John R. Houk
© September 15, 2014
Senator Ted Cruz was the keynote speaker at the In Defense of Christians (IDC) summit held in Washington DC on September 10 of 2014. The IDC summit was a bit historical due to the attendance of some Eastern Rite clergy leaders that do not always see eye to eye on matters of theology. In order to make a long story summarized Senator Cruz not only stood with the solidarity for the plight of Christian genocide executed by ISIS but made a stand for Israel as a friend for Christians in the Middle East. This didn’t go over so well with the Eastern Rite Christians visiting the summit away from their homelands in the Middle East.
So at this point it might be a good idea to look at the IDC Awareness and Advocacy page to see what they are about:
Awareness and advocacy are the two fundamental components of IDC’s work. Awareness is broadly focused on bringing attention in the United States and the western world to the plight of the ancient Christian communities of the Middle East. Advocacy is narrowly focused on the U.S. foreign policy community, influencing policymakers to promote values abroad that are consistent with the universal human rights of religion and conscience.
These values are not exclusively Christian, nor does IDC seek only to protect the human rights of Christians, but all religious groups. These rights are universal, applicable to all human persons. In this sense, “Christian” refers not only those who confess the Christian faith, but also Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha’i, and even the freedom to confess no religious belief at all.
IDC believes that America’s foreign policy apparatus, especially the State Department, too often projects indifference on the question of persecuted religious minorities in the region, especially Christians – a policy that only invites further violence. In some instances, the U.S. government even provides significant foreign aid to regimes that persecute Christians, as with Pakistan and now Egypt. With a vigorous and sustained public awareness and advocacy campaign, IDC believes this can change.
So to be clear, the IDC peers through the eyes of a diverse Christian perspective that is inclusive of the civil rights of other religious faiths. As one of those kind-of-guys that Christ is the only way to God I may have a bit of a problem of the inclusiveness of other faiths, especially Islam. I don’t have a problem with diversity within Christianity as long as long as those diverse sects, Denominations and Rites follow the basics of Christian faith, viz. Jesus was crucified, died on the Cross, was in the grave for three day and arose in Resurrection to Redeem humanity from this wicked world. As well as include that Jesus Christ is the one and only (First Begotten) Son of God and devoted to the mystery of the Trilogy – Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons consisted simultaneously in ONE God. All the other theological mumbo jumbo – in my humble opinion – will not affect one’s Salvation.
On the other hand it is a righteous thing to defend the civil rights of a persecuted people. If Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha’is or other religious people are being singled out for violence and/or extermination; it is a Christian godly move to denounce the persecutors for heinous acts. Nevertheless I am suspicious of Christians that water down their faith to be inclusive rather than respectful of religious faiths.
And just for clarity’s sake I nearly always give a pass to Jews that are suspicious and critical Christian motives. Jews have been the recipients of heinous persecution for thousands of years. NONETHELESS, I refuse to denounce Jews or Judaism for its insularism or it dislike for outsiders for one primary reason: Salvation is of the Jews.
I realize this is a reprehensible thought among Jews but I believe Jesus Christ is as much the Messiah to Jews as he is to non-Jews. I believe it was a part of the God’s plan for the Redemption of all humanity through Jesus who was born as a sinless man to provide the remittance price that brings humanity back to God Almighty. I believe because of the Abrahamic Covenant Jesus the Messiah was born a Jew and ministered the Good News of His coming to the Jews because as the Apostle Paul says, “To the Jews first and then the Gentiles.”
From the Christian perspective here is a summary that fits my belief that Israel is a Promise of God to the Jews and eventually the Jews will recognize Christ as their Messiah:
From the first human beings God created and placed in the Garden of Eden, to the very last person born on this earth, our gracious God has offered salvation to sinners on the basis of faith in the promised “seed,” Jesus Christ. Before Messiah’s birth, Old Testament saints admitted their sin and trusted in the “seed” who was to come, and they were saved. Adam and Eve were given the promise of deliverance through their “seed” (Genesis 3:15), and they believed (see Genesis 4:25-26). So it was with Abraham as well:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.” And Abram said, “O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:1-6).
