American Experiment

There is a human experiment going on. It's been under way for little more than 225 years now. Most of us know it as the United States of America. It's been called the greatest nation on earth. In fact, it's been, in the last century or so, a nation that is usually described in superlatives. The most powerful nation on earth. The richest nation on earth. The most generous nation on earth. The most blessed nation on earth. The stories - and the facts - go on and on about it.

Those of us who live in this experiment are also aware of some other superlatives that could be used to describe the U.S.A. Most of them aren't very popular, so we don't hear them much. But nevertheless, they're true. The most violent nation on earth. That most obese nation on earth. The greatest debtor nation on earth. The most materialistic nation on earth. The most entertained nation on earth. The stories - and the facts to support them - are clearly there. Isn't it odd that they are largely ignored?

I have come to think of it as a human experiment because, frankly, I'm not sure yet if it works. There's mounting evidence that what we have here in the form of a government (democracy) is not a sustainable model. In other words, we cannot indefinitely keep living the way we live as a country. We talk in business of a "sustainable business model." That means a model that can be sustained because it works and doesn't rely on something that it shouldn't. The same could be said of forms of government. (A dictatorship, for example, is only as sustainable as the dictator.)

There is great irony between the stories of the Americans and the stories of the Israelites of Biblical times. As I read the Old Testament especially, I see stories of the nation of Israel. They're stories of both victory and failure. Quite often as I read them, I find myself seeing very strong parallels with the U.S. To say it differently, that nature and character of the Israelite people - as described in the Old Testament - looks very much like the nature and character of the American people as I know it today.

Consider that we were "one nation, under God, indivisible ..." when our founding fathers laid it on the line. This is pretty much where Israel started when it was freed from Egypt and wandered in the desert for 40 years. Going into the promised land, it was certainly God's intent for Israel. But look what happened. Over the years (and centuries), Israel continually lost that position. It usually started with their departure from God. They stopped serving the one true God. They stopped worshipping Him. They ceased to be "under God." And that's where things went awry.

When Israel consciously or subconsciously decided to set God aside, they effectively forgot about Him. At least in their day to day thinking and decision-making. When this happened, they lost their purpose. Soon, everyone did as they saw fit. Everyone had a right to pursue things his or her own way. And they did. Political correctness was more valued than godliness. So everyone did what they individually thought was best. There was no (Biblical) standard by which anyone really lived.

When the Israelites stopped letting God lead them, they began to look suspiciously like the evil people around them (whom God had told them to get rid of and not associate with). And when they started passing laws for their own benefit, they started reacting instead of pro acting. Sadly, they passed laws that set standards for living which were far below God's standards for living.

Of course, if you follow the stories of the Israelites over the centuries, you ultimately see that Israel failed. Despite the fact that it has sovereignty today, it is not "one nation, under God, indivisible ..." In fact, it is a nation that is sharply divided and ineffective for the Lord. At war with itself most of the time, most people realize that there is a very real possibility that Israel will again cease to exist ... perhaps even in our lifetime. Said differently, Israel could fall.

A recent survey indicated that more than half of Americans think it's possible that our entire economy could collapse. I have to confess that I'm not even sure what that means. But I can also confess that I may share their sentiment. Despite the fact that America has the largest economy in the world, I see that it is not a sustainable economy. It isn't based on natural cycles of life. It isn't based on the creation of real value in many cases. Now if our economy collapsed, I would argue that our government is so wrapped up in the economy that it would almost certainly collapse too. How could it not?

I'm not predicting doom and gloom here. Honestly, I love my country. I hope it survives. But I'm watching this human experiment - of which I'm very much a part of myself - and I'm wondering. Can we really pay our debts, create jobs, take care of our people, and help the rest of the world live peaceful, productive lives? I keep looking for evidence that we can. But I'm not finding it.

Instead, my memory of the Israelites haunts me. I remember, for instance, that God gave them victory in great wars. I think He's done that for the U.S. as well. But then I see that, in modern times, America has not won wars - and those wars have been longer and more costly than every. And I remember that the exact same thing happened to Israel in the Old Testament.

So here's the question. Are Americans the modern-day equivalent of the Israelites? And if so, can we really expect to finish any better than the Israelites finished? Only time will tell.

Israeli Peace?

If you're like me, you can't remember a time in your adult life when there wasn't talk about conflict in the Middle East, terrorism in Israel, and issues with the Palestinians. It's seemed that Israel has faced an ongoing, and perhaps unresolvable conflict with the Palestinians. This has resulted in much pain for people who live in that part of the world. For those of us who don't, I suspect it has caused much confusion.

