Palin's Pastor Problems vs. Obama's
Posted Oct 05, 2008 by Seth JacobsonI recently wrote a post on my personal blog that has been getting some people kind of heated. I posted some videos and a sermon given at Sarah Palin's church, which cause me grave concern over the possibility of her being elected vice president. I'd like to clarify some things.
First of all, the question arose as to what part of the sermon that I posted I was referencing. The speaker of the sermon, David Brickner, is the executive director of Jews for Jesus. He was an invited guest of Sarah Palin's church, where he spoke about his mission in Israel. What he said was that terrorism in Israel is a judgment against the Jews for not accepting Jesus.
The second question that was asked was whether I should be concerned by comments made by a guest speaker to Sarah Palin's church. The answer is yes, as one of the videos shows an interview in which the pastor of her church said he would definitely re-invite David Brickner to speak at his church, even after hearing what he said the first time. Brickner's beliefs are in sync with that of the church and its membership.
The third question that was asked – and this was the biggie – was whether I really want to get into a debate about pastor problems, when Obama has his own problem, especially since Obama was a member of the church where Jeremiah Wright spoke repeatedly against the United States and Obama had a very close relationship with Wright.
Here's the difference, as I see it, between Palin's problem and Obama's.
When I first brought up Palin's religious beliefs as a potential problem for the general citizenry of the United States should she be elected vice president, a friend made a point of telling me that at her synagogue, rabbis have spoken and said appalling things, and she asked me if that reflects on her. That's a fair point to make in reference to the Jeremiah Wright controversy. Just because the rabbi or pastor speaks in negative terms about the morals and ethics of the society around you, and says inflamatory things that can make one's skin crawl, that does not necessarily reflect on you for being there – or even for having a close relationship with that person. Many people hold vastly different beliefs, and still turn to one another for friendship, guidance and counsel.
The difference here is that David Brickner's sermon goes to a deeper issue, which is that what he said at Palin's church is what MAINSTREAM Evangelical and Pentacostal Christians believe. Jeremiah Wright was demagoguing. Even if he actually believes all the things he himself says in his church (which I doubt), it's a cultural thing, and it's the type of thing that is believed by those who have been put down and trodden upon by society; not well-educated, open-minded individuals who are multi-racial and who worked themselves from food-stamps to editor of the Harvard Law Review.
On the other hand, Jews for Jesus is on a mission. It's a mission to convert Jews – at any and all costs. They believe that Jews not only are going to Hell at the "End of Days", but that we are doomed to suffer in this world as well. And it's a mission and philosophy in which millions (over 100,000,000) Evangelical and Pentacostal Christians believe in America, as well as many other Christian groups around the world.
There is a very prominent rabbi in Israel, whom I will not name because I have not spoken to him in reference to this post, who is well known to raise money from Evangelical and Pentacostal groups on behalf of the State of Israel, and is also well known to say to those groups, "in the end we'll see who's right." I speak from a position of authority because, though I have not spoken to him about this post – as I stated above – I have heard him speak about this exact tactic of his personally.
But this sermon by Brickner demonstrates to me why that philosophy – tolerating their "eccentric" beliefs for the time being in this world – is very dangerous. These Christian groups believe that Jews must accept Jesus, or else they will not only go to Hell, but deserve to suffer in this world as well. They're only on our side while it's good for them, and they'll only tolerate us while it's politically incorrect not to.
Would a Vice President – or President – Palin set up a mission to convert Jews? Not likely. But would she support missionary efforts under the umbrella of "Faith-Based Initiatives"? Absolutely. Would she send money to Palestinian Islamic Jihad or Hamas? Definitely not! But would she turn a blind eye to a situation like that in Sderot – as Bush had done for over six years until very recently – saying to herself, "it's their own fault; if they'd only accept Jesus this would all stop; I'll intervene if the political pressure gets strong enough"? I am 100% convinced that she would. Yes. Would Obama? I doubt it – am I certain he wouldn't? No. But what I know about Christian society as a whole in America is that, while they support Israel, the Israel they are supporting is one in which Jews are slowly moved to accept Jesus so that he can return from the dead and bring the Rapture. They do not – LISTEN TO ME HERE – they do NOT support Jews living a Jewish life in the Land of Israel, Artzeinu HaKedoshah (OUR Holy Land). Nor do they particularly care if a synagogue in Los Angeles or Atlanta or Brooklyn gets vandalized. They don't like vandalism in general – it's bad for societal order – but they fundamentally believe, deep down, that we have it coming.
Look, ultimately it comes down to what you or I think is the more serious problem. Do I believe that Jeremiah Wright or his radical anti-America message is in any way going to influence an Obama-Biden administration, either in domestic policy or foreign policy? Not on your life. Would I ever have worried that the Jerry Falwells and David Brickners of the world would have influenced a McCain-Lieberman or a Giuliani-McCain (or vice versa) administration? No! But am I concerned that President Palin would conduct her policies with ignorance, and base her decisions on a fundamental belief that her work is the work of some twisted god that in no way resembles the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Ohh, you betcha! I'm not only concerned that she might; I'm convinced that she absolutely would. And I'm also convinced that if McCain is elected president on November 4, 2008, Sarah Palin would be sworn in as president no later than January 20, 2013. The Republican party bosses would make sure of it.
Oh, where to begin?
1)
"Jeremiah Wright was demagoguing. Even if he actually believes all the things he himself says in his church (which I doubt), it’s a cultural thing, and it’s the type of thing that is believed by those who have been put down and trodden upon by society; not well-educated, open-minded individuals who are multi-racial and who worked themselves from food-stamps to editor of the Harvard Law Review."
