Why Would A Christian Even Want To Pray At The Western Wall?

…. when they have free access to their Father in Heaven in and through the Lord Jesus Christ? And they are now the temple of the living God?

The trouble with Christian Zionism of the John Hagee CUFI kind promoting this kind of stuff is that it consistently undermines the gospel of Jesus.

From Charisma -

“Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is providing believers with the opportunity to place their prayers in the Western Wall without leaving home.

Prayers submitted to CUFI web site will be printed out, prayed over at the national office in San Antonio, sent to Jerusalem, and hand-delivered to the Western Wall.

Prayer is an integral part of CUFI, which prays daily for the peace of Jerusalem, the well being of the state of Israel, growth and development of Christians United for Israel and for those in authority, including those in governmental and spiritual positions. Personal prayer requests are also welcome.”

God TV Announce Year of Miracles of Financial Provision – Then Beg For YOUR Cash

Anyone see the contradiction here?!  Go figure.

Note also the line-up of prosperity pimps and false teachers and false prophets God TV has lined up to fleece ’bless’ you.

The following is a bulk emailing sent out by Rory and Wendy Alec’s God TV on March 17th 2009.

“‘Missions Week

Today Is The Day!

Dearest Partner,
 
Precious greetings to you in the name of Jesus, the name above all names!
 
A challenging year is ahead of us all… but to those who walk with HIM, it will be a year of incredible opportunity – a year in which the gift of faith will be called for… and miracles of provision will be witnessed again and again.
 
This is no time for fear. Crisis means opportunity for evangelism — as a shaken world seeks answers, and comfort, and hope… You are invited to take part in it all personally not only by prayer and by viewing, but by giving a gift of support to help make it all possible!
 
We are expectant and excited about what the Lord is going to do through us as we partner together during MISSIONS WEEK, striving toward the goal of winning ONE BILLION SOULS for the Kingdom of God!
 
We have a great lineup of guests and events that we know are going to be a wonderful blessing to you as the Lord ministers by His love and power into your heart and life in a fresh, new way, including…

• Rod Parsley
• Benny Hinn
• John Hagee
• Steve Munsey
• Matthew Ashimolowo
• Claud Bowers

The Lord has given us a strong message of hope to share with you this week: YOU ARE BLESSED IN A TIME OF CRISIS!
 
Despite the challenges the world faces, God has hand-picked each of us for this time and season — He has blessed and equipped GOD TV for His plans and purposes — to bring HOPE to the hopeless!
 
Please prayerfully consider supporting MISSIONS WEEK with an online gift of love for the Lord right now.
 
Thank you for being our precious GOD TV partner in the work to which the Lord has surely called us together!
 
In His amazing love,
 
The GOD TV Team”

Is Barack Obama Satan’s Warm-up Act?

For information purposes, not because for one moment I condone these guys or their theology -

Article by Mark Hulsether from here -

Ever since my daughter and I noted in the pages of Religion Dispatches that some End Times believers consider Barack Obama a serious contender for the Antichrist, I’ve kept my antennae out for the ongoing development of this discourse.

Though certain conservatives floated the idea as a trial balloon during the presidential campaign — notably in an interview with John Hagee on the Glenn Beck show — that rhetoric has seldom been heard in the public square. It should not be forgotten, however, that in various subtle (perhaps only half-conscious) ways the idea has been insinuated through a narrative of Obama as a “savior” who harnesses people’s irrational emotion with his rhetoric of peace and justice.

The Obama-as-Antichrist rhetoric recently poked its head out of the closet when Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, co-authors of the Left Behind series, discussed it on the Rachel Maddow show. Jenkins subsequently complained about how Maddow edited them, so she posted the entire interview (which you can watch at the bottom of this story). The exchange is worth watching in its entirety, but I will offer a brief summary analysis of the duo’s two-step.

Jenkins and LaHaye wisely distanced themselves from a bald assertion that Obama is the Antichrist, retreating instead to a somewhat more theologically tortuous position of Obama as something of a warm-up act.

First, because the Antichrist will only appear after the rapture — [endtimes note - of course this is a heretical pre trib rapture view]  and since Obama “claims to be a Christian” and “might be a closet Christian”—he may not even be on Earth during the crucial stages. (Familiar readers may recall, however, that liberal Christians in End-Times novels are almost always left behind.)

Second, they argued that there must be an overwhelming consensus about the Antichrist’s popularity—a state of affairs that does not currently exist. In fact, Jenkins claimed that he had heard “from just about as many Democrats accusing McCain of being the Antichrist as Republicans accusing Obama” (a doubtful claim, though interesting if true). In any case, at worst Obama appears not to be the Antichrist, but merely to be setting the stage for his later appearance.

Despite these disclaimers, Jenkins allowed that “I can see why people might think that”—i.e., think that Obama fits the job description. LaHaye repeatedly returned to the dual claim that prophetic scenarios foretell a stage of socialism in which “government controls everything”—redistributing wealth from the haves to the have-nots—and that Obama is such a socialist working for such a world. His key argument was that Obama’s policies suggest that prophecies are falling into place. In other words, Obama is playing his part as a key leader of the bad guys even if he’s not the Antichrist himself.

Not surprisingly, “confusion in the Middle East” figured prominently in LaHaye’s vision. Citing Ezekiel 38 and 39, which according to LaHaye are about contemporary Russian and Middle Eastern politics, he claimed that: “For the first time in world history the Russians are working openly with the Arab world; that kind of makes you think [the fulfillment of prophecy] could be very close at hand.”