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:54-58). THE ENTIRE ESSAY IS ILLUMINATING – READ IT (The Promised Seed: The Source of Blessing in God's Perfect Plan; By Bob Deffinbaugh; Bible.org; 5/17/04)
So I am a Jesus-is-the-only-way kind of guy and all the Promises to the Jews from God are still effective and one day the Jews as a religious people will recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah. I will never condemn Jews with idiotic conspiracy theories and the Promise of Land is a restoration miracle that shows the time of Jesus Christ’s return is closer in time than any other time in history.
Now in affirming my faith in Christ and God’s Promises to the Jews I do get a bit disturbed when I read of Christians that are antisemitic. AND I am disturbed that there are still Christians out there that place blame on Jews for crucifying Christ. This is idiotic considering Christ’s death, burial and Resurrection is what brings Salvation to those who believe in the Redemptive act of the Lord Jesus Christ. How moronic is it to hate Jews or Roman Gentiles for that matter for killing Christ when the Lord’s death was a necessary sacrifice to transfer humanity out of the dominion of Satan and into the Kingdom of the Father’s dear Son?
Since the days of Islamic conquest of the Christian lands of the Middle East that were formerly a part of the Christian Roman Empire, Muslim brutality slowly shrank the Christian majority making the faithful a minority in their own land. Even in seasons of tolerance Christians and Jews were required to submit to the rules of Islam. This meant an absolute acceptance of Islamic Supremacist Sharia Law. Part of Sharia was to enforce rules regarding non-Muslims living under Islamic rule. This meant the rules which can be anglicized as dhimmitude based and later expanded upon the so-called Pact of Umar:
The so-called "pact of Umar" is of uncertain authorship and exists in various versions. It is a document that regulates the behavior of Christians and Jews in Muslim lands, Supposedly, it was supposedly originally given by the Caliph Umar ibn al Khatib as a treaty to the patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronias. but in actual fact it is a reflection of customs that had evolved in the lands conquered by the Muslims under Umar bin Aziz and later caliphs. The document illustrates the position of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and some others in Muslim society: they were "protected," provided that they "knew their place."
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However, though it is probable that the document itself is an impostor, like the forged "Donation of Constantine," it is important because it was accepted as genuine. It was used as the basis and justification for enforcing the "Dhimmi laws." These supposedly guaranteed fair treatment of non-Muslims, actually guaranteed that they would always be singled out in society as second class citizens, and were an invitation to persecution by unscrupulous rulers. The creation of this pact myth allowed rulers to claim that Jews and Christians had "violated the pact" if they dared to dress like Muslims or speak like Muslims, or worship too close to Muslims or violate any other provision of the "pact." It was also used to justify suppression of Synagogues and Churches that were built or renovated after the Muslim conquest. Whenever Muslim rulers clamped down on non-Muslims and whenever anti-Semites and anti-Christian elements wanted to raise the ire of the masses against the non-Muslims, they referred to this "pact." For example, the 1354 Decree against the Dhimmi of Al Malik al Salih refers specifically to the pact of Umar and must have had in mind a document similar to the one below, since it mentions wearing of the Zunar and other provisions that noted in this document.
A different and more lenient version of the pact is given as the Covenant of Umar. That version is more specific in its assertion that the pact was given in Jerusalem and really reads as though it was given by Umar to the Jews and Christians of Jerusalem. However, that is not the pact that was referred to in later restatements of the Dhimmi laws.
… READ ENTIRETY to view the pact (Broken, useless & hijacked links removed - The pact of Umar – 800? Intro by Ami Isseroff; Zionism-Israel.com; 1/9/10)
Now I realized I utilized a lot of page space on this Pact of Umar but I want readers to understand that once Christians were conquered by Muslim armies they did not have a quaint existence as a vanquished people. Indeed many Eastern Rite Christians initially welcomed Muslim conquest due to the theological differences from the then ruling Byzantines who had made the Eastern Orthodox of the Greek Eastern rite the State Church.
I thought about trying to list the Eastern Rite Churches that separate from the Greek-Eastern Orthodox Rite but I have discovered that may be a bit daunting since after Muslim conquest these Churches have continued to evolve theologically with on and off again unions and disunions amongst themselves which included some associations with the Roman Catholic rite along the way right up to the present day.
As far as Islam goes and current events the various Assyrian Churches of present day Iraq and Syria is one region, the Lebanese Maronite Church and the Coptic Church which represents 10% of the Egyptian population have been making the news of Muslim persecution lately. Pakistan’s Christian minority has also been affected by Muslim persecution as well but have not made the news much in the USA.
