{"id":5997,"date":"2017-12-14T12:18:51","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T17:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?p=5997"},"modified":"2017-12-18T07:57:51","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T12:57:51","slug":"illusionists-believe-theyre-performing-real-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2017\/12\/illusionists-believe-theyre-performing-real-magic.html","title":{"rendered":"When the Illusionists Believe They\u2019re Performing Real Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"jerusalem-1\"<\/a>by Tom Fuerst<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing for Christians to have a particular perspective on the end-times and how it\u2019ll all play out. But a segment of the Christian population has taken their end-times scheme into their own hands, for years now, attempting to elect politicians who will arrange the political pecking order in such a way that their eschatological agenda is forcibly realized. They lobby and promote agendas that privilege Israel, no matter whether Israel is just or good to her neighbors, because they believe Israel has a special place in God\u2019s end-times story. They lobby and promote agendas that ignore the suffering of Arab populations \u2013 including Christian Arab populations that you\u2019d at least think they\u2019d have some affinity for \u2013 because they see these Arab nations as the end-times enemies of the state of Israel. As\u00a0JR Madill Forasteros<\/a>\u00a0has said, These Christians \u201csupport hostilities between Islam and Judaism, between Israel and Palestine. Escalated violence doesn\u2019t matter. The body count doesn\u2019t matter. They\u2019re HOPING for these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is one thing for these Christians to believe such things. At least when it was just in the realm of belief it was not politically problematic on a world stage. But now, many of these folks have not only espoused such beliefs, but they\u2019re actually attempting to move the pieces around on the political chessboard to force their end-times scenario to come together.<\/p>\n

It is, in the most literal sense, a self-fulfilling prophecy.<\/p>\n

Or to use a different metaphor, it\u2019s basically an illusionist using slight of hand, and while he fails to convince the audience of his illusion, he has somehow convinced himself he\u2019s done real magic.<\/p>\n

Or if you\u2019ll stay with me for one more metaphor, these people know they\u2019re the ones behind Oz\u2019s curtain. They know they\u2019re the ones pulling all the strings that make Oz\u2019s mouth move, a voice speaks, and ears smoke. And yet, despite all their theatrics, they believe Oz is the one doing it all. Apparently, they\u2019re just \u201chelping.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a world stage, they\u2019re playing God while pretending Toto hasn\u2019t torn the curtain open.<\/p>\n

In their God-games, they\u2019re taking on a role for themselves that does not belong to them. It\u2019s more than ignorance; it\u2019s arrogance. It\u2019s more than arrogance; it\u2019s injustice. It\u2019s more than injustice; it\u2019s a slap in the face of the God who loves the Arabs as much as he loves the Israelis, as much as he loves Americans. It\u2019s more than a slap in the face of God; it\u2019s a slap in the face of a neighbor.<\/p>\n

By essentially forcing the fulfillment of their own end-times narrative, these Christians are instigating violence in the Middle East \u2013 violence that will cause the deaths of thousands, if not millions, of innocent lives \u2013 all in the name of a particular eschatological agenda writ large. And when it\u2019s all said and done, and the rapture doesn\u2019t happen, they\u2019ll look at the Middle East in ruins and say, \u201cStop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself,\u201d ever refusing to acknowledge the role they\u2019ve played in the violence. That\u2019s right: I\u2019m calling it now. It will be impossible for them to acknowledge they\u2019re wrong because that\u2019s how these groups work. They will blame the Arabs and Muslims for the violence, scapegoating them instead of owning their own wrongs. That\u2019s how it\u2019s been working since the 70\u2019s with this group. And once their end-times scheme is proven false, they just re-shuffle the deck and do it all over again. Nothing reinforces arrogance and ignorance like political power mixed with end-times religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

Tom Fuerst is the Associate Teaching Pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee and a graduate student in Communication at the University of Memphis. He is also the author of\u00a0Underdogs and Outsiders: A Bible Study on the Untold Stories of Advent<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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by Tom Fuerst It\u2019s one thing for Christians to have a particular perspective on the end-times and how it\u2019ll all play out. 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