US presidential candidates, without the blessings of AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) don't have a prayer of winning in the general elections. Front runners Hilary Clinton, Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump understand this and delivered their "pledges of allegiance to Israel" speeches to the 18,000 delegates assembled at the recently held AIPAC convention in Washington, DC. Sen. Bernie Sanders was the noticeable exception. as he had declined the invitation from AIPAC to speak. Instead, he delivered some critical remarks, while on the campaign trail in Utah, about Israel's destructive policies against the Palestinians. (see here and here)  Sanders, who is Jewish, like prominent, Jewish industrialist Benjamin Freedman, challenged the Zionists on the issue of Israel. Chuck Carlson and WHTT members discuss the implications of all this in this lively, 28 min. program. The link to Benjamin Freedman's 1961 address about the Zionists' little known role in the founding of the state Israel can be heard here.

Senator Marco Rubio, another War Party presidential candidate, has dropped out of the 2016 race for the next President of the United States, who will, no doubt, lead America into another disastrous war. In reality, the U.S. only has one party. That group would be the War Party, with two branches that squabble over non lethal issues...the Democrat Party and the Republican Party. We get wars with either party. When Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at a Christian Zionist college in Phoenix, We Hold These Truths joined in with some anti-war protestors to ask questions like, "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" - "Blessed Are The Peacemakers" - "Choose Life Not War" - "No More Wars for Israel." Thanks to the local Spanish language TV station, Univision, our efforts received very favorable coverage of one and a half minutes.

Mark Horton looks into the definition of the word "faith" that is introduced in this section of Hebrews. What are the nuances of the statement: "Now faith is the sustance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen." 29 mins.

This inspiring and remarkable 22 min. documentary is about Father Elias Chacour, a man of peace and reconciliation, and, the schools he started in Ibillin, Israel, in the Galilee region. Father Chacour is an Arab citizen of Israel. The Mar Elias Schools have over 3000 students and teachers that include Christians, Jews and Muslims. Father Chacour's schools have become a shining example and a beacon of hope in a land full of strife and despair.

Christians in the United States are divided on what the word "Israel" means. Christian Zionists think of the modern state of Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy requiring obsequious obedience to it no matter how it mistreats its Palestinian occupants. Other Christians think of modern Israel as a secular, apostate country in the Middle East who took its name from an ancient person, Israel (whose original name was Jacob), a tribe named Israel, or Israel, the northern kingdom that was divided from the other Hebrews in Judah.  In this eyeopening address, given by Dr. Rob Dalrymple at Valley Christian Center in Dublin, CA, the many meanings of "Israel" are delved into using the whole context of the Bible. Dr.. Dalrypmple is author of the book, "These Brothers of Mine:  A Biblical Theology of Land and Family and a Response to Christian Zionism." Also, be sure to listen to our interview with Dr. Dalrymple, "A Theological Response to Christian Zionism by Dr. Rob Dalrymple."

In this revealing, 19 min. podcast, Chuck Carlson and members of WHTT discuss the cases of Hisham and Mounis, Palestinians from Gaza, who are seeking asylum in the United States, not by illegal immigration, but by turning themselves into ICE (Immigragtion & Customs Enforcement) at the Mexico/Arizona border. They have been held in an ICE detention center in Florence, AZ for over a year because Palestine is not recognized as a country by the United States (they are considered stateless people), even though Palestine is by 134 other countries around the world  (see here). A discussion about the broader issues of refugees and immigration and the culpability of the United States is included. For background stories on Hisham and Mounis see here & here. Also, for background info on the US overthrow of the democratically elected leader of Guatemala mentioned in the podcast, see here & here.

In this lesson, Mark Horton discusses the warning given by the writer of Hebrews to the Judean followers of Christ who are contemplating returning to their synagogues to avoid future persecution. 32 mins.