The IDC Summit that took place in Washington DC was concerned largely of the persecution and genocide taking place under ISIS controlled portions of Iraq and Syria. If you want to sort out some these Eastern Rite churches affected on your own you can wade through the Wikipedia articles I found here:
The sad thing of all these Churches is that they have lived under the second class status of effective dhimmitude being a people subject to the same propaganda the Muslim majority has received. That propaganda especially since the rise of Islamic reform movements pointing back to the days of purist Islam and the glory days of Muslim domination under Islamic Conquests and the Ottoman Turks at the end of WWI. Mustapha Kemal decided to save everything Turkish by reasserting what was left of the Ottoman domains by establishing the Republic of Turkey abolishing the Ottoman Sultanate and the last Caliphate. Mustapha Kemal changed his Ottoman name to Ataturk to finish this Turkishfication resulted in the Armenian Christian genocide to get rid of the large Armenian minority. Also relatively new Greek independence led to a post WWI attempt to retake ancient Greek locations of Anatolia that included Istanbul which was the Islamized ancient Greek Capital city of Constantinople. Ataturk managed to withstand Greek reunification and in the process gave the Greek indigenous population the violent boot from Anatolia which was also a bit of a genocide.
This post WWI effort to bring Constantinople back under Christian governance by the then nascent Greek nation may have been a lost opportunity to introduce Jihad conquered Christian lands to Western-style forms of governance with an emphasis on Christian Liberty and Civil Rights. The thing is war-weary Europe began to perceive a colonialist mentality might be easier to utilize the extraction of oil reserves the winning powers of WWI could exploit from Muslim dominated oil enriched lands.
If one includes present day Iran as part of the crude oil discovery in the Muslim Middle East then 1903 is the beginning. The largest Middle Eastern oil was first discovered in March 1938 in Saudi Arabia. Oil became the new gold that ran geopolitics. Military powers used their clout to develop the oil fields and the relatively new Arab nations largely carved into existence by WWI and WWII victors became the capital to exploit oil wealth. The Muslim nations soon woke up to their political clout based on oil rather than military weaponry. After two World Wars between military powers largely of Western origin, Muslim nations reaped the benefits of Capitalism rather than the threat of Western military imperialism. As long as weaponized innovations continues from Western powers and now Asian military development in China and India with Japan perhaps compelled to re-militarize, frankly the Capitalist arm of oil control among Muslim nations will eventually be determined by military might again. But that is another essay. (An essay on Middle Eastern oil development)
The seeds of the defeat of WWI inspired European Jews to repopulate the Holy Land of which the new League of Nations awarded the Brits with the Palestine Mandate intended to be developed as a Jewish Homeland. Regardless of Muslim and Arab apologist propaganda to the contrary, Jews immigrating to their original Holy Land revitalized a barren land ignored by Ottomans. (See HERE and HERE) In reality Jews had been immigrating to the Holy Land for some time even while under Ottoman control. The Brits began to view the Jewish Homeland issue as a detriment to their National Interests when it was realized the emerging independent Middle Eastern lands were to be dominated by Muslim Arabs which had loads of petroleum. So the Brits began secret efforts to a Greater Syria to be led by Hashemites to secure an oil supply. The Jewish presence in formerly Muslim conquered land is seen by Muslims as an affront to Islamic Supremacism. Couple Islamic Supremacism with the Antisemitism spreading through Europe which began to infiltrate Muslim nations as well. Also the Christians living in Muslim lands had become totally dhimmified to supporting all causes Islamic even if it was and is to the Christian communities’ own detriment.
