CT is not our friend

Christianity Today magazine continues to be problematic. I’ve written many times about the flagship evangelical publication started by Billy Graham in the 50s. Certainly by the 90s it was left-leaning, with editors like Mickey Maudlin and David Neff. In particular, Neff’s work for Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding focused on subtle (and sometimes not so much) undermining of Israel.

 Sadly, as millennials become more and more the fabric of the current editorial staff, CT rolls along with its incremental attacks on Scripture—always masquerading of course as earnest lovers of the Bible. I well remember one editorial quote from the 90s: “We here at CT revere Scripture.”

That was and is an absolute lie, and one they made knowingly. Whether it has been affirming Darwinian philosophy, or regurgitating PLO talking points (“Jesus was a Palestinian”), the Chicago-based publication is trash.

 An example of their undermining of the Bible is seen in a new three-part series. Two of the articles titles—“How to Read Yourself Into Genesis” and “This Ancient Land Is Not Your Land”—are so transparently bad one wonders why there isn’t more public outcry.

 Imagine: They are directly telling people to insert themselves into the accounts from the foundational book of the Bible.

 News flash: Genesis isn’t about you. That’s Steven Furtick-level self-absorption. 

 In “This Ancient Land…”, author Carmen Joy Imes (professor of Old Testament at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, another dismaying red flag), in my view, subtly undermines Israel’s claim to its ancestral land. This is in perfect keeping with CT’s hatred of a sovereign modern Israel. 

 How about this gem: 

“I just returned from a trip to Israel, where we traveled the land in a temperature-controlled tour bus with cushioned seats and (most importantly) Wi-Fi. Bottled water was readily available whenever we were thirsty. As someone who teaches and writes about the Torah—the first five books of the Bible—I was reminded again how few of these narratives take place in the land now known as Israel. With one exception in Numbers 13, all of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy take place outside the Promised Land.” 

This is a variation on the “Argument from Silence” that says if something isn’t specifically mentioned, it didn’t happen or doesn’t exist. For example, and this is only a slight exaggeration, since Jude 3 does not mention Israel’s land inheritance via God’s unconditional covenant, then it isn’t valid.  

Imes is very aware that much of modern Israel’s identity is bound up in the land covenant from Genesis, it is worthwhile for leftists to attack that claim. Further, Imes is well aware that “the Land” is one of the central themes of Genesis, particularly in Genesis 12-50, the great beginnings of the Jewish people. 

Imes knows that “Salem” (universally understood to refer to early Jerusalem) is mentioned in Genesis 14:8, with its King Melchizedek. This is just one example of the falsehood of Imes’ above statement. So “the Land” is referred to in the Torah. 

CT loves this subtle effort to separate modern Israel from its legitimate history. It’s why they didn’t take Yasser Arafat to task for claiming to be a descendant of the Canaanites and therefore a more legitimate heir to the land. 

There’s much more I could say about Christianity Today magazine. But for now, I leave you with this: Today’s example of anti-Israel bias is just one of many, many in the evangelical world today. Our “Christian” Media is every bit as corrupt as the secular version. You have no idea.

Pay careful attention to who you listen to, if you care about Israel.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Biden’s dislike of Israel

For years, Joe Biden has claimed that he and Bibi Netanyahu are great friends. The longtime senator from Delaware, a thoroughly nasty guy, also was a part of the administration of Barack Obama, rivaled in its hatred for Israel only by that of Jimmy Carter. I have never believed Netanyahu was fooled by Biden, but being the political wizard he is, always maintained cordial relations with the corrupt vice president and now, “president” of the U.S.

Michael Freund has a great piece this week in the Jerusalem Post about Biden’s real feelings in this regard. (I met Freund many years ago in Jerusalem; he has done terrific work in bringing Jews home to Israel. He is a great guy.)

You can’t state it any clearer than this:

“It is time to call out President Joe Biden and his crew for the implicit contempt they demonstrate for Israel and its democratically elected leadership.”

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken—another outright leftist in the corrupt Biden camp—is set to visit Israel in the coming weeks, and the visit will follow on the heels of unprecedented internal opposition to Netanyahu. Outgoing caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid has outrageously called for public demonstrations against the incoming Netanyahu government. It no doubts rankles leftists that Netanyahu is now the longest-serving PM in Israeli history. Not Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, not Yitzhak Rabin. None of them come close to the years Netanyahu has spent in the PM’s chair. As Israel’s “right-wing” leader, he has garnered hatred from a multitude of directions for more than a quarter-century. That entire time, Biden’s phony warmth for Bibi has masked a seething contempt. It’s nice, frankly, to see someone call him on it publicly.

Freund details some of the U.S. interference:

“Brandishing a level of chutzpah that seems reserved exclusively for the Jewish state, various Biden administration officials have felt free to offer comments about everything ranging from the proposed reform of Israel’s legal system to a visit by an Israeli government minister to the Temple Mount.

“Sadly, the public has become all too accustomed to such behavior, as though it is normal and acceptable for Washington to interfere in the Jewish state’s internal affairs. But it most assuredly is not.”

Freund served as deputy communications director for Netanyahu in his first term in the late 90s. Here he worked with the peerless David Bar-Illan, former editor of the Jerusalem Post and the most astute political commentator I’ve ever read. I knew Bar-Illan lightly for a few years, and marveled at his ability to wage war with the leftist Media. Netanyahu was served well by such men, who always had Biden’s number.

Freund this week got into more specifics:

“Similarly, in November, even before the new Israeli coalition had been formed, US Ambassador Thomas Nides blasted the idea that Israel might annex parts of Judea and Samaria, using language more suited to a pub than a podium.

“Speaking to the KAN broadcasting network, Nides said, ‘Our position is quite clear: We do not support annexation. We will fight any attempt to do so, which is, by the way, the position of most of the Arab countries.’”

The U.S. will “fight” a decision by a duly elected Israeli government? Those are chilling words, and outrageous. On January 3, incoming Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price called the visit “unacceptable.”

Wow! The utter arrogance is breathtaking. Citizens of Israel are entitled to visit Judaism’s holiest site whenever they want. For an American diplomat to brazenly question that is a deep indication of vicious feelings toward the Jewish state. It keeps Israel’s security in a precarious place.

Obama didn’t even conceal his contempt for Israel, as his long associations with Palestinian radicals should have alerted anyone to as he climbed the political ladder. For quisling cowards like Obama and Biden, who never served in combat, to question Netanyahu is proof positive that the days are evil.

Bar-Illan, 30 years ago, correctly read Jimmy Carter and his inherent nastiness for Israel. Noting the world’s ignorance of Middle East history, and the fact that Israel had not in fact taken Judea-Samaria in an “act of aggression” as diplomats even were alleging, Bar-Illan said that Carter joined in the lies about the Jewish state:

“Jimmy Carter, who once vowed he would commit suicide rather than hurt Israel, has joined in this attempt with blithe contempt for facts. It will most certainly assure him regular appearances in the media.”

Now Biden and his lackeys can add corruption to their appearances in media. For lambasting Jews and Israel has proven to be lucrative and popular, even as some think man is evolving toward some “omega point” of perfection.

Joe Biden is Exhibit A for nasty hearts that imperil a small nation chosen long ago by the Lord of History.

He never sleeps, slumbers, or forgets.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com