Dear Source:
Regarding the conflict in Gaza: Islamic domination and Jewish Zionism, which mark the ideologies behind the conflict in the Middle East are archaic and outdated. With the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God is no longer tied to a specific geographical area. God's kingdom is a universal kingdom today. All the people of the earth are the People of God. God is not a real-estate agent.
Violence is and always will be a show of inhuman ferocity that, precisely for this reason, will never be able to solve conflicts among human beings. Only reason and love are the valid means of surpassing and resolving disputes between people. No situation of injustice, no feeling of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such an aberration.
The recent cycle of blind violence we are witnessing in Gaza is the result of scandalous injustices and imbalances that create conditions favoring an uncontrollable explosion of the desire for revenge. When fundamental rights are violated, it is easy to fall prey to temptations of hatred and violence. Nonetheless, we must keep in check our base impulses and together work to build a global culture of solidarity that restores hope in the future to the young.
Presently we must raise our prayers for an immediate cease-fire to the fighting in Gaza, for humanitarian corridors to be opened in order to bring help to the suffering peoples, and for international leadership in new efforts to open negotiations that could lead to a lasting settlement.
Paul Kokoski
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to visource@gmail.com.