Rapture Ready (The Nation)

[marmar]

The link to the video is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15

BLOG | Posted 07/27/2007 @ 7:05pm
Rapture Ready
Max Blumenthal


On July 16, I attended Christians United for Israel's annual Washington-Israel Summit. Founded by San Antonio-based megachurch pastor John Hagee, CUFI has added the grassroots muscle of the Christian right to the already potent Israel lobby. Hagee and his minions have forged close ties with the Bush White House and members of Congress from Sen. Joseph Lieberman to Sen. John McCain. In its call for a unilateral military attack on Iran and the expansion of Israeli territory, CUFI has found unwavering encouragement from traditional pro-Israel groups like AIPAC and elements of the Israeli government.

But CUFI has an ulterior agenda: its support for Israel derives from the belief of Hagee and his flock that Jesus will return to Jerusalem after the battle of Armageddon and cleanse the earth of evil. In the end, all the non-believers - Jews, Muslims, Hindus, mainline Christians, etc. - must convert or suffer the torture of eternal damnation. Over a dozen CUFI members eagerly revealed to me their excitement at the prospect of Armageddon occurring tomorrow. Among the rapture ready was Republican Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. None of this seemed to matter to Lieberman, who delivered a long sermon hailing Hagee as nothing less than a modern-day Moses. Lieberman went on to describe Hagee's flock as "even greater than the multitude Moses led out of Egypt."

Throughout CUFI's Israel Summit, videographer Thomas Shomaker and I were hounded by PR agents seeking to prevent us from interviewing attendees about the End Times. The conference, we were told, was about "one message" - evangelical Christians supporting Israel. We were instructed to only interview CUFI leaders capable of sticking to the talking point that their support for Israel has, as Hagee declared, "nothing to do with the End Times." But I was forbidden from asking Hagee about statements he made in his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," that appeared to blame Jews for their own persecution. After doing just that during a press conference, I was removed from the conference by off-duty DC cops summoned by members of Hagee's family.

I have covered the Christian right intensely for over four years. During this time, I attended dozens of Christian right conferences, regularly monitored movement publications and radio shows, and interviewed scores of its key leaders. I have never witnessed any spectacle as politically extreme, outrageous, or bizarre as the one Christians United for Israel produced last week in Washington. See it for yourself

[ikojo]

1. My orthodox friends don't care that Hagee and his

ilk are only using Jews to fulfill their end time world view...they say Israel needs all the friends she can get and that (in THEIR opinion) the Christians will see they are wrong about the rapture stuff.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Do your orthodox friends not understand that the end point of Hagee's

'assistance' is a holocaust that will make The Holocaust look like a broken toe? Requisite is the fact that EVERY UNCONVERTED JEW MUST DIE AND BE DAMNED. Hagee and his followers WANT A NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON.

And our 'president' is one of that number.

WHY AREN'T THEY TERRIFIED?

[ikojo]

5. Yes, they've heard that part and still say

he is wrong and that Israel needs all of the friends available. They believe that Israel is besieged and welcome fundie Christian support.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. With such friends, who needs enemies? nt

[SharonAnn]

7. This friends want to trigger catastrophic war in the Middle East, "Armeggedon".

That is what they should be afraid of. Catastrophic war will kill them and destroy their country.

Oh, and it won't bring about the "end times".

[BushOut06]

2. If this doesn't prove what a sick backstabbing fuck LIEberman is, then nothing will

Hindsight is 20/20, but I wonder how many times Al Gore asks himself "what the hell was I thinking, picking him as my running mate?"

[Adsos Letter]

4. Thankyou for this post....

...while earning a History degree in college I became somewhat of a student of the effects of apocalyptic eschatology in History (consider it's place in the justifications for the First Crusade, as only one example).

I continue to be appalled, not just by the behavior of groups like CUFI (which follow naturally from their eschatology), but by the utter lack of real understanding by your average citizen of these eschatological beliefs and their potential ability to influence policy.

It is my opinion that the American Public needs some serious education on the beliefs of CUFI and other like-minded groups, in the context of the importance of regaining a separation between Church and State; in this instance, the danger is obviously in the realm of a foreign policy dictated or influenced by someone's eschatological interpretations.

This is especially those who do not read the wealth of written information which has been made available over the last two decades, regarding eschatology and it's historical influence (and the results thereof).

After a 30 year career I will be returning to university next month to complete my MA in History and intend to pursue my Master's studies along this very line. I hope I will be able to produce something worthwhile.