Posted on 04/28/2011 2:49:15 PM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
For some time, I have been raising the alarm that evangelical Christianity has been infiltrated by theological leftists. Among other things, this impacts our nation’s view of Israel.
Recently, I was made aware of a movement of young evangelicals who are embracing what the British lecturer Paul Wilkinson calls “Christian Palestinianism.” Loosely, this means a Christian who supports the Palestinian Arabs, and dismisses Jewish claims to the land. Obviously, these “Millennial Generation” Christians (18-34) do not embrace Bible prophecy. Their worldview is different.
A battle for Israel is being fought in the United States right now. Traditionally, Americans have supported the Jewish state, and the U.S. has always been one of the few friendly havens for Jews. I believe that is changing.
Chris LaTondresse, CEO of Recovering Evangelical (recoveringevangelical.com) is such a leader. By embracing new media and technologies, they are reaching vast numbers of young people. To be perfectly frank, while many of us in the Bible prophecy community cling to old models in presenting our worldview, young people aren’t paying attention at all. They are running to the “recovering evangelicals.” Listen to what LaTondresse posted on his website:
“Our generation’s tutors are child-soldiers in Uganda, girls rescued from sex-slavery in Thailand and homeless youth living in the crumbling remains of America’s inner-cities. Our primary classrooms are Brazilian favelas, rural villages in Kenya and bombed-out neighborhoods in Gaza. These people aren’t our causes. They’re our friends.
“For these reasons and more, we’re turned-off when faith becomes a bludgeon used to condemn those outside of our tribe. We think the world needs fewer culture warriors and more peacemakers, reconcilers and bridge builders.”
Of course, he is interested in building bridges with those of like-mind. I seriously doubt the young evangelicals who consider themselves centrists or left-leaning are interested in building bridges with what I’d call Bible-believing Christians. And, it is perfectly acceptable for them and Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo — mentors of a sort — to use their faith as a bludgeon against those with whom they disagree.
Amazingly, McLaren is considered to be a voice of reason and a compassionate voice, at the same time he lambasts Bible-believing Christians.
LaTondresse has been impacted by the teachings of Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Catholic from the Galilee who promotes the “Palestinian narrative” which essentially blames the Arab refugee problem on Israel. As LaTondresse claims, Chacour “loves Jesus,” but one isn’t clear if these men acknowledge that Jesus is a Jew. Certainly, the godfather of modern terrorism, the self-proclaimed leader of the Palestinian people, Yasser Arafat, absurdly identified Jesus as a Palestinian. This lie has also been peddled by such “evangelical icons” as Phillip Yancey.
The leadership team of Recovering Evangelical, seven-strong, is comprised of college graduates — including one from Princeton Theological Seminary. One hundred years ago, Princeton was in the midst of a transformation from being a bastion of conservative scholarship, to a liberal school. That is why such wonderful teachers as Robert Dick Wilson departed Princeton. The spirit of the age was against them, and it is against us.
Interestingly, one of Recovering Evangelical’s senior contributors, Brian Kammerzelt, currently serves on the faculty at Moody! He also taught at Wheaton, which many Christians do not realize is more liberal than conservative. He also attended Willow Creek, the seeker-friendly church in north Chicago started by Bill Hybels.
Hybels’ wife, Lynne, has become more and more vocal about supporting the Palestinians. On her blog (lynnehybels.blogspot.com), she recently posted some comments about a sermon her husband had delivered the month following the 9/11 attacks.
Predictably, Bill Hybels decried what he described as unfair characterizations of Muslims, by Americans. This after 19 Muslim terrorists had murdered more than 3,000 Americans. ABC’s Peter Jennings went down the same path, almost immediately holding a town-hall meeting to present Muslims as misunderstood peaceniks.
Lynne Hybels wrote this about her husband’s message:
“He talked about ‘hot reactors,’ people who ‘opinionate before they reflect, before they bow down and pray; who ventilate before they ask God for sober-mindedness and self-control; who indict whole races of people before they know the facts. Let’s call this what it is: not good. Not good behavior. Not good Christianity. This is Christianity gone awry.’”
Lynne Hybels also spoke at the “Christ at the Checkpoint” International Conference, organized by Palestinians and Christians who oppose Christian Zionists. On the website (christatthecheckpoint.com), we also learn that Tony Campolo characterizes Christian Zionism as “theology that legitimates oppression.”