In the earliest days of Christianity after the Apostolic days, the Patristic Fathers which are primarily the great theologians - that lived in Christian dominated Middle Eastern areas – taught Jew-hatred as much as Christology:
Tertullian is influential since he writes a tract with the title Adversos Judaeos, which would become the name of the entire tradition, the so-called Adversos Judaeos tradition. This contained of an allegorical anti-Jewish exposition of Old Testament texts. In this tradition the Old Testament promises pertain to Christians, whereas judgements (sic) pertain to Jews. Tertullian repeats (from earlier Fathers) that circumcision is a mark so that they may be punished, referring to texts like Is 1:2, 4, 7, 15; they will not enter into Jerusalem (Tert. Adv. Jud. 3). Cyprian’s influence mainly lies in his extensive list of Scriptural arguments against the Jews, the so-called Testimonia, gaining great influence in the theology of the coming centuries. Later, the eastern church fathers also wrote strongly Anti-Jewish tracts. Gregory of Nyssa: “God-murderers, prophet-murderers, fighters against God, God-haters, they who transgress the Law, they who fights grace, they who have another faith than the fathers, advocates of the devil, brood of vipers, slanderers , those who have darkened minds, the leaven of the Pharisees, the sunedrion of the devil, Destroyers, thouroughly (sic) evil ones, the stoners, the haters of good. ”(Greg. Nyss. Or. in Christi Resurrect. 5). The beloved John Chrysostom is vehement in his assault against Jews.” (see his eight Orations against the Jews). Admittedly, this could be qualified even if not possible to make undone by saying that he in later texts he can acknowledge that God has not rejected his people (Homilies on Romans 18). In sum, these few examples show that this is no small problem in Patristic theology. (Anti-Jewish structures in Patristic theology; By Anders Gerdmar; AndersGerdmar.com; 10/28/09)
The Patristic Fathers are a source of rich theology for the Episcopate Churches (e.g. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) that place a high stock on tradition more than Scriptures. Unfortunately these early Church Fathers became entrenched in an unscriptural blame game that the Jews in entirety are Christ-killers due to the Crucifixion. As I already mentioned the sinless man portion of Christ needed to die as a sacrifice of blood to remit and expiate the price needed for humanity’s Redemption. The reality was that the Jewish ruling class that empowered the Temple Sanhedrin were jealous and fearful of losing their entrusted status provided by Roman conquering authority. Due to that fear of status loss, Jesus was perceived as a person that would rock the boat by inspiring Jewish rebellion against Roman authority. Thus the Sanhedrin leadership convinced Pontius Pilate that Jesus represented that rebellious spark and under threat of the Sanhedrin squealing to the megalomaniac Caesar of the day authorized Jesus’ humiliating Crucifixion. Or at least so the Holy Word of God portrays in the four Gospels.
The leading Clergyman of Christian Eastern Rite Churches in the 21st century are alarmingly in the same position as the Sanhedrin in Christ’s pre-Resurrection days right now in today’s age. The primary difference being in Christ’s day the Sanhedrin had an influence of a Jewish majority in Judea. Due to a millennia of Jihad the former Christian majority of the Middle East has been reduced to the minority under even worse restrictions under Islamic Sharia than the majority Jews experienced under Roman law and Roman military enforcement. The Roman solution for Jews that desired self-determination in their own homeland was extermination and eviction of the majority. The Jihad Islamic solution to reduce a Christian majority to a minority was convert, live under a humiliated status or die.
The Christians that didn’t convert to Islam immediately did so after centuries of humiliation removed memories of the previous generations of faithful Christians eventually reducing the faithful to a minority. Becoming a minority was not an overnight phenomena.
Here are excerpts that should give you an inkling of how Jihad Islamized and Arabized the formerly Christian majority of the Middle East and North Africa:
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Most of what follows are quotations that illustrate the plight of Eastern Christianity since the Islamic conquests of the Eastern and Southern parts of the Mediterranean world. … While modern Islamic scholars have endeavored to re-define jihad, claiming that it is primarily a struggle with self, Jacques Ellul points out that history proves otherwise.
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"In Islam, however, jihad is a religious obligation. It forms part of the duties that the believer must fulfill. It is Islam’s normal path to expansion." P. 18, 19
"Hence, the second important specific characteristic is that the jihad is an institution, and not an event, that is to say it is part of the normal functioning of the Muslim world. The conquered populations change status (they become dhimmis), and the shari'a tends to be put into effect integrally, overthrowing the former law of the country. The conquered territories do not simply change owners. Rather they are brought into a binding collective (religious) ideology --- with the exception of the dhimmi condition --- and are controlled by a highly perfected administrative machinery." P. 19
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"The religious obligation to fight the Christians required a permanent state of war which justified the organization of seasonal raids (ghazwa)'They sometimes consisted of short pillaging incursions to collect booty, steal livestock, and enslave the villagers. Other campaigns, led by the caliph in person, called for considerable military preparations. Provinces were ravaged and burned down, towns pillaged and destroyed, inhabitants massacred or deported." P. 48
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"Under the Umayyads, the Peoples of the Book, particularly the Christians, represented the large majority of the Islamic states' subjects and ---with the Zoroastrians --- its principal taxpayers. This economic strength also constituted a political power that had to be controlled, since revolts would have paralyzed the Arab army, which was accumulating booty and slaves for the caliph in the dar al-harb." P. 69
"The two pillars of the nascent Islamic state in the conquered lands were the army --- formed by Arab tribes and the slaves taken as spoils of war --- and the conquered masses: tributaries, slaves, freed men, and converts, a workforce which fed the economic sector. The third pillar --- juridical power --- was being elaborated. It would undertake to balance and rectify the enormous demographic disparity between the conquered Peoples of the Book and the Muslims. - the legal institution would formulate a collection of laws which gradually whittled down the rights of the dhimmis and confined them to a cramped condition, by transferring to the umma all the key positions that the dhimmis had formerly held." Pp. 69, 70
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"Does the expression 'protected religious minorities' or 'tolerated religious minorities' adequately describe the dhimmi peoples?
