Israel Offering Evangelicals (Pat Robertson) Chunk Of Holy Land.

[KittyWampus]

Galilee biblical park on tap?

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is offering evangelical Christians a chunk of the Holy Land.

Thirty-five acres of rolling hills and rocky shores of the Sea of Galilee, tucked between key sites in Jesus' ministry, would be leased to an association of evangelists led by American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Israeli tourism officials say. The potential deal for turning over biblical lands to develop a tourist destination underlines how ties have strengthened in recent years between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state.

For other Christian denominations, which represent tens of thousands of Arabs living in the Holy Land, the deal raises questions about possible threats to the sensitive status quo in the Galilee region where they have owned land for hundreds of years. The land envisioned for the lease also is near a politically contentious area. It lies just under two miles from territory that Syria wants returned in any future peace deal with Israel, said a Syrian expert on geography, Hamed Halaby.

Israel says evangelical leaders have agreed to raise $50 million to build a Heritage Center on the site, hoping to attract tens of thousands of religious pilgrims a year. Robertson said in a statement that he was "fully cooperating" with the project but no deal had been formalized. He added that he is thrilled "there will be a place in the Galilee where evangelical Christians from all over the world can come to celebrate the actual place where Jesus Christ lived and taught."

Israeli Tourism Minister Avraham Hirschson said he expects a contract to be signed soon. "There is no central place today in Israel for the evangelical Christians," Hirschson said. "Here they will be able to re-enact what happened." Israel is considering leasing the land for free, said Ari Marom, director of the ministry's North American department.

snip

The park area is on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee northeast of Capernaum, a favorite site for pilgrims because the New Testament calls it Jesus' "own city" (Matthew 9:1) and they can view the foundation of a synagogue where he preached (Mark 1:21). Under the plan, the Christians would build a broadcast center from which to evangelize, an open-air chapel and an auditorium for re-enacting Jesus' journeys in the area, a Tourism Ministry brochure says.

snip

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2006-01-01-bible-park_x.htm

[xchrom]

1. that bastard, pat robertson, desecrating holy land.

[Charlie Brown]

and the Palestinians still do not have their own state

It's interesting that Robertson can strike a deal to have jurisdiction over a part of Israel (that he has absolutely no claim to), while the indigenous inhabitants must remain surrogate residents.

[still_one]

5. it is a lease, they are NOT giving anything to them

That is NOT to say that the Palestinians do not deserve their own state, but just wanted to clarify the distinction

[Charlie Brown]

17. "Israel is considering leasing the land for free"

If Robertson is not paying Israel anything, it sounds like a gift to me.

[still_one]

28. then that is NOT right

[Wilms]

2. A theme park for Christ?

For Christ's sake, what took so long. :shrug:

(No wonder they hate Disney.)

[Boudicea]

3. I think Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker

actually built a christian theme park years ago. I had a crazy aunt that sent them bookoo bucks.

[Wilms]

22. Here's some history on Heritage USA.

http://sbno.illicitohio.com/heritage/thestory.html

[Initech]

4. Good idea, but shouldnt they give land to CHRISTIANS first?

I dont think Pat Robertson qualifies.

[still_one]

7. they are NOT giving any land, only leasing it

[xchrom]

26. for FREE

[Charlie Brown]

20. I do wonder if the local Orthodox and Assyrian Churches were consulted

or if they will simply be brushed under the rug, so as not to confuse the "true believers" with their satanic rites and rituals.

[knitter4democracy]

30. I doubt it.

I'll bet His eminence, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, is pretty ticked off. This is disgusting.

[Nikki Stone 1]

33. People forget that many Palestians are Christians

:kick:

[MADem]

6. That's the way to do it! Lease 'em the future demilatarized zone!

Put 'em smack DAB in the BUFFER!!!! This brings a brand new dimension to the term "Human Shields!"

Get the money UP FRONT, lads!!!

The land envisioned for the lease also is near a politically contentious area. It lies just under two miles from territory that Syria wants returned in any future peace deal with Israel, said a Syrian expert on geography, Hamed Halaby.

[DBoon]

11. and make sure they travel

with one way tickets

[MADem]

13. Give TSA something to do! n/t

[MADem]

14. Give TSA something to do! n/t

[Ian David]

8. I'm all in favor of putting Pat Robertson and pals in the line of fire

They really do want to trigger The Apocalypse after all.

[waiting for hope]

12. That was my thought....

Don't they have to take over the Temple Mount to do that?

[napi21]

9. Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, but I'd like to see

Robertson, Falwell, and all the other TV pretenders move to Israel. If they want to live in a theme park, fine! Let Israel deal with them!

[democracyindanger]

10. Idiots.

Let's see how happy they are with their new tenants once the Jews for Jesus nutballs start turning up.

