by * » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:09 pm
<br> You can't really blame William Blake for the thesis, though it certainly casts a new light on some of his poetry:<br><br> <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Oh Jerusalem</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br> And did those feet in ancient time<br> Walk upon England's mountains green?<br> And was the holy Lamb of God<br> On England's pleasant pastures seen?<br><br> And did the Countenance Divine<br> Shine forth upon our clouded hills?<br> And was Jerusalem builded here<br> Among these dark Satanic mills?<br><br> Bring me my bow of burning gold!<br> Bring me my arrows of desire!<br> Bring me my spear! O clouds unfold!<br> Bring me my chariot of fire!<br><br> I will not cease from mental fight,<br> Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand<br> Till we have built Jerusalem<br> In England's green and pleasant land.<br><br> -- William Blake</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br> <br><br>Rather than a sympathy or empathy with <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>actual</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Jews, British-Israelism is a usurpation of the historical narrative/birthright<br>and the genesis of the Christian Identity/Fundamentalist movement in the US.<br><br> from: <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.revneal.org/Writings/british.htm">IMPERIAL BRITISH-ISRAELISM: JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EMPIRE</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><br> "....In its simplest form, British-Israelism claims that the British people are the descendants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, deported, initially, by Tiglath Pilezer III, king of Assyria, when he launched an invasion of the Kingdom of Israel in 740 B.C.E., and later by the successor of Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, who destroyed its capital city, Samaria, in 721 B.C.E. While this is the most important "article of faith" to be found in all British-Israelite movements, it is almost always followed by these subordinate, but crucial, points:<br><br> 1. The English throne is the throne of David<br><br> 2. The English royal family is of lineal descent from David, King of Israel, and from Zerah, brother of Perez, son of Judah<br><br> 3. The British Empire and the Church of England are the modern-day manifestation of the true Kingdom of God<br><br> 4. The British people are chosen by God to rule the earth.<br><br>In addition to these key points, it is possible to identify a number of critical, paradigmatic positions within British-Israelite theory which help to define and characterize the movement. The concept of the "birthright" is one of these auxiliary themes. By "birthright" is meant the promises given by God throughout the Hebrew Bible to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's descendants. Among the more important of the birthright promises were those which spoke about the descendants of Abraham as being both a great nation and a multitude of nations, while also being as numerous as "the dust on the sea shore and the stars in the heavens." These promises were also seen as including references to the quality of the birthright people, identifying them as powerful, invincible, and superior to all other nations and races.<br><br>These promises were passed, virtually intact, from Abraham to Isaac, and from Isaac to Jacob. Then Jacob, due to the sins of Reuben, his first born, split the birthright promises between his two most prominent sons, Joseph and Judah. The recognition of this division in the Birthright is of paramount importance in British-Israelite ideology, for it allows them to trace the Birthright away from Judah and to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Joseph did not get everything, however, for from the body of the birthright Jacob took the rights of kingship and lawmaking to give to Judah in perpetuity. The House of Joseph, primarily his son Ephraim, later became the nucleus around which the "ten tribes" of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, would rally. The House of Judah would rule over the United Kingdom, as well as being the major part of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, following the political split after the death of Solomon.<br><br>Israel and Judah existed as separate kingdoms for two hundred-years until, after a long war with the Assyrian Empire, Israel finally succumbed to the forces of Sargon II in 721 B.C.E. With this begins the British-Israelite themes of Punishment and Displacement, which state that because Israel worshiped idols God allowed the Assyrian Empire to defeat and relocate them just south of Lake Van, along the border between Assyria, Urartu, and the Median Empire.<br><br>This is not only an important point in their theory, it is an essential junction for all forms of Celtic-Anglo-Saxon Israelism. Israel, descended from the House of Joseph and possessor of the birthright promises, is re-settled by Assyria. She subsequently vanishes from the pages of Scripture and history, initiating the themes of "the Great Trek", and "the Wilderness Place in the Isles Afar off". These themes follow the displaced tribes of the Northern Kingdom through the Caucasus Mountains and then west, across Europe, to settle in Scandinavia, other areas of northwest Europe, and, finally, in the British Isles. Here, the theme of "Christians in the Wilderness" comes into play, claiming that these Lost Tribes would become Christian in these very same Isles. Through these basic paradigms, the people of Great Britain, and their descendants across the globe, are discovered to be the direct, lineal descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel, recipients of the birthright promises, true holders of the name of Israel, destined rulers of the Earth.<br><br>At this point British-Israelite theory must return to the division of the Birthright between the Houses of Joseph and Judah, where the themes of "Scepter and Lawmaking", the "Lineage of the Scarlet Thread", the "House of David", and the "Call of Jeremiah" can be found. Until this point, the brunt of the theory has focused on the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the birthright promises given to it by Jacob. From here, the theory turns its focus to the kingly role of the House of Judah, the division of the kingship between Judah’s twin sons, Zerah and Perez, and the eternal establishment of the Throne of David over both Judah and Israel...."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>