Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference Attempts Sounding Evangelical

Recently, according to Stephen Sizer, Vicar of Christ Church in the UK, the 2012 Evangelical Affirmations for the Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference have been agreed upon and published. Sizer, an outspoken critic of Israel and Christian Zionism, according to his own words, is among the authors of this affirmation.

Last years drafters of the 2011 Affirmations included Paul Alexander, Christine M. Anderson, Brother Andrew, Alex Awad, Bishara Awad, Mubarak Awad, Sami Awad, Gary Burge, Tony Campolo, Steven Haas, Lynne Hybels, Manfred Kohl, Jonathan Kuttab, Paul Johnson, Salim Munayer, Stephen Sizer and producer Porter Speakman, Jr.

The affirmations for this coming year are intended to reflect the views and hopes of the organizers of the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference to be held at Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem March 5-9.  The participants in the conference include Palestinian Christians, messianic Jews and an assortment of evangelical speakers and writers.

These affirmations state, "As Palestinian Evangelical Christians at Bethlehem Bible College, we seek to learn, through following the example of the life and teachings of Jesus, how to honor Christ and how to honor Palestinians and Israeli Jews, by accepting them as two peoples who have the right to live in justice, peace, security and dignity."

Yet as we read through the affirmations, it is clear only one entity is to blame for the Middle East crisis and it's not the Palestinians.

Here is the text of the Christ at the Checkpoint Affirmations from their website with my comments included.

Affirmation #1: Israelis and Palestinians

We affirm that all people are created in the image of God. In turn we are called to honor the dignity of every human being and to respect their inalienable rights. We affirm that Jews and Palestinians are loved by God and capable of living together within peace, justice and security. This is God’s view toward all of humanity, residing in any political boundary and manifested through the mission of Jesus in bringing to everyone, “life to the full” (John 10:10).

Affirmation #2: Theology and Land
The New Testament clearly teaches that God continues to invite Jews and Arabs into His kingdom and in no way is finished with any people group. Further, Scripture speaks of Jesus as its ultimate fulfillment. For example, the need for animal sacrifices, Levitical priesthood, and expectation of a rebuilt Temple, find their ultimate fulfillment and completion in Jesus Christ.

I find Affirmation #2 to be written in a way that permits the leadership and participants in the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference to slip in their adherence to Replacement Theology. The second affirmation reads, "and in no way is finished with any people group."  

These words can be meant to say, "God is not finished with the Jewish people since He offers them salvation through their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah."  However, the statement provides freedom to the conference participants to advocate that God is no longer committed to the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant which gives the people of Israel possession and ownership of the land of Israel.  

This covenant relationship does not eliminate the Palestinian from living in the land as over a million Arabs do today in Israel proper. However, to deny the continuance of the Abrahamic Covenant for the Jewish people today is a major bone of contention for theologians and individuals connected to the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference and the drafters of the 2011 Affirmations such as Gary Burge, Stephen Sizer and Sami Awad.  The fact the drafters of these affirmations skirt around God's continued covenant with Israel is obvious in their refusal to believe the God of Israel would allow a temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. 


Affirmation #3: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict

As followers of Jesus Christ we regret more than 60 years of conflict. We look forward to the time when the conflict will end and both peoples will enjoy genuine reconciliation. We commit ourselves to be peacemakers and to this ministry of reconciliation. As such we stand resolutely against all forms of violence and racism, regardless of the perpetrators.

Other than in words, where are any attempts on the part of Palestinian Christians to be peacemakers towards Israeli soldiers and citizens? To affirm this agreement we would need to see Palestinian Christians condemn the use of terrorism against Israelis by Palestinian Muslims.  

The terrorist Hamas group governing the Palestinian territories is committed to a doctrine in which they seek the destruction of the Jewish state and annihilation of the Jewish people.  Why aren't Palestinian Christians condemning Hamas? 

