Via Professor Bainbridge, the Presbyterian Church once again is considering a divestment of Israeli companies as part of an ongoing attempt to boycott everything Israeli:
Once again, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is considering divesting from certain companies that do business with the Israeli government. As I explained the last time the church went down this road, it’s a bad, anti-semitic idea:
Let’s start with a basic question: Will the PC(USA)’s decision “work”? In other words, do divestment campaigns tend to achieve their proponent’s goals? The clear answer from the empirical literature is “no.” …
Managers of pension plans are fiduciaries of the beneficiaries of those plans. When they pursue a social agenda nearly certain to result in poorer performance, they are disserving their beneficiaries. The activists at the PC(USA) may have gotten a warm and fuzzy feeling from taking a slap at Israel, but in doing so they injured Jewish-Christian relations, besmirched the one functioning democracy in the Middle East, and stabbed their own people in the back. All for the sake of a gesture that experience teaches will be fruitless.
As for whether the divestmenbt proposal is anti-semitic, I use a standard proposed by Jay Lefkowitz:
A more nuanced standard, and one that properly recognizes that legitimate criticism of Israel is perfectly appropriate, was articulated last year by Natan Sharansky. A member of the Israeli cabinet who for years had been a prisoner of conscience in the Soviet gulag, Mr. Sharansky defined one current expression of anti- Semitism by three features: the application of double standards to Israel, the demonization of Israel and the delegitimization of Israel.
As pointed out at The Weekly Standard, the renewed Presbyterian Church boycott coincides with a renewed push by a group called Kairos USA, which seeks to join various Christian denominations in opposition to Israel:
We begin with a confession of sin to Palestinians in the State of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, the diaspora and in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. As U.S. Christians we bear responsibility for failing to say “Enough!” when our nation’s ally, the State of Israel, violates international law. Our government has financed Israel’s unjust policies and has shielded its government from criticism by the international community. At the outset of the current U.S. administration, our government led Palestinians to believe that at last we would pursue a political solution based on justice. But the “peace process” has continued to be no more than a means for the continuing colonization of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the imprisonment of Gaza and the intensification of the structures of oppression.
The good news is that Israel remains overwhelmingly supported by Americans of all faiths, and particularly evangenlical Christians.
The singling out of Israel for scorn by groups like the Presbyterian Church remains a mystery in a world where the Presbyterian Church is not allowed to exist in many of Israel’s enemy countries, and in a region where Christians are persecuted by nearly everyone except Israel.
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Comments
They’re funded by someone who hates Israel.
The resolution would have a lot more weight if they also disinvested in manufacturers of RDX, the active ingredient in C4, the explosive of choice for suicide vests. But of course that would be a principled rather than a political stand.
Dreamer.
PCUSA? Morons. Making common cause with Muslims against Jews is madness. Apologizing to Muslims for what? Have these people looked around to see who’s killing Christians around the world? When will PCUSA demand that the world’s Muslims apologize to Christians. When will they demand Muslims repent of their genocidal intention towards Jews? Silent on Iran and condemning Israel. Morons. These fools don’t realize that the killers they are genuflecting before will cut their throats first for their foolish acts of weakness.
I noticed Disney is still standing despite the Baptist boycott of it. I’ll assume Israel won’t notice this pittance of a protest.
This may be so, but these two things are not equivalent. The Baptists were likely protesting the immorality Disney promotes these days. The PCUSA idiots are wanting to harm Israel for defending itself and are also promoting anti-JudaeoChristian thugs who would behead every man with a Star of David and a Cross. Big difference.
I was imagining that the same thing would happen: the Heads of the Church would make solemn pronouncements and the actual members would carry on with life as normal.
I am prayerful that one day soon the Presbyterian Church USA will actually begin to take the time to read the Bible according to God’s word rather than making up their own words according to whatever feelings they hold at any given moment.
Pray God forgive the Presbyterian Church USA for they know not what they do.
When any Church forgets its founding principles and guiding document, it becomes merely a church building. Politics is by its nature divisive, and division in any church will be its downfall. That’s why politics needs to stay out of the pulpit.
We faithful to God sing the praise:
I raise my eyes towards the mountains
where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and Earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you;
The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day,
or the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
the Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever. Psalm 121:1-8
will never understand how a “Christian” religion could ever oppose Israel.
That is because several flavors of “Christian Churches” are really more about being a social place for atheists that want something to do on Sunday morning.
When you don’t understand Whose you are, where you’re from, how you got to where you are, or the foundation of your faith, it’s easy. It’s easier still if you don’t read and/or understand the Scripture.
So… what does Presbyterian(US) have to say about all this?
