An official with the Institute on Religion and Democracy says it's not surprising that top officials in the United Methodist Church are calling for a denominational boycott of firms who do business with Israel.
Recently, officials from the United Methodist Church's (UMC) Washington lobby office asked leading General Conference delegates to support church divestment from Caterpillar, Inc. -- because they sold products to Israel.
Mark Tooley with The Institute on Religion and Democracy says many liberal church leaders have a compromised view of the authority of scripture. "It perhaps is not a coincidence that they tend to be very critical and biased against Israel," Tooley says of the UMC officials.
"Because in many ways, spiritually, I think the continued existence of Israel is -- for those who are theologically liberal -- a very unpleasant reminder of God's continued activity in the world today."
Tooley claims there has been a longstanding bias against Israel among UMC leaders, as well as among mainline Protestantism for the past 30-to-35 years as well.
The UMC General Conference takes place in April in Fort Worth, Texas. Delegates meet every four years to draft policy for the denomination.