Instead, most of the Palestinian Christian groups in their literature and speeches place the responsibility of the Middle East conflict on Israel.  Having a conference where messianic Jews are invited to speak is a drop in the ocean when it comes to the reality of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Affirmation #4: The Second Coming of Christ

There are several views which Christ followers hold to explain the future. Rather than focus on the signs of the return of Christ, our reading of the New Testament indicates that our primary mandate is to proclaim the “Good News” to the entire world. 

Palestinian Christians and their supporters  do not want to focus on the Second Coming since the New Testament scriptures place the people of Israel on center stage of the events of the last days as seen in Matthew 24, Mark 14 and Luke 21.  Christ at the Checkpoint theologians do not want to consider Jesus as the Messiah of the Jewish people and returning to earth to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem to rule as the last Davidic King.  Then they would have to acknowledge the continuance of the Abrahamic covenant with the modern state of Israel.

Affirmation #5: Zionism

Modern Zionism is a political movement created to meet the aspirations of Jews around the world who longed for a homeland. It has become ethnocentric, privileging one people at the expense of others. Christianity calls believers in Jesus to focus on building God’s kingdom on earth.

It is interesting that a group consisting largely of Palestinian Christians seeks to define Zionism without consulting Jewish sources. Rather than being a "political movement . . . privileging one people at the expense of others", the Encyclopedia Britannica defines Zionism, 

Zionism is a movement of national liberation, seeking self-determination for the Jewish people within a sovereign Jewish nation located in their ancient homeland. Zionism is a direct continuation of the Biblical religious attachment of the Jews and Judaism to this specific historic holy land. Zionism is non-partisan, trans-denominational, and not related to the policies of any Israeli government.

Affirmation #6: Messianic Jews

Messianic Jews are the brothers and sisters of all who follow Jesus or Yeshua. We are one family bound together in a fellowship of love. Although diversity in political opinions as well as theological emphasis inevitably exist, we refuse to allow these views to hinder our fellowship in Jesus.

I find this affirmation hard to swallow. Vicar StephenSizer in a recent blog condemns the human rights violation by Israel towards Palestinians without placing any responsibility on Palestinian terrorists. I would have liked to see Sizer condemn the brutal attack on the Israeli family who had their throats cut in the middle of the night in the Ithamar back in March 2011. While they were sleeping Palestinian terrorists stole into the settlement, killing a husband and wife, and an 11-year-old, a 3-year-old and a baby girl. Where is Rev. Sizer's condemnation of such atrocities committed by Palestinians? 

Does Sizer think this affirmation is going to smooth over the differences between messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians? Does he think messianic Jews are going to sit by in silence while any Israeli retaliation to Palestinian acts of terrorism are condemned by Palestinian followers of Christ?  

In his blog Stephen Sizer quotes theologian John Stott who says of Zionism, "I myself believe that Zionism, both political and Christian, is incompatible with biblical truth." Sizer thinks he can embrace messianic Jews as brothers in the Lord while stabbing us in the back with his condemnation of Zionism - Christian and Jewish.  

Affirmation #7: Palestinian and Israeli Authority
The Bible teaches us to pray for all in political authority. We are called to obey them, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian, as an expression of our faith in God’s sovereign rule. We are also called to be a prophetic voice, challenging injustice creatively and non-violently.

As I stated above, I am waiting for a prophetic voice to come from the Palestinian Christians pointing out  the evils committed by their Palestinian brothers in their terrorist attacks on Israel and stop placing all the blame on the Israelis.  

Will Palestinian Christians obey Hamas in desiring the destruction of the Jewish state and the annihilation of the Jewish people in Israel?  I'm anxious to hear an affirmation from the Christ at the Checkpoint leadership in which they condemn the evil goals of their own government.  Until these affirmations are just empty words. 

Rather than seeking true  peace with Israel, many in the Palestinian leadership of the Christ at the Checkpoint are mostly dedicated to bringing young American evangelicals to live among Palestinian families to indoctrinate them against Israel, produce propaganda films such as With God on Our Side to show in evangelical churches to turn Christians against Israel and produce books that attack Christian Zionism and advocate replacement theology. 

