Israel

I was speaking with someone recently about a wonderful book by Christian author Francine Rivers called, ?Redeeming Love.? I had read this book about seven years ago. It is modeled against the book of Hosea in the Old Testament. This person is going through some emotional and spiritual healing in her life from wounds that have been with her since she was a child. I never would have recommended this particular book to this woman because of where she is in her healing at this point.

A new survey of American religious beliefs reportedly finds that one out of five Americans believe God favors the United States in worldly affairs. Among those Americans, the Baylor University study also reportedly found that more Republicans ? four times as many ? than Democrats believe God favors the U.S. What do you think? It is always a dangerous prospect (not to mention idolatrous) to think that God favors "us" over "them." The Hebrew prophets of old were aware of this danger, and they urged their listeners not to assume any specialness simply because God had chosen Israel.

o7There has reportedly been a move among mainline Christian denominations to divest from companies that do business in Israel. Jewish leaders fear it's a move to stigmatize Israel while some Christians frown on Israel's control of the West Bank and Gaza. The tension has reportedly brought to the fore tensions between Protestants and Jews over religious issues in the Middle East. Some are concerned this tension threatens Jewish-Christian relations. Do you agree?

The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution congratulating Israel on the election of its U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman, as a vice-president of the United Nations General Assembly. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who represents Burbank and Glendale, introduced the resolution in July, with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), vice-chairman of the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee. Gillerman is the first Israeli to be elected to that post in over five decades. The only other Israeli was Abba Eban, who held the position in 1952.

Growing up can be tough, but children of preachers face an extra element - the added pressure to keep up appearances and not give in to temptation. Also dealing with the church takes up a lot of parents' time, and that means more stress and more temptation to rebel. In the article, "Beneath the stereotypes, a stressful life for preachers' kids," on Religious News Service, Jay Bakker, the son of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, says that as a preacher's child, he was expected to be happy all the time, even during tough periods.

Sociologist Max Weber first advanced the idea of a Protestant work ethic in 1914. A recent study suggests that not only does this ethic exist, it can make the effects of unemployment worse for Protestants than for non-Protestants. The Dutch survey, which used data from 150,000 people in 82 countries traditionally identified as Protestant - including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Germany and others - found that while unemployment has a negative effect on everyone, it affects Protestants more, up to 40% more in some cases.

Hilda Akopyan on Thursday night sat down to do her homework, when she came to a realization. “I’ll never have homework for Burbank High again,” she said. “I’m so used to everything being the same, and now I am about to embark on a big change.” Akopyan, who plans to attend Pasadena City College in the fall, was one of 617 seniors who graduated on Friday night from Burbank High. Parents, grandparents as well as other family members and friends gathered at the Starlight Bowl to honor the graduates.

Trade agreements are disastrous and troops should leave Afghanistan immediately, according to a survey released last week by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks). The survey showed that 58% of San Fernando Valley residents who answered a questionnaire think trade agreements send millions of good jobs overseas and hurt the U.S. economy. Also, 43% of the residents surveyed thought U.S. troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan now. When asked about the Middle East conflict, 48% of the respondents thought the U.S. should strongly support Israel, 23% felt the U.S. should support Palestinians at least as much as Israel and another 23% thought the U.S. should stay out of the conflict.

Irma Lemus MAGNOLIA PARK -- Paul Berrin, a political aide to the consul general of the Consulate of Israel in Los Angeles, will speak at Burbank Temple Beth Emet. The event is Dec. 26 at 10:30 a.m. at a meeting of Temple Beth Emet Men's Club. Berrin's topic will be "Israel's Strategic Concern and Israel's Concern over the Peace Process." "The temple members are very curious to see how the peace talks in the Middle East are going, especially because of the holidays," said Rabbi Mark Sobel.

Mark R. Madler Palestine's new leader will have to disarm terrorist groups if he hopes to forge peace with Israel, a former U.S. diplomat said during a visit to a local temple Thursday night. But Mark Parades cautioned the audience of about 40 at Temple Beth Emet that he wasn't sure if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was up to the task. "I don't see Abbas being strong enough or having the will to confront those people," Parades said.

I was speaking with someone recently about a wonderful book by Christian author Francine Rivers called, ?Redeeming Love.? I had read this book about seven years ago. It is modeled against the book of Hosea in the Old Testament. This person is going through some emotional and spiritual healing in her life from wounds that have been with her since she was a child. I never would have recommended this particular book to this woman because of where she is in her healing at this point.

A new survey of American religious beliefs reportedly finds that one out of five Americans believe God favors the United States in worldly affairs. Among those Americans, the Baylor University study also reportedly found that more Republicans ? four times as many ? than Democrats believe God favors the U.S. What do you think? It is always a dangerous prospect (not to mention idolatrous) to think that God favors "us" over "them." The Hebrew prophets of old were aware of this danger, and they urged their listeners not to assume any specialness simply because God had chosen Israel.

The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution congratulating Israel on the election of its U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman, as a vice-president of the United Nations General Assembly. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who represents Burbank and Glendale, introduced the resolution in July, with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), vice-chairman of the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee. Gillerman is the first Israeli to be elected to that post in over five decades. The only other Israeli was Abba Eban, who held the position in 1952.

o7There has reportedly been a move among mainline Christian denominations to divest from companies that do business in Israel. Jewish leaders fear it's a move to stigmatize Israel while some Christians frown on Israel's control of the West Bank and Gaza. The tension has reportedly brought to the fore tensions between Protestants and Jews over religious issues in the Middle East. Some are concerned this tension threatens Jewish-Christian relations. Do you agree?