A Special Kind Of Madness - Blair, Bush, Huckabee, And The 'Christian' Religious Right

A Special Kind Of Madness
Blair, Bush, Huckabee, And The Religious Right
'Thou Shalt Not Be Deluded'
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/watmadness.htm
Deadly Cocktail Of Oil And 'Christian' Faith
Threatens Security Of Israel And Her Neighbours

Evangelist And Republican Presidential Hopeful Mike Huckabee Has Been Riding High In The Polls For The 2008 US Primaries
But What Do People Know About Him?

"Democrat Hillary Clinton holds a narrow lead in Iowa four days before the state opens the presidential nominating race, while Republicans Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are virtually tied, according to a Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll released on Sunday.... Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, held a statistically insignificant one-point edge over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 29 percent to 28 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain was a distant third with 11 percent."
Clinton leads in Iowa; Huckabee, Romney even: Poll
Reuters, 30 December 2007

"Fifty percent of all voters and 40 percent of Republicans say they don't know enough about Huckabee to say if they like him or not."
Poll: Huckabee Largely Unfamiliar
Associated Press, 27 December 2007

Just Exactly Why Does Huckabee Want To Increase The US Defense Budget By More Than 50%?
Why Is He Trying To Recruit Washington Ultra Hawk John Bolton As A Foreign Policy Adviser?
And Why Does He Want To Relocate The Palestinians To Egypt Or Saudi Arabia?

"Our current active armed forces simply are not large enough..... Right now, we spend about 3.9 percent of our GDP on defense, compared with about six percent in 1986, under President Ronald Reagan. We need to return to that six percent level.... If I ever have to undertake a large invasion, I will follow the Powell Doctrine and use overwhelming force...."
Mike Huckabee
America's Priorities In The War On Terror
Foreign Affairs, January/February 2008

"On Friday morning, Huckabee listed former U.N. ambassador John Bolton as someone with whom he either has 'spoken or will continue to speak.' At a Thursday evening news conference, Huckabee said, 'I've corresponded with John Bolton, who's agreed to work with us on developing foreign policy.'....'I'd be happy to speak with Huckabee, but I haven't spoken with him yet,' said Bolton, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington."
Huckabee stumbles on foreign affairs
USA Today, 29 December 2007

"Huckabee is pro-Israel: He has visited the Jewish state nine times, and told the crowd at the Bedrick house party that he favored the establishment of a Palestinian state - in Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Bedrick may see Huckabee as the perfect fit for the White House, but for many American Jews the thought of a staunchly pro-life, ordained Baptist minister as president is a major cause for alarm....Chafets, the American-born Israeli government spokesman turned journalist, told JTA that 'there's no doubt that Huckabee is a Christian conservative in the mold of Falwell or Pat Robertson, speaking politically.' 'He believes in the inerrancy of the Bible,' Chafetz said. 'In other words, he's a fundamentalist. He believes that the Bible could not be mistaken. He's a pre-millennialist Christian. He believes in Armageddon.'... During the summer, after Huckabee began to show signs of progress, the executive director of the National Jewish Democrat Council, Ira Forman, said voters 'should be concerned whenever an extreme candidate gets a whiff of the presidency.' "
Can Huckabee ever win over Jewish voters?
Jerusalem Post, 24 December 2007

"A few months ago, the evangelical preacher turned politician Mike Huckabee – from Hope, Arkansas – was a long-shot candidate for the Republican leadership....Backed by an unpaid army of evangelical Christians and America's gun-lovers, he is best described as the Barack Obama of the right. Initially dismissed as an oddball candidate who could not even count on the support of the religious right, Huckabee is now a contender for the Presidency.... a seasoned politician who was also one of the first successful televangelists....Huckabee has fundamentalist views on terrorism even if his grip on foreign policy issues is weak: 'Islamofascism is rooted in a theocratic Islamic jihadism that seeks to destroy and annihilate every last one of us,' he says. 'It wants to establish a complete Islamic theocracy across the world and for that to happen it means our culture has to be completely snuffed out.'..... Along with Christian fundamentalists, he can count on the unflinching support of the millions of members of the National Rifle Association.... The first big test is the Iowa caucus on 3 January which is followed almost immediately by the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.... If Huckabee ends up at the front of the field when 20 states vote on 5 February – so-called Tsunami Tuesday – all bets will be off."
The Big Question: How extreme is Mike Huckabee – and could he reach the White House?
Independent, 11 December 2007

