Jesus Says "Bomb Iran"

Not really, but it seems that a number of preachers who call themselves Christians are demanding that the US attack Iran. The best known of the Iran bashers is John Hagee, pastor of San Antonio's Cornerstone Church, which has a reported congregation of 18,000. Hagee appears weekly on 150 TV stations worldwide and heads Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which lobbies on behalf of the State of Israel in the US Congress. He is also reported to be close to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, whom he has endorsed, while President Bush has publicly praised Hagee's CUFI for "spreading the hope of God's love and the universal gift of freedom." Senator Joe Lieberman is also on board, likening Hagee to Moses, "a man of God... leading a mighty multitude."

As is frequently the case, neither Bush nor McCain nor Lieberman appears to know what exactly the good preacher has advocated. Or maybe they do, which is even more frightening to contemplate. Hagee, whose insights into foreign policy are derived from his own unique reading of the Bible, believes that God's plan for mankind culminates in a battle between Israel and the US against an alliance of the Islamic states and Russia. Iran would be the focus of the American-Israeli onslaught. He has written that "The United States must join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West, a biblically prophesized End Time confrontation... which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation and the Second Coming."

Hagee's other foreign policy positions are unsurprising, including uncritical support of the Iraq fiasco and opposition to any Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, arguing that the Bible has promised all of Palestine to the Israelis. The Hagee version of end time theology turns Christianity into a death cult in which the State of Israel is a central feature because Israel must first be reborn and then destroyed, leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ and the Rapture of all believers to heaven. The end time theology is ironically not dissimilar to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Eleventh Imam beliefs, which have been widely ridiculed.

If Hagee were the only wingnut out there it would be bad enough, but he is far from alone. Other men of God are concerned about the more generic threat coming from Islam. Martin Mawyer of the Virginia-based Christian Action Network claims that there are more than 35 Muslim terrorist camps operating inside the United States. He comes up with that figure by assuming that any and all Muslim religious centers are actually terrorist training facilities. He has dedicated himself to a battle "between God and Satan" to eliminate the Muslim presence before something terrible happens. His pamphlet "Terror in Our Schools: the Jihadist Threat to Our Schoolchildren" explains that "Muslim literature states clearly that the killing of children is not only permitted in Islam but is approved by Mohammed." The Jihadis are reportedly planning a mass attack on America's schools, producing rivers of blood, in which they "will probably pick middle schools... where the girls are old enough to rape but the students are not big enough to fight back effectively."

That Hagee and Mawyer are taken seriously by many Americans is unfortunate, particularly when politicians endorse their views. There are undeniably many reasons to mistrust Iranian intentions and it is certainly true that there are many aspects of Islam as it is practiced that give one pause, but the designation of entire countries and peoples as enemies slated for "obliteration" (yes, Hillary) is the unfortunate shorthand that has come out of our political system and the fear-mongering of the past seven years. The danger that there will be a war against Iran in the very near future is all too real and it is being encouraged by "men of God" like Hagee. It's time to marginalize the views of the purveyors of hate, even if they call themselves Christians. It is past time for the adults to return and take over US foreign policy. Hopefully that will come with President Obama.

Comments

[SharonB]

Gee, I thought the Bible contains the real words of Jesus. All this time I thought Jesus said to do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. I thought that was the right thing to do because that is what the Bible quotes Jesus as saying.
Now we have these strange folks telling us that Jesus is sending them a different message... "KILL THEM ALL!"
Hmmm... I think I will go with what the scriptures tell me about him. Frankly, from what I have seen of some of these TV evangelists, I don't think they would know the difference in Jesus Christ speaking to them from the neighbors playing their tv too loudly while they were napping...

Want to know what Jesus really says about dealing with our enemies: Luke 6:27-36 Even if you are not a Christian, those are good words to live by. You certainly will make a much more positive impact on the world.

[RoloTomassi]

"The end time theology is ironically not dissimilar to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Eleventh Imam beliefs, which have been widely ridiculed."

I do believe the author is referring to the Twelfth Imam, commonly referred to as "Twelvers," and if my understanding is accurate, this belief represents approxiamtely 10% of Islam overall, and about 80% of Shia Muslims. Obviously, while it is certainly a much smaller faction of Islam than the Sunnis, it is by no means a belief exclusive to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a small band of Islamic extremists, nor is the belief an extremist doctrine, as this author and many others seem to suppose and promote.

Hagee, on the other hand, is indeed an extremist, as much so as Osama bin Laden, as he calls for literal attacks on ME nations with his violent dogma.

Perhaps he does so in secret meetings, or I'm just out of the "loop," but I haven't seen or heard of any credible sources attributing those kinds of extremist calls for attacks on the US by Ahmadinejad.

[mgloraine]

Rule of Thumb #1: People claiming to know what "God wants" or what "God says" are either schizophrenics hearing voices in their heads, or charlatans with political and economic agendas intended to increase their personal prestige and wealth. Modern, thinking humans would do well to steer clear of both varieties of "men of God".

Rule of Thumb #2: Writing is a human invention; all written works on this planet including everyone's scriptures were written by humans and so are the "Word of Man" - not the "Word of God". The "Holy Bible" is no closer to being the "Word of God" than, say "Grimm's Fairy Tales". Scriptures are worth reading for their cultural and philosophical content, but devising a foreign policy based on scriptural writings is an exercise in either naivete or cynicism which is sure to turn out badly.

[MajorKong]

I find it rather pretentious, dare I say blasphemous, for Pastor Hagee to think that we can somehow force God's hand and make the rapture happen through our own actions. I always figured that God pretty much works on his own schedule.

What's really scary is that these apocalyptic Christian zionists are a major player in the GOP and that their aims so neatly dovetail with the neoconservatives.

[WorkingClass]

they "will probably pick middle schools...where the girls are old enough to rape but the students are not big enough to fight back effectively."

He tipped his hand with this one. Don't let this guy anywhere near middle school girls.