"In the lands conquered by jihad the Peoples of the Book formed majorities, among whom the Arabs of the first wave of Islamization and the Turks of the second wave were in the minority. Presumably the complex and little-known processes that transformed those majorities into minorities covered some three or four centuries for each wave of Islamization. By contracting it, the expression 'religious minorities' reverses a chronological process that had spread over centuries, whose result --- the minority condition --- is taken as its starting point."
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"Decimated by razzias in the countryside, they sought refuge in the towns which they developed and embellished. Branded with opprobrium, the conquerors still chose to drag them from region to region in order to revive ravaged lands and restore ruined towns. Once again, they built, again they worked. Once again they were driven out, again pillaged and ransomed. And as they dwindled, drained of their blood and spirit, civilization itself disappeared, decadence stagnated, barbarism reigned over lands which, previously, when they were theirs, were lands of civilization, of crops and of plenty." P. 265
"The elites who fled to Europe took their cultural baggage with them, their scholarship, and their knowledge of the classics of antiquity. Therefore, in the Christian lands of refuge --- Spain, Provence, Sicily, Italy --- cultural centers developed where Christians and Jews from Islamized lands taught to the young Europe the knowledge of the old pre-Islamic Orient, formerly translated into Arabic by their ancestors." P. 265
… READ ENTIRETY (The Middle East After the Islamic Conquest; About Middle East Resources Editors; Middle East Resources - Christianity Under Islam)
The brainwashed Eastern Rite Christians that have lived for about a millennia under this kind of Islamic Supremacist indoctrination have caused these people who cling to what tradition they can inherent in Patristic writings combined with Islamic theology on the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), it is not surprising that Eastern Rite Christians have embraced the same Antisemitism that is ingrained into Muslims via their Quran, Hadith, Sira and Sunna. (This essay on the shrinking of Middle Eastern Christianity may be of interest: The Forgotten Christian World)
This explains but does not excuse the hostility of Arab Christians booing Senator Ted Cruz off the stage at the September 10 In Defense of Christians summit held in Washington DC. I wasn’t surprised in the glee of Muslim apologists cheering the IDC Arab Christians. I won’t be surprised if Leftists that believe Israel is occupying land that should be a Palestinian State cheered on the IDC Arab Christians. I was surprised at some of the criticism delivered by stalwart Conservatives who whined Senator Cruz undermined the purpose of the IDC summit for self-promoting political reasons among pro-Israel supporters.
Frankly I don’t know if Senator Cruz realized that a chunk of Arab Christians representing Middle Eastern Christians being exterminated by ISIS were there. I don’t know if Senator Cruz misjudged a Support-Israel message meant to enlist Israeli help against the Christian genocide. I don’t know if Senator Cruz was aware that antisemitic Middle Eastern Christians were in the audience and it disgusted him as a supporter of Israel.
AND frankly I don’t care about all those scenarios. Dear God in Heaven the same Muslims exterminating Christians want to do the same thing to Jews while wiping Israel off the map. Arab Christians need to get over the Christ-killer malarkey and abandon any belief in antisemitic Conspiracy Theories either developed by Jew-hating Muslims or adopted from pre-WWII European Jew-hatred Conspiracy Theories that blame Jews for all the woes of the globe and the idiocy of Jewish world domination.
