Christian Palestinianism and the anti-Israel Crusade

The 'Palestinian jesus'

[Ed. Note: This article has been slightly modified for purposes of formatting: PDF to HTML. Additionally, due to length, we are only able to reproduce a small portion here, however this is essential reading for those wishing to understand the serious deception, lies, distortions and Scripture-truth twisting taking place concerning God's prophetic plan for Israel that has infiltrated a majority of the church in these last days. While only the Introduction and the very beginning of part 2 is posted below, we highly recommend reading the full 56 pages. The link is provided below.]

Contents

Profile and Introduction 1

The Rise of Christian Palestinianism 2-7

An Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Agenda 8-19

Despising the Holocaust 20-22

How Christian Palestinianists Interpret the Bible 23-29 

Palestinianist Propaganda and the Jewish Fifth Column 30-32

Unholy Alliances 33-35

The Theological Roots of Christian Palestinianism 36-38

The Goliath Taunt 39

On the Campaign Trail 40-46

Our Response to Christian Palestinianism? 47-50

Conclusion 51

Introduction

This document is based on a Powerpoint presentation I gave on December 7, 2010, at the 19th Annual Pre-Trib Study Group Conference in Dallas/Fort Worth (available from the address at the end of the document). The title was taken from the words spoken by the LORD to Jeremiah about the false prophets of Israel. I believe that an application of this prophecy can be made to those who believe and teach that God has rejected Israel and replaced her with the Church, and who give political, economic, and theological expression to this erroneous belief:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD ... I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied ... I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart ... Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not" (Jeremiah 23:16-32).

I coined the term 'Christian Palestinianism' whilst doing my PhD research at Manchester University (2003-2006). My thesis was entitled, 'John Nelson Darby and the Origins of Christian Zionism.' The term is used to represent those within the Church whose theology of Israel is diametrically opposed to that of biblical Christian Zionism, and whose opposition to Israel and her Christian allies is expressed in their outspoken support of the Palestinian agenda.

1.        The Rise of Christian Palestinianism

The following timeline highlights some of the key stages in the development of this movement, which can be traced back to the establishment of the modern State of Israel on May 14, 1948:

• In August 1948, just three months after the modern State of Israel was established, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was formed in Amsterdam. The WCC is the broadest expression of the modern ecumenical movement, and has become increasingly outspoken in its opposition to Israel and the alleged 'occupation.'

• In 1956, the Near East Christian Council (NECC) was established as a co- ordinating body for Protestant mission in the Middle East, changing its name in 1962 to the Near East Council of Churches.  This led to strong alliances being forged between Protestant and Orthodox churches in the region.

• In 1974, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) was established. The MECC is the oldest ecumenical organization in the region, now incorporating the Roman Catholic churches in the Middle East. Soon after its formation the MECC became affiliated with the World Council of Churches, which was then championing the cause of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The MECC has enabled member churches in the East and West to unite around a common, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel policy.

• During the 1970s, many liberal Protestants began to embrace the 'liberation theology' of the Peruvian Roman Catholic theologian, Gustavo Guti�rrez. His book, A Theology of Liberation (1971), portrayed the Lord Jesus Christ as the great liberator of the poor and the oppressed, and the champion of "social justice"  

• In 1979, five thousand American church leaders formulated the  'La Grange Declaration,' voicing their opposition to Christian Zionism and accusing Israel of occupation, land confiscation, and "brutal torture".

• In 1982, following Israel's invasion of Lebanon, World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, reversed its pro-Israel policy. In the same year, Mercy Corps International launched a series of educational tours to the Middle East to encourage North American Christians to re-evaluate their support for Israel.

• In 1985, American Presbyterian minister and national director of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Donald Wagner, accompanied Ray Bakke of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization on a 'listening tour' of Israel and six neighbouring Arab countries. Wagner and Bakke challenged the theological basis of traditional American Evangelical support for Israel.

• In 1986, Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU) was founded as an affiliation of North American churches and agencies which support Arab churches in the Middle East, oppose the State of Israel, and denounce Christian Zionists.

• In 1987, the first Intifada  (Palestinian 'uprising') took place, resulting in the formation of Hamas, a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of Israel.

• In 1989, Palestinian Anglican Naim Ateek, a graduate of Berkeley, California, who was then serving as canon of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem, published his book, Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation. Ateek's book was the catalyst for the First International Symposium on Palestinian Liberation Theology, which was held at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem in 1990 and organized with the help of the Mennonite Central Committee.

• In 1994, Naim Ateek founded 'Sabeel'  - the Palestinian Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center based in Jerusalem. Christian Palestinianism was now institutionalized, having a name to spearhead the movement and a co-ordinated voice with which to marshal its troops.¹

In his most recent book, A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation (2008), Naim Ateek highlights what he believes is the essence of Palestinian liberation theology:

"In many ways, a Palestinian theology of liberation has re-established the balance between Christ's two natures - his divinity and his humanity. Palestinian liberation theology focuses on the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth, who was also a Palestinian living under an occupation."²

Identifying Jesus as a "Palestinian living under an occupation" has become normative for Christian Palestinianists, and a powerful propaganda weapon in their anti-Israel crusade. This identification was most evident in the Easter message, which Ateek preached in Jerusalem on April 9, 2001:

"Here in Palestine Jesus is again walking the via dolorosa. Jesus is the powerless Palestinian humiliated at a checkpoint, the woman trying to get through to the hospital for treatment, the young  man whose dignity is trampled, the young student who cannot get to the university to study, the unemployed father who needs to find bread to feed his family ... In this season of Lent, it seems to many of us that Jesus is on the cross  again with thousands of  crucified Palestinians around him. It only takes people of insight to see the hundreds of thousands of crosses throughout the land, Palestinian men, women, and children being crucified. Palestine has become one huge Golgotha. The Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily. Palestine has become the place of the skull." ³

The  above  picture [see top] is the work of  Palestinian  artist Mohammed Abdul Ghani Saba'neh. I chose it to  illustrate  Naim Ateek's sermon, and what  Egyptian-born British author  and political commentator,  Bat Ye'or,  calls the "Arabization and Palestinization of the Jewish Jesus". ⁴ This Palestinianist portrayal of the Lord Jesus is further illustrated by the following examples, which are  taken from the website of Palestinian Media Watch[.]