Asked about the impact of such thinking on government policies during the Bush administration, LaHaye began by claiming “I’ve never been asked that before.” He did go on to note that, no matter how much or little Washington politicians read Left Behind, all government actions are “going to be according to the End Times prophecies. You can’t have a world socialist government headed by an Antichrist [after the rapture] without similar patterns that are going on today” to set the stage.

Maddow did a nice job of pressing LaHaye about whether he looked forward to his scenario of doom (at least for unraptured people)—a vision somewhat akin to Rush Limbaugh’s desire for Obama to fail, but in this case intensified by religious emotion. LaHaye seemed unsure how to frame his response—how much to stress that he hoped for the sake of the country that his bleaker scenarios would not unfold, as opposed to hoping based on his theology that they would unfold.

Perhaps his uncertainty holds out a small thread of optimism for citizens who, like our president, “might be closet Christians” or unlikely candidates for rapture. If LaHaye continues to be slightly embarrassed spinning his theories in public, most likely because he fears how they will appear in the light of rational public inquiry, this cannot be entirely good news for the “Obama as Antichrist” discourse, even when it scores a prominent spot on prime-time television. “

Christian Zionists Called to Take Stand on Jewish Evangelism

Amen to this!

Article by Eric Young from here

“A task force consisting of leaders in the field of Jewish evangelism is calling on leading proponents of Christian Zionism to be transparent with other believers on whether Jewish evangelism is present in their theology.

“We believe that calling the Jewish people to accept Jesus (Y’shua) as the Messiah both of Israel and all nations is the biblical mandate and natural loving response to the belief that there is salvation only through personal faith in Jesus Christ,” stated a resolution passed at the 26th annual meeting of the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism (LCJE) – North America.

“Yet, we recognize that some aspects of Christian Zionism as practiced today, work to the detriment of the Jewish people inasmuch as they undermine Jewish evangelism,” it added.

Zionism, or the movement that today primarily supports the modern state of Israel, has long been backed by Christians who believe the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 is in accordance with biblical prophecy. Though the belief is primarily held by dispensationalist Christians, who maintain that the nation of Israel is distinct from the Church, it is not exclusive to that group and has been accepted by some supersessionist Christians, who view God’s relationship with Christians as being either the “replacement” or “completion” of the promise made to the Jews.

A large majority of the former group, however, has been noted and criticized for their “blind” unconditional support of Israel and for withholding the gospel of Jesus Christ from Jews and the Jewish nation to keep the peace. The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus – a group in the Israeli parliament that seeks to build cooperation between the parliament and Christian leader – does not associate with groups that share the gospel.

“We believe they (some Christian Zionists) can dilute the gospel message by offering comfort apart from Christ, discourage evangelical Christians from witnessing to their Jewish friends and divert gospel resources which could be channeled toward Jewish evangelism,” the LCJE noted after its Mar. 2-4 meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.

“Therefore, we call on the leading proponents of Christian Zionism today to be transparent with Christians on whether Jewish evangelism is present in their theology,” stated the task force whose roots trace back to the 1980 Consultation on World Evangelisation (COWE) sponsored by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism (LCWE).

“We also call on the evangelical Christian press to provide informative reports on those Christian Zionist organizations, who identify as representatives of evangelical Christianity, yet work to discourage Christians from bringing the gospel to Jewish people,” the LCJE added. “We also call on all those who count themselves as evangelicals to demonstrate their love for the Jewish people by bringing the good news of Y’shua the Messiah to them.”

A similar, though longer, statement had been released late last year by the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and drew the rebuke of the Anti-Defamation League, which accused the WEA’s theological arm of issuing a call that it saw as “disrespectful to Judaism’s own teachings” and a “serious affront to the Jewish people.”

“The Berlin Declaration on the Uniqueness of Christ and Jewish Evangelism in Europe Today,” released on Aug. 29, 2008, reminded Christians that they are “called to share this good news, with sensitivity and humility.”

“We believe that genuine love cannot be passive,” concluded the document, which the task force said was distributed for study and consideration and not considered an official document of the WEA.

“Christians everywhere must not look away when Jewish people have the same deep need for forgiveness of sin and true shalom, as do people of all nations,” they added. “Love in action compels all Christians to share the gospel with people everywhere, including the Jewish people of Europe.”

In a response, however, ADL leaders said the evangelical document was “not an offer of love, but a prescription for hate.”

“Though the World Evangelical Alliance claims it seeks to convert Jews out of their ‘love’ for Jews, we believe that if the WEA really loved Jews, they would respect Jewish teachings and recognize the integrity of Jewish tradition,” expressed ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman and ADL Director of Interfaith Policy Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg in a statement.

Since 1913, the Anti-Defamation League has been working to stop the defamation of the Jewish people.”

Is Perry Stone Biblically Sound?

I have been asked several times about Perry Stone, whether he is biblically ’sound’ or not. So I have decided to start a new thread on this specific subject.

I have to say I’ve not researched Perry Stone much – but I’m sure others here have so please do comment below.

I do  remember I read one of Perry Stone’s prophecies before on the recommendation of another and was not only troubled by it, but concluded for the sake of my own personal understanding that he and the spirit he prophesied by was ’off’.  And this was without my knowing about all the merchandising he does, or the ‘judaising’, or some of the people he hangs with such as the terrible pulpit pimps Morris Cerullo and Paula White, or his appearing on the even more terrible TBN.

