Saudi Arabia

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/433990/release-truth-release-redacted-28-pages-about-saudi-arabia-and-911

The last paragraph of this article is well worth reflecting on:

My general philosophy of the Middle East is simple — however bad you think the place is, in reality it’s far worse. Even our “allies” will constantly surprise even the most hardened cynic with their mendacity and double-dealing. We’ve long known that our so-called alliance with Saudi Arabia has put us in bed with the devil. It’s time the American people learned how evil that devil truly is.

It is pretty much the same as Washington DC -- no matter which party you tend to support, this election year makes it completely obvious that the corruption in DC is **FAR** worse than you can imagine! The reaction of BOTH parties to Cruz and Trump ought to be proof enough. BOTH parties would actually rather have Trump than Cruz, because he is more likely to carry on the corruption!

This past week I was at a discussion where an immigrant from Egypt and a refugee from Syria were present. They were both convinced that the Saudi corruption was the true core of the unrest in the Arab world.

• Saudi Arabia contains Mecca -- the site you must visit to attain paradise if you are not willing to be a martyr
• The House of Saud is a fabulously wealthy tribe that maintains total control and likes to dabble in as much western decadence as it can get away with.  
• "It's price" is support for the Wahhabi Sect of Sunni Islam which has been funded lavishly and world wide since especially the 1970's. 
• A look at the Grand Mosque Seizure in 1979 gives some idea of the dangerous tightrope the Saudi's walk, and how many of the responses they make increase the danger / tensions for not just them, but the rest of the world. 

The "big problem" as the west finally woke up to in 1100AD and formed the First Crusade is that Islam is at war with any who are not Muslims! Islam means SUBMISSION, after which comes "peace". So if you are not a Muslim, Islam is at war with YOU -- ultimately you can either defeat them or die. A little more detail on this here.

As I travel through the Old Testament in my Bible reading, I am consistently reminded that Christ is THE WORD ... ALL the Word, Old and New Testaments. Somehow the Son of Man that rebuked the wind, drove the money changers from the temple with a whip and simply walked back through a crowd intent on pushing him from a cliff in NEW Testament, as well as being the Word of Creation, death to Sodom and Gomorrah, the Red Sea washing over the Egyptian Army and so much more in the old Testament is somehow made to be a "pacifist". It's a TRINITY -- Christ is FULLY Yahweh, the OT God is not some "first draft", he IS Christ as well.

When Christ heals the Centurion's servant, he responds to him with " When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith"" ... not a word about "leaving the military". Likewise, when John the Baptist was approached by some soldiers; "What should we do?" asked some soldiers. John replied, "Don't extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.""

If the west had not finally rose up and defended itself in 1100, Islam would most likely have destroyed Christianity in Europe -- or God would have intervened there or some other way. I'm often reminded of the old Jewish Lottery joke:

“There is this very pious Jew named Goldberg who always dreamed of winning the lottery. Every Sabbath, he’d go to synagogue and pray: “God, I have been such a pious Jew all my life. What would be so bad if I won the lottery?”
But the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win. Week after week, Goldberg would pray to win the lottery, but the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win.
Finally, one Sabbath, Goldberg wails to the heavens and says: “God, I have been so pious for so long, what do I have to do to win the lottery?”
“And the heavens parted and the voice of God came down: “Goldberg, give me a chance! Buy a ticket!”

I don't believe that God ONLY helps those that help themselves -- but I believe that if we listen well and by TAKE ACTION, we provide a much better chance for his blessing!