On December 24, 2010, an Israeli research institute called Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), which  monitors  and analyzes  messages being delivered to the Arab Palestinian population by its leaders, posted the following headline on their website:

"Jesus was a Palestinian" 'no one denies that,' says PA TV."

According to the PMW article, "One of the ways the Palestinian Authority attempts to create a Palestinian history is to deny the Judean/Jewish nationality of Jesus, and misrepresent him as a 'Palestinian.'"⁵

Palestinian Media Watch has  been documenting  the  ongoing  attempt by the Palestinian Authority  to revise  not only  the history of the re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, but also the biblical history of  the Lord  Jesus  Himself.  PMW list numerous examples of this misrepresentation of Jesus, including a statement made on May 12, 2009, by  its religious leader Muhammad Hussein that Jesus and Mary were "Palestinians par excellence."  Author Samih Ghanadreh  (above)  was  interviewed on PA  TV  and asserted that Jesus was the first Palestinian martyr, or shahid.

Mustafa Barghouti (right), an influential leader within the Palestinian Authority, made  a similar  claim  in December 2009, when  he described Jesus as "the first Palestinian who was tortured in this land."⁶

As Bat Ye'or writes, "This Islamization of the Jewish sources of Christianity, disseminated through European Islamophile church networks, plays into the hands of Muslims eager to co-opt Christianity and instrumentalize Christians as partners in their struggle against Israel."⁷

"Sabeel  is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, to promote unity among them toward social action. Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on love, justice, peace, nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the different national and faith communities. The word 'Sabeel' is Arabic for 'the way' and also a 'channel' or 'spring' of life-giving water."⁸

Sabeel seeks to disseminate its message through various channels: 

• Its own Cornerstone magazine (56 editions to date)
• International Friends of Sabeel, which comprises international 'chapters' located in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Oceana. (Sabeel has hosted over 30 major conferences in North America alone since 2002)
• 'Witness trips,' designed to enable Christians to experience life "under the occupation"
• Youth conferences and women's conferences
• International Conferences (8 to date), sponsored by groups such as the World Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Church of Scotland

Following the 5^th International Sabeel Conference  held  in Jerusalem in 2004, a 'reader' was published  entitled, Challenging Christian Zionism: Theology, Politics and the Israel-Palestine Conflict.  The conference brought together over six hundred members of the clergy, theologians,  and peace activists from around the world to strategize against Christian Zionism;  nearly three hundred delegates  were from the United States.  ...

2.  An Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Agenda

One of the most disturbing developments within Christian Palestinianism  in recent decades has been  the alliances which have been  forged between Evangelicals and the Muslim world. Christian Palestinianist  leaders  frequently  share conference platforms  with  Islamic clerics.  Spearheading this inter-faith dialogue, and the Christian Palestinianist movement as a whole, is the  Anglican vicar from England, Revd Dr Stephen Sizer. ...  

Footnotes: 

[1] Paul Richard Wilkinson, For Zion's Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby  (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007), pp. 59-62.

[2] Naim Stifan Ateek, A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), p. 11.

[3] Naim Ateek, 'Jerusalem Easter Message,' http://www.hcef.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=372:jerusalm-easter-message&catid=1:news&Itemid=229

[4] Bat Ye'or, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2007), p. 214.                                              

[5] Palestinian Media Watch, 'Jesus was a Palestinian,' http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=4038.

[6] Palestinian Media Watch, 'Jesus was a tortured Palestinian,' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gggViM5wi60;  cf. Melanie Phillips, Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within (London: Gibson Square, 2007), pp. 212-238.

[7] Ye'or, Eurabia, p. 215.

[8] Sabeel, 'Purpose Statement,' http://www.sabeel.org/etemplate.php?id=2.

MORIEL MINISTRIES - From Jacob Prasch - March 3, 2011  

A number of people in and around Moriel have inquired concerning my health. I am on a medically restricted schedule until mid-summer and I am only speaking around London and the south of England. No itineraries.

I had my final evaluation with my UK cardiologist Professor Joy today prior to his retirement and I saw my USA cardiologist Dr. Chin in California recently. I will meet my new recommended UK cardiologist shortly. My latest tests came back today. My EKG is good and I remain in pharmacologically managed sinus rhythm. My echocardiogram also came back looking good, as were blood pressure results, etc. My cardiologists are pleased with the results. The remaining issue is now, of course, weight reduction and exercise.

I therefore rejoined a gym today with a medically supervised exercise program. I am using the reduced schedule to work on The Daniel Project, new teaching messages, and being with Pavia who has had a difficult period with the loss of her mother and the illness of her father which caused us to miss our vacation together (important as I have been away so much).

I am also getting good hydrotherapy for my neck in Holland (which is closer than in Germany and cheaper than in Switzerland) that keeps me off the anti-inflammatory drugs for my neck injury that the cardiologists want me to avoid.

I thank everyone for their prayers and concern.

In Jesus,

Jacob