"The former Baptist preacher and governor of Arkansas, who has taken a lead in four out of the five important early nominating states, has hired the man who guided Mr Reagan to the greatest landslide in American political history as his campaign chairman. Ed Rollins, who was national campaign manager in 1984 when President Reagan won his second term with 49 of the 50 states, hailed Mr Huckabee as the candidate he has been waiting for since 'the Great Communicator' left the political stage two decades ago....The endorsement as the heir to Reagan - a mantle sought by all the Republican candidates - caps a remarkable month for Mr Huckabee. He has leapt from fifth in the polls to first place in Iowa and South Carolina, two of the first three states to select their presidential candidates next month. A new poll on Friday also put Mr Huckabee ahead in Florida, previously the cornerstone of Rudy Giuliani's White House ambitions, and in Michigan, the birthplace of Mitt Romney, his other main rival. He is in a statistical tie with Mr Giuliani in national polls..... But his support is rooted in the Christian conservative movement. He has endorsements from 60 pastors, the head of a Christian home schooling movement in Iowa and the author Tim LaHaye, whose apocalyptic Left Behind novels have sold 65 million copies among evangelicals.... Mr Huckabee's strength in Florida, where independent voters can hold the key to victory, suggests that his appeal goes wider."
Mike Huckabee dubbed Ronald Reagan's heir
Sunday Telegraph, 16 December 2007

"The final instalment of an evangelical Christian publishing phenomenon which has spawned 16 novels and sold 64 million copies arrived in shops across the United States yesterday..... The Left Behind series appeared to chime with the sense of the impending Apocalypse among many Americans, reinforced by the election of President Bush on a faith-based platform and global events which — in some eyes — confirm biblical prophecy. .... The Left Behind series begins with all born-again Christians being summoned to heaven in the Rapture, as predicted by the Book of Revelation...... Jesus then returns for the Second Coming and slaughters nonbelievers including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, atheists, as well as many Catholics and mainstream Protestants."
Revelations of the last battle as US Bible thriller series comes to end
London Times, 4 April 2007

'World War III'
The Common Language Of George Bush And Mike Huckabee

President George Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair share a common religious bond that underpins their political 'vision', whilst other key figures in the campaign against Iraq and Iran have been motivated by exclusively temporal considerations. There is, however, an important interface between these two worlds.

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (and others) have long wanted to dominate the Middle East in order to secure unrestricted access to its energy resources (an interest also shared by Blair), and particularly now with the competing rise of China. At home these 'neoconservatives' have been willing to form political coalitions with others who vigorously support US military intervention in the Middle East, even when that support is for entirely different reasons - explicitly destructive religious ones.

This has been an essential component of Karl Rove's and Dick Cheney's 'dual key' strategy. Their co-opting of America's 'Religious Right' as a political support base has played a vital role both in opening the doors to the White House, and also in sustaining an aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East - one secretly initiated well before 9/11.

Besides the more generalised role of misguided religious faith permeating the Bush-Blair relationship, the Christian Zionist (as it calls itself) movement claims to have 50 million supporters in the United States, and it is one openly praised by President Bush.

Members of this astonishing religious constituency see the domination of the Holy Land by Israel as a prelude and precondition, firstly, to their own spiritual salvation known as 'The Rapture'; secondly, to the return of Christ on earth; and thirdly, to the ensuing apocalyptic slaughter of non-believers, including those Jews who don't convert to Christianity.

The leadership of this giant movement considers war with Iran an essential ingredient in what it sees as this already unfolding process, and it lobbies extensively for this on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

Some within the Jewish community are beginning to warn of the potential dangers latent within this incendiary Christian fundamentalist phenomenon. The phenomenon is currently coalescing around Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and Governor of Arkansas, who is now a leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008.

Whatever the popular appeal of his domestic platform, there are a variety of indications that in foreign affairs an ensuing 'President Huckabee' would look more favourably on this high octane movement than even the current incumbent at the White House, who has himself already talked of America's struggle in the Middle East in terms of World War III (and despite the apparent set back of the most recent National Intelligence Estimate, observers like former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter conclude that the Bush administration is still aiming for an attack on Iran, the most likely time being in the spring of 2008, always assuming that other world events, such as instability in Pakistan, do not knock planning off course - see below 'Close Shave 2007' and 'Everything Points To April 2008').

