tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post330797426078086242..comments2023-11-05T22:12:50.570+11:00Comments on Daphne Anson: Methodically Maligning Israel – Leaders of Britain’s Methodist ChurchDaphne Ansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12297188759548931101noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-84726699346768685852011-03-11T22:37:13.762+11:002011-03-11T22:37:13.762+11:00Oh, and here's the latest trope on the Connexi...Oh, and here's the latest trope on the Connexions thread by the preacher to whom I refer in my first comment on this thread. He uses the "A" word of Israel and he links 9/11 to the Israel/Arab dispute. His post illustrates what bigotry and ignorance abound even among presumably well-educated men of the cloth:<br />'Zack, if you knew anything about the agenda of the New Atheists you would know that it was just after 9/11 that their tyres really began to grip the road. That is, it is religious violence that gives their project prima facie public credibility - including the ongoing violence in Israel/Palestine. And not Islamic terrorism alone, nor Islamic terrorism itself reductively and inanely explained as “they hate our freedoms”. In fact, in one of the more significant and sophisticated analyses of contemporary religious violence, Terror in the Mind of God, Mark Juergensmeyer cogently argues that it is the failure of nations like the US - but not only the US - to confront injustices in the Middle East that fuels Islamic extremism - injustices, I would add, in the oil-rich Arab world, absolutely - full of bastards, but bastards that oil the US’s geopolitical and economic interests - but also in Israel, in its apartheid strangulation of the Palestinian people.<br />The point being that it is not my so-called irrationalism but, in part, Israeli abuses of human rights, violations of UN resolutions, etc. - and apologists for them like yourself - that make the arguments of Dawkins , Harris, and Hitchens look plausible.'Daphne Ansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12297188759548931101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-57146736847975001312011-03-10T20:14:03.098+11:002011-03-10T20:14:03.098+11:00Incidentally, the ladies appear to have removed pr...Incidentally, the ladies appear to have removed pro-Israel comments from their posts - I believe one was by "Offended Jew".Daphne Ansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12297188759548931101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-18812046979768014512011-03-10T19:49:34.850+11:002011-03-10T19:49:34.850+11:00Thank you, gentlemen.
Richard, I think David can b...Thank you, gentlemen.<br />Richard, I think David can be forgiven for his view since the visit does seem to have taken place with the aim of solidifying the Church's anti-Israel stance that led it to vote to boycott Israel, not a full boycott granted, but a full boycott is certainly what some Methodists wish to see. By selecting which token Jews to meet in Israel the two ladies failed signally to discover mainstream Israeli opinion. The whiff of replacement theology is also very much in the air, with the influence of Sabeel. <br />Thanks for the clarification, Ian. It does seem from available statistics that the Methodists are losing members - I blogged about this in a very early post.Daphne Ansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12297188759548931101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-77707885620846154442011-03-10T12:36:40.900+11:002011-03-10T12:36:40.900+11:00For the record, I am no longer a Methodist Local P...For the record, I am no longer a Methodist Local Preacher. I recently resigned for a whole parcel of reasons; some personal, some theological, some local, some matters of circumstance and some because Methodism seems determined to commit suicide. The system is designed to frustrate anyone trying to build the Kingdom and its current anti-semitism has led me to conclude that 'the glory has departed'. I have seen a church disappear once 'Ichabod' has been pronounced. It can take a while but I think that Methodism is doomed to become a memory. I could be wrong, but the level of repentance requires a systemic and systematic change. There are still many good people in the denomination and many good works being done, but overall it is over.Ian Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-9335674771771720162011-03-10T10:53:52.633+11:002011-03-10T10:53:52.633+11:00I'm surprised you think I was attacking David....I'm surprised you think I was attacking David. What he wrote in his post was quite specific: that our Presidential visit to Israel was "intended to generate yet more anti-Jewish sentiment within the Connexion". I raised it with him on his blog first: I was sure that he didn't mean quite what he has said. But apparently I was wrong. He really does seem to think that this visit was organized with the aim of increasing anti-semitism within the Methodist Church. Frankly, that's absurd.Richard Hallhttp://theconnexion.net/wp/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-59642074878194483532011-03-10T08:51:41.210+11:002011-03-10T08:51:41.210+11:00Thank you DaphneThank you DaphneDavidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05295136895729093238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971541537715440752.post-58049185446119140272011-03-10T06:43:35.630+11:002011-03-10T06:43:35.630+11:00btw, on the connexions blog that I refer to in thi...btw, on the connexions blog that I refer to in this blogpost, a commenter (who I believe is a Methodist minister) writes:<br /><br /><br />Whoosh! Richard posts at 16:19, Matt checks in at 16:26, and Avraham arrives 15 minutes later (long time no see). Man, even this tinpot version of the Israeli propaganda machine (euphemistically called hasbara [explanation]) is incredibly swift to respond to anything that doesn’t square with its doctine of inerrancy. “Palestine” is a fiction, critics are anti-Semites, blah, blah, blah. You will build your settlements here for a while, torch the truth, scorch the earth, and then, eventually, in exhaustion or exhilaration, move on. And then lemon trees will grow again at Connexions.<br /><br />He's made comments like that before, on an earlier Connexions thread on which pro-Israeis arrived.Daphne Ansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12297188759548931101noreply@blogger.com