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IS THIS THE END? THE BIBLE AND THE MIDDLE EAST(OR ANOTHER EMBARRASSING CHICKEN LITTLE) III

What We Bring To The Table Of Interpretation

In previous articles we noted that Bible interpretation requires more than mere “spiritual” impressions. Often our impressions become simply an extension of our wishful thinking. I want the end to come now, therefore, I believe God “laid on my heart the fact that the wars in the Middle East signal the end.” “God even led me to some scriptures to substantiate this fact.” Our impressions make us feel good. It gives us chill bumps to know that Jesus may come tomorrow. When Jesus speaks to me, however, I don’t get chill bumps. I grow obstinate and bow up because he usually ask me to come out of my box, into the unknown, and do the sacrificial thing. Human nature balks at sacrifice. This feel good mentality reflects our post modern society which in essence, places feelings above reason. Self centeredness directs us toward our feelings and steers us away from a patient kind of rationality that whispers, “Wait on the Lord.” So, we need to understand how our disposition enters into our Bible interpretation.

Each of us comes to the table with a “world view.” Our world view tells us why things are the way they are. A uniformity exists among each Christian’s individual world view. Christians believe in a sinful fallen world. That’s how they interpret evil events. They also believe that Jesus came to redeem and save the fallen. Those who respond positively in faith to his sacrificial love and unmerited grace, find salvation. The Bible authors saw life through their own Middle Eastern world view. The New Testament writers lived in a world dominated by Rome, taxes, and a Greek pantheon. They suffered intense opposition to their new found faith. Many faced gruesome deaths. God speaks through our world view. That’s the beauty of his love. He enters our lives playing by his rules on our turf. When we sit down at the interpreter’s table it’s difficult to play with foreign rules on our field. Yet, we must recognize the situation and ask God to adjust our thinking.

Furthermore, within our world view we each possess premises. Christians part company at this point. The word “premise” literally means “to send before.” A premise or presupposition is what you believe about the Bible, the end times, and so forth before you ever study the matter on your own. Life’s experiences, our families, and our teachers shape our premises. For instance, a person can hear a great sermon on the end and let that message predetermine his understanding of the Bible. I read Hal Lindsay’s book The Late Great Planet Earth in 1975. I then saw the movie narrated by Orson Wells. No one had a more convincing voice than Orson Wells. He drove people to suicide with his 1938 radio broadcast of The War Of The Worlds. Lindsay keyed his dates concerning the end on Jesus’ words from Matthew 24 when he declared, “This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” (NRSV) Lindsay, a dispensationalist, (more on this later) also keyed in on Israel’s becoming a nation in 1948. He reasoned that a generation by Hebrew standards was 40 years. Any second grade math student can put the numbers together and find Lindsay’s proposed date for the end-1988. Well, 1988 came and went. In the mean time, Hal Lindsay said he miscalculated. So, he did some more math and came up with approximate dates (Book sales were down at this point) ranging from 1990 to whenever. In his book he determined that one tests the validity of a prophet by the out come of his prophecy. If a prophet prophesies and his words come true he is legitimate. On the other hand, if his words do not come to pass he is a false prophet. Lindsay failed his own litmus test. In 1975 I formed my premise about Bible prophecy from Hal Lindsay’s work. The logician of time disproved my premise. Peter held the ancient Hebrew premise that all Gentiles were unclean. Meanwhile, Cornelius, a captain in the Roman army, inquired into the Jewish faith. Jews called him a God fearer. He needed help with his inquiry. God tagged Peter for the job. Before Peter took the assignment, God gave him a vision that shot his premise down. (Story found in Acts Chapter 10)

Sound Bible interpretation requires that we ask God to help us lay all premises aside. We must look at the text as if we never heard anything about it before. Our task is simply to represent the Bible text, not our own feelings, convictions, and judgments.

Some may conclude, “What you propose can only happen through trained scholarship. Why, uneducated people have read and interpreted the Bible for centuries.” To be sure, I recognize this objection. The authority of the Protestant faith begins not with scholars, or bishops, as in Roman Catholicism, but with the Bible itself. The New Testament authors, however, addressed friends, and those acquainted with their world. They didn’t need a rocket scientist to interpret for them. As generations speed by, words lose their meaning. Pastors today recognize this problem and should help their parishioners learn to interpret for themselves. That’s why I write this series and that’s why I will continue in the next few weeks to offer principles and guidelines for interpreting the Bible.