Jews left to their own devices are pretty much an insular group. The Jewish desire is to live in peace in their own God-Promised homeland (religious) or in secular land free from Jew-hatred (non-religious). Whether religious or secular the land today an independent and free Jewish State called Israel was well placed for that situation. The Ottoman Turks and the Arab Notables that administered the Levant before 1917 had allowed the area to be stripped of effective resource productivity forcing near slave conditions upon serf like agrarian Arab farmers to struggle to produce crops in which a mere survival portion was given back. In coming Jewish immigrants brought Western technological knowledge of agrarian techniques that revitalized the land agriculturally. The revitalized land needed laborers that the Jews were not able yet to provide opening the door for more Arab Muslims to emigrate to labor (under better circumstances I might add then provided by Arab Notables) for life sustaining work.
The Arab speaking Christians that were in the Levant were primarily urban dwellers still under the Christ-killer mentality. As more Jewish immigrants to the Levant under Turkish authority grew harmonious Jewish-Muslim relations existed until the power-wealth minded Arab Notables began to realize Jewish competition might affect their bottom line economically. Hence the Notables and Muslim Clerics began planting seeds of Quranic Islamic Supremacism into the Laborer Muslims producing a lifestyle fear of the old Jewish Conspiracy Theories. Dhimmified Arab Christians bought into this fear mongering joining Muslim Arabs in complaining about the increasing Jewish immigration to the Jewish Homeland.
Here are a few of the Israel-hating Christian Clergyman that attended the IDC summit that were disgusted with Senator Cruz’s pro-Israel key note speech:
Antioch Church patriarch Gregory III Laham -Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch Syria
Syriac Orthodox Church Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II
Patriarch John X (Yazigi)
[JRH Observation: I haven’t found any real associations with Israel-hatred with Patriarch John X. Which means he probably cares more for his flock than Jewish stereotypes, but still he has associated Syrian dictator and Jew-hater President Bashar al-Assad. The simple answer could be al-Assad has been friendly to Syrian Christians. However, al-Assad has not been so friendly to Christians outside of Syria such as in the days of Syrian domination of Lebanon.]
Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan - Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch Syria
“The Free Beacon notes that other IDC summit speakers, including Antioch Church leader John X (Yazigi) and Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan, have all persistently defended the Assad regime.
A report from CNEWA in May of 2013 cited Younan’s statement that events in Syria were the result of Western nations carrying out a geopolitical strategy “to split Syria and other countries” in the Middle East.
“It’s not a question of promoting democracy or pluralism as the West wants us to understand of its policies,” Younan said. “This is a lie, this is hypocrisy.”
Younan added that Western nations “bear responsibility for what is happening in Syria,” and that his and other leaders’ warnings about the violence in the region leading to chaos to countries such as the United States “chose not to believe that.” ('IN DEFENSE OF CHRISTIANS' SUMMIT FEATURES SUPPORTERS OF HEZBOLLAH; By DR. SUSAN BERRY; Breitbart.com; 9/11/14)
Aram I Keshishian, Catholicos of the Great House of Ceilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Lebanon
The Armenian Orthodox Catholicos of the House of Cilicia called Monday for a serious effort to put an end to Israel’s “criminal practices” against the Palestinians.
In a statement made on his return to Beirut from Damascus, where he participated in an annual religious gathering, Aram I Keshishian also called for dialogue and negotiations between all parties concerned in the Middle East conflict.
“(This is) the only way to achieve a just, comprehensive and permanent peace,” he said, stressing the need for the Palestinians to gain their “full and legitimate rights, by the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Keshishian questioned why the international community especially the UN and the United States “overlooked the Israeli aggressive policy in the Middle East that has dissipated all hopes for achieving peace.” (Armenian Orthodox prelate flays Israeli ‘criminality’; from Daily Star Lebanon; 3/12/02)
[JRH Observation: Aram I comments on Israel a little over a decade ago reflect the dhimmi attitude toward Jews rather than the Biblical view of a Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham through the Old Testament child of Promise Isaac. This is rather than the Quranic lie that Abraham’s promise was from Allah pertaining to Ishmael.]
Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria – Egypt
[JRH Observation: Bishop Angaelos as Patriarch John X (Yazigi) also, seems to be more concerned about his flock but the Bishop’s criticism of Senator Cruz makes me suspicious he has a bit of Antisemitism running through him. Below is a quote trying to be an apologist for those who booed Senator Cruz’s Pro-Israel stand at an anti-Christian genocide being perpetuated by ISIS IDC summit.]