Americans in general probably don't give much thought to what's going on in Israel. When Iraq lobbed SCUD missiles at Israel years ago, we probably thought it was rather interesting. But few of us common Americans probably saw any real significance in that act. If anything, we might have asked ourselves why the United States has to get involved in so many conflicts everywhere else.

I visited Israel on business a few years ago, and stayed over an extra weekend to explore and try to understand all that is Israel. I went to Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory, rode the buses, shopped in the markets, talked to locals and really learned a great deal. Perhaps the first lesson I had to learn though was on the ride from the airport in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The taxi driver asked if I wouldn't mind taking an alternate route because there were snipers on the freeway!

Clearly the ongoing conflict in Israel is costly to the Israeli's in more ways than one. It's also costing American taxpayers a lot of money. Since 1971 U.S. aid to Israel has averaged $2.6 billion each year. This money is used for military and other defense expenses. Israel is said to have the single most sophisticated (and powerful) military strength in the region --- thanks to the United States.

In recent years, the United States through its U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provides over $800 million a year in development aid to the West Bank and Gaza—more than USAID provides anywhere else in the world except Afghanistan and Pakistan. Do you know who lives in the West Bank and Gaza? The Palestinians who are fighting with Israel!

One of the questions I've always had is how Israel got into this mess in the first place. If you look at some history of both Israel and Palestine, a simple read on Wikipedia alone will leave you in dizzying confusion. See (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel) and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine) respectively. On the whole, my own personal conclusion is that the United Nations implemented a "solution" which only the Jews agreed to at the time. It seems that the rest of the entire Middle East (the Arabs) vehemently disagreed with the U.N.'s initiative to carve out a Jewish state. And that problem has never been resolved.

Now some of the dispute issues are major and significant. Others are minor and frankly, stupid. But both sides seem to see the definition of peace as perhaps the absence of conflict. If the conflict goes away, for example, peace would ensue. Is that really true? Or does peace come about when we give up our right to be right, and are willing to let the other party be wrong?

There are Palestinian (Arabs) living in modern-day Israel. There are modern-day Jews living in Palestinian territory. It would seem that if both sides laid down their swords, each could be its own recognized state, allowing the people to live alongside each other ... Jews in Palestine and Arabs in Israel.

Ironically, this is how they live together in the U.S. today ... both side-by-side in the same state ... living peaceably with each other. Why is such a proposition not possible in the Middle East? Perhaps it's simply the principle of the matter. Perhaps it's because the U.N. didn't cast that sort of a vision in the first place. What was the original intent of the Jews? Was it to live side-by-side with the Arabs in the same state?

I don't have the answers to the questions when it comes to Israel. But I'm coming to the conclusion that Americans should care more about this than they do. It would seem to me that this conflict could ultimately escalate into the next world war. And then, of course, all Americans will care a great deal about it.

Unfortunately, it isn't clear to me that the U.S. has been on the right side of morality here. And that may explain why we are now funding both sides of the conflict. So what are we to do with that?

Godly Country

The Old Testament book of 1 Kings tells the history of Israel. It begins with a nation united under the King David, the most devout leader in the nation's history. But the book ends with the nation divided, and the death of Ahab, the most wicked leader of all. What happened?

For starters, the people failed to acknowledge God as their ultimate leader. They didn't submit themselves to Him. They didn't live life God's way. In fact, they got to the parent where they really didn't care what God's will for their lives - or their country - might be.

The Israelites also appointed human leaders who were not so godly and ignored God. Eventually they conformed to the ways of these ungodly leaders. (If the leaders ignored God, how would you think they might lead the people?)

Occasional wrongdoing eventually turned into a way of life for these people. They did what was not acceptable in the eyes of God. Put another way, their blatant wickedness could only be met by judgment from the holy God. He allowed enemy nations to rise up and oppose them. And then Israel, a nation that had historically and miraculously won so many battles and defeated so many enemies, began to experience defeat at the hands of their enemies.

So the moral to this story of course is that failure to acknowledge God as our ultimate leader is the first step toward national ruin.

Now, let's turn our attention to the United States of America. Am I the only one who sees the similarities in our history? The U.S. for so many years was God's chosen nation. We were led by men who respected and revered God. We defeated so many enemies in so many wars. In fact, we were instrumental in restoring Israel to statehood and even protect that status today!

But what have we done? First, more and more we've failed to acknowledge God's lordship in our lives and in our nation. Second, we've elected human leaders who are not so godly. Finally, our lifestyles have continued to migrate to something less than God's will for our lives or our nation.

Why on earth would we expect anything different than what Israel got ... when we take the same road that Israel took? I won't purport to know what God is doing with the U.S.A. I don't know if He's handing us over to our enemies as punishment for our wickedness. But it occurs to me that that is the character and nature of God.

