Sunday morning at Christian "Zionist" organization leader's church

[Ian David]

Eyewitness: Sunday morning at Christian Zionist organization leader's church
Pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel, preaches hatred of Islam

By an anonymous attendee, special to JewsOnFirst.org, August 23, 2006

I was at Cornerstone Church last Sunday -- this for the fourth time, which means I must be some kind of masochist. The "sermon," lasting over an hour, was the first of a three part series entitled, "A Family Feud." I expect you will know that refers to Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael. Sunday's diatribe featured an analysis of the current political situation, next Sunday (dare I go again?) will tell us how it all started and who's to blame, and on Sept. 3 the true believers will be treated to the Armageddon scenario.

First, the whole thing was purely political; nothing "religious" whatsoever, except the repetitious excoriation of Islam. Of course, there was a nod to "good Muslims," but the constant reminder that the enemy is Islamo-fascism (and you should hear how Hagee pronounces "fascism"; just as he mispronounced "Martin Niemoeller") lets it be known to his hearers that really all Islam and all Muslims are the enemy. He skewed history time and again, e.g., he said Hamas was led by Arafat. He equates Arabs with Islam, when less than 25% of Muslims are Arabs. He skims over the fact that Iranians are not Arabs -- but no matter, they are the enemy. He badmouthed Clinton and knocked academicians. But the latter is just another example of the anti-intellectualism of the Flat Earth Society and the Armageddon crowd.

An interesting note: Hagee sees a close connection between Nazism and Islamo-fascism. Mein Kampf = jihad. Both are struggles, battles, fights. He said Hitler had met with an Arab leader in the '30s and plotted the destruction of the Jews. Somehow he saw a connection between the 6 million Jews of the Holocaust and the 6 million Jews living in Israel. We must make sure that the latter are not slaughtered like the former.

Hagee noted that Mohammed flew to heaven on August 21. When this happened, according to the legend, there was a bright light. Now, the President of Iran said he will give his answer to the U.N. (Hagee: U.N.=United Nothing) on August 22. Hagee hinted that the "bright light" may be replicated by an atomic missile explosion sent by Iran to Israel. Watch for it, folks!

More:
http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06c/cornerstone.html



See also:
What is Christian Zionism?
by Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, JewsOnFirst, July 31, 2006

Christian Zionism is a movement within Protestant fundamentalism that understands the modern state of Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and thus deserving of political, financial, and religious support. Christian Zionists believe that when all Jews are gathered in Israel, Jesus will reappear; there are varying "end times" scenarios for what follows. (For more, please see the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism.)

Christian Zionism is an extreme modern apocalyptic movement that shares with Nazi philosophy the paranoid idea that Jews and Judaism are the central actors in the world. Both movements seek the eventual dismantling of the Jewish people and Jewish faith - Nazism by death and Christian Zionism by conversion to Christianity of a remnant of Jews, who will finally learn their "lesson" from the death of most of the Jewish people at Armageddon (Ir Megiddo); then the "left-behind" remnant is expected to commit apostasy by converting to Jesus worship.

All the Christian Zionists' expressions of love and friendship (for example, Pat Robertson saying "We love the Jewish people") -- all their farm aid (including red heifers to use in revived temple sacrifices) and help for Russian Jews to immigrate to Israel -- are preparations for genocide by remote control.

Rabbi Barry Block of Temple Beth El, located in Christians United for Israel leader John Hagee's home town of San Antonio, writes for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that " and his group's partners hew to a theology that mainstream Americans of every faith reject and often abhor. Even as they speak to large congregations, Hagee and his ilk are repudiated by tens of millions of Christians, including evangelicals, and for good reason. The group's advocacy for Israel will harm everything we hold dear, as Israel and the Jewish people are tarnished by association."

Christian Zionism entirely ignores Jewish/Zionist aspirations for normalcy. Zionism was to be a new start for Judaism and the Jewish people living enlightened lives in peace. Instead Christian Zionism encourages the Israeli government and the US Jewish organizational leadership on a path toward enmity with the Palestinians and disrespect for Islam. In his book End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount, Gershom Gorenberg pointed to the triad of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish fundamentalisms goading and threatening each other.

Many Jews are puzzled by Hagee's Christian Zionism. Many do not understand how it differs from altruistic support of Israel. Nonetheless, they welcome it and its blandishments of friendship in the face of so much opposition to Israel.

Most of what has been written about Christian Zionism by Jews (for example, Yechiel Eckstein's The Journey Home, and CUFI Executive Director David Brog's Standing with Israel: Why Christians support the Jewish state,) is also not helpful because it projects a romantic version of Zionism that assumes maximum claims for land and barely nods to pragmatic political considerations. Virtually the entire pantheon of Zionist thinkers from Theodore Herzl to David Grossman and Amos Elon saw peace with Arab neighbors as the culmination of the Zionist dream, not as an impossibility.

That peace demanded compromise in resolving disputes, not preparation for endless wars and "end-times" scenarios.

More:
http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06b/cufi.html