Hobby Lobby Can a Christian be Anti-Israel? Nope! For to be anti-Israel is to be anti-God! A Christian cannot have one foot for God and the other foot against God! Beware the Christian-Palestinianist! When I read this article about Hobby Lobby, I was sadden by the truth. Hobby Lobby is pro-Palestine! Commentary: Christians at a checkpoint By: jim@prophecymatters This week concluded the biannual, infamous “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference, held at Bethlehem’s Jacir Intercontinental Hotel. The conference is hosted every two years by Christian Palestinianists and their friends, which include certain American evangelical leaders, and the Palestinian Authority. In short, the conference presents a worldview opposite that of, say, Christian Zionists. I find the name of the conference deeply offensive, for they are attempting to politicize the name of Jesus Christ by fitting Him into their Liberation Theology worldview. Conference organizers and speakers even allege—astonishingly—that Jesus was a Palestinian! I often criticize/critique folks who come against Israel. This week, however, I think there were some positive developments at CATC 2014. More on the criticism later. First, though I have serious concerns about his relationship with Palestinian enabler Mart Green (Hobby Lobby) and Green’s Oral Roberts University agenda, new ORU President William “Billy” Wilson denounced from the podium at CATC the scourge known as Replacement Theology. I wish Wilson had not accepted the invitation to speak—he’ll be used as propaganda by CATC organizers—but his statement was a bold one, given the hostile-to-Zionism crowd in attendance. Next, a far more positive development was the appearance of on-the-ground reporters Dexter Van Zile (CAMERA) and freelancer Brian Schrauger. The latter in particular exhibited great personal courage by utilizing social media to give us all a running commentary, from his perch usually in the front row. CATC organizers were aware of his presence and I don’t hesitate to say I worried for his safety. Bethlehem is a PA-controlled town. The radical theology/worldview of the CATC crowd would shock most American evangelicals, and I think for the first time, they will have access to this rhetoric. Van Zile and Schrauger provided plenty of proof that CATC is a radical, leftist organization, led by Israel-hating Westerners like Wheaton’s Gary Burge, and British pastor Stephen Sizer. Further, Sami Awad, spearheading efforts in the United States to dupe churches into embracing Palestinian grievances (he of the Holy Land Trust), continued to peddle the most astonishing lies, and it is here I want to really get the reader’s attention. Awad, part of what I call the “Palestinian Rat Pack” in America (Lynne Hybels, Todd Deatherage, Cameron Strang, Donald Miller, Tony Campolo), attempted once again to tell a bald-faced lie; Schrauger caught it and tweeted to a worldwide audience: The wall completely surrounds the city. It is like living in a prison. ~Sami Awad #CATC2014 No, Sami it doesnt surround the city and it is a border not a prison. #BS (Note: “#BS” stands for Brian Schrauger.) As many of us have been saying for some time, there are certain talking points used by the Christian Palestinianists, and those points are either outright fabrications, or skewed data used to demonize Israel. Christian Palestinianists want regular American evangelicals to think their “brothers and sisters in Palestine” are being herded into “open-air prisons” due to the Israeli security fence. Bethlehem is not surrounded by the fence. The fence in that area is on TWO sides, and has dramatically reduced the number of murders of Jews by Palestinians. Period. Why, then, is Awad continuing to peddle this lie? Because he’s a liar. As is Miller, who, after 15 months continues to refuse to provide documentation for his charges of war crimes against the IDF. Further, the presentations, books, and conferences the Christian Palestinianists design and promote present a thoroughly left-wing view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is what bothers me the most about them. It isn’t that people can’t have contrary views, or engage in dialogue about worldview. The problem comes when one side is willing to peddle falsehoods. This is why CATC 2014 was and is dangerous. Another intriguing example is Burge. A year ago, scholar Malcolm Lowe wrote a devastating critique—unanswerable, I believe—of Gary Burge’s anti-Israel theology. Three times I’ve asked Burge to comment (I sent him Lowe’s critique), and three times he’s ducked. Why is that? It is similar to the horribly skewed cover story in the current issue of Relevant magazine, a piece written by publisher Cameron Strang. Titled “Blessed Are The Peacemakers,” Strang uses the article to paint a left-wing view of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. For example, he allows Hanan Ashrawi’s trademark lie—Palestinians were the first Christians—to be spread to his readers. That’s only the beginning of the huge problems with Strang’s cover story. When I attempted to ask him why, and a variety of other questions about the article, he refused. When Relevant announced that a “Q&A” podcast devoted to the cover story would include questions from readers, several (including me) pointed out numerous examples of false narrative. Oddly, Strang announced as the podcast was to start that a technical glitch would derail the discussion. I’ve asked him three times this week, and his editor, Tyler Huckabee, if there will be a rescheduled Q&A. Silence. Why is that? I’ll tell you why people like Burge and Strang hide. They hide because they know their ideological opponents have the goods on them. They hope it goes away and we shut up and no one notices. Not a chance. To the regular reader of “Israel Watch,” I have a request this week: send this column to as many people on your list as possible. I want people to know that the agenda of the Christian Palestinianists is deeply flawed, disingenuous, and dangerous. If they want to start telling the truth, and stop demonizing Israel and Christian Zionists, then perhaps it won’t be necessary any longer to expose them.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:22:52 +0000
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