Fish Symbol and Driving

Dear Editor:

This is a revision of a letter just sent to you. It is the same except I have added a "PS" for the benefit of White County Christians who may be "weak in faith" (a technical term from Romans 14) and who may be disturbed by the thought of Jesus having himself broken the law.

We have it on the authority of the Rev. John Hagee that “bible-believing Christians” will support the state of Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians. I beg to differ with him.

We know early in Genesis (3:22) that humans are equal to God in the knowledge of what is good and evil, of what is fair and just. And we also know that while the West is obligated to the Jews, it is unjust to make the Palestinians pay this debt. Finally we know from John 5 (where Jesus breaks one of the Ten Commandments in order to do a good act) that the Christian is expected to do what is good and fair and just and loving, and regardless of any authority’s interpretation of scripture to the contrary. Consequently, and in opposition to Rev. Hagee’s assertion, the bible-believing Christian is actually required to approach the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians with an open mind and with an eye to what is good and fair and just for both parties.

Now it may be difficult to discern what is perfectly good and just in this conflict, but it seems to me at this juncture that the Palestinians would be entitled to all of the West Bank and not just most of it; and that they would also be entitled to a meaningful portion of Jerusalem. And it seems further that both the Israelis and the Palestinians would be entitled to the viable support of the West for security within their respective borders.

The following post script was not included at my request.

Post Script. For the benefit of Christians who are disturbed by the suggestion that Jesus was a law breaker, it is reassuring to keep in mind that for Jesus there was only one law (one source of all legitimate law, including even such as traffic laws), namely the law of neighborly love. It is easy to believe that the old law was a gift of God to the Jews, to keep them united during turmoil and to serve as a spring board for the revolutionary religion of Jesus with his single rule of conduct (love of neighbor and where all people are neighbors). No longer are "experts" needed, for this rule so simple that even children comprehend its spirit in their earliest complaints of "that's not fair". Paul underscores this liberation in Romans 13:8-10. There is only a single guide for the Christian conscience and it is the law of love. It is by means of this guide that Christians have often stood up to injustice on the part of the state or of the church.

Sincerely,

Philip McPherson Rudisill