JOHN MCCAIN, TROOP SURGE, AND PEACENIKS

John McCain certainly falls short of traditional conservative's expectations. Lately he invoked the class warfare rhetoric of the left. But, he remains consistent in his support for the war in Iraq. Recently the Boston Globe posted this concerning McCain's position:

John McCain asserted yesterday that last year's troop buildup in Iraq pulled the country back from the "abyss of defeat" and "opened the way for something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi." On the eve of the long-awaited appearance before Congress today of General David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, the presumptive Republican nominee also portrayed calls from his Democratic presidential rivals to withdraw US forces from Iraq as a "failure of leadership." Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars, McCain insisted that despite a recent outbreak of heavy fighting and a US death toll that has surpassed 4,000, pulling out now would jeopardize recent gains. "To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility," McCain said of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "It is a failure of leadership."

On the other hand Obama's position represents a major ideological shift introduced by Walter Cronkite's gaffe following the Tet offensive during the Vietnam war. Tet single handedly gave anti war activists fodder for their position and planted seeds of doubt concerning American interests and capabilities in relation to foreign affairs. Historian Victor Davis Hanson, however, posits a salient point when suggesting:

At the same time, this freedom to distort often can hamper the military operations of the moment, as Thucydides himself saw and Plato feared in The Republic--and as was the case with the Tet Offensive. Frankness and hysteria, in place of reasoned and positive assessment, may have prolonged America's agony in Vietnam and lost battles in the field, but they surely didn't endanger the war against communism. Had America been as closed a society as was Vietnam, then it might well have won the battle but lost the war, much like the Soviet Union, which imploded after its involvement in Afghanistan, a military intervention similar to America's in Vietnam in terms of tactical ineptitude, political denseness, and strategic imbecility, but a world apart in the Russians' denial of free criticism, public debate, and uncensored reporting about their error.

How odd that the institutions that can thwart the daily battle progress of Western arms can also ensure the ultimate triumph of its cause. If the Western commitment to self-critique contributed to the American defeat in Vietnam, then it also was paramount in the explosion of Western global influence in the decades after the war, even as the Vietnamese army fought for a regime increasingly despised at home, shunned abroad, and bankrupt economically and morally.

In the next few decades, it shall come to pass that Vietnam will resemble the West far more than the West Vietnam. The freedom to speak out, the titillating headline, the flashy expose, and the idea that a man in tie and suit, not one sporting sunglasses, epaulets, and a revolver, is the Commander in Chief are in the end more likely to win than lose wars, on and off the battlefield.

Hanson's observation implicitly raises hopes that despite the outcome in our minor wars and the strident tones emanating from the leftist peaceniks such as Obama, the American stamp of freedom will remain imprinted within the global soul. Perhaps this bit of wisdom reminds us that freedom's mission begins at home. All the more reason I choose not to elect left wing socialists who embrace class envy and forced collectivism, a concern which leaves us quizzically scratching our heads over John McCain. Yet, McCain's party affiliation, his defense of the war, and his age, address his philosophical backers, his tenacity, and his seasoned wisdom. Thus, in the end I will vote for him.

For a more detailed comparative look at the Iraqi and Vietnam wars go here and listen to Victor Davis Hanson's hour long lecture on the subject. Good stuff from a conservative historical point of view.

AL QAEDA INFILTRATORS LOOK WESTERN

That ought to scare the bejesus out of us all. James Gordon Meek of the Counter Terrorism Blog informs us:

CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden on Sunday made the most definitive statement to date about an emerging threat from Al Qaeda reported exclusively by the New York Daily News in December: The ever-creative top thugs of Osama Bin Laden’s terror network have succeeded in converting a group of white Europeans and has trained them in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

Here’s how Hayden described it to NBC News’ Tim Russert on “Meet the Press:”

“It’s very clear to us that Al Qaeda has been able, over the past 18 months or so, to establish a safe haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area that they have not enjoyed before, that they are bringing operatives into that region for training - operatives that, a phrase I would use, Tim, wouldn’t attract your attention if they were going through the Customs line at Dulles with you when you’re coming back from overseas,” Hayden said.

Asked by Russert if he meant terrorists who “look Western,” Hayden replied, “Look Western, who … would be able to come into this country with, again, without attracting the kind of attention that others might.”

In The News’ December report, my sources described a small group of white European converts who have raised fears among counterterrorism officials at the highest levels. I first began asking questions of U.S. counterterrorism officials after a December 2006 Newsweek article, in which a reporter described meeting one of the “English brothers” outside a Taliban safehouse on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Last month, Director of National Intelligence Adm. Michael McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee in written testimony: “We have seen an influx of new Western recruits into the tribal areas since mid-2006.”

