Mere Rhetoric: OneJerusalem.org Conference Call: Pastor John Hagee, Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church [FAQ: Debunking Liberal Myths About Evangelical Support For Israel]

This afternoon's One Jerusalem bloggers' conference was with Pastor John Hagee, the tireless decades-long promoter of Christian pro-Israel advocacy. The Pastor has been to Israel 22 times and has met with every Prime Minister since Begin. He and his wife also independently have a close relationship with the One Jerusalem folks. There's video on the One Jerusalem site of one of Pastor Hagee's A Night To Honor Israel events and of Mrs. Diana Hagee speaking passionately at last year's anti-Ahmadinejad rally in front of UN. As always, audio will be made available soon on the One Jerusalem frontpage.

In addition to their ministry at the Cornerstone Church, the Pastor and his wife run Christians United For Israel. The latter organization is what the bloggers spent almost all their times talking about - it's dedicated to politically mobilizing American evangelicals in support of Israel. They have three explicit goals: (1) forming a rapid response team that can be activated to lobby quickly (2) holding an annual Washington summit that conveys to politicians the extent of evangelical support for Israel and (3) spreading their annual Night To Honor Israel into every major US city.

Pastor Hagee was particularly excited about the latter, because in addition to bringing out evangelicals for Israel is de facto forces evangelical leaders to come into contact with their local Jewish leaders. Our views on this are pretty well-known to regular readers: American pro-Israel evangelicals are among the best friends that Israel has in the world. We believe that they are genuinely interested in the fortunes of Israelis.

Nothing Pastor Hagee said this afternoon made us think any differently. He really believes that "it's 1938 and Ahmadinejad is the new Hitler of the Middle East" - and he's undeniably terrified about the possibilities. He really believes that "Christians have a Biblical mandate to support the State of Israel" - and he certainly revels in his ability to prove it. And he really believes that "the things [Jews and Christians] have in common are far greater than the things" that separate them - and he genuinely regrets that more people don't agree with him.

Honestly, we don't even know how reasonable people can disagree about this any more. The man is so obviously authentic. And yet the demonization that evangelical supporters of Israel undergo is as regular as it is unfair. Leftist outlets like Salon and The Nation persist in publishing stories insinuating that pro-Israel Christians have dark motives, usually revolving around some simplistic idea relating Jews in Israel to the End Times. These charges are not just absurd on their face (which they are - more on that below). The really insane thing is that the implicit alternative is that American Jews throw their support behind the political and theological left. The political left dominated by an increasingly anti-Semitic Democratic Party. Or the theological left, made up of vaguely anti-Semitic liberal Protestant groups and increasingly suspicious liberal Protestant ex-Presidents. There's something unseemly about the glee with which leftists screech about even the mildest hints of evangelical anti-Semitism. It's beginning to take on an almost defensive air.

Regardless, we really don't know what good argument liberal American Jews have to oppose Israeli-evangelical ties. It's probably just reflexive anti-evangelical ideology, mixed equal parts mundane ADL-style identity politics and inflexible liberal opposition to the Christian right. But there's probably a very slight chance that their opposition stems from a genuine lack of information.

But, nonetheless - Pastor Hagee takes the task of unifying evangelicals and pro-Israel Jews as one of the most important political tasks of our day. And so on the slight chance that Jews suspicious of evangelicals are genuinely misinformed, we’ve compiled a FAQ based on some of this afternoon's themes. It's not comprehensive, but we're pretty sure we got most of the anti-evangelical liberal canards. You can click on a question number or just scroll straight through.

(1) I've heard from insipid liberal outlets that Christian evangelicals only support Israel because they view Jewish immigration to Israel as a sign of the Second Coming. Is this true?
(2) What about that far-left AlterNet article I read that said that Pastor Hagee is leading the evangelical charge for Bush to attack Iran? Isn't that a giveaway that this is all some complicated plot to bring about the Christian End Times?
(3) I've read petulant leftist hacks who insist that evangelicals oppose giving away Israeli land because they want to start a Middle East war and trigger the Apocalypse. Is this really the case?
(4) I've been told by irrelevant Jewish-American identity groups that Christian evangelicals are trying to Christianize America and marginalize Jews. Should I be worried?
(5) Assuming that I am Jewish, will Pastor Hagee try to convert me?
(6) But he still believes I'm going to Hell?
(7) OK, but what if Pastor Hagee and other evangelicals are lying about all that "blessing Israel" stuff. Couldn't they be making it up in order to trick Jews to take their money, immigrate to Israel, not give away Israeli land, and usher in the Apocalypse?
(8) This sounds too good to be true. But what about all of the anti-Semitic stuff in the New Testament?

(1) I've heard from insipid liberal outlets that Christian evangelicals only support Israel because they view Jewish immigration to Israel as a sign of the Second Coming. Is this true?

No:

[Southern Baptist leader Richard Land]: I think it is a sign of the end-times. But that’s not the reason to bless Israel. The reason to do it is because God commanded it….Yes, we’re one step closer to the end-times than we were before Israel came back into the land, because my understanding of biblical prophecy is that Israel is established in the land at the time that the events of the Second Coming take place. But the Bible tells us no man knows the hour or the day of his coming.

(2) What about that far-left AlterNet article I read that said that Pastor Hagee is leading the evangelical charge for Bush to attack Iran? Isn't that a giveaway that this is all some complicated plot to bring about the Christian End Times?

No:

Q: Should the United States be an aggressor against Iran? A: It would be shameful for America, with all it's military might, to allow Israel to fight our fight!