Perry Stone’s teachings are mingled with some truth but there is a lot of dangerous heresy packaged in there such as the erroneous pre tribulation rapture doctrine. 

I also since discovered that Perry Stone sells a meal package on his Voice of Evangelism ministry website, calls it the Lord’s Supper, and claims if you buy it from him and take it daily you’ll be healed of any sickness or disease. This is bad enough in and for itself, but there also seems to be some ideas more akin to Roman Catholicism within his teaching on ‘communion’ [eg of the Roman Catholic eucharist, and the pagan idea of the actual "real presense" of Christ being manifest in the bread and wine and a mystical connotation that was never ever meant by what is meant to be a symbolic  meal. Breaking bread is also about communion with others, and is not to be done alone as then some of the main symbolism is lost!]

Look below how this idea is then ruthlessly pimped by Paula White and Perry Stone. This is despicable.

Paula White: “I believe that as you take communion that there is protection through that blood. Then the bible declares that the blood not only saves us, not only protects us, but it also provides for us. You said there’s a couple that we know very dear that had a financial need.”

Perry Stone: “Yes!”

Paula White: “And their father, a great pastor, pastor Scott told them God gave him a revelation.”

Perry Stone: “Yes.”

Paula White: “To take communion once a day.”

Perry Stone: “He said, ‘Take it everyday and as you’re praying thank God for blessing you financially. Thank Him that that’s part of the provision. They needed $50,000 and they got an amazing, remarkable $50,000 miracle, this couple did!”

Paula White… “Call that toll free number! We want you to get the ‘Meal That Heals!’”

(Paula White and Perry Stone, “Paula White Show,” October 9, 2004) source

Jews & Latino Pentecostals together

By Christina Hoag, Associated Press here, 12th December 2008 

“LOS ANGELES – When Randy Brown visited Hispanic Pentecostal congregations in Southern California, he was stunned by displays of Star-of-David flags, fervent prayers for peace in Israel and Hebrew words in their church names.

Brown, an executive with the American Jewish Committee, saw an opportunity to build Jewish-Latino relations and combat anti-Semitism among the immigrants, who generally have little exposure to Jews in their predominantly Roman Catholic native countries.

“I was amazed at the affinity these congregations have for Israel,” recalled Brown, director of interreligious affairs for the Los Angeles chapter of the Jewish advocacy group. “I wanted to take this to the next level.”

New bonds

The Los Angeles office has since worked to forge new bonds: They have taken groups of Pentecostal Hispanic pastors to Israel, offered a course called “The Essence of Judaism” at a Southern California Pentecostal seminary, and invited Hispanic pastors and their families to Passover seders and Sukkot harvest celebrations.

“We have many things in common,” said pastor Ramiro Lopez of the Iglesia Vida Abundante in San Bernardino. “Now I can understand Israel from more than a biblical perspective and I have more of a commitment to Israel.”

While Latino immigrants in the U.S. are mostly Catholic, evangelicals comprise a notable 15 percent of the population, according to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Project and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Many are Pentecostal, one of the fastest-growing streams of world Christianity, known for spirit-filled worship and speaking in tongues.

A 2007 survey by the Anti-Defamation League found a higher-rate of anti-Semitic views among foreign-born Latinos than among U.S.-born Hispanics. Twenty-nine percent of Latinos born elsewhere harbor anti-Jewish views, while the rate for Hispanics born in the country — and for the U.S. population in general — was 15 percent, the study found.

The 2007 numbers are slightly lower than those in a 2005 survey, but Jewish leaders are worried all the same, especially as Latin Americans are expected to become 29 percent of the national population by 2050.

“Clearly, it was disturbing,” said Michael Salberg, director of international affairs for the New York-based Jewish civil rights group.

Latin American countries are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and are steeped in a five-century-old tradition of a church that wields much influence. With the exception of Argentina, Jewish communities in Latin America are tiny and tend to keep a low profile.

By contrast, U.S. Jewish and Catholic leaders have held high-level interfaith talks for years. Several Catholic colleges in the country have centers for Jewish-Catholic understanding, and U.S. bishops heavily emphasize the Second Vatican Council teaching that Jews are not collectively responsible for the Crucifixion. That outlook influences not just Catholics, but also other Christians in the U.S.

Pastor Tony Solorzano, who heads the Iglesia Llamada Final, a 5,000-member congregation in Downey and Inglewood, said some Latinos simply need more education about Judaism to dispel stereotypes. Some consider Jews “Christ-killers.”

“Not many think that way, but some have heard this,” Lopez said. “We tell them there’s a plan according to God’s will. We have to be grateful to the Jewish people because Jesus was Jewish.”

Pentecostals, who interpret the Bible literally, believe God promised the Jewish people the historic land of Israel. Many consider the modern state of Israel a fulfillment of biblical prophecy – and a precondition of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

They often cite a passage from Genesis where God makes a covenant with Abraham that those who bless Abraham’s people will be blessed, those who curse his people will be cursed.

“I really believe that promise,” Lopez said. “Every day we pray for Jerusalem with our hands to the east.”

Jewish leaders are building on Pentecostal pro-Israel sentiment to dispel stereotypes between both groups. Many Jewish groups in recent years have accepted such support without questioning the theology behind it, which says that all people, including Jews, will ultimately accept Christ.