As mentioned in my previous statement of 10 September 2014, “Christians, along with those who live by faith, morals, and ethics, and the international community, must collaborate to address this threat against not only innocent civilians, but our way of life as we know it today.” Having spoken at this IDC Summit on the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and particularly in Iraq and Syria, I take personal exception to sweeping statements made about those in attendance as espousing "bigotry and hatred...against Jews and Israel". In light of the current very real challenges, this is not a time for such divisive and inflammatory language that demonises communities and causes rifts between them when their collaboration is most needed.
As servants of the people, clergy, politicians or otherwise, we are accountable and responsible as representatives, stewards and reconcilers to deal at the most difficult of times and circumstances with the most peaceful means to overcome apparent misunderstanding and conflict. (Comment on the recent IDC Gala dinner by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom; Posted by The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre; The Coptic Orthodox Church UK; 9/12/14 16:14)
There is a culture of Antisemitism among Middle Eastern Christians. It is inexcusable. Nonetheless the genocide perpetrated on behalf of Islamic Supremacism is as reprehensible as Hitler’s genocide perpetrated against the Jews in the Holocaust of WWII. The sad thing is in today’s Middle East Hitler’s genocide is seen as a heroic event among Muslims and I have no doubt due to the culture also among Middle Eastern Christians. Indeed Hitler’s Mein Kampf in an Arabic translation is a best seller even today.
In a final word on Senator Cruz at the IDC Summit let’s look at this guy’s obvious amateur news editorial praising the Senator for his stand with Israel and in my opinion showing that a remarkable chunk of Christianity are still Jew-haters.
VIDEO: Ted Cruz Walks Out of In Defense of Christians Gala Event After Being Booed! IDC News Commentary
Published by FITRNews
Published on Sep 11, 2014
In Depth Commentary & highlights on Ted Cruz walking out of the In Defense of Christians annual gala event 2014. Includes a clip from the event @ 3.5 minutes in.
FITR News is a Fork In The Road Media Production. We encourage patriots to make a right at the fork in the road.
This first video is our maiden voyage and was uploaded on September 11th of 2014.
The Facebook post of Senator Ted Cruz of the state of Texas of the United States of America, is as follows: "Tonight in Washington should have been a night of unity as we came together for the inaugural event for a group that calls itself ‘In Defense of Christians.’ Instead, it unfortunately deteriorated into a shameful display of bigotry and hatred.
When I spoke in strong support of Israel and the Jewish people, who are being persecuted and murdered by the same vicious terrorists who are also slaughtering Christians, many Christians in the audience applauded. But, sadly, a vocal and angry minority of attendees at the conference tried to shout down my expression of solidarity with Israel.
They cannot shout down the truth. And we should not shy away from expressing the truth, even in the face of – especially in the face of – ignorance and bigotry.
I told the attendees that those who hate Israel also hate America, that those who hate Jews also hate Christians, and that anyone who hates Israel and the Jewish people is not following the teachings of Christ.
These statements were met with angry boos. I went on to tell the crowd that Christians in the Middle East have no better friend than Israel. That Christians can practice their faith free of persecution in Israel. And that ISIS, al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah, along with their state sponsors in Syria and Iran, are all part of the same cancer, murdering Christians and Jews alike. Hate is hate, and murder is murder.
I came to this event tonight to help shine a light on the tragic persecution and slaughter of Christians by ISIS and Islamic radicals throughout the Middle East. American leaders have been far too silent as to this horrific evil.
But bigotry and hatred have no place in this discussion. Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight.
After just a few minutes, I had no choice. I told them that if you will not stand with Israel, if you will not stand with the Jews, then I will not stand with you. And then I walked off the stage."
The IDC (In Defense of Christians) website was down at the time of the editing of this YouTube video, due to high traffic. When accessible it can be found at http://www.indefenseofchristians.org
Here is their official statement regarding this situation of September 10th: "Statement of IDC President following disruption at IDC Gala Dinner
In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini issued the following statement in response to a disruption at the Inaugural Summit Gala Dinner: “As Cardinal Rai so eloquently put it to the attendees of the In Defense of Christians’ inaugural Summit gala dinner: ‘At every wedding, there are a few problems.’ In this case, a few politically motivated opportunists chose to divide a room that for more than 48 hours sought unity in opposing the shared threat of genocide, faced not only by our Christian brothers and sisters, but our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of all other faiths and all people of good will.