Q: Why must the United States put its own security on the line to defend Israel?
A: Iran is a threat to western civilization ... not just to Israel. Iran with nuclear weapons will be the world's worst nightmare. America and Europe will be blackmailed to bow to the Islamofacist agenda. The attack on 9/11 proved Islamics have the will to kill us, they are now searching for the power to kill us ... nuclear power...

It sounds a lot like he's trying to stop Armageddon, not bring it about. Anyway, to believe this slander you also have to believe that all of the Jewish Israelis who leave open the possibility of attacking Iran - including a peaceniks like Shimon Peres - also want to bring about the Christian End Times. And if you believe that then, honestly, we just don't know what to tell you.

(3) I've read petulant leftist hacks who insist that evangelicals oppose giving away Israeli land because they want to start a Middle East war and trigger the Apocalypse. Is this really the case?

No:

"It's a direct commandment that Christians should be supportive of Israel," Hagee says. "It's the only nation that God ever created. It’s the only nation that Christians are told to pray for, and therefore, because the Bible is the compass of our faith, we do what it says." Hagee preaches this to his 20,000 congregants and the millions of home viewers he reaches each week in his televised sermons. He illustrates his point by noting passages from Genesis and Luke... Hagee calls it "biblical advocacy," an idea that has attracted prominent Evangelicals like Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell to join Hagee. A "biblical advocate" for Israel believes the borders of the country were set by God and should not be altered. It's a view at odds with the majority of Israelis who are prepared to trade land for peace, but, Hagee promises, the group won't intervene in internal Israeli politics.

(4) I've been told by irrelevent Jewish-American identity groups that Christian evangelicals are trying to Christianize America and marginalize Jews. Should I be worried?

No:

We've always thought that the Anti-Defamation League is an aptly-named organization: they're not really designed to target genuine anti-Semitism as much as they're good at protecting Jewish kids from "defamation" (although not, God forbid, [in] Jewish day schools). It's a self-esteem racket - the perfect identity politics group. And as an identity group, reflexively and myopically targets the old enemies of the Left: Institutionalized Christianity... more power for evangelical groups very probably would result in some censorship and maybe even some organized prayers in public places... Does Foxman perceive a world in which Christianity becomes so powerful in the United States that, for instance, synagogues are closed or Jews are forced to pray in schools to a Christian God? Of course the doesn't. This is nothing more than Leftist, reflexive protection of the separation of Church and State. And like so many of the Left's reflexes, it's counter-productive even to Leftist causes

(5) Assuming that I am Jewish, will Pastor Hagee try to convert me?

No:

Jewish Standard: The Rev. John Hagee... assured people last week that there would be no proselytizing or missionizing associated with his organization, Christians United for Israel. Do you believe he is sincere?

David Brog: I do believe that he is sincere. He has believed as a core principle for over 25 years that his work should not lead to any efforts at converting Jews. When he first tried to organize Christians for support of Israel 25 years ago, he met with uniform resistance from Christian pastors on this issue. When he spoke recently to several hundred Christian pastors in San Antonio Texas in an effort to enlist their support for Israel, all of them agreed to refrain from using these activities as a means of converting Jews.

(6) But he still believes I'm going to Hell?

Oh most definitely. But if you're a conservative Jew, what do you care what Christian theology teaches? And if you're a liberal Jew - well, you can't both embrace interfaith dialogue and reject a genuine friend of the Jewish people just because he's from a different faith.

(7) OK, but what if Pastor Hagee and other evangelicals are lying about all that "blessing Israel" stuff. Couldn't they be making it up in order to trick Jews to take their money, immigrate to Israel, not give away Israeli land, and usher in the Apocalypse?

No:

The problem with this argument is that it's always teetering on conspiracy theory ground: demonstrate an alternative, non-Revelation-based motive, and leftists can claim that Christian leaders are just hiding their true motives. So the only real way to get at the debate is to just highlight obvious, undeniable good will and dare the left to spin it as all one pre-planned conspiracy:

Millions of Evangelical Christians around the world support and constantly pray for the State of Israel, representatives at a meeting of the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus said Wednesday. Dozens of Evangelical pastors, parliament members, and leaders from an array of countries gathered at the Knesset in Jerusalem to proclaim their support for the country, during a meeting of the Caucus, which was also attended by Knesset Members from across the political spectrum. "We see Israelis as our spiritual mothers and fathers. It's an honor for us to be here," Pastor Norman Miller of Australia told Ynetnews. "We love your God, Israel,"

They're obviously [not] donating their time, money, and passion because they want to see all of the Jews wiped out. That makes [no] sense, and is totally [incompatible] with everything we know about human nature and these people's behavior.

(8) Honestly, this sounds too good to be true - what about all of the anti-Semitic stuff in the New Testament?

Different groups will interpret the Bible in different ways, and some evangelicals certainly seem swayed by those parts of the New Testament. They're referenced in the intro to this FAQ, beginning with the phrase "On the theological left...". Pro-Israel evangelicals like Pastor Hagee have spent decades working with Jews, and seem to be swayed by different parts of the Bible that call for blessing Israel. Certainly it's absurd to tar them with the charge of anti-Semitism by association, when the association being asserted links them to a political left that they spend every day opposing.

Previously: OneJerusalem.org Conference Call: Catholic League President William Donohue, OneJerusalem.org Conference Call: Washington Times Editor and Author Tony Blankley, OneJerusalem.org Conference Call: Yehudit Barsky on Salah Choudhury