Pentecostal congregations, often housed in storefronts filled with rows of folding chairs, have become fixtures in Latino neighborhoods across the United States, as well as Latin America. Pastors tend to be influential opinion-makers in their congregations and some, like Lopez, have radio programs or stations, expanding their reach.

At the Latin University of Theology in Torrance, which trains Pentecostal pastors, many of the students in Brown’s Spanish-language “Essence of Judaism” course hail from Latin American countries. He hopes they’ll return home with new knowledge about Jews and Judaism to change negative images and misperceptions.

Nationally, the American Jewish Committee has formed a Latino and Latin American Institute, and in 2001 convened the first Latino-Jewish Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss common policy concerns such as immigration. Along with the Los Angeles office, several local chapters of the nonprofit are reaching out to Latinos, according to Ken Bandler, the group’s national spokesman.

Pastor Richard Escobedo holds two sessions weekly to pray for Israel at his 500-member Centro Palabra de Fe church in Compton, where he has an Israeli flag on display, has held Passover seders and preaches that “love thy neighbor” includes Jews and others. Many Pentecostals wear Star of David pendants and other paraphernalia, he said.

Engaging with Jews, he said, “is opening our eyes to how Jesus himself was taught.”

Mike Huckabee On Republican Party, Religious Right, The Arlington Group, John Hagee et al

An interesting article follows below from Time Magazine, Nov. 16, 2008. The bold emphasis is mine.  

“Huckabee Finally Settles His Campaign Scores  by Michael Scherer

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is not the sort of politician who likes to bite his tongue. But that’s just what he found himself doing in the eight months following his surprising and colorful presidential campaign.

What did he think was wrong with the Republican Party? What did he think of his former primary rivals? What was the best direction for the conservative movement? To each question, he would answer only in broad strokes, refusing to get too specific or pointed. He was writing a book, he would say. It would come out after the election. He would “name names.” Just wait and see.

On Tuesday, that book will arrive on store shelves, and in terms of payback, it will not disappoint. At once a memoir of his campaign, a treatise on the ills of the Republican Party and a blueprint for his own political future, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America   is filled with sharp words for his fellow Republicans who frustrated his bid for the party’s nomination.

Mitt Romney, Huckabee’s principal rival in Iowa, receives the roughest treatment. Huckabee writes that the former Massachusetts governor’s record was “anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president.” He notes that Romney declined to make a congratulatory phone call after Huckabee beat the odds to win the Iowa caucuses, “which we took as a sign of total disrespect.” He mocks Romney for suggesting, during one debate, more investment in high-yield stocks as a solution to economic woes. “Let them eat stocks!” Huckabee jokes.

His treatment of former candidate Fred Thompson, a rival who helped sink Huckabee’s upstart ambitions in South Carolina, is somewhat more favorable, if only because it is less personal. Huckabee maintains that Thompson’s biggest mistake was strategic: he didn’t understand the need to expand the Republican Party beyond its base. “Fred Thompson never did grasp the dynamics of the race or the country, and his amazingly lackluster campaign reflected just how disconnected he was with the people, despite the anticipation and expectation that greeted his candidacy,” Huckabee writes.

Many conservative Christian leaders — who never backed Huckabee, despite their holding similar stances on social issues — are spared neither the rod nor the lash. Huckabee writes of Gary Bauer, the conservative Christian leader and former presidential candidate, as having an “ever-changing reason to deny me his support.” Of one private meeting with Bauer, Huckabee says, “It was like playing Whac-a-Mole at the arcade — whatever issue I addressed, another one surfaced as a ‘problem’ that made my candidacy unacceptable.” He also accuses Bauer of putting national security before bedrock social issues like the sanctity of life and traditional marriage.

Huckabee describes other elders of the social-conservative movement, many of whom meet in private as part of an organization called the Arlington Group, as “more enamored with the process, the political strategies, and the party hierarchy than with the simple principles that had originally motivated the Founders.” Later, Huckabee writes, “I lamented that so many people of faith had moved from being prophetic voices — like Naaman, confronting King David in his sin and saying, ‘Though art the man!’ — to being voices of patronage, and saying to those in power, ‘You da’ man!’ “

He calls out Pat Robertson, the Virginia-based televangelist, and Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in South Carolina, for endorsing Rudy Giuliani and Romney, respectively. He also has words for the Texas-based Rev. John Hagee, who endorsed the more moderate John McCain in the primaries, as someone who was drawn to the eventual Republican nominee because of the lure of power. Huckabee says he spoke to Hagee by phone before the McCain endorsement while preparing for a spot on Saturday Night Live.  ”I asked if he had prayed about this and believed this was what the Lord wanted him to do,” Huckabee writes of the conversation. “I didn’t get a straight answer.” Months later, McCain rejected Hagee’s endorsement because of controversial remarks the pastor had made about biblical interpretations.

In a chapter titled “Faux-Cons: Worse than Liberalism,” Huckabee identifies what he calls the “real threat” to the Republican Party: “libertarianism masked as conservatism.” He is not so much concerned with the libertarian candidate Ron Paul’s Republican supporters as he is with a strain of mainstream fiscal-conservative thought that demands ideological purity, seeing any tax increase as apostasy and leaving little room for government-driven solutions to people’s problems. “I don’t take issue with what they believe, but the smugness with which they believe it,” writes Huckabee, who raised some taxes as governor and cut deals with his state’s Democratic legislature. “Faux-Cons aren’t interested in spirited or thoughtful debate, because such an endeavor requires accountability for the logical conclusion of their argument.” Among his targets is the Club for Growth, a group that tarred Huckabee as insufficiently conservative in the primaries and ran television ads with funding from one of Huckabee’s longtime Arkansas political foes, Jackson T. Stephens Jr.

