I
HAVE REASON TO BE WARY OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS' SOLICITUDE FOR THE JEWS OF
Gavriel
Aryeh Sanders 1
You didn't read it in the New York Times;
you didn't see it on CNN; it didn't make the banner headlines on AOL. But in
May, 232 representatives from 15 nations (including
This was the 2001 Shavuot conference hosted by Christian Friends
of Israel (CFI), founded in 1985 by missionary ministers Ray and Sharon Sanders
(no relation to me). The organization holds non-profit status with the Israeli
government as a humanitarian outreach.
And outreach they do. CFI distributes tons of clothing annually.
They issue vouchers for food and furniture.
They've distributed over 7,000 pairs of eyeglasses.
They prepare newborn kits for pregnant mothers, followed by a
stroller or bed after the child is born.
They estimate they have helped 120,000 immigrants since 1991, most
of them Russian. An average of 60 people a day come to
the center on the corner of Shivtei Yisrael and Helena HaMalka in
Just this last week a distraught couple came in with a retarded
baby that has a reactive condition to heat. The doctor had recommended an air
conditioner, but they could never afford such a luxury. The Christians bought
one for them.
Just last week a local Orthodox rabbi called to thank and bless
CFI for helping subsidize his young daughter's recent surgery.
Why are they there? Why do they do this?
In a refined drawl from somewhere south of the
Every month they give money generously because they believe that
real Christians owe a spiritual debt to the Jews."
She noted that hundreds of Christians have given up the safety and
security of their homelands to engage in a labor of love throughout the
Indeed, CFI is one expression of a widespread sentiment of support
from evangelicals worldwide. Estimates suggest that as many as 70 million
American Christians are pro-Israel. So is this a good thing for
Rabbi Michael Skobac of Jews for
Judaism's
"This is a Trojan horse," he warns. "The evangelicals
have a hidden agenda. This is just the latest in a long line of creative
efforts to convert Jews."
I asked Ms. Flood about CFI's conversion efforts. She said,
"The truth is, we are not here to convert Jews. However, if they ask about
our belief in Yeshua (J.C.) as the messiah, we answer
honestly. We don't push. But I tell them that it's Yeshua
that put this great love in my heart to help Jews in need."
Most evangelical outreaches sing some version of Ms. Flood's song.
The evil perpetrated against Jews by the Church was not representative of real
Christianity, they say. In the last 30 years, a new attitude has taken root
worldwide. Now the truly Bible-believing Christians see themselves as the
spiritual heirs of Judaism's legacy. And they wish to say thank you in tangible
ways. This, they affirm, is a means of atoning for the abuses of history and
will demonstrate that they are honest, earnest, and trustworthy.
CFI has many organizational cousins, in and outside of Israel,
including the International Christian Embassy, Shalom International, Bridges
for Peace, Christians for Israel, High Adventure Ministries, and Pat
Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.
For years, entertainer Pat Boone has been the Israeli government's
unofficial ambassador to evangelicals. (And I personally know Jews he baptized
in his
Bellmawr, NJ-based Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (which
recently dropped "gospel" in their self-description) has a caring
mission statement embedded with loaded terms:
"For over 60 years, The Friends of Israel has ministered as a
Christian friendship organization standing in support of
It doesn't take knowledge of Orwellian Newspeak to decode
"missionary to Jews" throughout this declaration.
Beside their common love of
In more classified publications, they state their real motive for
the acts of mercy, namely to fulfill a New Testament passage, which says:
"The unbelief of
The most popular targets for their largess are the weakest, the
poorest, and the least Torah literate of Israeli Jews, most notably the Russian
immigrants.
While CFI operates with the official approval of the Israeli
government, Helen Flood acknowledged that missionary watchdog groups such as Yad L'Achim periodically monitor
their activities.
This issue is a point of great consternation. Missionary groups
are doing for Jews what Jews should be doing for Jews. To Jews who have little,
including little in Judaism, the offer of help appears heaven sent. Who can
begrudge that retarded child the needed relief of an air conditioner? Who cares
where it came from?
That's really the key question: Who cares where it came from? It's
time to hold this issue in the light. Jews are dying in the
As a beginning, I wonder: Could we get by on a little less here,
so we can give a little more there, so that our people won't be vulnerable
targets for missionary mercy? There are plenty of wonderful assistance and
outreach organizations in
Think about it.
Gavriel Aryeh Sanders, senior religion
columnist for Jewsweek.com, is a former Pentecostal, fundamentalist minister
and covert missionary in
SOURCE:
Special to the Intermountain Jewish
News (IJN),
http://www.ijn.com/archive/2001arch/072701.htm#story5