Sarah Palin’s looming pastor problem?
The 2008 campaign has already offered one object lesson in what happens when the press starts looking into your pastor's sermons. Now it's Sarah Palin's turn to come under the microscope.
Less than three weeks ago, on Aug. 17, Palin's church, Wasilla Bible Church, hosted a talk by David Brickner of Jews for Jesus (audio here, transcript here).
Palin's pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner by calling Jews for Jesus "a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing demanding area of witnessing and evangelism." Jews for Jesus is the same group the ADL accused of "aggressive proselytizing with a deceptive message: that Jews who accept Jesus as the son of God and their savior remain Jewish."
Brickner then spoke for about 30 minutes about his group's successful effort to introduce Israelis to Jesus. More on that in a second.
After Brickner's talk, the congregation took an offering for JFJ, and then Pastor Kroon offered this prayer:
We stand before you as a people who've experienced your grace, and we acknowledge that that grace was first extended to our people through your people, the Jews; that there is not a one here in this room who would know Jesus and serve him if there had not been a Jew, generations ago, that spoke Jesus' name to our people. Father, that comes full circle and we wish to extend your grace back to your people. And we pray and we ask that as a result of this time here, and as a result of this offering, there will be people among the Jews today who come to say the name "Jesus" with faith.
On the surface, not all that different from the Catholic prayer for Jewish conversion, whose revival aroused great concern in the Jewish community and nearly railroaded Pope Benedict's recent visit to New York City. In the end, he visited a synagogue and the Vatican gave some signals that this was a wish for the end of times, not the beginning an evangelical effort aimed at Jews.
It's going to be near impossible for the Palin camp to follow that road map after listening to Brickner's sermon, with its effusions over his group's success in Israel.
Here's his description of playing music in Jerusalem with his evangelical band The Liberated Wailing Wall:
Now, most Israelis are secular. And they were drawn by the music, and we had t-shirts on that said "Yehudim L'man Yeshua" (Jews for Jesus), so they knew who we were; but that was ok. They were enjoying the music; some were clapping. There were some that were even dancing off to the side. I thought to myself, "Boy, this is great! We're preachin' the gospel right here on the streets of Jerusalem."
Brickner talks about what he calls the "Jerusalem dilemma," essentially the apparent conflict between the fact that Jerusalem has been the site of so much religious revelation and also the nexus of so much war and bloodshed. The reason? Israel's rejection of God's messenger:
But what we see in Israel, the conflict that is spilled out throughout the Middle East, really which is all about Jerusalem, is an ongoing reflection of the fact that there is judgment. There is judgment that is going on in the land, and that's the other part of this Jerusalem Dilemma. When Jesus was standing in that temple, He spoke that that judgment was coming, that there's a reality to the judgment of unbelief .... And Jesus' words have echoed down through the centuries. Not a generation after He uttered this promise, Titus and his Roman legions marched into that city and destroyed both the city and the temple ... Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When Isaac was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment—you can't miss it.
Isaac is Brickner's son, who just came back from a proselytizing trip to Israel and India. In India, he targeted Israeli backpackers on holiday after completing their army service. For Isaac, it was life-changing:
And for me, that personally has changed my life, making me realize how much God has a plan for each and every one of us, and how much we all need to witness to our fellow unbelievers; and for me, as a Jewish person, to my fellow unbelieving Jewish family.
No word yet on whether Palin was present in church on Aug. 17, but we'll find out. We're also trying to find out more about Pastor Kroon's apparently long connection to Brickner – Kroon says the pair go back to the 1970s – who was making his second appearance at the church. In his first appearance, in 2004, Kroon said: "If it were not for Jews for Jesus, I would not be standing here."
ADL chief Abe Foxman – whose organization has criticized Jews for Jesus as "deceptive," who called on Barack Obama to confront his "black racist" minister, and who called the Catholic prayer a "body blow" to relations with the Jews – told JTA Tuesday he didn't have much problem with Palin's pastor. For one, evangelicals, unlike Catholics, never promised to renounce proselytizing. For another, they don't have the same sort of history of violent persecution of Jewish non-believers. For one more, there's no evidence Palin knows or shares those views.
"If you could tell me that she approves of this guy, she invited him, I'm not aware of any of that," Foxman said. "The fact that she belongs to a church that believes in it, I don't have a problem."
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Hi Eliezer Ben Ranan,
First, Yeshua is YOUR God-man, just as much as He is anyone else’s. Second, your refusal to acknowledge Him as such is YOUR error. Third, you are WRONG when you say you will “NEVER” bow down to Him: At His return, Yeshua will command His angels, the angels of YaHVeH, to “Bring here those enemies of Mine who would not have Me to rule over them, and execute them in My Presence” (see Luke 19:27, NKJV and NASB). So, yes, you WILL bow down to Him--either to believe or to die and be cast into Hell. Of course, the choice remains yours. I recommend you reconsider, as that would be by far the best choice you could make.