The national media gets no pardon either. “Reporters facilitate the greedy and grubby process whereby too many elections go to the highest bidder and his sharpie hirelings,” he writes. He remains sore about the degree to which a candidate’s credibility is judged by his or her bank account and notes that during the debates, he was often asked about religion while the other candidates dealt with questions of government policy. Why, he asks, was a “floating cross” in the window of one of his ads such a media controversy when reporters gave a pass to a Barack Obama direct-mail piece that obviously photographed the Democrat before a large Christian cross?

But for all the sharp words Huckabee has for his fellow Republicans, score-settling is not the major thrust of the book, Huckabee’s sixth. Rather, Huckabee, who now hosts a weekend show on Fox News, spends most of the pages celebrating the grass-roots success of his surprisingly successful campaign and laying out, again, his vision for the future of the Republican Party, which includes instituting a national sales tax to replace the income tax and renewed focus on health-care prevention and education. He mentions McCain only in passing, and with praise, calling him a “true statesman and a man of honor.”

Huckabee also has some fun along the way. We learn that the actor Chuck Norris, a prominent Huckabee supporter, actually does use the Total Gym at home. (Norris hawks the Total Gym in a well-known late-night infomerical.) In the middle of a disquisition on libertarianism, Huckabee pauses to praise the musician Cher for tours that are “an amazing blend of rock concert, circus and fashion show.”

He also returns again and again to stories of his supporters, like the woman who gave him her wedding ring on a rope line in Michigan because she could not afford to make a contribution to his campaign and the truck driver who appeared on his behalf at public rallies. “I was only carrying mail to the mailboxes,” he writes. “It was the salt-of-the-earth types like my unknown angel in Michigan who actually wrote the letters.”

______________________________________________________

End times note:   A little more information on some of these groups/people mentioned: -

The Arlington Group

Here is something about them from wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Group

“The Arlington Group is a coalition which unites the leaders of almost all of the most prominent Christian Right organizations in the United States. Founded in 2002 principally through the efforts of American Family Association President Donald Wildmon and Free Congress Foundation Chairman Paul Weyrich, the group seeks to establish consensus goals and strategy among its members and translate its combined constituency into an overwhelming force within the Republican Party, particularly at its highest levels. Its membership and purpose overlaps to a high degree with the Council for National Policy; but the group is much more narrowly focused, choosing to emphasize such issues as same-sex marriage, abortion, and confirmation of like-minded federal judges.

The group’s success has been mixed. While widely acknowledged to have the ear of President George W. Bush and his chief political advisor Karl Rove, and while generally successful in its efforts to coordinate the Christian Right, it has also endured noteworthy embarrassments. In early 2005, it threatened to withhold support for the President’s proposed Social Security reforms if Bush did not vigorously support a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. This provoked a firestorm of unwelcome media attention, but failed to produce the group’s desired result (despite the President’s continuing support for both their specific and broader aims). And later, in October 2005, Arlington Group Chairman and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson became the center of a minor scandal after leaking assurances made by Rove to an Arlington Group conference call regarding the pro-life credentials of Supreme Court nominee and White House counsel Harriet Miers. Miers withdrew her nomination later that month, largely due to reservations among conservatives.

Despite these setbacks, the Arlington Group remains one of Washington’s most powerful conservative groups, and the first effective combination of the major religious right organizations.

The organization’s deliberations are strictly off-the-record, and membership was previously held confidential, but the group launched a website in July 2006 which lists its member organizations. In March 2007, the home page was taken down; according to an article in the Boston Globe, it was “abruptly disabled earlier this month after the Globe began making inquiries”.[2]

Since each group’s principal serves as its Arlington Group “member”, but many of the groups are headed by a single principal (e.g., Focus on the Family and Focus on the Family Action are both headed by James Dobson), the site’s list is somewhat confusing; and members are not required to disclose their participation. However, the following organizations and individuals have been identified as members:

• Alliance Defense Fund – Alan Sears
• American Family Association – Donald Wildmon
• American Values – Gary Bauer
• Bott Radio Network – Richard Bott
• CatholicVote.Org – Raymond Flynn
• Center for Moral Clarity – Rod Parsley
• Citizens for Community Values – Phil Burress
• Coalition of African American Pastors – William Owens
• ConservativeHQ.com – Richard Viguerie
• Coral Ridge Ministries and Center for Reclaiming America – D. James Kennedy
• Covenant Marriage Movement – Phil Waugh
• Exodus International – Alan Chambers
• Family Research Council and FRC Action – Tony Perkins
• Florida Family Policy Council – John Stemberger
• Fieldsted & Company – Howard Ahmanson, Jr.
• Focus on the Family and Focus on the Family Action – James Dobson
• Free Congress Foundation – Paul Weyrich
• High Impact Leadership Coalition – Harry Jackson
• Inspiration Television Network
• Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration and Vision America – Rick Scarborough
• Liberty Counsel – Mathew Staver
• Liberty University – Jerry Falwell
• National Association of Evangelicals – Leith Anderson
• Ohio Restoration Project – Russell Johnson
• Salem Communications – Stuart Epperson
• Southern Baptist Convention – Richard Land
• Susan B. Anthony List – Marjorie Dannenfelser
• Teen Mania Ministries – Ron Luce
• TeenPact – Tim Echols
• TheVanguard.Org – Rod D. Martin
• Tradition, Family, Property
• Traditional Values Coalition – Lou Sheldon“

___________________________________________________________

The Club for Growth

There is an article here on the Club for Growth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth whom Huckabee has refered to as the club for greed.  “The Club for Greed, I call them,” he said. “They hate that. Oh, they hate it. And I enjoy giggin’ them about it, because I think they’re a despicable political hit organization that takes people’s money and anonymously attacks candidates, with no integrity to say, ‘This person here is attacking this public official.’ And when you do it in hiding, from the trees, I just think it’s cowardly.”