[Ian David]

15. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: Bush's Armageddon Obsession, Revisited

CounterPunch
January 4, 2003

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

Bush's Armageddon Obsession, Revisited

by MICHAEL ORTIZ HILL

"We are lived by forces we scarcely understand," wrote W.H. Auden. What forces live us now as America again torques toward war?

George W. Bush is certainly the plaything of such forces as the geopolitics of oil but it seems that he is susceptible to other even darker archetypal concerns. Let me be blunt. The man is delusional and the shape of his delusion is specifically apocalyptic in belief and intent. That Bush would attack so many vital systems on so many fronts from foreign policy to the environment may seem confusing from the point of view of realpolitik but becomes transparent in terms of the apocalyptic worldview to which he subscribes. All systems are supposed to go down so the Messiah can come and Bush, seemingly, has taken on the role of the one who brings this to pass.

The Reverend Billy Graham taught Bush to live in anticipation of the Second Coming but it was his friendship with Dr. Tony Evans that shaped Bush's political understanding of how to deport himself in an apocalyptic era. Dr. Evans, the pastor of a large Dallas church and a founder of the Promise Keepers movement taught Bush about "how the world should be seen from a divine viewpoint," according to Dr. Martin Hawkins, Evans assistant pastor.

S.R. Shearer of Antipas Ministries writes, "Most of the leaders of the Promise Keepers embrace a doctrine of 'end time' (eschatology), known as 'dominionim.' Dominionism pictures the seizure of earthly (temporal) power by the 'people of God' as the only means through which the world can be rescued.... It is the eschatology that Bush has imbibed; an eschatology through which he has gradually (and easily) come to see himself as an agent of God who has been called by him to 'restore the earth to God's control', a 'chosen vessel', so to speak, to bring in the Restoration of All Things." Shearer calls this delusion, "Messianic leadership"-- that is to say usurping the role usually ascribed to the Messiah.

<snip>

In dominionism we can see the theological source of Bush's monomania. Not to be distracted by the fact that he lost the popular election by a half a million votes, that the Joint Chief of Staff at the Pentagon were so concerned about his plans to invade Iraq that they leaked their unanimous objection, that he has systematically alienated much of the world, that roughly seventy percent of Americans remain unconvinced of the imminent threat of Saddam Hussein and the same percentage object to war if there will be significant American casualties--none of this is in the least relevant. He believes his mandate toward action is from God.


More:
http://www.gainesvillehumanists.org/apocalypse.htm

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. I believe the design of the heritage center will look something like this

[Ian David]

18. The Covert Kingdom: Thy Will be Done, On Earth as It is in Texas

<snip>

Now however, this apocalyptic belief, yearning really, drives an American Christian polity in the service of a grave and unnerving agenda. The psuedo-scriptural has become an apocalyptic game plan for earthly political action: To wit, the messiah can only return to earth after an apocalypse in Israel called Armageddon, which the fundamentalists are promoting with all their power so that The Rapture can take place. The first requirement was establishment of the state of Israel. Done. The next is Israel's occupation of the Middle East as a return of its "Biblical lands," which in the radical Christian scheme of things, means more wars. These Christian conservatives believe peace cannot ever lead to The Rapture, and indeed impedes the 1,000 year Reign of Christ. So anyone promoting peace is an enemy, a tool of Satan, hence the fundamentalist support for any and all wars Middle Eastern, in which their own kids die a death often viewed by Christian parents as a holy martyrdom of its own kind. "He (or she) died protecting this country's Christian values." One hears it over and over from parents of those killed.

The final scenario of The Rapture has the "saved" Christians settling onto a cloud after the long float upward, from whence they watch a Rambo Jesus wipe out the remnants of the human race. Then in a mop-up operation by God, the Jews are also annihilated, excepting a few who convert to Christianity. The Messiah returns to earth. End of story. Incidentally, the Muslim version, I was surprised to learn recently, is almost exactly the same, but with Muslims doing the cloud-sitting.

If we are lucky as a nation, this period in American history will be remembered as just another very dark time we managed to get through. Otherwise, one shudders to think of the logical outcome. No wonder the left is depressed. Meanwhile, our best thinkers on the left ask us to consider our perpetual U.S. imperial war as a fascist, military/corporate war, and indeed it is that too. But tens of millions of hardworking, earnest American Christians see it as far more than that. They see a war against all that is un-Biblical, the goal of which is complete world conquest, or put in Christian terminology, "dominion." They will have no less than the "inevitable victory God has promised his new chosen people," according to the Recon masters of the covert kingdom. Screw the Jews, they blew their chance. If perpetual war is what it will take, then let it be perpetual. After all, perpetual war is exactly what the Bible promised. Like it or not, this is the reality (or prevailing unreality) with which we are faced. The 2004 elections, regardless of outcome, will not change that. Nor will it necessarily bring ever-tolerant liberals to openly acknowledge what is truly happening in this country, the thing that has been building for a long, long time---a holy war, a covert Christian jihad for control of America and the entire world. Millions of Americans are under the spell of an extraordinarily dangerous mass psychosis.