You seem to be (a) dismissing, if not excusing Wright's "demagoguing" and (b) blaming such views on being "trodden upon by society" and not well-educated. But (a) the things he said are inexcusable (and in addition to the clips you've seen on the news, he also published propaganda for Hamas in his church bulletin and gave a lifetime achievement award to Louis Farrakhan in his magazine — both of which are also inexcusable) and (b) his middle class background was not one that one would characterize as being "trodden upon by society." (See the op-ed by Mort Klein entitled "Obama's Pastor: A Product of Privilege, Not Poverty" – http://www.zoa.org/sitedocuments/oped_view.asp?opedID=357)
Moreover, you referred to Obama as a "well-educated, open-minded individual who [is] multi-racial and who worked [himself] from food-stamps to editor of the Harvard Law Review." True enough. And that hasn't prevented him from forming close personal friendships with the likes of anti-Israel extremists like Rashid Khalidi, or from working closely with terrorist William Ayers. It also didn't prevent him from choosing as his "spiritual mentor" Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Does this mean he shares their views? Probably not. But it does show that being a "well-educated, open-minded individual who is multi-racial and who worked himself up from food stamps to editor of the Harvard Law Review" has no bearing on whether you have good judgment or not. Obama has proven time and again that he has, at the very least, poor judgment. But more than that, he has proven himself to be a liar (do you honestly believe he was unaware of the filth his pastor, his close spiritual mentor and personal friend, was spewing over the 20 years of their relationship?).
2) Indeed, the hosting of Brickner by Palin's church is troubling. However, it would be far more troubling if Palin herself (or rather, John McCain himself, since he is still at the top of the ticket, despite the whole "one heartbeat away" mantra the Democrats keep repeating) were close personal friends with the guest speaker. You know, like Obama was with Pastor Wright. There's simply no comparison either quantitative (in terms of duration) or qualitative between the two relationships.
3) All that said, you wrote:
"[A] friend made a point of telling me that at her synagogue, rabbis have spoken and said appalling things, and she asked me if that reflects on her. That’s a fair point to make in reference to the Jeremiah Wright controversy. Just because the rabbi or pastor speaks in negative terms about the morals and ethics of the society around you, and says inflamatory things that can make one’s skin crawl, that does not necessarily reflect on you for being there – or even for having a close relationship with that person. Many people hold vastly different beliefs, and still turn to one another for friendship, guidance and counsel."
Wow. First of all, I don't know where you're living, but where I come from, people change synagogues if they think the cantor takes too long or if the wine for the kiddush club doesn't taste good (i.e. trivial things). Unless this friend of yours is living in a place where there's only one synagogue for her to attend, then yes, it does reflect on her if she remains there silently while her rabbi says offensive things; at the very least she should voice a complaint about it. However, this is beside the point. There is a difference between talking negatively about the morals and ethics of the society around you, and saying things like "God damn America," praising a racist anti-Semite like Farrakhan, or publishing Hamas propaganda in your shul bulletin. I doubt very much that anything even remotely comparable occurred in your friend's synagogue. If it did then yes, she should leave — or else expect it to be held against her should she ever run for public office.
4) Evangelical Christians happen to be the strongest supporters of Israel today — which is a sad reflection on the state of the Jewish support for Israel — for whatever their reasons. Many, you're right, do have in mind the goal of converting the Jews, but many others do not. It is unfair and simply inaccurate to paint them all with the same brush.
That said, Palin's approach to Israel, as expressed in the debate the other night, is atrocious (and I don't buy for a minute the old campaign promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem — President Bush did that too and then signed 16 waivers over the next 8 years to avoid doing so). But it is still better than Obama's. A simple look at his cadre of foreign policy advisers (e.g. Brzezinksy, Malley, Rice, McPeak) should raise a red flag for anyone who cares about Israel. McCain/Palin might not be great for Israel — and all signs indicate that they're likely not going to be any better than Bush — but there's still better than Obama/Biden. Unfortunately for Israel supporters, this election cycle there aren't really any good options.
I would rather take my chances with McCain/Palin than with Obama. Obama is far more dangerous for the U.S. and the world than McCain would be!
Thank you for posting the links to the message that David Brickner of Jews for Jesus delivered at Sarah Palin's church so that your readers can hear or read the message in its entirety and hear Brickner's remarks in context. You can also read or listen to the entire message at http://www.jewsforjesus.org/blog/20080817.
Please also take a look at Brickner’s comments concerning his message at Wasilla Bible Church, as well as interviews by Christianity Today and MSNBC with Brickner about this issue, at http://www.jewsforjesus.org. Among other things, Brickner says, "The comments attributed to me were taken out of context. The notion that the terrorist, bulldozer attack in Jerusalem this summer was God’s judgment on Israel for not believing in Jesus, is absolutely not what I believe. In retrospect, I can see how my rhetoric might be misunderstood and I truly regret that. Of course I never expected the kind of magnifying glass scrutiny on a message where I was speaking extemporaneously. Let me be clear. I don’t believe that any one event whether a terrorist attack or a natural disaster is a specific fulfillment of or manifestation of a Biblical prediction of judgment. I don’t believe that the newspaper should be used to interpret the Bible. The Bible interprets the Bible. I love my Jewish people and the land of Israel. I stand with and support her against all efforts to harm her or her people in any way."