Huckabee, too, speaks in terms of World War III. He also speaks of an ideological war against what he refers to as 'Islamofascism', and of his hopes of sending the Palestinians to live in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or some other Arab country.

All parties, Jews, Muslims, and Christians, genuinely interested in securing peace in the Middle East should feel considerable cause for alarm. Because, sitting as they do at the heart of Huckabee's core political support base, peace in the Middle East is not on the shopping list of America's most extreme Religious Right. Rather the opposite.

Indeed, whether he encourages them or not, the Rapturists may threaten to become to a Huckabee Presidency, what the neoconservatives became to the Bush administration - the political equivalent of a 'roadside explosive device'.

Having campaigned in the election of 2000 on a 'humble' foreign policy platform, Bush was nonetheless led by the nose by Dick Cheney and other neoconservatives once the doors of the White House had been opened for him. In secret Bush's planning for war against Iraq began within days of his inauguration.

The Democrats are reported to have decided to postpone seriously attacking Huckabee until after he has won the Republican nomination, should he proceed to do so. They seem to believe that he would offer them an opponent whom they can easily demolish during the general election.

But that kind of waiting game is not without its risks, particularly if a new 'national security' scare following his nomination were to play into Huckabee's hands (the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan has already moved the campaign mood in this direction, with Huckabee saying the killing 'changes the world' by adding a new level of turmoil to the Middle East and raises concerns about terrorist attacks on America).

In one particular respect the situation could hardly be more explicit. Mike Huckabee, having suddenly risen high in the polls as a top contender for the Republican nomination, openly plans to increase the enormous military budget already established by the neoconservatives by more than 50%.

But in anticipation of what exactly?

Read on for more details of Huckabee's foreign policy ambitions and those of his most ardent supporters.

'Clash Of Civilisations Man'
Huckabee's 'Christian' Foreign Policy Platform

"On the Republican side, Mr. Huckabee appears to have surged to the lead, supplanting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. In an appearance in West Des Moines Thursday, he drew a crowd estimated at 1,000, far more than the audience at a typical Romney event.... Mr. Huckabee has particular appeal to the state's significant population of Christian conservatives. The Atlantic magazine reported on its Web site, for example, that on Friday a group of national figures in the Christian right, including Dr. Tim LaHaye, the co-author of the hugely successful 'Left Behind' series, were hosting a conference call for Iowa ministers. Mr. Huckabee has been vastly outspent by Mr. Romney, but such contacts, in the description of one Romney aide, are part of a politically unconventional 'viral network.'"
With just days left, Iowans are still undecided
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 30 December 2007

"If social conservatives were to coalesce around Mr Huckabee, that would throw the Republican primaries into utter confusion. The candidate they back tends to win the Republican nomination. Their record turnout in 2004 helped George Bush beat John Kerry. Yet social conservatives are only a small minority of the national electorate, so they have to pick a candidate who also appeals to others. Some think that Mr Huckabee might be that candidate. Largely, this is because of his personality. On the campaign trail, he is approachable, chummy and eloquent....Plenty applaud a candidate who seems so straightforward, too. In a poll by YouGov/Polimetrix for The Economist (full results here), Republicans rated him the most honest candidate and Americans rated him the most moral of either party ."
Faith, Hope and populism
Economist, 22 November 2007

"Huckabee says proudly that his faith defines him. At a campaign stop in a Native American-run gambling town, a virtual temple to mammon, I asked him what he thought of Tony Blair’s observation that if politicians go on about religion, 'frankly they [voters] think you’re a nutter'. He was mystified. 'Is that a British phrase?' he laughed. 'It would be utterly absurd not to talk about our faith. It’s one of the more refreshing things we get to talk about.'”
Shucks, I’m the hick who can beat Hillary Clinton
Sunday Times, 16 December 2007

"Speaking at the convocation ceremony last week at the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, Huckabee attributed his rise in the polls to divine intervention. 'There's only one explanation for it, and it's not a human one,' Huckabee said. 'It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people.'"
Huckabee Courts Evangelical Vote in Iowa
ABC News, 5 December 2007

