HAGEE: UNREPENTANT HERETIC
By Harmony Daws
23 Nov 10
A Christian recently wrote to me asking for more clarity about
John Hagee, whom I have called a heretic. Hagee has tried to defend
himself against this oft-made charge, even revising his book and carefully
denying belief in a dual covenant where Jews can be saved apart from
Christ. Yet in his Christians United for Israel conferences held in
most major cities, he enforces a strict policy of not mentioning Jesus,
forbidding attendees to attempt to convert them. Hagee zealously trumpets
the cause of political Zionism, believing Jewish control of all Palestine
will hasten the Rapture, and puts this priority far ahead of bringing
Christ to the Jewish people.
Hagee is not alone in believing and teaching that Christians have
a moral duty to support the physical, political dominance of Jews in
Palestine regardless of their spiritual condition before God. This
has not always been the case. Most Christians once prioritized evangelism
to Jews and expansion of Christian civilization; they believed the
Jews would return to the Holy Land only as a result of converting to
obedient faith in Christ. Today, that truth has been lost. As it eroded,
so did the American church’s sense of responsibility to evangelize
the Jewish people. Today, all major Christian Zionist organizations
actively discourage evangelism to Jews, preferring to expedite
political cooperation for the conquest of the Promised Land. Inappropriate
Zionist goals have also misshaped the American church’s view
of the Arabs of the Mideast; siding with Israel has made Christians
angry antagonists, not evangelists, to the one billion plus Muslims
in the world today.
Thoughtful Christians need to take a much harder look at this incredible
development. Today, churchgoers stand hand in hand with a Jewish people
who would crucify Christ again if He walked their streets. Judaism
and Israel does crucify Him by forbidding His missionaries, banning
His Bible, and reviling Him in Jewish sacred writings. The alliance
between evangelicals and Jews is both strange and unholy, yet only
half the alliance—the Jewish activists who tentatively partner
with believers—seem aware of its forced, unnatural and temporary
status. Christians, with a naïve and self-betraying ardor, embrace
and fund the Jewish people, seeking the benediction of its rabbis and
the partnership of its activists. Let’s again look closely at
the state of spirituality in Christian Zionist organizations, comparing
their activities to what is mandated by the Bible. We have to ask, “Can
any sincere Christian know these facts and still take part?”
No Christ in Christians United for Israel
John Hagee has clearly and repeatedly said that Christians United
for Israel is a “non-conversionary” effort. His executive
director David Brog is an American Jew who worked as chief of staff
for the Senate’s most passionate supporter of the federal hate
crimes bill since 1998, Jewish Senator Arlen Specter. Brog works hard
to disguise his own record as an ardent pro-hate law liberal, portraying
bonds between Jews and Christians as benevolent and positive, preserving
a joint culture. Yet his public statements to journalists reveal an
intense hatred of true Christianity, which is by nature aimed at redeeming
lives through the preaching of the gospel. Remember, as co-director
of CUFI, Brog speaks for Hagee on broad policy.
He told the Washington Times,
All activities of CUFI are strictly non-conversionary. Christians
who work with Jews in supporting Israel realize how sensitive we
are in talking about conversion and talking about Jesus. So those
who work with us tend not to talk about Jesus more, but talk about
Jesus less. They realize it will interfere with what they are trying
to do -- building a bridge to the Jewish community to ensure the
survival of Judeo-Christian Civilization. (July 13, 2006, The Washington
Times, "Christian
group to advocate more support for Israel," by Julia Duin)
Brog
spoke similarly when interviewed by Kathryn Jean Lopez on Beliefnet.
The important question is this: is evangelical support for Israel
merely a tool in the effort to convert Jews? Is this merely some
scheme to soften up the Jews so that they can better sell Jesus to
them? And the answer to this question is absolutely not. If anything,
the opposite is true. I and others who have worked with Christians
in support of Israel all report that no one has ever tried to convert
us. In fact, Christians who support Israel tend to know more Jews
and to understand their sensitivities better than Christians who
do not. Thus, they have learned that Jews find ‘Jesus talk’ offensive, and they
tend to leave it out of the dialogue. ( Kathryn Jean Lopez, “Jews & Evangelicals
Together: Why Some Christians Are So Pro-Israel,” Beliefnet.com)
He was even more blunt in his own book, where he wrote, “While
there is no eviden ce that [ CUFI] facilitates the conversion of Jews,
there is evidence that the alliance actually works to impede efforts
to convert Jews .” ( David Brog, Standing With Israel,
pp. 188-189.)
