In the last month or so I've taken up listening to a lot of NPR, in an attempt to educate myself on the current global situation. It seems like a better use of my time than listening to the same six songs they always play on the radio.
Obviously, the world news frequently focuses on the middle-east and conflicts there. Especially with the recent Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, there's quite a bit of news coverage (shadowed only by recent Sudanese and Pakistani hate crimes). So, with Israel and the middle-east in general on my mind, I got to thinking.
Why does God have a "Promised Land"?The entire idea seems a bit befuddling to me. I mean, originally God led Abraham to a land set aside for his ancestors, which would be plentiful. A few generations down the road, when Moses "reaches" (quotations since he only sees, doesn't set foot on) the Promised Land. Only one problem: people live there. So, Joshua goes in in all his glory and he, among others, slowly bring the land of Canaan under Hebrew control (all more or less under God's command and, at times, with his assistance).
Now, I'm going to stop for a moment here. These native Canaanites were described in the Bible as savage giants, more or less, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they probably had families. They probably had wives, children, traditions and a rich culture of their own. But all of that is shoved to the side and their cities are felled when they refuse to accept a God they view as foreign.
Let's fast forward a few millenia. The Palestinians and Israeli's have been warring for centuries. Eventually, as we all know, Israel fell and disappeared from the map for awhile. In the 1940's it became an official country again, to the great joy of many Jew's and Christian's around the world. After all, the Scripture's promised a return to the Holy Land. Nowadays people on both sides are dying and no one has control over this land.
I have to question the validity of God's reasoning (and hope I am not smited). God created an entire planet. Why do his followers have to go to this set spot? Yes, I know that it says that this is where Jesus will return, but why? Why here? Why not somewhere like Wisconsin, where the most fighting is over who took the last beer?
Sure, I guess Jerusalem has a special significance. Of course it does. It's a huge religious marker (aka target) for not one, but
three major religions.
Still, I can't help but wonder what it would be like if God hadn't set aside a special place for his followers. If God had said "My son will return someday, in some place that I will not disclose so you can't fight over it", then the current problems in the Israeli-Pakistani region may not even exist. If God hadn't sent Moses and all the rest to Canaan, but rather some uninhabited patch of desert, how would things have changed? Sure, there'd still be problems, but they wouldn't be religiously driven (which I believe intensifies the hatred involved).
I don't know. It's hard to choose a right side of a war like this. Both cultures are beautiful and rich in history. Both have an amazing culture. Both have wonderful people who deserve good, happy lives. Neither deserves to be destroyed over a stupid plot of land.
I think people tend to look at the big picture too much sometimes ("Oh, it'll all be worth it in the end"). They forget that these are real people out there, living and dying by their hopes and beliefs.
What do you think?
Comments (1)
i really dont know