{"id":5721,"date":"2024-06-13T06:18:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T11:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/06\/yahya-sinwars-brutal-calculation\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T06:18:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T11:18:11","slug":"yahya-sinwars-brutal-calculation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/06\/yahya-sinwars-brutal-calculation\/","title":{"rendered":"Yahya Sinwar\u2019s \u201cbrutal calculation\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When a group gathered in New York City this week to honor those slain by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, anti-Israel protesters descended<\/a> on the event. One of them shouted, \u201cI wish Hitler was still here, he would\u2019ve wiped all you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imagine a scenario where terrorists massacre any other group in the world and the world sides with the terrorists. But that is what is happening to the Jews:<\/p>\n

• \n

• There has been a \u201csteep\u201d jump<\/a> in antisemitic attacks following October 7.<\/li>\n

• Online antisemitism has increased<\/a> five-fold since the invasion.<\/li>\n

• Antisemitism has \u201cskyrocketed<\/a>\u201d in the US.<\/li>\n

• Antisemitic incidents on college campuses have increased<\/a> 700 percent.<\/li>\n

• Antisemitic attacks in the UK are at an all-time high<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Much of this is fueled by outrage over Palestinian casualties resulting from the IDF\u2019s attempts to eradicate Hamas in Gaza to keep the terrorists from staging another attack on Israeli civilians, something the group promises<\/a> to do if it can.<\/p>\n

  But here\u2019s what those who hate Israel don\u2019t understand: Hamas\u2019s leader wants<\/em> Palestinians to die.<\/p>\n\n

  <\/div>\n\u201cNo blood, no news\u201d<\/h2>\n

  Yahya Sinwar, Hamas\u2019s military leader in Gaza, told<\/a> Hamas officials recently, \u201cWe have the Israelis right where we want them.\u201d He calls civilian deaths \u201cnecessary sacrifices.\u201d He has said of such deaths, \u201cWe make the headlines only with blood,\u201d adding, \u201cNo blood, no news.\u201d<\/p>\n

  Intelligence analysts believe<\/a> Sinwar is primarily motivated by a desire to take revenge on Israel and to weaken it. The well-being of the Palestinian people or the establishment of a Palestinian state is secondary.<\/p>\n

  In his strategy, Palestinian casualties will mobilize<\/a> the global community against Israel, pressuring them to stop the war without eradicating Hamas. According to the <\/a>Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, \u201chis ultimate goal appears to be to win a permanent cease-fire that allows Hamas to declare a historic victory by outlasting Israel and claim leadership of the Palestinian national cause.\u201d The article calls this strategy Sinwar\u2019s \u201cbrutal calculation.\u201d<\/p>\n

  I would never suggest that Israel, a nation and army comprised of fallible humans, has made no mistakes in this war. And I would hasten to add that every Palestinian casualty resulting from this conflict is a tragedy to God and should be to us.<\/p>\n

  Nonetheless, Jewish people the world over are facing this tragic and contradictory scenario:<\/p>\n

  \nIsrael is doing all it can<\/a> to minimize Palestinian casualties, both because it recognizes the calculus we\u2019re discussing today and because its worldview emphasizes the sanctity of every life.<\/li>\nYahya Sinwar is doing all he can to maximize such casualties for his personal advancement and that of Hamas.<\/li>\nThe world blames the former for the sins of the latter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u201cA murderer from the beginning\u201d<\/h2>\n*****
  ** Now let\u2019s take this discussion up a spiritual level.<\/p>\n
  ** According to Jesus, Satan \u201ccomes only to steal and kill and destroy\u201d (John 10:10). Consequently, when we see stealing and killing and destroying, we know that our spiritual enemy is at work.<\/p>\n
  ** Here\u2019s a subtle and often-overlooked part of his nefarious strategy: leading us to blame ourselves for his work in our lives and world.<\/p>\n
  ** In this sense, Yahya Sinwar is doing what those who serve Satan\u2019s purposes have done for millennia. Just as Satan has convinced Sinwar that the deaths of innocent Palestinians serve the cause of Palestine, so he convinced the religious authorities of Jesus\u2019 day that executing him was in the best interest of the Jewish nation they purportedly served (John 11:50\u201352). He likewise convinced the Judaizers who opposed the conversion of Gentiles that they were protecting the purity of God\u2019s people (cf. Acts 15:1\u20135).<\/p>\n
  ** *****How is Satan similarly seeking to deceive Christians today?<\/p>\n****

  He tempts us to sin<\/a> and then wants us to blame ourselves for being tempted. He temps us to pride so that if we resist him, we\u2019ll be proud of our humility. He brings persecution against us, hoping that we will then consider ourselves morally superior to those who persecute us rather than loving and praying for them as Jesus taught us (Matthew 5:44\u201347).<\/p>\n

  I have found this strategy to be especially problematic: Satan seeks to convince Christians living in our transactional, materialistic culture that our worth to God is based on our works for him. In this way, we focus not on the Source of our worth and works but on the works themselves. Then, when we inevitably fail, we focus on our failures rather than our Lord and distance ourselves even further from his empowering love and transforming grace.<\/p>\n

  My father\u2019s birthday<\/h2>\n*****
  ** Today would have been my father\u2019s one-hundredth birthday. He died at the age of fifty-five when I was a senior in college. Like most sons, I wanted most to please him. His opinion of me mattered on a more powerful and visceral level than that of any other.<\/p>\n
  ** Over the years, however, I have begun to learn that I already have the blessing that matters even more\u2014that of my Father. Henri Nouwen wrote in Adam: God\u2019s Beloved<\/em>:<\/p>\n
  ** Each one of us is unique, known by name, and loved by the One who fashioned us.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
  ** *****He added:<\/p>\n

  "**\n*******
  ** Unfortunately, there is a very loud, consistent, and powerful message coming to us from our world that leads us to believe that we must prove our belovedness by how we look, what we have, and what we can accomplish. We become preoccupied with \u201cmaking it\u201d in this life, and we are very slow to grasp the liberating truth of our origins and our finality. We need to hear the message announced and see the message embodied, over and over again. Only then do we find the courage to claim it and live from it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
  ** *****Will you find such \u201ccourage\u201d today?<\/p>\n

  NOTE:<\/b> As we embark on another 15 years, Denison Forum invites you to take part in our mission of cultural transformation through Christ-centered content. A generous $70,000 matching grant ensures your donation is doubled. <\/span>Support the creation of impactful Christian content: Donate now to double your impact.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

  Thursday news to know:<\/h2>\n\nHouse votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for withholding Biden audio<\/a><\/li>\nFederal Reserve sees some progress on inflation but envisions just one rate cut this year<\/a><\/li>\nRussian warships arrive in Cuba in show of force<\/a><\/li>\nJerry West, a 3-time hall of Fame selection and the inspiration for the NBA logo, dies at 86<\/a><\/li>\nOn this day in 1967: Thurgood Marshall nominated to Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n*********
  ** *Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.<\/i><\/p>\n
  ** Quote for the day:<\/h2>\n
  ** \u201cSin dwells in hell, and holiness in heaven. Remember that every temptation is from the devil, to make you like himself.\u201d \u2014Richard Baxter<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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