Monologue: Mark Carney’s Big Adventure
Interview: Father Emmanuel Lemelson on the dangers of Christian Zionism
Close: Tom Woods and Darryl Cooper (Martyr Made) on Israel/Iran/America
I went my whole adult life not understanding that a segment of the population bases its foreign policy decisions on a literal interpretation of what it believes is in the Christian scriptures. I was jolted by the exchange between Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson last week — the one in which Cruz gets a body-check from Carlson when he justifies a no red lines policy for Israel based on his religious beliefs - which actually make no sense. It appears to be something he learned in Sunday school. The full exchange is in the show video above. Below is a more fulsome explanation of why Christian Zionists support Israel.
For many “Christian Zionists,” and particularly for popular evangelists with significant clout within the Republican Party, their support for Israel is rooted in its role in the supposed end times: Jesus’ return to Earth, a bloody final battle at Armageddon, and Jesus ruling the world from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In this scenario, war is not something to be avoided, but something inevitable, desired by God, and celebratory.
Full openness — I am a Christian/Converted/Catholic who is still getting the hang of a complex subject but my gut tells me that bombing women and children isn’t part of Christ’s teachings. I suspect God might be upset at the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza, underwritten by the American government - not to mention its supporters amongst the American political class who are Christian Zionists.
I am live and let live where religion is concerned and know some kindly Evangelicals who do good works but support what’s happening in Gaza. I have trouble squaring these two ideas. Father Lemelson is outspoken in his criticisms of how incorrect Biblical interpretations are fuelling the ongoing violence.
Here is the Haaretz piece I refer to in the show. Even the IDF are admitting the atrocities now.
The piece quotes an IDF soldier as saying:
“No one cares about Gaza anymore. It’s a place that follows our own rules now. Killing people there doesn’t even count as an ‘unfortunate incident’ anymore, it’s nothing.”
Above is video of an attack on Gazans seeking aid. Haaretz also reports the curious origins of the failing aid where the shootings are taking place.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid centres began operating in the Strip at the end of May. The circumstances of the foundation's establishment and its funding are murky: it is known to have been set up by Israel in coordination with U.S. evangelicals and private security contractors. Its current CEO is an evangelical leader close to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The leader referred to is Johnnie Moore, a Christian Zionist who got his start in the Jerry Falwell organization — at Liberty Baptist University.
Mr. Moore, like many evangelicals, including Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, is committed to a Jewish state based on his interpretation of the Bible.
Some evangelicals view their support for Israel as an important element of their belief in biblical prophecy. Speaking to The Washington Post in 2018, Mr. Moore said he had advised White House officials that “those who bless Israel will be blessed.”
Mr. Moore cheered Mr. Huckabee’s nomination, saying on social media in November that “selecting a lifelong non-Jewish Zionist as the U.S. ambassador to Israel sends a powerful message to friend and foe of America.”
Mr. Huckabee, 69, and Mr. Moore, 41, have walked similar paths as public figures and Christian media creators, and they have been described as friends in Israeli news media. The embassy did not respond to a request for comment on their relationship.
I’m sure you folks will have a lot to say. I’ve already received a few emails. Some positive and some not. My concern is not what people believe — its a free country, sort of — but rather when literal interpretation of any theocratic story is used to justify foreign policy.
So far, this is my favourite email so far — from a listener overseas:
You have had some great shows over the years and hosted some amazing guests but none has impacted upon me like your interview with Father Lemelson. I'm a catholic like you and although I live in a peaceful and prosperous setting, the weight of the world has burdened me, pretty much ever since the Covid madness began. And it was mad here in NZ as you no doubt know.
Although I'm thankful for being awake and thinking critically (I hope I am) it's a lot to carry around and I've been asking for God to take it off of me. There are times when I wish I was more ignorant of worldly affairs. The plight of the Gazans hurts my soul. I think about it all the time. Letters to political leaders go unanswered. People in general don't even want to discuss it. I despair. And when the Iranian missiles were striking Israeli cities, it felt like justice, so much so that when the ceasefire came, I was disappointed that Israel got off so lightly. I wanted them to feel every bit of the pain they continue to inflict upon the hapless Gazans. I wanted their killing machine dismantled and destroyed.
But father Lemelson challenges me to return to the true values of being a follower of Christ. His beautiful message of bearing witness to the word of God has made me reflect on how I too have contributed to the suffering by wishing ill upon Israel. Yes I will continue to speak out and act in whatever way I can to call out this gross injustice but I will try to do it more through the power of his love which he gave to all of us by going freely to the cross.
POST PUBLICATION NOTE: Charges of anti-semitism and “Jew-hate” in the comments are now an instant block. Make your case with facts or keep it to yourself. Personal attacks are not welcome here. I’m not interested in giving you space. And the people in this community deserve better. No place for trolls here.
Amen.
Stay critical.
#truthovertribe
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