Christian Zionism is a theology that legitimates oppression? That is a lie.
These kinds of potshots and smear tactics against Christians who support Israel are growing in number. Christian Zionists, in my view, must determine to do two things:
1. Read, study, and educate. Learn the arguments. Study the issues related to Israel and the Jewish people. Then use your brain to articulate these things to your circle of contacts. A word of caution: the nastiness of the proponents of “Christian Palestinianism” will be a continual problem. Yet we must engage these attacks, which are ultimately attacks on the Jewish people.
2. Embrace the new technologies. Use tools like social networking, PowerPoint presentations if you speak to groups, etc. If you think you’re too old for Facebook, think again. “Tweet” on Twitter. Realize that cell phones are the new delivery systems for young people. While we are fumbling with overheard projectors and slides, our opponents are laughing, while providing the content they want young people to digest via new technology.
Leftists will always present themselves as reasonable, compassionate, “careful thinkers.” They focus heavily on social justice issues, and love causes that would make the Pacifists’ Hall of Fame.
Yet there is a malevolence associated with their loathing of Christian Zionists. Check it out for yourselves.
We have work to do.
Thank you for posting. Very interesting and I will check it out even closer when I have time.
Sounds just like Jimmah Cahtuh.
The “Old Right” anti-Semites such as Gerald L.K. Smith, Wesley Swift, Gerald Winrod, and Russell Maguire have opposed chr*stian Zionism from the beginning (describing them as “Zionuts” among other humorous labels). Now the Left is joining their “polar opposites” on this issue. But then, the Nazis and Communists have always been joined on this issue, haven’t they?
These people have a holy book that is neither the New Testament or the Old Testament. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the book they consider Holy Writ is Das Kapital.
You know darn well that “Christian” Zionism has nothing to do with traditional Christianity. If Americans support Israel for geopolitical reasons that is one thing, but there is no Christian moral imperitive to intervene in religious disputes between Muslims and Jews. Both these religions reject Jesus as the Messiah and share the same dietary rules.
Its pretty bad. My pastor tried to tell me that the Israelis spin the news... Apparently he’s never heard of “Paliwood” and other nifty Pali propaganda efforts.
Yes, I know that. And I wish the chr*stian Zionists themselves would also and become Noachides, but they cling to the "new testament" with the same fervor that they cling to the Hebrew Bible.
However, mistaken though they may be, their dedication to the Hebrew Bible shows that they have more of an intention to worship the true Jewish G-d than classical chr*stians do, and I pray HaShem recognizes their zekhut for doing so.
I'm quite sure, by the way, that your attitude (the traditional one in your church) is one reason your church is so dismissive of the stories of the Hebrew Bible.
??? I was unaware of that.
I'm quite sure, by the way, that your attitude (the traditional one in your church) is one reason your church is so dismissive of the stories of the Hebrew Bible.
??? I was unaware of that.
Bevadday. First the Catholic Church rejected the rituals of the Hebrew Bible and (chas vechalilah!) "replaced" them with post-Biblical rituals of its own. It was only a matter of time before the stories of the Hebrew Bible would suffer the same fate--being dismissed as "mythology" while being replaced with new post-Biblical stories.
This is not as drastic as Iraq (2 million in 2003 and 400,000 now and falling) -- Christians are threatened all over the Moslem world. See the killing of Shahbaz Bhatti
The Christian church IS Israel.
Can you clarify. If you mean that the Church has replaced Israel utterly and Israel no longer blessed under the Old Covenant, then that is wrong, utterly wrong
To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ", "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."
Israel is to the Christian church as the caterpillar is to the butterfly.
Yes, but Israel, i.e. the Judaic religion still exists. Is it still under the Old Covenant or not?
The old covenant ended 2000 years ago. "There is no Jew, there is no Greek".
I'm sorry, you cannot take this as justification that the covenant God made with the Jews has been revoked. God does not go back on his word, He has extended the grace given to the Jews before Christ to the gentiles.
We are like new branches grafted on the old -- we are not replacing the Jews but are now partaking with them and yet by accepting Christ's blessings we are partaking in the new covenant and in His grace.
The Jews who accept Christ's blessings are doubly blessed, but those who do not accept Christ are not "replaced"
God does not go back on His Word. He made a covenant with the Israelites and He stays true to His Word.
Romans 9:4-6 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised![a] Amen.
Romans 11:1 1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people
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