Presbyterian(US) and Presbyterian(USA)are two different organizations.
Natan Sharanski is a true man of principle & honor who has paid the price of a life led by belief. These Presbyterians are debased poseurs who have no clue of any of these concepts. They would label him a stiff necked Jew when they came to opposition.
An examination of most mainline Protestant denominations reveals they are overrun more by religion based upon socio/psycho-babble and political ideology rather than their religious heritage, traditions, and the Scriptures. Say what you want. I believe there is a distinct parallel between this and the abandonment by many of our American heritage: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
Even though I have been exposed to both political and theological education, it continues to amaze me at the perversion of thinking, the dilution of belief, and the lacking in wisdom on the part of so many leaders, both secular and religious.
Well… after some research, it turns out Presbyterian(US) PSUS merged with Presbyterian(USA) PSUSA in 1983 …Presbyterian(US) was conservative and Presbyterian(USA) more liberal prior to the merger.
The more liberal won and now their “mission” is social justice.
Imagine there’s no PC(USA)
It’s easy if you try
No BDS dancers, rockets or flotillas
Among us just allies
Here’s the answer to these unChristian, non-Christian, PCUSA buggers: http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/07/02/israels-saudi-sized-energy-potential-makes-first-political-impact/.
“An Israel with vast energy endowments may be less coolly received in certain circles than it is today.
In the meantime, we wonder if there was an 11th, hitherto undiscovered commandment on those tablets at Sinai: Thou shalt drill, baby, thou shalt drill.”
Not one danged cent from Israel should flow to a PCUSA school.
Something not understood by a lot of people is there are “liberal” churches. They are liberal both in terms of their theology as well as their politics.
And then there are the “liberation” churches, which preach collective salvation and the like.
Sad to say there is a marketplace for the soul. Worshippers beware.
All Christians are by definition evangelical. You cannot be one without being the other regardless of what perky katie and the rest of the lame-stream media claims.
Yet many churches reject the evangelical, the evangelion and its mandatory dissemination. Therefore, they are no longer evangelical and, thus, no longer Christian.
So, has anyone in the PCUSA asked under what scriptural basis are we doing this? Unless it is tied to a good, sound, Biblical reason, then it’s a fallible, man-made decision.
I was raised in the Presbyterian Church and its no wonder that it, along with many ‘mainstream’ churches, is going down the toilet.
Baruk Hashem! Israel is forever!
“…Google chief’s fund set for fifth Israeli investment
Innovation Endeavors managing partner Dror Berman, who runs the fund for Google CEO Eric Schmidt, has already made four investments in Israel, and will announce a fifth investment within weeks. Since it was founded a year ago, the fund has made ten investments, mostly in companies in Silicon Valley and Israel…”
Somehow I think Israel is not very concerned about Presbyterians’ investment when they are being supported by investments from the founders of Google(a definitely secular company). The Tanakh Genesis 28:3
“… And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a congregation of peoples; 4 and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham…”
The Presbyterians are about as irrelevant to Israel as the UNESCO pronouncements that the tombs of the patriarch Abraham, Isaac,Rebecca,Jacob,Rachel,Leah are islamic sites!
UNESCO made that pronouncement? Genocide. Cultural genocide. Historical genocide. They’re time traveling in full view with genocidal intent. They will have their reward. The PCUSA will have theirs, too, for God will spit them out of His mouth.
So if Jesus came back tomorrow the Presbys would boycott him, too?
Oh, wait – they already do, don’t they? >:-(
Check out the academic bonifides of pastors, ministers, et al. Where you see a lot of M.Div. degrees, you’ll encounter a lot of liberal university indoctrination, just like so many other professions.
Nonsense. Part and parcel of the MDiv is studying the Scripture in Hebrew and Greek. The problem is not the seminary and the MDiv, which, if done right, should ground the pastors in Scripture–its doctrines and the history of the Church. The problem is the church itself which has forgotten its roots because it has been overtaken by Communists who replace Christ’s path with theirs. Think of Al Sharpton when you think of pastors without MDiv’s. The last thing the Church needs is untrained men spouting off and unable to assert the truth of what they say with reference to the original texts. The Church needs to revert to the Pauline standards for teachers and men in authority. In sum, the Church needs to repent and rediscover the Way.
I cannot keep up with Americans individualizing their denominations. I steal just wish they would be honest & come up with a name not hollow out 18th century traditional churches.
But then ahain this is the land that thinks Martin Luther was a black 1960s dude that got shot.
But you are not alone. The current Archbishop of Canterbury is not quite the giant that plotted for /against medieval Kings & turned history with their favours.
It is all so bland I could puke.