___________________________________________________________

Gary Bauer

Gary Bauer serves on the Executive Board of Christians United for Israel, a lobby group headed by John Hagee, and is reported to have allegedly accepted money from the Moonies.

Hebrew Roots, Christian Zionist, Messianic Jew and Sacred Name Movements

Following on from this article here, i found this by P J Miller from Sola Dei Gloria here posted around the same time.

“[The article on Dick Eastman Every Home for Christ To Build Wailing Wall Replica] fits in nicely with an article I read last night written by Prof. Johan Malan, Middelburg South Africa: We Cannot be under Law and under Grace. In the past I’ve posted quite a few messages on this type of idolatry…much of it which springs from the erroneous teachings of dispensationalism and from today’s Christian Zionist movement, (you can find a few of these in the Church Infected and the-ologys pages).

Take note in this bizarre [Dick Eastman Wailing Wall] news story of the term Judeo-Christian  tradition, being used. That term, though used by many Christians today, is an oxymoron folks. Its been used so much by not only many bibles teachers but by the media itself (and politicians) that we as Christians, have come to accept it as something real and right. Those who practice Judaism are lost: plain and simple. They deny Jesus Christ as the Messiah – the Son of God. So to use the term Judeo-Christian tradition is no different then if we began to hear [and use] the term “Islamic-Christian’ tradition…or Hindu-Christian’ tradition. There is no such “animal”. Last December I posted, Politically Correct Words That Obscure the Truth, in which I quoted Moishe Rosen (Founder of Jews for Jesus) who said:

This term is intended to bond Christians and Jews in a common effort. The Jewish community is content to allow Christians to believe there is such a thing as a Judeo-Christian tradition, because it can be useful in the area of Jewish-Gentile relationships. Nevertheless, in the final analysis, most rabbis would insist there is no such thing as a Judeo-Christian tradition. There is a separate Jewish tradition and a separate Christian tradition. Both are based upon intrinsic beliefs. These beliefs sometimes overlap, but sometimes they are diametrically opposed. Those who would like to pretend that a Judeo-Christian tradition exists generally do not have the slightest idea of what “tradition” means.

If Moishe Rosen, himself a Messianic Jew, can see this clearly, it remains a mystery to me as to why non-Jewish believers in Christ, cannot understand this. I could say a lot more, most I’ve said many times in past posts, so won’t go into it all again, but will say the using of this oxymoron/term has even affected government policies, etc..and how the more modern day cult known as the Hebrew Roots movement, (and Christian Zionism) are some of the bad fruit which have resulted. Its idolatry.

{Dick Eastman says] “This is a way for us to say, ‘We support Israel.’” Notice, its to ’support’ the political state of Israel, not to evangelize or to take the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and the new covenant to the people–though most who live there are lost.

They ‘hope’ to have Christians and Jews praying together… this is the same thing John Hagee has been practicing within the Cufi organization for years. Its called ecumenicalism, or The Ecumenical Movement, which is a last day move of satan to gather all of the world’s religions together under the same umbrella. What I find interesting is even those who speak out boldly against the Ecumenical movement, in regards to any/all other attempts at this, still themselves continue to deny that the ‘meshing’ of Judaism with Christianity, is the same thing. That is a testimony to how ingrained that term, Judeo-Christian traditions, has become within the American Church and the American psyche.

So this group above wants to build this ‘replica’ of the wall to promote Christians and Jews praying together. Well why not continue by also building a replica of the Dome of the Rock? Then they can ALSO come together with those who practice Islam! Same thing folks, same things…one is as wrong as the other.

Many movements have sprung forth from this type of error, as I stated earlier much of it based in dispensationalist teachings and beliefs. One, which can be seen in full-blown cult form, is the Hebrew Root Movement. (but don’t be fooled–a group or church does not have to be known as a Hebrew Roots movement group or church, to have many of the aspects of these false teachings being promoted)

• A quote from the article by Johan Malan:

Hebrew roots or Christian roots?

The Hebrew Roots Movement is one of various movements committing themselves to exploring the roots of our faith in Israel’s language, culture and religious institutions. They use the image of the olive tree in Romans 11 as biblical justification for their movement. They see the olive tree as Israel, and the grafting in of the wild olive branches as the salvation of Gentiles.

Having been grafted in, Christians from the Gentile world should then be spiritually edified and nourished by the sap which is offered to them from the trunk and roots of the olive tree (Israel).

In the process, many of these [Christian] believers develop a strong Jewish orientation, also observing Jewish feasts and Sabbaths. They prefer to use Hebrew names and terminology – particularly the Hebrew names of God and Christ. Eventually they reduce themselves to no more than a Christian sect of Judaism, and try to live under the law and under grace.

Believers who think they have been grafted into Israel, actually imply that they were grafted into a nation who were dispersed during the past 2000 years because of rejecting the Messiah due to their unbelief and ignorance on Messianic prophecies in the OT. Now that this nation, still in unbelief, is restored to their land and again started keeping their feasts and Sabbaths in which Jesus is denied as Messiah, many Christians are participating with them!

The Hebrew Roots Movement is mistaken by their statement that the whole olive tree is a symbol of Israel. Actually, only the branches of the tree represent Israel – and they were broken off because of unbelief. We were not grafted into the severed branches of the tree, but into the trunk of the tree. The trunk and roots of the olive tree spiritually represent the Messiah. He is described as “the seed of Abraham”, who is the biological progenitor of Israel:

“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, in you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham … Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us … that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith … Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ” (Gal. 3:8-16).

The spiritual blessing which we obtain is not from the Jewish nation, but from the seed of Abraham, which is Christ.

He is “the Root and the Offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16), in other words the origin and King of Israel who also came to be the Light and Salvation of the whole world (Acts 13:47). In John 15 similar symbolism is found of the stem and root which allude to Jesus, while the believers are the branches that are put in a position to bear fruit:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5). The branches are pruned in order to bear more fruit. Ongoing sanctification and an unbroken relationship with the Lord Jesus should be pursued: ‘Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4).

We should, therefore, not become Jewish, more inclined towards Old Testament institutions, and more legalistic – but more Christ-like, more oriented towards the New Testament, and more Spirit-filled.

The Old Testament is indeed important for spiritual edification and knowledge on God’s counsel for humanity.

The NT is the fulfilment of OT promises; it is the substance of OT shadows (Col. 2:16-17). It would be foolish to revert to the shadows of the law and the prophets after having obtained the glorious fulfilment of these prophetic promises in the Lord Jesus, and having been empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

We have not been commissioned to become like Israel, but to lead spiritually blinded Jews to Jesus! Make use of OT prophecies to convince Jews that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Messiah and Saviour of the world.

Hebrew names

An inherent part of the Judaising of Christianity is the use of Hebrew names for God and the Lord Jesus. This is known as the Sacred Name Movement although their ideas are based mainly upon ignorance and false suppositions. Some of them even go so far as to contend that Greek names for God – from which the sacred names in other languages are also derived – all refer to idols. It is, for instance, alleged that Jesus is derived from Je-Zeus, which means Son of Zeus (a well-known pagan god in Greek mythology). In order to clarify this controversy we need to investigate the use of different languages in biblical times.

(more here)

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” ~ 2 Corinthians 6

There was an article and link posted yesterday on Christian Research tilted:
Messianic Cults: Former “Christians” Say Name of Jesus is “Pagan”

There is an older article posted back in 2001 on Jews for Jesus which spoke about this to some degree: The Jewish Roots Movement: Flowers and Thorns

The movement of both the Jewish Roots and the Two House movement has grown considerably since this article was first posted…that I know. I’m wondering why. Could it be people’s dissatisfaction with what is missing within our Churches, or, is it some new fad which has taken off in a huge way in recent years?”

Antichrist rehearsal added to Obama list of sins by far U.S. right

Article from Reuters, August 5th, 2008, by Ed Stoddard -

“DALLAS – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has had to fend off all sorts of spurious Internet rumours suggesting he is a closet Muslim and even linking him to the Ku Klux Klan.

Our columnist Bernd Debusmann has written about this elsewhere. But a new line of character attack has emerged: Obama, while not the Antichrist, has provided a dress reherasal for the End of Times as foretold in the Bible with his recent overseas tour.

At least that is what Hal Lindsey, a leading figure in U.S. apocalyptic Christian circles, claims.

On Friday, Lindsey wrote in a commentary on the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily that Obama’s recent overseas tour blazed a trail that the Antichrist was sure to follow.

In apocalyptic U.S. Christian circles, the Antichrist is often portrayed as the leader of a world government who will probably emerge from the United Nations or some other multilateral institution loathed by some on the U.S. right.

The Antichrist’s rise and dark reign is believed to be foretold in the Bible, notably the Book of Revelation that is also known as the Apocalypse of St. John.

“… the Bible says that such a leader (the Antichrist) will soon make his appearance on the scene. It won’t be Barack Obama, but Obama’s world tour provided a foretaste of the reception he can expect to receive,” wrote Lindsey, author of the 1970 Biblical prophecy blockbuster “The Late Great Planet Earth.”

“He will probably also stand in some European capital, addressing the people of the world and telling them that he is the one that they have been waiting for. And he can expect as wildly enthusiastic a greeting as Obama got in Berlin.”

Other prominent figures in U.S. apocalyptic circles include Texas mega-preacher John Hagee, whose endorsement of Republican presidential candidate John McCain was rejected after it emerged Hagee had once claimed God had allowed the Holocaust to happen because it led to the creation of Israel.

Hagee sees current events in the Middle East and elsewhere as unfolding biblical prophecy and his organization Christians United for Israel is an influential lobbying group.

Conservative U.S. Christians who strongly believe in a brewing End of Times battle are regarded as a sub-culture of the broader evangelical movement but the success of the best-selling “Left Behind Series” by Tim LaHaye — which chonicles the  looming final conflict — suggest such views have some resonance in the American heartland.

Conservative evangelicals are a key Republican Party base and while they are lukewarm on McCain, Obama obviously has some seeing red.

