A reader remarks on the Israeli settlements:
Ugh. I hate what Israel is becoming. Right wing religious fanatics controlling what is supposed to be a secular Jewish state. Bibi is an ass. The settlements are not ok. The RW of the GOP is all het up to “protect” Israel and provide weapons and excuse all manner of ill behavior — but it is NOT because they “love” Isreal at all. It is because Israel and Jews are required for their nutty end times scenarios. I think Israel should stop participating in that. And IMO this makes me a GOOD Zionist, because I understand that Israel has a responsibility in the world community, has to abide by the general standards of civilized people, and needs to participate in world organizations. Bibi is now threatening to stop paying UN dues, to possibly leave the UN. Great. And become North Korea? I’m sure that will work out well.
Yes. And the funny thing is these attempts to manipulate the world to conform to end-times predictions are terribly offensive tot he very concept of God. If there is a God and he’s ordained the world will end in a specific way on a specific time, it doesn’t matter if you try to encourage it or not. It will happen.
The truly responsible thing to do is to run the world as if there’s no God. Then if, against all odds, God pops up and torches the world, it doesn’t matter as it’s God. And if God doesn’t show up, the world’s not ruined.
But logic is rarely the strong suit of the religious fanatic. As Heinlein noted, it’s the guy who’s best at praying, not the woman who’s most rational.
