Christianity: The Great Lie

Beck certainly understands the problem is complex but I’m afraid he leaves out one of those devilish details. For an ISC to work it has to have the full support of those it seeks to serve and they must be willing to implement its recommendations fully. If the ISC tells them they are wrong about a particular issue they must be willing to accept their judgment. Furthermore, the ISC must have the power to implement its decisions in the face of inevitable opposition. Now, in writing just those few words I have described the problem in a nutshell. No-one is prepared to admit they are wrong, no-one trusts anyone, let alone a ‘third’ voice, and no-one has the necessary power to enforce a solution. The irony of course is that if the various parties were at a stage to understand and accept an ISC intervention then they would be at a point to compromise and make concessions anyway, which would mean they would already be most of the way there. Or is Beck proposing to impose the ISC?

This is what I mean by the devil being in the detail. If all the parties were at a stage to accept the judgment of the ISC then they would also be able to find their own solution and the ISC would largely be redundant. Beck has offered a ‘big picture’, ivory tower solution that ignores essential detail. It also glosses over the fact that much of the conflict is over detail. The issue of the Temple Mount is central to the conflict and the two extreme positions are irreconcilable. Any compromise solution is a loss for both extremes. How could this then be a ‘win, win,’ solution for either extreme? On some issues there is no win-win for all the sides with a stake in the issue – if the Third Temple is to built the al-Aqsa mosque must be destroyed, if the al-Asqa mosque remains the Third Temple cannot be built.

In many ways Beck is being naïve. He says:

In fact, I personally believe that the Israeli culture, when in a healthy and unthreatened condition, represents the highest First World peak in the Middle East. Legitimate democracy flourishes in the society, as well as a full compendium of human rights, especially with regard to the role of women. I don’t see how anybody can deny this reality.

I happen to agree, but in saying this he has just alienated large sections of the Muslim world. These three sentences destroy any chance of his proposal being taken seriously by Muslims. They will read it as an insult. For, in their worldview, he is imposing decadent Western concepts of Israeli cultural superiority, democracy, human rights and the role of women onto Islam. Islam is the ‘true’ word and intent of God, it is complete in itself and is therefore ‘superior’ to both Judaism and Christianity . This is one of the important details he has missed – a detail that kills his proposal before it even has a heartbeat.

This is what integral theory must be aware of – the devil in the detail.