The Huffington Post, a liberal blog and news site, did a blog on Sunday detailing liberal Christian concerns about a McCain ad campaign “The One” which they see as a code to some conservative Christians to view Obama as a kind of Antichrist figure.”

Benny Hinn Calling For An Atonement Offering and to Observe Jewish Holy Days

Excerpts from What the Approaching Day of Atonement Means for You   from Benny Hinn’s Website from here - [the bold emphasises are mine].  There is so much wrong with it though I could literally put in bold the whole article. An associated article about some of this heresy is the one on Hebrew Roots.

“…Of all the seven yearly appointments with God, the Day of Atonement was (and still is) the most solemn and awe-filled of commemorations. It was a time set aside for national and sanctuary cleansing. On this day special sacrifices were offered for atonement or reconciliation.

{Endtimes note – Still is? Is Benny Hinn hinting at some kind of Dual Covenant like John Haggee?]

The fall season, specifically the time of Atonement, is a holy time with God.

{Endtimes note – Under the New Covenant, no day, time or season is more holy than any other day. For Benny Hinn to say this is more than poor theology, and more than judaising, it is denying Jesus Christ and the glory of the New Covenant.]

It was the time Joel was writing and prophesying about.

{What the fall season?!]

Today few people honor this feast day, this Day of Atonement, but God has given the Word to those of us who are beginning to understand and declare the significance of God’s command to honor His holy days.

{Endtimes note – Col. 2:16 – “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]”

The people of God everywhere are starting to catch the vision that God has put within the modern church: His holy days are still holy.

His holy convocation is still being called to all who will listen!

However, for nearly seventeen centuries, these powerful truths have been mostly ignored and even rejected by Christians.

{What about ‘You Foolish Galatians?’ What about that powerful truth?]

Thankfully, that is now changing. It must change! There is too much at stake during these crucial, prophetic days.

{Too much at stake? Whatever can that be? Oh I know, now it is coming to the offering time….there is too much at stake for YOU if you do not give to BENNY HINN…]

This Fertile Season

I want to ask you to place a significant seed in God’s soil and see it work for you. Just as a special sacrifice was offered on the Day of Atonement, let me ask you to bring a very special offering.

{How absolutely disgusting to use and abuse Christ’s death in this way get money for anything, but especially so that this evil and vile man can lead a lavish OTT and greedy lifestyle. Note my offering to ‘God’ does not work if I choose to give to the deserving poor and homeless, it must go to him, an undeserving fatcat…words cannot convey how disgusted I am by Hinn.]

As with all references to seed throughout the Bible, we are told, time after time, to expect a harvest. Especially during this fertile season, plant your seed in the good soil of this ministry. Be part of a truly historic hour as we take the life-saving and miracle-working Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations through crusades, broadcasts, and mission outreaches.

{Benny Hinn’s ministry = good soil?  But good soil does not produce lies and charlatanism, showmanship and hype, false prophecy and curses on critics. It does not attempt to manipulatively sell blessings either.]

God will multiply your special offering back to you in supernatural ways. The Lord Jesus promises, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

{If that were the really case in the sense Benny Hinn means it, then Benny Hinn should never need to ask for a cent again, and give to others instead to multiply his money - instead of spending it on fancy hotels and cars and mansions. And well all know it is more blessed to give than to recieve, right. Can we hear an amen?! Why does Benny Hinn not practice what he preaches?]

I’d like for you to learn more about the Feasts of Israel.

[If Hinn really cared about educating the flock, he would put this information for free on his website.]

My book, Lamb of God, explains these feasts and what they can mean for you today. I’d like to get it into your hands as we approach the Day of Atonement, and I will send it to you for your gift of any amount during this special season.

{Special Season? – only for his bank balance perhaps.]

I pray that God will use this season and your Atonement offering to revolutionize your life and that He will pour out more blessings than you ever dreamed possible.

{And if we don’t? Will you still still bless us for free?

And can we be blessed and revolutionised apart from you, Benny Hinn?]

I look forward to hearing from you!

{As long as there is a check in the envelope?]

Be generous during this unprecedented season of harvest and outpouring as we continue to reach out through crusades, broadcasts, and mission outreaches around the globe.

[Uh huh. So I should be generous so you can fleece even more people? How does that work then?]

Let’s do it together while there is still time!

{Never!]

For it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)

Preaching the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching the unchanging Word of God, and expecting the mighty and miraculous power of the Holy Spirit,

Benny Hinn

Donate Now

As the Day of Atonement approaches, we encourage you to plant a very special financial seed toward the coming great harvest all around the world? Act now and receive my book Lamb of God for your gift of any amount. The cost of planning and conducting crusades continues to rise, and producing and broadcasting This Is Your Day! is even more expensive this year.

{Can anyone see the contradiction here? Benny Hinn promises a gospel of prosperity but is begging for money, so it don’t work for him.

Where’s you faith Benny? If you gave to me you’d be rich beyond your wildest dreams…]

The coming days and weeks will be a season of salvation and blessing,

{A season of salvation in the COMING days? And there was me thinking I got saved in the 1980s…]

and I want you to be part of it.

{But only if you pay, so really Hinn could not care less…and do I have to pay now for salvation?]

Sow your financial seed today as you expect your own seed-faith miracle.”

{No miracles for free. Cough up and be blessed. Yeah right.

Some evangelism.

What an evil vile despicable pervese man.

Woe to the greedy shepherds! Woe!]

See also http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2007/08/04/vision-of-church-robbing-the-widows-mite/