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9-5-00 Democracy is getting better everyday. It turns out that in a parliamentary country, you don't have to be on the ballot to be elected Mayor...just the object of worship for a few million people around the world. You don't need votes, campaign managers, illicit contributors, or mud-slinging debates...just the title of Almighty God.
Hopefully most of you know that the recent attempts by the Clinton administration to broker a peace negotiation between the Israeli and Palestinian governments came to a close with progress, but no peace deal. The single reason for this was that neither side (Israeli or Palestinian) were willing to negotiate the terms necessary to decide the fate of Jerusalem. This is a battle long entrenched in religious strife, murder, genocide, hatred, and terrorism. Jerusalem is holy to three religions of the world (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) and has been for thousands of years. Hundreds of battles have been fought both inside and outside the city limits. Gods have been seen and "felt" in the city and some of the oldest and holiest buildings in the world are located in this city of mystical wonder. This is ironically odd because the city has ABSOLUTELY NO STRATEGIC VALUE WHATSOEVER. But when it comes to religion, logic must fall by the wayside.
But I digress. The point I'm trying to make is that the city of Jerusalem (Yeru-sha-ly-eem in Hebrew) is one of the most important cities in world history because of all the problems it has caused...and the 21st century is no different.
At the conclusion of the peace talks at Camp David, the world had seen what a stumbling block the issue of control over Jerusalem was to both sides. Someone drafted a strange but not very practical idea to solve the problem - let God rule the city. I have yet to find the name of this quirky person, but I would love to write them a lengthy e-mail.
HOW IN THE HELL DOES GOD RULE A CITY?!?!?! Although it sounds like an interesting idea and possibly a fun challenge for Political Science majors around the world, to me it is one of the dumbest and possibly instigating ideas ever put forth in relation to solving this millennia old problem. How does God arrange local law enforcement? How do you write God when you have a problem with city policy? How does God sign a bill into law? Does God vote? Democrat or Republican? Most important of all, whose God is it? There are so many questions, but I'll stop there.
I'll try and explain why the last question is the largest source of disaster for this horrible idea of letting God rule over Jerusalem. The problem in the Middle East is God. There are three Gods usually present in Israel at any one time - the Christian God (Jesus), the Muslim God (Allah (God)), and the Jewish God ("He who has no name"). But the fact that three gods inhabit the same place at the same time has been the WHOLE and COMPLETE source of the controversy since the beginning...and now they're supposed to be the solution.
What do you think? Do you think it's possible for one of three or all three gods to rule Jerusalem and serve as the peace bringer of the Middle East, His chosen "Holy Land"? Religion has killed more people in world history than ANY OTHER SOURCE. Maybe this time it'll be different.