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MONTOYA ==Other SourceWatch Resources==[[Iraq War]]
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'''''Dispensationalism'''''
Few Americans understand the real reasons for the alliance between Christian fundamentalism and the most extreme segments of right wing Israeli political life. [[Grace Halsell ]] has written an important book, "Prophecy and Politics" (Lawrence Hill and Co) on this very subject. Halsell worked as a White House speechwriter during the Johnson administration.
During two of Jerry Falwell’s Holy Land tours, the author interviewed fundamentalist members of the [[Moral Majority]], all of whom believed that the biblical prophecy of fighting World War 3 must be fulfilled before Christ can return to earth.
This strain of fundamentalism is known as "dispensationalism". Halsell writes that these fundamentalists believe the world will soon be destroyed: "God knows it will happen. He knew it from the beginning. But, God kept His plan secret from all of the billions of people who lived before us. But now … He has revealed the plan … we must move through seven time periods, or dispensations – one of which includes the terrible battle of Armageddon, where new and totally destructive nuclear weapons will be unleashed and blood will flow like mighty rivers … ."
The Dispensationalists believe that they will go straight to Heaven without the pain of dying, while the rest of the human race - including Jews who don't convert - will soon be wiped out with great suffering. In their passion for the return of Christ, or the Rapture, these people forsake the most fundamental Christian principles of humanity toward other human beings (and even Christians) in the Middle East and they humiliate Muslims anywhere and everywhere. Any policies that promote conflict and misery in the Middle East are "good" for their own ends, because the more misery there is in the world then the sooner they believe that Christ will return and deliver them from evil.
The profound Catholic libertarian philosopher, Dr. [[Leonard Liggio]], once remarked how surprised he was that Americans who lived overseas nearly always came to the same conclusion, that American foreign policy is generally misguided. Today most Dispensationalists are very insular and know very little about the outside world, however they are a major factor in US foreign policy under Bush.
As an example of Dispensationalism in the [[Bush administration]], NSC Near East and North African Affairs director Elliot Abrams sat down with the Christian fundamentalist Apostolic Congress in an attempt to massage their theological concerns. Claiming to be "the Christian Voice in the Nation's Capital," the members vociferously oppose the idea of a Palestinian state. They fear an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza may enable just that, and they object on the grounds that all of Old Testament Israel belongs to the Jews. Until Israel is intact and Solomon's temple rebuilt, they believe, Christ won't come back to earth.
Abrams attempted to assuage their concerns by stating that "the Gaza Strip had no significant Biblical influence such as Joseph's tomb or Rachel's tomb and therefore is a piece of land that can be sacrificed for the cause of peace."
Three weeks after the confab, President [[George W. Bush ]] reversed long-standing U.S. policy, endorsing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank in exchange for Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip.