| | Yesterday Mom casually informed us over lunch that she's going to Israel next year.
Israel.
Turns out she'd put down a deposit for the trip nearly four months ago, and is just now telling us. And yes, I do have some objections on the matter. Our financial situation is in no ways permitting us to run off to the other side of the world...and secondly...it's Israel. You know, the place that is in no ways very peaceful at this point in time? Yeah, that.
I've heard a lot of Christians arguing about why one should go to Israel. "Don't you trust God?" they demand. "He won't let you get hurt!"
I'm sorry. Where's the Bible say that God will protect us from all harm, even if we throw ourselves into it? It's like what was said to Jesus in the wilderness--"If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
โ He shall give His angels charge over you,โ
and,
โ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone."
So, figuratively speaking, are we supposed to be jumping off cliffs and expecting God to catch us?
"Well," others argue, "If you die, it's for a good cause! And you'll be going to Heaven!"
Rubbish. Let's say someone runs off to a war-torn country and gets themselves killed. What about the children left behind, now orphaned? Are they unimportant? And frankly, if I was to die, I'd like to die for a cause more important than a sight-seeing trip.
It's annoying to see people who view Israel as a Mecca, a place to make our holy pilgrimage to and somehow become more spiritual through seeing old sights. Aren't we blessed if we believe without seeing? Will the stones of two thousand years ago teach us some new insight?
Rant over. Now... I don't think wanting to visit Israel is any bad thing. I'd like to myself. But practicality outweighs such desires in the matter, I think. And the arguments some people present are so frustrating and unbiblical that it turns my stomach. Hence the above rant. 
That said, we convinced her to not go. She's too dear to me to just sit back submissively while she goes into a place where people are dying every day. The pleasure of the trip is not worth the risks presented.
I don't like Mondays.
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| | Posted 9/18/2006 6:14 PM - 5 comments
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Mind sending me your new address? (Untamed_shrew@msn.com)
