The Selling out of Evengelical Christians to Zionist Jews

CHRIST BETRAYED
By Michael Collins Piper

Anti-Christian forces led by a wide-ranging group of high-ranking Israeli
officials won a major victory on March 30. Representatives of 50 different
international Christian evangelical groups entered into what was described
as an ''unprecedented'' joint statement promising not to carry out Christian
missionary work in Israel.

In return, Israeli lawmaker Nissim Zvili said that he would drop his
sponsorship of a proposed measure before the Israeli parliament [widely
supported among various political factions in Israel] that would outlaw any
effort to teach or propagate Christian doctrine in Israel. Under Zvili's
highly popular proposal, any Christian missionary found guilty of violating
the law would be sent to prison for one year. Zvili hailed the Christian
surrender, saying; ''This is better than a law. This is a very big
accomplishment.''

The Christian groups that surrendered to Israeli pressure, and thereby
abandoned their long-standing practice of proselytizing the Christian faith,
issued a statement saying that they rejoice in the presence of the Jewish
people in this country of their ancestors and agreed to avoid activities
which alienate Jews in Israel from their tradition and community.

In response to the surrender by the Christian groups in the face of the
anti-Christian legislation, one American Christian evangelist, Reverend Dale
Crowley Jr, expressed great shock and dismay. Crowley said that those groups
that endorsed the agreement have, in Crowley's direct terms, ''Betrayed our
Lord.'' Crowley says that purveying the Gospel of Christ to non-believers is
integral to the Christian faith and stems from the biblical great commission
directing Christians to share their faith.

Crowley notes that two newspapers with prominent circulation in the
pro-Israel community, Washington Jewish Week and the New York City-based
Forward, have ''quite notably'' in his words, not reported on this Israeli
victory over Christian evangelism. Crowley said that he has been prodding
Washington Jewish Week to publish the story but that, thus far, the
influential publication has not done so.

''The Israelis WANT TO KEEP THIS INFORMATION UNDER WRAPS,'' THEY DON'T WANT
THE WORLD TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, Crowley
said, ''and the Christian groups that entered into this outrageous betrayal
of their faith are ashamed of themselves, as they certainly should be.''

According to Crowley, the complete joint statement issued by the Christian
groups has been virtually impossible to obtain, despite the fact that some
50 different groups have affixed their names to the statement. Also, says
Crowley, the actual names of the 50 different groups that are signatories to
the agreement are also out of reach. When the names of those groups are
finally made public, says Crowley, Christians should cease supporting those
groups since they have effectively betrayed their Biblical commission to
spread the gospel by abandoning their missionary work in the land where
Christ lived and carried out his work.

VERY REAL PROBLEMS

At the time the anti-Christian bill was first introduced in the Israeli
parliament, even Rev. David Allen Lewis, president of the pro-Israel group,
Christians United for Israel, admitted that there were some very real
problems with the legislation. ''This bill means great hardship for Zionist
evangelicals like myself, ''said Lewis, who worried that the action would
revive the argument of those who question Christian support for Israel,
saying, ''How can you support the Jewish nation when they are against
Christianity!''

When I contacted the offices of Christian evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat
Robertson, both of whom are loud advocates of pro-Israel policy [despite the
ant-Christian stance of the Israeli leadership], neither would comment on
the anti-Christian legislation. Sen. Jesse Helms [R-N.C.] another vocal
supporter of Israel [and ally of the so-called ''Christian Right'' in the
United States], likewise refused to provide me any comment on the
anti-Christian offensive in Israel.

Although Israel today is torn asunder by vast feuding among various
political and religious factions even within the Jewish community as a
whole, the anti-Christian proposal by Israeli lawmaker Zvili had
wide-ranging support throughout the Israeli population.

ARCHITECT NAMED

Longtime Republican Party and conservative movement leader John Lofton,
previously a pro-Israel zealot but now an unabashed Christian who is not
afraid to criticize Israeli excesses, has been watching the anti-Christian
offensive in Israel.

Lofton recently reported in his Lofton Report that Clarence Wagner, director
of the evangelical foundation Bridges for Peace, was the architect of this
agreement, which, in Lofton's words, ''denies our Lord.'' Lofton says that
''Wagner and his cowardly crew have chosen to obey men rather than God'' and
that ''they have chosen to be ashamed of the Gospel even though,'' says
Lofton, quoting Romans 1;16, ''it is the power or God unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also the Greek.''

John Alpher of the American Jewish Committee's Israel/Middle East Office has
hailed the sell-out as ''a dynamic Christian commitment to the vitality of
Israel and Judaism.'' His colleague, Rabbi A. James Rudin, the AJC'S
''director of Interreligious affairs,'' said that the agreement is ''a
strong refutation of those Christians who sadly still target Jews as
possible converts to Christianity.'' Rudin says that he hopes the statement
will be ''a model for others to emulate throughout the world.''

NOT PREACH?

Lofton had strong words in response to the AJC'S comments; ''For openers, no
Christian would ever agree not to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Secondly, apart from Christ, there is no ''vitality'' for anybody,
including Israel and Judaism. As for those Christians who ''sadly'' target
Jews for conversion to Christianity, well, the Lord Himself was one of those
''Christians.'' Lofton concluded; ''God forbid that this Christ-hating
agreement should ever be emulated, or become a model, for anybody.''

Virtually the only national news publication in America to report on the
Israeli war on Christianity was us on March,17, 1997. We published a special
eight-page report entitled Israel Declares War on Christianity and told the
story of the anti-Christian legislation. The special report featured a
ground-breaking essay by the aforementioned Christian evangelist, Dale
Crowley, Jr, in which Crowley refuted the popular political theory that the
present day geographic entity known as Israel is the ''Israel'' that is
referred to in the Bible.

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