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference Attempts Sounding Evangelical

Fabricated Ben Gurion Quote Used in Pro-Palestinian Evangelical Film

The Committee on Accuracy on Middle East Reporting's blog exposes a glaring inaccuracy in the 2010 documentary "With God On Our Side." The film produced by Rooftop Production LLC is an evangelical response to Christian Zionism.

The film's Facebook page describes the production:

With God On Our Side takes a look at the theology of Christian Zionism, which teaches that because the Jews are God's chosen people, they have a divine right to the land of Israel. Aspects of this belief system lead some Christians in the West to give uncritical support to Israeli government policies, even those that privilege Jews at the expense of Palestinians, leading to great suffering among Muslim and Christian Palestinians alike and threatening Israel's security as a whole.

The accompanying study guide to the film was mostly taken from evangelical pastor Stephen Sizer's book, Zion’s Christian Soldiers (Downers Grove, IVP). Sizer, as previously noted in this blog is Vicar of Christ Church in Surrey, UK and has recently been part of a pro-Palestinian forum of speakers in Malaysia which include pro-Hamas speakers and noted anti-Semitic apologists.

With God On Our Side assails Christian Zionists for their alleged failure to think through their support of Israel. According to the CAMERA blog, the film is a "jaundiced summary of Israeli history."

In one scene of this propaganda piece, the narrator reports the following:

In a letter to his son in 1937 David Ben Gurion, who would later become the first Prime Minister of Israel, stated “The Arabs will have to go, but one needs an opportune moment for making it happen, such as war.”

According to the CAMERA post, that even though this quite fits well with producer Porter Speakman's agenda, it’s nothing but a fabrication. It's a fake quote that was debunked well before the 2010 release date of With God On Our Side.

I quote from a portion of a  letter from Benney Morris to the Independent, UK dated November 2006 that  proves the usage of the Ben Gurion quote in With God on Our Side is a fabrication:

Hari quotes David Ben-Gurion as saying in 1937: ‘I support compulsory transfer ... The Arabs will have to go, but one needs an opportune moment for making it happen, such as a war.’ The first part of the quote (‘I support compulsory transfer’) is genuine; the rest (‘The Arabs will have to go ... such as a war’) is an invention, pure and simple, either by Hari or by whomever he is quoting (Ilan Pappe?)

 It is true that Ben-Gurion in 1937-38 supported the transfer of the Arabs out of the area of the Jewish state-to-be – which was precisely the recommendation of the British Royal (Peel) Commission from July 1937, which investigated the Palestine problem. The commission concluded that the only fair settlement was by way of partition, with the Jews receiving less than 20 per cent of Palestine, but that, for it to be viable, the 20 per cent should be cleared of potentially hostile, disloyal Arabs. (Britain, incidentally, at the end of World War II supported the expulsion to Germany of the German Sudeten minority, which had helped Hitler destroy and occupy Czechoslovakia – for precisely the same reasons.) The Arabs, then and later, rejected the principle of partition as well as the specific Peel proposals.

Neither Ben-Gurion nor the Zionist movement ‘planned’ the displacement of the 700,000-odd Arabs who moved or were removed from their homes in 1948. There was no such plan or blanket policy. Transfer was never adopted by the Zionist movement as part of its platform; on the contrary, the movement always accepted that the Jewish state that arose would contain a sizeable Arab minority.

But in 1947-48 the Palestinian Arabs, joined by invading Arab states’ armies from outside, launched a war whose aim – which they (and even Pappe, Israel’s Lord Haw-Haw) have never denied – was to destroy the nascent state of Israel (and quite probably its inhabitants as well). But – what can you do? – the Arabs were beaten. And in the course of beating them, the Israelis drove out the Palestinians, who were not ‘totally innocent ... peasants’ (a ludicrous phrase). Their villages and towns served as the bases from which their militiamen and armies attacked Jewish communities and convoys.