Don't get me wrong. I understand that the U.S. is one of the most generous countries on earth. I also am fully aware that it has many, many godly people living in it. But as a nation, the godliness of some doesn't cancel out the wickedness of many.

So it occurs to me that God's punishment may in fact be what America deserves right now. And the only way to not be deserving of that (punishment) is for us to become a repentant country - turning from our sinful ways and acknowledging God in all our ways.

End's Hope

I'm still reading this week again in the Old Testament prophets about God's judgment, end times and all that. I have to tell you, I continue to find these pearl's of wisdom that excite me. Today, it is Zephaniah.

Zephaniah's is a story of rebuke, calling sinful Jerusalem to repentance. It was a sinful time - much like the times of today. People were self-centered, unbelieving in God, and were facing God's coming judgment - as are we. Zephaniah was the man through whom God spoke to bring them direction and truth.

Now there is much in Zephaniah. He had a lot to say. A good bit of it is about Jerusalem's sinful condition and God's wrath. It is exactly like our situation today, including the part about the coming of God's wrath against our sinful condition to destroy evil.

But in the midst of that judgment, there is also a great deal that gives me cause for hope. There are some wonderful promises of God ... exclusively for those who are His people, His remnant.

These promises are for those who have repentant hearts - who confess their sin - and turn from that sin toward righteousness. But if you're in that crowd, it gets pretty exciting. Oh sure, we're going to have to go through the judgment day just like everyone else.

The difference is we won't be destroyed in it. The difference is what happens for us afterward. Let's look at some highlights from Zephaniah 3. (This is God talking to us about the end times, when Christ returns to judge the world for its sin.)

"Therefore wait for me," declares the LORD, … "I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger."

The judgment is coming. God's wrath against evil will be unleashed. The entire world will be consumed by His fire. We, the remnant of God, are to wait for Him. Got it?

"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder. … my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings."

Now He's gonna purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to shoulder. Do you get what this means? It means, for example, that everyone will speak one language. The confusion and challenges of language differences - which God put upon us at the Tower of Babel - will be done away with. No longer will we have to learn foreign languages. We'll all speak one language. Awesome!

"On that day you will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done … But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. "

Remember, it is a judgment day. But God doesn't intend to shame us. He'll review what we've done - right and wrong. But of course Jesus has already atoned for what's wrong. There will be no guilt or shame. The meek and humble, who trust in God ... will be you and me - the ones who confessed and repented.

"The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. Sing, … shout aloud, … Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, … The LORD has taken away your punishment, … The LORD … is with you; never again will you fear any harm."

After this judgment day, when the thorns are removed, we will do no wrong. In fact, we won't be capable of sin. Can you imagine - not being able to screw anything up? We won't be able to lie. It will be a time of celebration. (Could there be a better reason to celebrate?) The punishment for our sins will be gone, and God will be with us. We won't be afraid of anything ever again. This is way cool!

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Oh now here's my favorite part. He will take great delight in me. Oh my gosh! How could that be? I don't think anyone ever has taken great delight in me! I can't imagine what that might be like. (But I think it'll be very cool!) He will rejoice over me. God will sing for joy over me. Did you ever imagine that anyone would be so pleased with you that they'd burst into joyous song? Could you ever fathom that would be God doing the singing?

"The sorrows … I will remove from you; … At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame."

He's a just God. He's a merciful God. He will punish the wrong-doers who've victimized the rest of us. He will rescue the hurting and stop the suffering. Where they've been trampled on, oppressed, neglected - He will give them praise and honor. The scores will be settled once and for all.

"At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise … " says the LORD.

Finally, He brings us home to live with Him forever. We return to where we started, at the feet of the Creator. Living with Him, we will have honor and praise. I don't think I've ever had honor and praise like this before. My boss honored me and praised me yesterday - I suspect it'll be different when God does it.

By now, you're probably shaking your head, saying something like, "No way!" Well, yes - way! This is God speaking to us, His children, His people, His remnant. It is you and I. It was Jerusalem. It is us today. These are the promises of God - to you and I. They are real. They are our hope.

Who knew that judgment could include such wonderful cause for hope!'

Muslims & Jews

The recent attack on Palestinian Gaza by Israel has been widely reported. Hundreds or thousands were killed. Property damage was extensive. Much of the world saw it as Israeli brutality against the Gaza Strip.

Of course it wasn't as widely reported that the Palestinians in Gaza, led by their Hamas political party, have lobbed more than 6,000 rockets into Israel in the past three (3) years. But with just those two bits of information, you get a sense of the battle that's been going on between the Jews and the Muslims for decades --- and centuries.

A friend shared something with me recently that I understand to be factual. It gave me food for thought about this global conflict, that seems to be centered in the Middle East. Let's look at some facts (and a little opinion).