“Tonight’s injection of politics when the focus should have been on unity and faith, momentarily played into the hands of a few who do not adhere to IDC’s principles. They were made no longer welcome.
“When we set out to form In Defense of Christians, many in the foreign policy and faith-based communities said such an effort was impossible. That it would be too difficult to bring such a diverse group of Christian sects, religious and human rights organizations together to draw attention not only to the plight of the deteriorating situation facing our Christians brothers and sisters, but also to the plight of all people of faith, in the Middle East who are suffering.
“For more than 48 hours, our initial IDC conference was successfully bridging divides of faith, language, geography and politics. It has not been easy, and not without challenges. Tonight’s events make clearer than ever, that In Defense of Christians is desperately needed in a world that remains divided to the point where even the most fundamental value of life and human dignity are cast aside.
“We remain undaunted and focused on achieving our goals.”
FITR News is a Fork In The Road Media Production. We encourage patriots to make a right at the fork in the road.
This first video is our maiden voyage and was uploaded on September 11th of 2014.
The Facebook post of Senator Ted Cruz of the state of Texas of the United States of America, is as follows: "Tonight in Washington should have been a night of unity as we came together for the inaugural event for a group that calls itself ‘In Defense of Christians.’ Instead, it unfortunately deteriorated into a shameful display of bigotry and hatred.
When I spoke in strong support of Israel and the Jewish people, who are being persecuted and murdered by the same vicious terrorists who are also slaughtering Christians, many Christians in the audience applauded. But, sadly, a vocal and angry minority of attendees at the conference tried to shout down my expression of solidarity with Israel.
They cannot shout down the truth. And we should not shy away from expressing the truth, even in the face of – especially in the face of – ignorance and bigotry.
I told the attendees that those who hate Israel also hate America, that those who hate Jews also hate Christians, and that anyone who hates Israel and the Jewish people is not following the teachings of Christ.
These statements were met with angry boos. I went on to tell the crowd that Christians in the Middle East have no better friend than Israel. That Christians can practice their faith free of persecution in Israel. And that ISIS, al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah, along with their state sponsors in Syria and Iran, are all part of the same cancer, murdering Christians and Jews alike. Hate is hate, and murder is murder.
I came to this event tonight to help shine a light on the tragic persecution and slaughter of Christians by ISIS and Islamic radicals throughout the Middle East. American leaders have been far too silent as to this horrific evil.
But bigotry and hatred have no place in this discussion. Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight.
After just a few minutes, I had no choice. I told them that if you will not stand with Israel, if you will not stand with the Jews, then I will not stand with you. And then I walked off the stage."
The IDC (In Defense of Christians) website was down at the time of the editing of this YouTube video, due to high traffic. When accessible it can be found at http://www.indefenseofchristians.org
Here is their official statement regarding this situation of September 10th: "Statement of IDC President following disruption at IDC Gala Dinner
In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini issued the following statement in response to a disruption at the Inaugural Summit Gala Dinner: “As Cardinal Rai so eloquently put it to the attendees of the In Defense of Christians’ inaugural Summit gala dinner: ‘At every wedding, there are a few problems.’ In this case, a few politically motivated opportunists chose to divide a room that for more than 48 hours sought unity in opposing the shared threat of genocide, faced not only by our Christian brothers and sisters, but our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of all other faiths and all people of good will.
“Tonight’s injection of politics when the focus should have been on unity and faith, momentarily played into the hands of a few who do not adhere to IDC’s principles. They were made no longer welcome.
“When we set out to form In Defense of Christians, many in the foreign policy and faith-based communities said such an effort was impossible. That it would be too difficult to bring such a diverse group of Christian sects, religious and human rights organizations together to draw attention not only to the plight of the deteriorating situation facing our Christians brothers and sisters, but also to the plight of all people of faith, in the Middle East who are suffering.
“For more than 48 hours, our initial IDC conference was successfully bridging divides of faith, language, geography and politics. It has not been easy, and not without challenges. Tonight’s events make clearer than ever, that In Defense of Christians is desperately needed in a world that remains divided to the point where even the most fundamental value of life and human dignity are cast aside.
“We remain undaunted and focused on achieving our goals.”
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