MainlineTruths

Presbyterian leaders still lying about Israel

Despite being rebuffed by their own members at their 2006 General Assembly, leaders in the Presbyterian Church USA continue to push their anti-Israel propaganda. From CAMERA:

A nine-page document titled “Palestinian Christians in the Middle East – Study Resources for Children and Youth” embodies the same distorted moral narrative PC(USA) leaders and staffers were broadcasting before the church’s 2004 General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the church to initiate a process of “phased, selective divestment” from Israel.

The theme of the resources  is “Walls or Bridges?”

The CAMERA piece continues...

The resource also suggests teachers and youth advisors obtain the September/October 2004 issue of Church & Society titled “Wall of Security, A Barrier to Peace,” which provides extensive detail about the impact of the security barrier on Palestinians. Out of more than 100 pages of text, the magazine included approximately two paragraphs about the impact of Palestinian terror attacks that preceded the barrier’s construction. And like a lot of mainline commentary about Israel’s security measures, it is filled with distortions and omissions that lead the reader to believe the barrier is something other than a passive structure designed to prevent violence.

For example, Victor Makari, the PC(USA)’s area coordinator for the Middle East wrote an article that falsely suggests the fence near Bethlehem will electrocute anyone who touches it:

“Walking right up to an electrified portion of the barrier at Bethlehem (see photo, page1), one is immediately seized by a sense of desperation when confronted with a red warning sign – in Hebrew, Arabic and English – that reads (with some variation): “MORTAL DANGER – Military Zone, Any Person Who Passes or Damages [the Arabic reads, …. Touches] the Fence [the Arabic reads, … the Wall] Endangers His Life.” (Church and Society, September/October 2004)

By using the word “electrified” Makari gives Sunday school teachers and youth leaders (many of whom will not know that the fence is equipped with electronic detection devices) every reason to believe Israel is zapping or worse, electrocuting innocent children who dare touch the barrier. How else are readers who know little about the barrier to interpret Makari's writing?

At some point, Presbyterian leaders will learn that they'll make more progress by just being honest.

Presbyterians, Jews plan talk series

Good news out of Arizona:

Local Presbyterians and Jews are now working in tandem, though they were once at odds over a church call for divestment from companies that support Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A new Wednesday evening public education program will continue for the next month, jointly sponsored by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) churches and the Jewish community.

Tensions between the two faiths erupted in 2004 when the General Assembly of the national Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to explore a policy of selective divestment from companies doing business in Israel.

Shortly after this decision by the General Assembly, clergy and leaders from the Tucson Jewish and Presbyterian communities began a series of meetings to discuss this controversial decision as well as other concerns.

But Jewish leaders were heartened this year when the General Assembly voted 483-28 against targeting Israel.

Presbyterian leaders meet with Ahmadinejad

Presbyterian church leaders met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on September 20th in New York... and it sounds like they didn't hold back. From the PCUSA:

A delegation of nearly 45 religious leaders met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, September 20, for an hour at the Inter-Continental Hotel, where the president was staying during his visit to the United Nations. The event was organized and sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee, of Akron, Pennsylvania, a relief, development and peace organization of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the U.S. and Canada.

Sara Lisherness, Associate Director of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and Joel Hanisek, Presbyterian United Nations Representative, participated in the delegation. In describing the purpose of the meeting, Lisherness said, "We accepted the invitation to be part of the delegation as a witness to the reconciling gospel of Jesus Christ."

The delegation engaged the Iranian leader on matters of faith, justice and peace, exploring the role that religious communities can play in easing tensions in the Middle Eastern region. The group affirmed the right of the state of Israel to exist and expressed concerns about anti-Semitic attitudes and statements of the president. The conversation also focused on the obligations held by signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

"The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has worked very hard to be a faithful advocate and partner for peace and justice in the Middle East," said Hanisek. "We did not want to miss this opportunity to give witness to the Presbyterian Church's support of Israel and to reject the false and disturbing rhetoric of Holocaust denial used in the past by President Ahmadinejad. The meeting also gave us the opportunity to hear how the reality of life in the occupied Palestinian territories affects other nations in the region."

Earlier this year, the PCUSA reversed a 2004 call for divestment from Israel in lieu of a policy of peaceful investment in Israel, the Gaza Strip and West Bank. 

PCUSA gives direction on handling dissenting churches

Like other Mainline denominations, the Presbyterians are concerned about losing churches as divisions grow... but a new set of documents titled the "Louisville Papers" show just how far the PCUSA is willing to take the fight. From Agape Press:

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is being accused of taking "draconian" measures against local congregations that are considering leaving the denomination. The Presbyterian Lay Committee has obtained confidential strategy papers created by lawyers from the denomination's headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, advising area officials how to grab the property of local dissenting churches.

The so-called "Louisville Papers" also advise Presbyterian officials how to oust the ministers of dissenting churches and how to get rid of their governing bodies. The documents advise Presbytery officials to play hardball with these churches by filing civil actions against them, freezing their bank accounts, changing the locks on their buildings, and defrocking their ministers.

Meanwhile, the papers obtained and made public by the Committee suggest to those Presbyteries filing civil claims against dissenting parishes that they try to get an Episcopal judge rather than a Baptist judge. The reason for this, according to the strategy documents, is because Episcopalians understand church hierarchy better than do Baptists.

You have to wonder about the PCUSA braintrust that thinks forcing churches into submission is the way to maintain the churches.

Presbyterian publishing company releases 9/11 conspiracy book

From The Wall Street Journal:

Written by David Griffin and put out by Westminster John Knox Press, a division of the Presbyterian Publishing Corp., the book argues that 9/11 was a highly orchestrated Bush administration sham. The collapse of the World Trade Center--which, the book says, was brought on by controlled demolitions, not Islamic hijackers--was merely a "false flag" operation, designed to spur wars in the Middle East. The goal: an all-powerful American global empire.

Later sections in the book claim that the U.S. is "demonic" and that, as the leader of the global economy, the U.S. is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions each year. Mr. Griffin believes that the answer to these problems lies in a one-world democratic government. "It would bring the kingdom of God to earth," Mr. Griffin told me in an interview. "It's not some pie-in-the-sky, airy-fairy idea."