totally favor Israel, right or wrong. It's time for us to re-check our views and whether our allegiance is to Christ first or Israel first. When there is injustice then we must side with justice.

Posted by Tim at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2006

Need Some Help - Palestinian History

I'm interested in learning about the history of the "Palestinians". I know Michael Medved has said there really isn't a such thing as Palestinians. I'm looking for a some information about Palestinians, especially pre-1948. HELP!

Posted by Tim at 11:47 PM | Comments (1)

February 22, 2006

Pictures From The Holy Land

Courtesy of The Daily Psalm

Holy Land Photos - Free Photos of the Holy Land - Check out this site as it has pictures historically relevant pictures from the Holy Land.

Posted by Tim at 07:24 AM | Comments (0)

January 05, 2006

Foot In Mouth Disease Strikes Again

Tip to Drudge

kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Robertson says Sharon's stroke is God's punishment

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

Read the rest, then go throw up. Really folks, not all Christians are this wacky but it does seem like it.

Posted by Tim at 01:43 PM | Comments (1)

August 18, 2005

Gaza Evacuations

CNN.com - Gaza evacuations 70 percent complete - Aug 18, 2005 - It's so sad to see people being removed from their homes in Gaza. This is a big mistake by Sharon and I'm extremely doubtful that this will "reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process". Israel earned this area during the Six-Day War and now they are being penalized? At least there is a compensation package and I hope it is fair. The bigger issue is that many people believe that this is truly God-given territory for Israel, no matter what the politicians say. This is just another mess within a big mess and Israel shouldn't give up ANYTHING until they have more security as a nation and the Palestinians stop talking out of both sides of their mouth about the right of Israel to exist.

Posted by Tim at 05:50 AM | Comments (1)

October 27, 2004

MSNBC - Arafat Critically Ill?

MSNBC - Arafat reported to be critically ill

My prayer for Arafat is that he finds Christ. When he does die I will not be sad.

Posted by Tim at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2003

Dennis Miller on Israel

Tip of the hat to Blackfive.

Dennis Miller is spot on when speaking about the issues Israel faces.

UPDATE: Ray has brought it to my attention that this was actually written by actor, Larry Miller (the doorman on Seinfeld).

UPDATE 2: Ray (tip of the hat) gave me the link that proves it's Larry Miller and here's the article in The Weekly Standard.

Posted by Tim at 08:33 AM | Comments (1)

September 30, 2003

Bush Meets With Some Rabbis

The great Power Line Blog has an incredible article about the meeting some Rabbis had with President Bush. The link is here.

Posted by Tim at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2003

Friends of Israel

I encourage you all to check out Friends of Israel. Broken Masterpieces has signed on to support Israel and hope you do the same. More than anything I want liberty, peace and democracy for all the Middle East but terrorists like Arafat will NEVER let that happen.

Posted by Tim at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2003

Nail Them Both

According to this CNN article, both the Islamic Jihad and Hamas both have claimed responsibility for this latest bombing, Israel should retaliate against them both. I'm really tired of these terrorists flaunting world opinion and keeping Israel from keeping themselves safe. It's probably my biggest disagreement with the Bush Administration. Let Israel do what we are doing ourselves. Let them do what they need to do to keep themselves secure.

Posted by Tim at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2003

I Just Don't Believe It

I guess I'm just pessimistic about peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This article speaks of a truce with 3 key Palestinian militant groups. We should pray for peace as only an act of God can bring it about.

Posted by Tim at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)