ISRAEL UPDATENovember 14, 2004 - As this article is written, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat lies in a French medical facility clinging to life by a thread.
As soon as he passes, be prepared for the flood of kind words and positive reviews of his life and his actions.
The Egyptian born leader of the poor, oppressed Palestinians has tucked away more than $1 billion in his personal accounts, while his people languish in abject poverty.
Mr. Arafat has continually challenged the Palestinian people to give up their children to martyrdom for the cause - while his wife and daughter abide in the safety of faraway Paris.
The past eleven years of the Oslo Accord has proven that his signature on paper means nothing. . . and that his words have only been inflammatory in nature.
Both the Israeli and the Palestinian economies have suffered for over four years, as Arafat has kept both sides shooting and dodging bullets, all in the name of nationalism.
It has been said of Adolph Hitler that had he not started World War 2, he would have been called “Hitler the Great.”
At least Hitler revived an economy in severe distress, but Mr. Arafat cannot even make that claim. However, in every other way, he has patterned his life after his idol - no one has been responsible for the death of as many Jews since World War 2. Again, at his passing, you will not hear anything critical, only how much good he has done…
November 14, 2004 – Poor Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. . . as they penned the accounts of the life of Christ, they did not have access to modern liberal theology and cynicism, called “scholarship.”
Since there appears to be an 18 year gap in the life of Christ, these “enlightened ones” have attempted to fill in the time by saying Jesus was sitting at the feet of a guru, or some other spiritual leader.
We find Jesus at the Jordan River ready to be immersed by John the Baptist. When John hesitated, Jesus replied it was necessary to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Matthew 3:13-15
If Jesus had not been attentive to following all that was required of Him in the period entering manhood, He could not have made that statement.
This is affirmed in Luke 4:16-17, when He stands to read during the service in the synagogue. Again, this act was afforded only to those met the criteria of study and completion of specific requirements.
While the writers of the Gospels did not have the skeptical, cynical, feeble thought process that is called liberal theology, they did have firsthand experience and the illumination of the Holy Spirit
If we are to read the scriptures from a humble standpoint, asking G-d to enlighten us, then they will be made clear and we can learn of the Master. Only then can we work to emulate him, rather than using the skeptical, cynical approach that will only darken our eyes and harden our hearts.
To be continued…