Palestinian evangelical in “propaganda tour” of Brazil
Christian leader questions group's sponsorship of 'anti-Israel' message
Michael Carl
A Christian
leader in Brazil says he’s alarmed by what he regards as a campaign by
evangelicals to spread pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli propaganda.
Julio Severo, a pro-family activist and blogger,
told WND he’s concerned about a speaking tour in Brazil that features Bethlehem
Bible College President Emeritus Bishara Awad in support of Open Doors,
International.
“He did not
mention anything about Muslim violence against Christians,” Severo said.
Severo worries
that the tour will gain credibility because of the sponsorship.
“I am only a very
small Christian, and to expose Open Doors for opening doors to such
anti-Israel, Christian Palestinianism is a big challenge,” Severo said.
He said his
concerns are both political and theological.
“In the speech,
he repeatedly mentioned that he and his people are under occupation,” Severo
said. “As a Christian, he didn’t give the Israeli point of view.”
Bethlehem Bible
College is the host of the controversial Christ at the Checkpoint
Conference. The Jerusalem
Post quoted Awad as being critical of American evangelicals’ support of
Israel.
“Many Christians
support Israel whether it is right or wrong, but don’t look into the issues of
peace and justice,” Awad said. “If that’s being political then fine, but
unfortunately, some people, instead of coming and listening and participating,
just attack us. We want to have serious engagement with Zionist groups, and
have open forum for ongoing dialogue.”
Awad told WND in
an interview that his ethnic background is an important factor in how he sees
the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
 |
| Bishara Awad |
“We aren’t
suffering at the hands of the Muslims in Palestine,” Awad said. “Some people
don’t want to believe this and that is their right.”
Severo is
skeptical and he points to a report by the Committee
for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. In that report, Awad is
quoted as saying an Israeli-built wall completely encircles Bethlehem.
“We have many
problems in this land. We are under military occupation. The Israelis built a
wall around us and this wall goes around Bethlehem,” Awad said.
But the
committee report points out that a map shows that the wall doesn’t completely
encircle Bethlehem.
However, Awad
added that he knows the situation would only be more severe for his people if
Bethlehem and the Palestinian Authority territory were under the control of the
surrounding nations.
“Looking at the
countries around us, like in Syria and in Lebanon, there certainly is
persecution of Christians, and Christians are leaving. The people here are
leaving because they don’t like to be under occupation,” Awad said.
“However, if the
tables were turned (and an Arab neighbor controlled the territory), I would be
very scared because of what I see around those countries,” Awad said. “I see
how the Muslims are treating people and how they’re ever treating their own
people. They’re killing their own people. There’s no mercy; there’s no love.
“It’s becoming
more and more extreme with extreme Muslims. Even some moderate Muslims are
happy about what’s going on in Syria with Muslims killing Muslims,” Awad said.
“The Middle East
is in an uproar altogether, and I’m afraid the table will be turned around one
of these days and the Palestinians will be under a worse regime than right now
under Israel,” Awad said.
But Awad
emphasized, “I don’t want my people to be under anyone’s control, under anyone
else’s guns.”
Open Doors
spokesman Paul Estabrooks said neither Open Doors nor Bethlehem Bible College
is anti-Israel.
“I spent one
week at BBC and heard not one word of negativity toward Israel,” Estabrooks
said.
Estabrooks
explained that there is a significant theological debate surrounding the
Arab-Israeli conflict and even whether Israel has a right to the land the
modern state of Israel occupies.
Awad said he and
Bethlehem Bible College reject what is termed by critics as “replacement
theology,” the belief that the Christian church has taken Israel’s place as the
inheritor of God’s covenant blessings and promises.
“I do not
believe in replacement theology, and I believe in the right of Israel to
exist,” Awad said.
Estabrooks confirmed
Awad’s claim.
“He expressed
that he does accept Israel as a nation and he does not personally, nor does the
Bible college, hold to replacement theology. In recall, he thought that his
emphasis at the meeting was just on the New Covenant, not on anti-Israel
propaganda as charged,” Estabrooks said.
In a search of
the Bethlehem Bible College website, the college’s “FAQ” page has this comment
about the relationship between the college and Israel: “Due to Israeli
occupation, Bethlehem residents have lost thousands of dunums of land for the
purposes of Israeli settlement construction and the building of the separation
wall.”
The site says,
“Political violence during the 2nd Intifada and the continual loss of land have
created a desperate economic situation in the city of Bethlehem, which has an
unemployment rate of 22.4 percent, the highest in the West Bank.”
The college has
not responded to WND’s requests for comment.
Estabrooks said:
“Let me assure you that Open Doors also does not endorse or propagate replacement
theology nor are we in any way anti-Israel as a nation of God’s chosen people.
Neither have I heard this expressed or taught in my many experiences at
Bethlehem Bible College over a 20-year period.’
Estabrooks
explained Palestinian Christians have a different view of Israel, because they
are both Palestinian and Christian.
“Furthermore,
Christians I have met in Palestinian Israel are far more aggrieved at the
mistreatment they receive from Israelis than the minimal challenges presented
by Palestinian Muslims against them. Is it not understandable then that
Palestinian Christians might express publicly the frustrations under which they
live each day?” Estabrooks asked.
Estabrooks said
that Open Doors subscribes to Christian author and pastor John Piper’s views of
Israel. Piper’s seven points are as follows:
1 God chose Israel from all the peoples of the
world to be his own possession.
2 The land was part of the inheritance he
promised to Abraham and his descendants forever.
3 The
promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the land, will be inherited
as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient,
unbelieving Israel.
4 Jesus Christ has come into the world as the
Jewish Messiah, and his own people rejected him and broke covenant with their
God.
5 Therefore,
the secular state of Israel today may not claim a present divine right to the
land, but they and we should seek
a peaceful settlement not based on present divine rights, but on international
principles of justice, mercy, and practical feasibility.
6 By faith in Jesus Christ, the Jewish
Messiah, Gentiles become heirs of the promise of Abraham, including the promise
of the land.
7 Finally, this inheritance of Christ’s people
will happen fully at the Second Coming of Christ to establish His kingdom, not
before; and till then, we Christians must not take up arms to claim our
inheritance; but rather lay down our lives to share our inheritance with as
many as we can.
Portuguese
version of this article: Evangélico palestino em “turnê de
propaganda” no Brasil
Spanish version of this article: Evangélico
palestino en “tour de propaganda” en Brasil
Source: WND,
via Last Days Watchman
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