Sometimes They’re Relevant

Some interesting stuff happened this week regarding Christian Millennials opposed to Israel. I’ve written about them a lot.

First, there was the jolting news that Relevant magazine founder and publisher Cameron Strang is stepping down from his role. I would guess it’s temporary, but we’ll see. Strang’s “downfall” came, ironically, because he wasn’t Woke enough for some of his radical staff.

You see, because certain young people have been allowed to get away with nonsense like “gender equality” and “racism behind every bush,” they are emboldened. The very community Relevant publishes for—young Christians—has now turned on Strang due to alleged racist statements and his creation of a “toxic work environment.”

I have no idea about the internal stuff at the magazine, although my interactions with Strang after his 2014 cover story, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers” indicated that he was stubborn and arrogant in his worldview.

Where this is “relevant” for Israel is to see if the magazine will continue in its animosity to the Jewish state, or whether it will chart a more balanced course. Again, I don’t believe Strang is gone for good.

But as I looked at the latest issue, I saw a tiny glimmer of hope. Titled, “Stop Taking Jeremiah 29:11 Out of Context,” writer Thomas Turner took Christians to task for appropriating an Old Testament verse meant for the Jews. Turner writes:

“Like any author worth his salt, the writer in Jeremiah begins by stating the subject of the passage: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon … ‘ (Jeremiah 29:4).

“This verse, quoted to countless individuals who are struggling with vocation or discerning God’s will, is not written to individuals at all. This passage is written to a whole group of people—an entire nation.”

Wow, this sounds like something David Lewis would have written! Bravo!

Turner then goes on to explain that the verse was meant as a comfort for the Jews exiled after the Babylonian invasion in the sixth century B.C. It’s quite an amazing article, given Relevant’s embrace of Palestinian faux-history. I’m hoping it’s a sign of things to come.

I also reflected this week that many of the people who were running interference for the Palestinian Authority’s official version of the conflict—among American evangelicals—are now sidelined. No doubt some simply went “underground,” but many have been neutralized by the spotlight on their work. I hope in some way this is reflective of Strang as well. For different reasons, Strang, Donald Miller, Lynne Hybels, and Mae Cannon no longer are active publicly in defaming Israel. I think the public didn’t appreciate their propaganda efforts.

The Relevant magazine situation is one to watch in the coming months. When/if Strang reappears, we’ll see if he is contrite enough to admit fault where he should: bashing Israel.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

The Relentlessness of Evil

As Bibi Netanyahu’s enemies cackle and rub their hands, and as those same enemies continue to insist on a diabolical “two-state” model for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, there are many other signs unfortunately that Israel is in a difficult moment.

I’ve written for a long time about the horrid views of Israel by America’s Evangelical “leaders.” The mask came off 10 years ago, but had been forming for a long time. The rise of the mega-church pastors, para-church ministries, and subversives in denominational leadership has created an environment of hostility to Israel.

Yet there are other more indirect problems, as well. This past week, the left-leaning Christianity Today magazine published one more piece proving the publication is a Trojan Horse within the American Protestant Church.

Titled, “Evangelicals Who Distrust Muslims Likely Don’t Know Muslims,” the article serves to promote the tactic of the Muslim Brotherhood to dupe evangelicals. It’s called “interfaith dialogue.”

The subtitle of the article, “A 2019 survey shows how relationships curb Islamophobia and improve understanding between the two faiths” establishes that the writer (and the editorial board) wants to promote “understanding” with a religion that is nothing if not demonic.

Listen to this:

“Earlier this week, a Baptist church in Michigan canceled an event titled, ‘9/11 Forgotten? Is Michigan Surrendering to Islam?’ due to pushback from fellow Christians and politicians.

“The pastor of Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church identifies as an Islamophobe and organized the gathering because he sees Islam as a growing threat in the US.

“While some fellow white evangelicals share his suspicions, research has shown that those who know Muslims in their communities tend to hold more positive views and are more likely to see commonalities between their two faiths.”

This is profoundly ignorant. Or willful ignorance. We have literally thousands of examples of the mendacity of faithful Muslims, just since 9/11. Notice how the dupes dupe others:

“’The personal relationships with Muslims, that’s a game changer,’ Todd Green, Luther College professor and former Islamophobia adviser to the US State Department, told ThePost. ‘It tends to make you less Islamophobic.’”

Citing research from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a “prominent American Muslim Organization,” CT lists several points about Muslim-Christian dialogue.

Number 2 states that “Most Muslims have favorable or neutral views of evangelical Christians, but the feeling isn’t mutual,” and this obviously is promoting a Muslim lie. This point goes on to throw Christians under the bus, by claiming we feel the opposite.

This nonsense piece goes on to share another whopper. CT claims that more than half of U.S. Muslims do not want Sharia law! Do they simply not take into account the Koran’s permission to lie for one’s faith, or are they this ignorant? Either way, it’s beyond troubling.

All this further erodes evangelical empathy for Jews and Israel. I believe CT has an actual agenda to erode evangelical support for Israel.

The real question is, is it too late to be reversed? I believe it is, but if you think otherwise, let me know.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com