The ‘innocent’ Palestinians were the aggressors – and dispossession was the price they paid for their aggression. In the circumstances, had the Jews not driven them out, Israel would not have arisen and its (Jewish) population would have been slaughtered – or, at the least, the Jewish state would have been established with a considerable Fifth Column in its midst and rendered mortally unstable. (Conversely, had the Arabs accepted the 1947 UN Partition Resolution, refrained from violence, and gone on with their lives as loyal Israeli citizens, nothing would have happened to them.)

Nonetheless, Israel emerged from the 1948 War with a 160,000-strong Arab minority (alongside 700,000 Jews) – a fact that tends to undermine the charge that there was a blanket policy of ethnic cleansing.

It is important that evangelicals who view the film With God On Our Side are equipped with factual information that  debunk the lies and deliberate historical inaccuracies that are found in the Rooftop Productions film.

Fabricated Ben Gurion Quote Used in Pro-Palestinian Evangelical Film

Anglican Pastor Sizer Hobnobs With Pro Hamas Groups

If you care about Israel, you'll become familiar with the name Stephen Sizer.  Sizer, the Anglican pastor of Christ Church in Surrey, UK, is well known in an evangelical circles. Sizer is also well known in pro-Hamas and antisemitic circles as I will show the reader.

Vicar Stephen Sizer

Stephen has accumulated an impressive list of Christian credentials during his twenty eight years of ordained ministry.  In fact, according to his bio Sizer is a Trustee of the Biblica Ministries Trust, who sponsored and publish the New International Version (NIV), the most widely used English Bible translation.

But as I started to say, there is another side to Sizer as described on his website:

He is a Patron of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD-UK), a Trustee of Friends of Sabeel UK, a founding member of the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism (ISCZ), a member of the Advisory Council of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU)

He is also a consultant and contributor to the [anti-Israel and pro-Palestianian-author's remarks] film With God on our Side and the Bible study guide that accompanies the film. . . . He is a contributor to Bridges of Faith, the international Evangelical-Muslim Dialogue Group.

The problem with Sizer's credentials is that once one studies all the groups he associates with, the clearer it becomes that Sizer's major stance is anti-Christian Zionism. In fact, the Vicar has no problems with associating with pro-Hamas groups like Viva Palestina Malaysia and with antisemitic speakers such as Mahathir Mohamad, Azzam Tamimi, and an apologist for anti-Semites Lauren Booth.

Sizer's affiliations are as disturbing as the anti-Israel remarks he makes himself.  But to understand the crowd this so-called evangelical hangs out with, let me pull today's blog from a post contributed by  Joseph W on the blog Harry's Place:

Anglican Vicar hosted by Far Right Malaysian outfit

Cross-Post, June 5th 2011, 4:00 pm

by Joseph W

In January, this blog reported on the Far Right activities of the anti-Israel outfit Viva Palestina Malaysia.

Stephen Sizer is being hosted by VPM this week – more on him later.

Viva Palestina Malaysia is proudly pro-Hamas. Here is one of VPM’s activists, Azra Banu, meeting the leader of Hamas:

VPM promoted the idea that Jews should all relocate to Siberia, taking their ideas from David Duke’s website:

VPM has chosen to host a range of speakers with extreme views on Israel, including the raging anti-Semite Mahathir Mohamad, Azzam Tamimi, and the apologist for anti-Semites Lauren Booth.

Mahathir has previously stated:

“the Jews for example are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively.”

“Jewish stinginess and financial wizardry gained them commercial control of Europe and provoked anti-Semitism which waxed and waned in Europe throughout the ages.”

“We do not want to say that this is a plot by the Jews, but in reality it is a Jew who triggered the currency plunge, and coincidentally Soros is a Jew”

“Of late because of their power and their apparent success [the Jews] have become arrogant. And arrogant people, like angry people will make mistakes, will forget to think.”

When Booth visited VPM, she defended Mahathir from charges of anti-Semitism:

If you speak to Dr. Mahathir, it is clear he has neither the personality nor the inclination to be an anti-Semite. He is a thoughtful, pious and philosophical man.

