Get all details of our 2010 conference activity by clicking on the above banner. Our spring event is April 24 (see a sneak preview) and our fall "Understanding the Times" is October 8-9. Speakers include Dr. Gary Frazier, Eric Barger, Dr. Dave Reagan, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Mike Gendron, and Gary Kah. March 11, 2010
For decades the mainstream media has loved to critically focus on religious conservatives like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. At the same time, they have ignored the antics of the religious Left.
The causes of the religious Left are exclusively social, socialism, and social justice (just another term for socialism.) You can read about them on the various Web sites such as the National Council of Churches (NCC). Some representatives are more extreme than others, but most are cozying up to "liberation theology," various Marxist dictators, amnesty for illegals (also being promoted by the National Association of Evangelicals), socialized medicine, pacifism, opposition to welfare reform, and even a resistance to a missile shield for America! Some of them even want a "truth commission" to examine U.S. war atrocities. And for this crowd, "Obamacare" is a dream come true. As I write this, they are denouncing the few pro-life Democrats who could bring "Obamacare" to a halt.
But the ones the religious Left most demonize are Israel and Christian Zionists (Christian friends of Israel.) The NCC has even produced a booklet titled Why We Should Be Concerned About Christian Zionism. The booklet states that Christian Zionism is a dangerous movement that distorts the teachings of the church, fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians, and has negative consequences for Middle East Peace.
Who are some other participants in religious Left activity? We have mentioned the NCC but their parent organization, the World Council of Churches (WCC), is on the same page ideologically and spiritually.
And then there is Jim Wallis, who represents a ministry known as Sojourners. He's a 1960s Communist who worked with the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He realized he had to moderate to the center and be a socialist as the years went by. He is making appearances on Christian college campuses and hitting it out of the park with his messages. His thrust is to get students to quit focusing on abortion and same-sex marriage and, start to think about "social justice" issues.
Two other religous Lelftists of prominence are Emergent guru Brian McLaren, and Tony Campolo. Then we have the various denominations within the NCC and WCC. Membership is declining in many of these Mainline Protestant churches because there is little gospel preaching. It has been replaced by calls for social action. Many sitting in the pews of these churches are not fully aware of what their denominations stand for and the policies being pushed. Others are aware and that is likely why attendance and membership are declining. These folks are catching on and fleeing. Others stay to try and make a difference and pull the Left back to the center rather than the left.
Now let me return to the heart of the matter for me and that is Israel. On March 8, 2010, The Washington Times spilled the beans on the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (PCUSA). Last week the Middle East Study Committee of the PCUSA issued just part one of what promises to be a damning, anti-Israel analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The rest of the report is coming out next week. I can't wait. It will only get worse.
Remember that in 2004 the PCUSA became the only religious body in the U.S. to encourage stock divestment in Israel by members of the PCUSA. They want to cripple Israel's economy. I say, how about crippling the economy of America's enemies, not our friends?
The Washington Times says, "A comparison of the letter the committee has written to 'Our Palestinian Friends' and the one it has written to 'Our Israeli Friends' shows a stark one-sidedness. The first note has the tone of an admonishing parent chiding a child; the second, to the Israelis, is full of references to Israel's 'dehumanization' of the Palestinians."
The Washington Times continues, "Nowhere in either letter does the word 'terrorism' or any of its derivatives appear."
Emergent Brian McLaren took a trip to Israel recently and wrote in his blog, "I hope you will start questioning what you think you know about the situation here. I've been an avid reader on the subject for quite a while, but being here now, I see how many of my most basic assumptions were skewed from a lifetime of half-truths, unfair and imbalanced news, well-planned propaganda, and misinformation."
Sadly, a lot of those I am writing about, and particularly Wallis and McLaren, have great influence over young minds. They are propagandizing these youths to see Israel as evil Goliath and the Palestinians as little David. And the truth that Israel has been the victim of continued suicide bombers is totally absent! The bombings have decreased due to the fence built in recent years in Israel, but that, too, is demonized and has resulted in Israel being blamed for being an "apartheid" nation like South Africa.
Someday the religious Left will come out with a Bible saying Jesus didn't travel in Judea and Samaria but in "occupied territory!"
While my first reaction towards the religious Left is rage, let's first resort to prayer. They are a lot like the Pharisees who never brought people to repentance and were thus just religious figureheads, making no difference for eternity. Jesus implies they have eyes and see not and ears that hear not (Mark 8:18). Jeremiah calls the people "foolish" in his day for having the same condition (Jeremiah 5:21).
And pray for Israel. A new Hitler -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- wants to perpetrate a second Holocaust in the coming weeks or months. If Israel launches a pre-emptive attack, she will be the goat of the whole earth even though she will have done all nations a favor. Remember, it's not just the religious Left who has contention for Israel. Her only real friends are a few evangelical Christians now called dangerous by the PCUSA.
The same condition exists in the 21st century! They need a heart transplant. In other words, they need salvation, for until that happens, they will likely remain in darkness with eyes that cannot see truth. The religious Left, and others, will continue to call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).
To learn more about the religious Left,
hear my conversation with the best chronicler of their activity, Mark Tooley on "Understanding the Times Radio". This was hour one on"Radio Archives" March 6, found here. Hour two, hear
John Loeffler's commentary on the tide of our times, the coming paradigm shift, and
what he sees coming upon America and the world in the next five years. We have five years of radio programming at
"Radio Archives."
All our live weekend programming is posted to "Radio Archives" late Sunday.
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