Monday through Friday I deal with different subjects in this blog. I also post my blog to my Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld. Monday’s I try to focus on issues. This week I am taking a look at Should We Deny The Holocaust Ever Happened?
I was born in 1943 right smack in the middle of World War II and the Holocaust. Although only a baby at the time my life was impacted by the Holocaust. As I grew up it seemed like everybody knew that it had happened and were horrified!
But the world we are in is changing. More and more we are seeing the rise of anti-Semitism. Let’s take a brief look at what is happening and answer for ourselves the question: Should we deny the Holocaust ever happened?
Here are some thoughts to consider:
- Germany is in denial. Not because it didn’t happen but because it is embarrassing. The Holocaust was a German effort to eradicate Jews. To be constantly reminded of this fact must truly hurt their feelings. So how do they respond? Deny it happened.
- Arabs worldwide are in denial. Think of them as the cheerleaders. They weren’t the ones who did it, but they rejoiced in the deaths. Today they deny it happened because they don’t want the Jews to appear as the victims.
- Europeans in general appear to be going back to their anti-Semitic behavior. I believe the effort to boycott Israeli goods may have been proposed by the Arabs but embraced by the Europeans.
- Governments around the world are fearful of Arab retaliation if they accept the idea that the Holocaust happened and was immoral.
These are just some of the things happening in our world today.
So what should we do?
There is at least a two part answer. First I’ll speak as a Christian.
Part One: Christians should support and pray for Israel.
The Bible clearly teaches that the Jewish people would return to the land and reestablish the nation of Israel (which they did in 1948). [Yes I recognize that there are people who take Scripture out of context in an effort to deny Israel even has a right to the land.] The Bible also identifies the Jewish people as God’s people. In Romans 11:1 Paul says, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
In fact the Apostle Paul would first go to the Jews then to the Gentiles with the Gospel. In the Book of Psalms we are instructed to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” It is Old Testament, but that is still valid today. The only reason Christianity exists outside of Judaism is because the Jewish leaders denied that Jesus was Christ and persecuted those who believed in Him.
It is a shame that people who have called themselves Christians have at times embraced anti-Semitism throughout history. This tragedy largely developed out of their ignorance. High Churches took or kept the Bible out of the hands of the common people and claimed that the Jews had crucified Jesus. This is simply untrue. He was crucified by the Romans under the command of a Roman Governor. Yes, it was at the behest of the Jewish leaders who knew Who He was but they didn’t want anything to do with Him. The truth is that all of us, you and I, sent Jesus to that cross. He came down from Heaven, was born into the family of man, and died on a cross for our sins. He was born to die! It was our sin that put Him on that Cross. And it was His love that kept him there.
Part Two: The United States Should Stand By Israel.
We are very fortunate that we have a President who understands that we have a God given mandate to stand with Israel. You can argue all day about various aspects of his Presidency, but this is the only President who has had the fortitude to move our Embassy to Jerusalem. He did so in spite of threats from the Arabs and condemnation from both political parties. The fact is he was simply doing what the law demanded. Instead of kicking it down the road as previous Presidents have done.
It is true that Israel is not Christian and barely allows Christianity to exist. But we know from the Bible that eventually they will turn to Christ. And as Christians we should also remember Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” History teaches us the promise still is true.
Here are some ideas. I’m not saying you should do all of them or that I do. But consider them.
- Pray for the Nation of Israel
- Pray for the People of Israel
- Stand with them again anti-Semitism
- Subscribe to World Israel News and others to be informed
- Use the United States’ moral authority to be supportive of Israel against Arab intransigence.
- Visit Israel if you can afford it
- Buy Israeli goods that interest you
- And don’t let anyone tell you the Holocaust didn’t happen
That last point is relevant to this blog. It did happen and if people forget that it happened it could happen again. In this day and age that we live in we have a media that is not particularly friendly to Israel. Nor are they friendly or even honest in their reporting on President Trump. We simply can’t believe them!
To find the truth whether dealing with our government or with Israel we must stay informed. That means going to the Internet. Unfortunately there is a lot of fake news by both those for and against Israel. This requires diligence on our part.
As mentioned in my last blog you can’t even believe the “fact checkers.” That’s because there is no such thing as an unbiased person or organization. Just because they have a few statements or actions that seem supportive to the other side doesn’t mean they are unbiased. See what the tendency is; the weight of their opinions, etc. That will at least give you an idea of where their bias lies.
But whatever you do, pray for the people of Israel!
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R Frederick Riddle is the author of several books and is best known for Christian Historical Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.