The global Islamic population is approximately 2,000,000,000 --- equal to about 33% of the world's population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature:
1988 - Najib Mahfooz

Peace:
1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
1994 - Yaser Arafat:
1990 - Elias James Corey
1999 - Ahmed Zewai

Economics: (zero)

Physics: (zero)

Medicine:
1960 - Peter Brian Medawar
1998 - Ferid Mourad

TOTAL NOBEL PRIZES: SEVEN (7)

The global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000 --- less than 0.02% of the world's population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature:
1910 - Paul Heyse
1927 - Henri Bergson
1958 - Boris Pa sternak
1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon
1966 - Nelly Sachs
1976 - Saul Bellow
1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer
1981 - Elias Canetti
1987 - Joseph Brodsky
1991 - Nadine Gordimer

WorldPeace:
1911 - Alfred Fried
1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser
1968 - Rene Cassin
1973 - Henry Kissinger
1978 - Menachem Begin
1986 - Elie Wiesel
1994 - Shimon Peres
1994 - Yitzhak Rabin

Physics:
1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer
1906 - Henri Moissan
1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson
1908 - Gabriel Lippmann
1910 - Otto Wallach
1915 - Richard Willstaetter
1918 - Fritz Haber
1921 - Albert Einstein
1922 - Niels Bohr
1925 - James Franck
1925 - Gustav Hertz
1943 - Gustav Stern
1943 - George Charles de Hevesy
1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi
1952 - Felix Bloch
1954 - Max Born
1958 - Igor Tamm
1959 - Emilio Segre
1960 - Donald A. Glaser
1961 - Robert Hofstadter
1961 - Melvin Calvin
1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau
1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz
1965 - Richard Phil lips Feynman
1965 - Julian Schwinger
1969 - Murray Gell-Mann
1971 - Dennis Gabor
1972 - William Howard Stein
1973 - Brian David Josephson
1975 - Benjamin Mottleson
1976 - Burton Richter
1977 - Ilya Prigogine
1978 - Arno Allan Penzias
1978 - Peter L Kapitza
1979 - Stephen Weinberg
1979 - Sheldon Glashow
1979 - Herbert Charles Brown
1980 - Paul Berg
1980 - Walter Gilbert
1981 - Roald Hoffmann
1982 - Aaron Klug
1985 - Albert A. Hauptman
1985 - Jerome Karle
1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach
1988 - Robert Huber
1988 - Leon Lederman
1988 - Melvin Schwartz
1988 - Jack Steinberger
1989 - Sidney Altman
1990 - Jerome Friedman
1992 - Rudolph Marcus
1995 - Martin Perl
2000 - Alan J. HeegerEconomics:
1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson
1971 - Simon Kuznets
1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow
1975 - Leonid Kantorovich
1976 - Milton Friedman
1978 - Herbert A. Simon
1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein
1985 - Franco Modigliani
1987 - Robert M. Solow
1990 - Harry Markowitz
1990 - Merton Miller
1992 - Gary Becker
1993 - Robert Fogel

Medicine:
1908 - Elie Metchnikoff
1908 - Paul Erlich
1914 - Robert Barany
1922 - Otto Meyerhof
1930 - Karl Landsteiner
1931 - Otto Warburg
1936 - Otto Loewi
1944 - Joseph Erlanger
1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser
1945 - Ernst Boris Chain
1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller
1950 - Tadeus Reichstein
1952 - Selman Abraham Waksman
1953 - Hans Krebs
1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann
1958 - Joshua Lederberg
1959 - Arthur Kornberg
1964 - Konrad Bloch
1965 - Francois Jacob
1965 - Andre Lwoff
1967 - George Wald
1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg
1969 - Salvador Luria
1970 - Julius Axelrod
1970 - Sir Bernard Katz
1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman
1975 - Howard Martin Temin
1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg
1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow
1978 - Daniel Nathans
1980 - Baruj Benacerraf
1984 - Cesar Milstein
1985 - Michael Stuart Brown
1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein
1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini]
1988 - Gertrude Elion
1989 - Harold Varmus
1991 - Erwin Neher
1991 - Bert Sakmann
1993 - Richard J. Roberts
1993 - Phillip Sharp
1994 - Alfred Gilman
1995 - Edward B. Lewis

TOTAL NOBEL PRIZES: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE (129)

The Jews are not putting their children into military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths those they consider to be enemies.

The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics, or blow themselves up in German restaurants. There are no Jewish sects that kill people or think they should be killed.

The Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to those that they consider "infidels" (people who aren't Muslim).

Regardless of your views about the ongoing conflict between the Muslims and Jews, the following quote really puts it all in perspective:

'If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel ' -Benjamin Netanyahu