I want to tell the people of Malaysia not to be scared of being labeled anti-Semitic when criticising the unjust, disgraceful behaviour of the Israel regime.

The label ‘anti-Semite’ is applied deliberately to quash debate on the Israeli government and its army and we must not be afraid to speak out (on it).

VPM is the Malaysian chapter of Viva Palestina, which is overtly a pro-Hamas outfit. The team leader of the Malaysian contingent of one of the Viva Palestina convoys is the Nazi apologist Matthias Chang. 

Here are some quotes from Chang, addressing Iran’s Holocaust-questioning conference in 2006:

In fact, in the early 1930s, it was the Zionists that declared war on Germany.

[...]

There is an arguable legal case for the proposition that Germany, faced with a Zionist Declaration of War in the early 1930s, had the right to defend itself against the Zionists’ agenda to annihilate Germany and her citizens!

Critics may well counter-argue that the above proposition is ridiculous – how could Zionists, not constituting a nation state declare war on Germany? My reply is simple. If Al Qaeda [and the “Jihadists”] can be accused of declaring war on America and which gave rise to the present Global War on Terror, the World Jewish Congress and allied organisations can likewise be accused for their crimes against Germany!

[...]

Those who continue to promote the political line that the Holocaust is a unique and an exceptional Jewish historical event, when compared to the sufferings of the other victims, such as the Chinese who were slaughtered in excess of 10 million, have to that extent minimised the atrocities committed by both sides in WWII. It is an attempt to white-wash the war crimes of the victors in WWII.

[...]

To accept that the Holocaust was an exceptional Jewish historical event is to deny the genocides, massacres and sufferings inflicted on the rest of mankind throughout history. This cannot be right.

I cannot help but question the motives of those who seek to elevate the sufferings of the Jewish people above those who had suffered as much, if not more from the horrors of the Second World War. And when the sufferings of the Jewish people have turned into an industry we owe a moral duty to the departed to ensure that no one should profit from blood money, more so, when lies are perpetrated to further such profiteering.

If we are gathered here to seek truth and to condemn war crimes, then we must condemn all war crimes, not just those allegedly committed by the defeated in WWII. If we judge Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo as war criminals, then we cannot but find Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin guilty as well.

[...]

We must set up an International Commission of Jurists to review the findings of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
We must set up a War Crimes Tribunal to adjudicate on the crimes of all Allied Powers leaders during WWII.

That Booth and Sizer should collude with this political group closely associated with a Nazi-apologist, speaks volumes. Last Friday, and this coming Tuesday, VPM are hosting the “anti-Zionist” vicar Rev Stephen Sizer.

Depressingly, the lectures are being held in the name of interfaith dialogue, in co-ordination with the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, which is funded by the Malaysian government.

Given that he supports political protests outside synagogues on holy days, Sizer is probably the last person you want at an interfaith conference. 

Yet Sizer enjoys evangelising over the world, spreading the Bad News about Israel to the four corners of the Earth, to all who will listen. He has form. 

When Sizer went to Indonesia and spoke alongside government officials, he shared a platform with Holocaust denier Fred Tobin, reps from Hamas and Hezbollah, and an apocalyptic imam who believes Israel will be destroyed in 2022. 

Sizer has also visited Iran to give a tour speaking about Christian Zionism. He has since claimed that he formed links with the Iranian opposition when he was in the country, although the evidence tells another story. 

Sizer has recently caused concern by suggesting that Colonel Gaddafi and his son are linked to Israel and the USA by Jewish blood, which initially prevented the world from imposing a no-fly-zone over Libya. 

I know the Church of England doesn’t like getting involved in these matters, but really now: this is the Church that suspended a bishop for offending William and Kate. 

Surely the Church should do or say something about a maverick vicar involved in supporting pro-Nazi outfits – all whilst wearing his Anglican clerical collar. 

If you wish to complain to the Church, I strongly recommend you contact the Archbishop of Canterbury. I will.

Anglican Pastor Sizer Hobnobs With Pro Hamas Groups