Hi Steve,
You offer NO facts and NO evidence in your response, only your personal diatribe. So, Steve, it is YOU who is in a fantasy land where Judasim and Jewishness are concerned. If you read the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures for yourself, you would know this and repent.
Hi Deb Tala,
It is true that most Christian denominations have their blind spots and weaknesses where biblical Christianity is concerned. However, you go much too far in your language concerning the Assemblies of God. The AG do not preach “hate;” they do preach that one must believe in Christ Jesus (Messiah Yeshua) and His work on our behalf to be saved and go to Heaven. Indeed, Jesus (Yeshua) Himself made that very proclamation: “I Am The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man comes to The Father but through Me” (John 3:14). So, this is a narrow faith because truth is narrow. Tolerance for the sake of tolerance, Deb, is EVIL, UNGODLY, and UNACCEPTABLE. Tolerance for the sake of the truth is good. In reading your post, you sound quite intolerant of your Christian brothers and sisters who attend the AG to me. That is blindness and arrogance on your part. As for Roman Catholicism, it does in fact engage in idolatry (Marian devotions or “worship,” prayers to deceased saints, statues of Mary and Jesus and deceased saints, etc.). Now, having said that, there are also attendees of Roman Catholic churches who do NOT subscribe to Marian devotions, prayers to deceased saints, and other nonsense that is not biblical, and who are in fact born-again (born of The Holy Spirit), saved Christians. You should be more careful in your statements.
Hi Godwell,
This isn’t about black or white or anything else you suggest, and to equate Blackwater with the “religious right,” and baby-killing with it, is ridiculous and frankly stupidity.
Now, if RACE does matter to you and you WANT to vote for a black man just because he is black, I suggest you vote for Alan Keyes. Indeed, Alan Keyes is a godly BLACK man, and were it not for Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket, I would vote for Alan Keyes myself. And Godwell, that would NOT be because he is BLACK, but because he is a trustworthy, faithful Christian man who also happens to be a politician. (That is not to say I agree with everything Alan Keyes believes as a Christian, but I do trust him.)
So, Godwell, since you want a BLACK man in office, vote for Alan Keyes. Oh, and please remember that this recommendation is from a WHITE JEWISH CHRISTIAN IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
As for the war in Iraq being God’s will, that is a matter of opinion. There are many evil things that occur in this world because God PERMITS them to occur, not because they are His expressed will. And, in the end, there will be justice from God concerning all those evils. But He is a patient God with us fallible human beings, adn those of us who come to know Him should be patient with Him, knowing fully that He is a just and righteous God, and if He delays His judgement, it is for OUR good.
Uh, no, Yael,
Who deceived you into thinking that only Paul spoke of a rapture, or that only Paul came up with the idea that Jesus (Yeshua) is our Messiah? Or that this is only from the New Testament?
Well, Yael, you are ignorant, as I have said before, of your own Hebrew scriptures. In fact, Yael, our Messiah is identified BY NAME as Yeshua AND BY TITLE as Messiah in multiple places in the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures. Yes, Yael, that is the truth, and I bet you had no idea, right? Well, here is one example: Habakkuk 3:13; in this verse, which is given in the context of Armageddon and Yeshua’s return as well as in the context of Genesis 3:15 (the Protoevangelium as Christians call it), you will find “Yeshu[a] The Messiah” mentioned and with the import of Him crushing the heads of the house of wickedness. Oh, and there are, by the way, half a dozen such passages in the Hebrew scriptures that identify our Messiah as “Messiah” by name as “Yeshua” and in the specific context of Genesis 3:15, in which He as our Messiah will crush the head(s) of God’s enemies, to include Satan. And, Yael, besides those half a dozen passages, there many, many more that identify our Messiah by title as “Messiah” and by NAME as “Yeshua” outside the context of Genesis 3:15. For example, see Isaiah 12, “With joy you shall draw water from the wells of Yeshua.” So, Yael, the Hebrew scriptures themselves identify our Messiah as “Yeshua.” Indeed, Yael, Yeshua is translated in many English Old Testaments as “salvation,” yet it is better translated in context as simply “Yeshua” because those passages are referring to our Messiah, Jesus! Consider 1 Chronicles 16:23, Yael, in which Israel’s priests were commanded to “preach the Gospel [Good News] of Yeshua,” typically translated in English as “preach the good news of salvation!” The entire verse is, “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news [Good News or Gospel] of His salvation [Yeshua] from day to day.” Yes, Israel’s OLD TESTAMENT priests were COMMANDED by YaHVeH to “preach the Gospel of Yeshua!” I bet you did not know that either Yael. You know why? It is because you have been deceived by unbelieving Israelites who are likewise decieved by a lying “Jewish” religious leadership known as the rabbinic community. So, Yael, don’t you think it is high time for you to read your own Hebrew scriptures? Wouldn’t you now like to know the rest of which you are so ignorant? Wouldn’t you like to know the REAL God of Israel, Yael? You absolutely SHOULD want to know Him, and His Name is YESHUA!