Hayden yesterday also became one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials to state that Bin Laden himself is “not operationally involved” in his own terror network’s activities.

IRANIAN SMOKING GUN

Bill Roggio reports on more Iranian weapons caches seized in Iraq:

As the US and Iraqi Army battle the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army and the Special Groups terror cells in central and southern Iraq, the US military in Baghdad has released further information on Iranian-made weapons seized in Iraq. The US has seized numerous weapons caches in the past, with lot numbers and marking clearly linking them back to Iran. Iran has denied any involvement with sending weapons to Iraq, yet it has not explained how these Iranian-manufactured weapons are appearing inside Iraq.

The explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, is one of the signature weapon made by Iran and used by the Mahdi Army and the Special groups against US and Iraqi forces. The EFP warhead is formed when explosives are detonated behind a machined, metal concave disk. This forms a molten projectile slug that can penetrate the thickest of armor. Iranian made 107 mm rockets and various sizes of mortars are also seized inside Iraq on a regular basis.

The latest Iranian-made weapons cache was seized by US and Iraqi soldiers during a routine operation in Mahmudiyah on March 28. The soldiers found 15 EFPs, more than 100 EFP components, detonation cord, fuses, a bag of homemade explosives, hundreds of rounds, and Iraqi National Police uniforms and rifles.

Iran established the Ramazan Corps in western Iran to manage the covert war inside Iraq in early 2003. The Ramazan Corps is an arm of Qods Force, the special operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The Ramazan Corps is responsible for smuggling weapons and cash into the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups terror cells, as well as recruiting and training Iraqi operatives.

What to do what to do. The US first presented evidence of Iranian antagonism at the highest levels in February of 2007:

After weeks of internal debate, senior United States military officials today literally put on the table their first public evidence for the contentious assertion that Iran is supplying Shiite extremist groups in Iraq with deadly weaponry, including a roadside bomb that pierces American armor.

Because the elite Qods Force is involved, a senior military analyst said, the American intelligence community believes that the weapons shipments have been approved at “the highest levels of the Iranian government.” Still, no direct evidence was presented of how the intelligence community has made that link.

I wonder when the US might consider more than a wrist-slap in holding Iran responsible for American casualties.

AL-QAEDA'S BACK IN TOWN

And according to Omar from Iraq The Model they're endorsing a new sponsor; an old foe-Libya.

After Iran, Syria and others it's now Libya's turn to sponsor terrorism in Iraq. The news popped up for a second then it vanished; Gaddafi's son is accused by senior awakening officials in Anbar of funding and sending a group of foreign terrorists to Iraq. This particular group, awakening leaders believe, was responsible for the explosives cache that caused the devastating explosion in Mosul last week.

IT'S GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

Like the old Paul McCartney song suggests, "It's getting better all the time" in Iraq. Of course we knew this because the Dems. ceased harping on the matter. Bill Roggio grafts the numbers.

This good news also led to a massive military budget passed by the Senate. Problem is the budget contains $555 million in earmarks. Well, you win some and lose some. Only tax payers stand to lose the most with this mammoth deal. Somebody please tell me, where have all the conservatives gone?

MAD JACK IS STILL MAD JACK

Mad Jack Murtha clarified his optimism with this typical mad Jack pessimism:

War critic Rep. John Murtha on Friday clarified an earlier statement that seemingly expressed optimism about President Bush's plan that increased troops in Iraq. Murtha emphasized that he still thinks the war should end.

After making a trip to Iraq last week, Murtha, D-Pa., told reporters Thursday, "I think the surge is working." But he said that was just one element and the United States was still failing diplomatically in the country.

Republicans pounced on the surge comment as evidence that Bush's plan, implemented earlier this year, has been effective.

On Friday, Murtha issued a statement saying he still does not think the war can be won militarily.

"The military surge has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government," Murtha said Friday. "Unfortunately, the sacrifice of our troops has not been met by the Iraqi government and they have failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide."

Sometimes Dems must simply work hard at being unhappy.

A SURGE IN THE WORKS FOR AFGHANISTAN?

Commandant Gen. James Conway needs reinforcements to fight the Taliban in Aghanistan, but pundits say Conway may lose this one.

Go Comics

BIN LADEN ONE TOUGH HOMBRE

...according to Scrappleface's tongue-in-cheek humor.