Pardon me, but religious tolerance be damned. Somebody had to say it.

More:
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/BageantTheCovertKingdom.html

[Ian David]

25. Evangelicals tell Jews support for Israel condtional- behave OR ELSE!

Evangelicals tell Jews support for Israel condtional- behave OR ELSE! by

ADL Urges Joint Effort Against Right
Blasts Campaign To 'Christianize' American Life
By E.J. KESSLER
November 11, 2005

<snip>

Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family's vice president of government and public policy, called Foxman's speech "perplexing." Noting that the evangelical groups Foxman cited are staunch supporters of Israel, Minnery told the Forward, "If you keep bullying your friends, pretty soon you won't have any." He suggested that Foxman is prone to exaggeration. With his effort against "The Passion," Foxman "predicted the sky would fall, and the sky has not fallen," Minnery said.

Minnery also defended his group's domestic agenda as being compatible with civil liberties for Jews and others. "To the extent that America remains Christian, it remains free for non-Christian belief to flourish," he said. "You don't see that in other parts of the world."

<snip>

In his speech, Foxman cited a new poll commissioned by the ADL as evidence that the Christian groups were intent on imposing what he called "the tyranny of the majority." According to the survey, which will be released next week, almost 64% of Americans think religion is under attack (57% think Christianity is being assaulted) and 56% think creationism should be taught in schools. In addition, 64% think religious symbols such as the Ten Commandments should be displayed in public buildings, and almost half think the courts have gone too far in removing religion from American life. Those numbers rise steeply for those who attend church once a week or who describe themselves as evangelicals.

"If 60% think religion is under attack, who do they think is attacking them? Hollywood, the media and the ACLU? And who is behind those three institutions? The Jews, right?" Foxman told reporters after the speech.

<snip>

In a speech last week at the ADL's national conference in New York, Abraham Foxman blasted several conservative organizations, including Focus on the Family, The American Family Association and the Family Research Council. He declared that such groups "had built infrastructures throughout the country... intend to 'Christianize' all aspects of American life, from the halls of government to the libraries, to the movies, to recording studios, to the playing fields and locker rooms of professional, collegiate and amateur sports, from the military to SpongeBob SquarePants."

<snip>

With reporting by Marc Perelman.

More:
http://www.forward.com/articles/6856

[Vinnie From Indy]

19. I wonder what the rides will be called.

The "Passion of the Christ" Log Flume ride. They can sell foam rubber crowns of thorns for the kids and sponges flavored with fruit flavors instead of vinegar. On the midway they could shoot nail guns to pop balloons affixed to crosses. For the adults they can have the "Water in to Wine Saloon".

[KamaAina]

24. In the gift shop: "Shoes of the Fisherman Jogging Shoes"

There was a time when Imus was actually funny, way back when he was on local NYC radio, and he -- or rather, the "Rev. Billy Sol Hargus" -- came up with that one.

All together now:

I don't care if it rains or freezes,
'Long as I got my plastic Jesus,
ridin' on the dashboard of my car...
I can go a hundred miles an hour,
'Long as I got the Almighty Power
glued up there by my pair of fuzzy di-i-ice!

[xchrom]

27. jesurtainment.

[politicaholic]

21. Oh my! I bet the Vatican has something to say about that...

Oh, I can't wait to see how the evangelicals screw this one up. I'm tempted to plan a vacation there just to see the abomination they're destined to build on that site...and I'm an Atheist!

The lights, the stage shows, the capitalism, the sheer twisting of history will be embarrassingly hilarious. I can't wait to see the plans!

[billybob537]

23. Just a little hint

evangelicals don't advocate murder!

[xchrom]

31. have you been paying attention to pat robertson?

calling for the assasination of venezuela's president?
that's among calls for other violent acts.

[Jacobin]

37. Hmm

I bit of an overbroad statement, no?

Bush is an evangelical and he's murdered tens of thousands

[DanCa]

29. Why wont anyone picket Pat Roberston?

Imagine the trolls face if 70,ooo plus DU'ers showed up on the jag off's door step angry and in mass? That's the only why to shut these freaks down we have to start standing up to them.

[Nikki Stone 1]

32. Why would Israel lease Pat Robertson land for FREE?

Unless he's a major political player behind the scenes for Israel and this a payoff...

:tinfoilhat:

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. Exactly - Robertson is rolling in cash

he should be made to pay as much as possible for his money-making schemes. It's not as if he'll be able to take his plan elsewhere (I assume the Israelis would be able to stop him doing a deal with the Palestinian Authority over, say, land in/near Bethlehem).

[KittyWampus]

36. too bad we can't link him to Abramoff

[cantstandbush]

34. This ouught to get God good and angry. If it's the same God as in the OT

I feel sorry for Israel and Pat if he accepts.