Now, if you or anyone else on this thread would like to know more, Yael, I suggest you check out my multi-volume series entitled, “Messiah, History, and the Tribulation Period,” which is written from a Hebrew Christian perspective. It is not yet published, but will be in the future. In the meantime, there are CD and DVD sets related to the series that cover everything I’ve addressed in this thread and a very great deal more.
Shabbat Shalom Tim. You aren’t any different than Timothy McVeigh or Hitler. Your information comes from the same source and you know this. I hope you find your way without hurting others. I strongly encourage that you seek out a proper education.
Now I shall forward this information to the FBI. When compared to Nazi extremist sites, it’s obvious that you actually do pose a threat. Your IP address should be noted. Your views are well-beyond ‘Christian.’ It’s unfortunate that your life has taken such a destructive and extreme path. Osama bin Laden’s life took a similar one and he’s just as committed to his convictions as you.
Bottom line: There is no proof of any of it. None. No one has come back. No one has actually provided concrete evidence to anything. Zero. We are born. We die. These are the facts we know. The rest requires faith. Something so subjective and promoted by man should never be used as a reason and justification to kill.
If your faith makes you so angry that you cannot accept that others disagree, then I would suggest there is something very wrong with that ‘faith’ or the principles for which it stands.
Tim:
I’m familiar enough with the “Old Teatament”, in Hebrew and English. That’s one of the reasons I know you are a fantasist. The other is I’ve seen your website. I recommend you go back to your doctor and get your meds checked.
We will be caught up. But not when people say. Every preacher says that there is going to be a 7 year tribulation and that we are going to get raptured out of here before it happens. Yahushua never taught that. read Matt. 24:15-28. Then read Daniel 9:27. To me midst means middle. So that would mean instead of 7 years of tribulation it would be 3 1/2 years of tribulation. Just a yahushua taught. I noticed that your diatribe did nothing to dispel any of the information stated, only to try and discredit me. I made a mistake in a quotation. It was Deuteronomy 12:30-31 where god commands them not to follow after nations and how they serve their gods. Christmas is pagan. Easter is pagan. It doesn’t matter what we try to make of them or use them to serve Yahweh. He plainly says You shall not worship the lord your god in that way. He plainly lays out his feasts in Exodus. Three times a year we are to keep the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of harvest or firstfruits and the feast of ingathering. I have a question for you Tim. What about the discrepancy in Matthew chapter 1. Read about the genealogy of Yahushua and see if you can tell me what the discrepancy is. Everybody knows that the first quote unquote christians were Hebrew. It wasn’t until Shaul or paul came along that the ministry went to the gentiles. And if you read Peter he warns people about the letters of paul that there are things in them that are hard to understand. Yahushua observed the feasts, observed the sabbath. He didn’t come to do away with that or all the statutes and commandments Yahweh gave in the old testament. If he did that, that would be contradictory and mean that when Yahweh said I am the same yesterday,today and forever that he was lying. It is foolish to think that christians are going to get raptured out and not go through tribulation. And tribulation is not getting laughed at or picked on because you are a christian. Tribulation is getting crucified, beaten, stoned, burned and all the things the apostles experienced. For the modern day christian who goes to work, watches monday night football, maybe goes to church wednesday night, goes to church for an hour maybe two on sunday (the day Constantine deemed to be a day of rest), to think that they are going to get raptured out is foolish. Noah did not get raptured out. Yahweh provided safety through the tribulation. Daniel didn’t get raptured out of the lions den. Yahweh provided safety. Peter, James, Paul, John all suffered for Yahushua. Name one modern day pastor that has suffered the kind of tribulation those great men of Yahweh did. Read Foxe’s book of Martyrs and then say to yourself I am better than these people I’m getting raptured. I am glad I am not getting raptured before tribulation hits. I would count it all joy to suffer for my saviour. I am glad for your response though. Even though we disagree, It made me go back into the scripture and get the scripture and verse right. Feel free to respond again.
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Tim Cohen
09/05/08 04:58 PM
Hi Carl,
You are exactly what you claim to speak against: someone who twists scripture. Christianity is NOT a false religion, and you would know that if you read scripture in context and know anything about the history of Judaism and early Christianity. You sound, in fact, Carl, like one of those Yahweh cultists who claims to follow Yeshua, not like someone who actually knows Him. And, your ignorance of scripture is equally amazing under the circumstances: of course, there WILL be a “rapture” or catching up of those who are saved to meet Messiah in the air at His return, as is clearly stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.