JUDAIZING THE US CHURCH
By Harmony Grant
16 Apr 08
The Jewish Forward’s recent “most
read” article worries that evangelicals might be stealing from
the Jews. But it is Christians who should really be worried.
The article describes a Passover banquet in Alabama where 1,300 Christians
gathered for unleavened bread and bitter herbs and donated more than
$10,000 to the Jewish Federation. A local rabbi complains, “It
is a total taking over and arrogation to themselves of the entire concept
of the Seder. It’s totally Christological.”
Evangelical Christians’ support of Israel is essential to the
Jewish state. The powerful Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish
Organizations even publicly supports Rev. John Hagee—Israel-firster
extraordinaire; they recently wrote the NY Times to defend
him as Israel’s “true friend”. Binyamin
Netanyahu—Israel’s ninth prime minister, an extremist who
resigned as finance minister in 2005 to protest withdrawal from Gaza—said Christian
Zionists are Israel’s best friends in the world! In a recent
poll, a
whopping 82 percent of evangelicals agreed that Christians are
morally obligated to support the Jewish state. In his New Testament
letters, the apostle Paul repelled attempts by Jews to impose on the
early church the rites and legalisms of Old Testament law. He
furiously rebuked the apostle Peter for bending to Judaizing influences;
he said Peter "stood condemned." (Gal. 2:11) As evangelicals
today fall even deeper into this unbiblical love affair, they are increasingly
eager to participate in Jewish rites, own Jewish trinkets, and learn
about Jewish culture.
Who is really damaged by this Christian appropriation? Jews are not
becoming more Christian. Christians are becoming more Jewish! Jews
are not donating money for Christian evangelism (or
even allowing it in their country)! It is Christians who
finance a religion dedicated to opposing their own. And their gift
of millions of dollars to Israel is flatly contrary to Scripture. Christians
are instructed to give their tithes and offerings to the "household
of faith," i.e., many Christian missionary and relief organizations
that desperately need help to relieve suffering and further the gospel
message. (Gal. 6:10) Judaism
and the state of Israel are emphatically not of the household of faith.
Israel 's "anti-missionary law" mandates a five-year prison
sentence for any evangelical who gives to an Israeli a "material
inducement" (Bible tract or even a cup of coffee) that might help
persuade him to become a Christian!
Christianity Today should be debating the Alabama Passover, not the
Jewish Forward. Christian pastors should speak up about the Talmud’s
anti-Christ vitriol, persecution of Christians by Israel , oppression
of Christian evangelism by Jews in Israel and the US —and gravely
warn against the Judaization of the American church. We should be asking, “Is
this good for the church?” as the Forward and others constantly
debate what is good for the Jews. But we don’t. These debates
never happen.
The Seattle Times published an opinion piece titled, “Passover
seders are out of place in churches.” Very true. But it
was written by Rabbi Mark Glickman, not a Christian pastor as it
should have been.
In Ohio , Catholic high school students took a field trip to a Jewish
synagogue where the principal
of religious education told them: "Judaism is the base of
all Christian religion. It's good to know where you come from." That’s
interesting; I thought Christ was the base of all Christian religion.
The “debt” Christians owe to Jews is increasingly taught
by evangelicals wanting to stimulate support of Israel and ride the
wave of Hebrewness. This movement is so intense the UK
Guardian says, “From the mobilising might of CUFI and televangelists,
to Jerusalem marches and the 65 million copy-selling Left Behind series,
to be an American evangelical has become synonymous with fanatically
pro-Israel politics.” And the only concerned people getting any
real air time about this are…Jews, the ones worried about compromising
and collaborating with possibly “anti-Semitic” Christians.
It’s deeply troubling that Jews, not Christians, worry about
the Judaization of the church. This demonstrates the incredible deception
of the evangelical community, which is so much less wary than the Jewish
community even though this alliance is currently only a threat to Christians.
Jews remain adamantly, consciously, and militantly opposed to Christian
evangelism and theology—leery even to accept evangelicals’ strong
political and financial support. Meanwhile, evangelicals are so blind
to the theological enmity between themselves and Talmudic Judaism that
they rush headlong to support, defend, and now absorb Jewish identity
and actions.
In his Seattle opinion piece, Rabbi Glickman makes a point that should
shock many evangelicals. He says that “to be perfectly honest — the
Seder [ritual feast held on first and second nights of eight-day passover]
developed, in part, as an anti-Christian polemic — a "slam" on
the then-new and growing religion called Christianity. Such religious
critique is all but absent from contemporary Seders, but the anti-Christian
roots of the event are unmistakable. A church Seder is thus a Christian
event rooted in anti-Christianity.” Basically—Christians
who participate in the Seder are participating in an event directed
against their own existence!
Glickman’s admission is astonishing on many levels. First,
it demonstrates Jews’ safety and power in American society, that
a rabbi could publicly admit the anti-Christianity of a yearly Jewish
event. Second, it highlights a fact that Israel-first Christians refuse
to face: Judaism opposes the recognition of Christ as God incarnate,
Savior of mankind. For two millennia, it has been self-defined by opposing
the explosion of Christian faith. Christians today can’t participate
in Judaism without opposing their own community and Lord. They can’t
support Israel without supporting Israeli persecution of Christians
and Christian evangelism.
Besides that, the Judaization of the church corrupts and corrodes
Christian theology. It’s gotten so bad that a bunch of evangelical
leaders recently took out a big
NY Times ad just to remind people that Christians have to spread
the faith (a major thing Jesus told us to do) and to evangelize Jews
along with everyone else. This responded to a growing heresy that Jews
have a separate covenant with God and don’t need faith in Christ
or need Christian evangelism. The Times ad expressed kindergarten Christianity—a
basic element of our identity that is subverted by our growing obsession
with Jewish identity.
Jews have long recognized that assimilation into Gentile culture
posed a greater threat to world Jewry than physical persecution. It
is long past time for Christians to recognize the threat of losing
their unique identity as followers of Jesus and His earth-shaking message.
St. Paul knew that the rites and observances of the Mosaic/rabbinic
law would entangle the infant church, drawing Christians into their
spell of legalism. He knew legalism would drive out the empowering
liberating New Testament message of justification by faith alone.
How should believers respond to increasing efforts to incorporate
Judaic elements in Christian theology and worship? Such "Judaizers" should
be rebuked and repulsed, not embraced.
Harmony Grant writes and edits for National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative
watchdog group.
Let the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith teach you how they
have saddled 45 states with hate laws capable of persecuting Christians: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
Learn how ADL took away free speech in Canada and wants to steal
it now in the U.S. Congress. Watch Rev. Ted Pike's Hate
Laws: Making Criminals of Christians at video.google.com. Purchase
this gripping documentary to show at church. Order online at www.truthtellers.org for
$24.90, DVD or VHS, by calling 503-853-3688, or at the address below.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this
topic. Call (503) 631-3808.
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