Brog told Washington Jewish Week that Jewish converts to
Christ are not accepted as CUFI speakers. He added, “ The group
tells people that if you cannot put aside your desire to share the
gos pel with Jews there’s the door.” ( Eric Fingerhut, “Educating
on Evangelicals,” Washington Jewish Week, July 5, 2007)
A 2009 paper by David Bricker of Jews for Jesus reports the incredible
testimony of one of its founders, Tuvya Zaretsky. Zaretsky received
an invitation to a CUFI event and called to confirm. He was told the
invite was sent accidentally and that since he is a Jewish convert
to Christianity, he is not welcome at CUFI events.
Hagee’s ministry is self-proclaimed non-conversionary and this
freedom from offense has been rubber-stamped by others—including
the important leader of the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. This rabbi said, “The Jewish
community and evangelicals are to cooperate whenever possible . . . but
if they (evangelicals) are involved in targeted missions toward Jews,
like Jews for Jesus, we won’t work with them.” ( Rick Hellman, “Rabbi
reassures Jews about evangelicals,” Kansas City Jewish Chronicle ,
February 17, 2006.) Rabbi Eckstein made this statement in 2006. The
next year, he gave IFCJ’s highest honor, the Ambassador’s
Award, to none other than John Hagee.
Another rabbi also gave the kosher approval to Hagee’s only
superficially “Christian” events. Rabbi Clifford Kulwin
attended a CUFI rally in 2007 and listened to CUFI regional director
Robert Stearns. Stearns told his Jewish audience, “Let’s
talk about the 600-pound gorilla in the room. I am not here to convert
you.” He had “too much respect” for Jews to suggest
that any individual Jew should convert from his religious identity!
( Clifford M. Kulwin, “A rabbi comes to terms with a Christian
Zionist,” New Jersey Jewish News, March 27, 2008)
Away from Spiritual Roots
The 2009 Jews for Jesus study is titled, “How
Christian is Christian Zionism?” It retells the shift from
religious Christian Zionism to political Christian Zionism, from
a church focused on sharing Christ with Jews to a church focused
on getting the Jews into political power in Israel. Stephen
Sizer, author of Christian Zionism: Roadmap to Armageddon, points
out that most Christians used to believe the Jews would inherit Palestine
as a result of converting to Christ. Although some Christians
had always believed the Jews would rule Palestine before finding
Jesus, the idea began to gather real steam about the time that Theodore
Herzl was pioneering political Zionism in the late nineteenth century.
In 1909, C. I. Scofield forever changed the landscape of American
Christianity with his annotated Bible. Scofield taught that certain
events must occur before Jesus can return and rapture the faithful
to heaven. Perhaps most importantly, the Jews must be reinstated in
Palestine. Scofield’s work carried on the legacy of late-nineteenth
century eschatologist John Nelson Darby, who is considered the father
of modern Dispensationalist theology and was a respected explainer
of End Times theology.
Darby believed the church will be raptured before any tribulation
occurs, as did Scofield—and as do Hagee, Tim LaHaye and other
contemporary hasteners of Armageddon. Since believers will enjoy a
quick stage-left exit, according to these pastors, the church should
do everything it can to hasten the end of the age—including getting
the Jews into dominion in the Holy Land. Darby and modern dispensationalists
teach that the Jews are still under God’s unconditional blessing,
even in rebellion; their vision of the ongoing Abrahamic covenant means
that despite rejection—even persecution—of Christ and His
followers, the right of all Jews to consider themselves God’s
chosen people and occupy Palestine as a nation remains unaltered. These
theologians laid the groundwork for a Christian Zionism intent on reinstating
Jews in rebellious conquest of the Promised Land and thus signaling
the church’s elevator ride to heaven.
According to the Jews for Jesus report, this uncharitable emphasis
truly began to cut off Christian evangelism to Jews around 1970. “ It
was only after the establishment of the State of Israel and indeed
after the recapture of Jerusalem in 1967 that we began to see the rise
of a non-biblical or rather a political Christian Zionism that divorced
itself from Jewish evangelism.” Scofield’s seeds were in
full bloom at this point. A church intensely focusing on the rapture
has less and less interest in saving Jewish souls in the here and now.
A system of eschatological escapism and heresy begun in the mid-nineteenth
century British Isles today feeds on Christian fundamentalist idealism
and desire to please anti-Christ Jews. It has brought Christian evangelicalism
to a shocking state. The church is embarrassed to name Christ to those
He first came to redeem—the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. It disobeys Christ’s great commission
to spread the gospel to the whole world, starting with Jerusalem.
Is there any worse description of heresy?
Harmony
Grant is a writer for National
Prayer Network. To greater understand
the illogic behind hate laws, read
her article “Top
Eleven Reasons You Should Fight
Hate Laws.”
Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative
watchdog organization.
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