“... there are a lot of options [for the Palestinians] that involve other territory that doesn’t have to include the West Bank or the Golan Heights. There is an enormous amount of land in Arab control over all of the Middle East."
Mike Huckabee
Sunday Times, 16 December 2007

"Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential contender, gave a stump speech and answered questions today at the home of New Hampshire State Representative Jason Bedrick, the first Orthodox Jew elected to the NH House of Representatives. In response to a question about the Middle East from Rabbi Moshe Bleich of the Wellesley-Weston Chabad Center, Gov. Huckabee expressed frustration with Israeli politicians who wanted to give away the Golan Heights and firmly opposed dividing Jerusalem. When asked about a Palestinian state, Gov. Huckabee stated that he supports creating a Palestinian state, but believes that it should be formed outside of Israel. He named Egypt and Saudi Arabia as possible alternatives, noting that the Arabs have far more land than the Israelis and that it would only be fair for other Arab nations to give the Palestinians land for a state, rather than carving it out of the tiny Israeli state."
Orthodox Jew Hosts Presidential Candidate
Jewish Russian Telegraph/Yeshiva World News, 15 October 2007

"Huckabee is pro-Israel: He has visited the Jewish state nine times, and told the crowd at the Bedrick house party that he favored the establishment of a Palestinian state - in Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Bedrick may see Huckabee as the perfect fit for the White House, but for many American Jews the thought of a staunchly pro-life, ordained Baptist minister as president is a major cause for alarm....Chafets, the American-born Israeli government spokesman turned journalist, told JTA that 'there's no doubt that Huckabee is a Christian conservative in the mold of Falwell or Pat Robertson, speaking politically.' 'He believes in the inerrancy of the Bible,' Chafetz said. 'In other words, he's a fundamentalist. He believes that the Bible could not be mistaken. He's a pre-millennialist Christian. He believes in Armageddon.'... During the summer, after Huckabee began to show signs of progress, the executive director of the National Jewish Democrat Council, Ira Forman, said voters 'should be concerned whenever an extreme candidate gets a whiff of the presidency.' "
Can Huckabee ever win over Jewish voters?
Jerusalem Post, 24 December 2007

"In the United States, several million people have succumbed to an extraordinary delusion. In the 19th century, two immigrant preachers cobbled together a series of unrelated passages from the Bible to create what appears to be a consistent narrative: Jesus will return to Earth when certain preconditions have been met. The first of these was the establishment of a state of Israel. The next involves Israel's occupation of the rest of its 'biblical lands' (most of the Middle East), and the rebuilding of the Third Temple on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques. The legions of the antichrist will then be deployed against Israel, and their war will lead to a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon. The Jews will either burn or convert to Christianity, and the Messiah will return to Earth..... American pollsters believe that 15-18% of US voters belong to churches or movements which subscribe to these teachings. A survey in 1999 suggested that this figure included 33% of Republicans...... So here we have a major political constituency - representing much of the current president's core vote - in the most powerful nation on Earth, which is actively seeking to provoke a new world war. Its members see the invasion of Iraq as a warm-up act, as Revelation (9:14-15) maintains that four angels 'which are bound in the great river Euphrates' will be released 'to slay the third part of men'. They batter down the doors of the White House as soon as its support for Israel wavers: when Bush asked Ariel Sharon to pull his tanks out of Jenin in 2002, he received 100,000 angry emails from Christian fundamentalists, and never mentioned the matter again..... For 15% of the electorate, the Middle East is not just a domestic matter, it's a personal one: if the president fails to start a conflagration there, his core voters don't get to sit at the right hand of God."
Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power
Guardian, 20 April 2007

"Romney's Mormon faith is raising questions with some. But what is Huckabee's relationship with 'Left Behind' author Timothy LaHaye? Let's imagine that Mitt Romney released a television advertisement in Iowa describing himself as 'a Mormon leader.' Reporters would descend like vultures upon Romney, the front-running Republican in the Iowa presidential caucuses, asking if he embraced Mormon doctrine on marriage, alcohol and everything else. So why isn't anyone questioning Mike Huckabee about Timothy LaHaye? Huckabee, whose advertisements proclaim that he is a 'Christian leader,' trails Romney by a mere 4 percentage points in the latest Iowa poll. His campaign received a boost from LaHaye, coauthor of best-selling novels, who sent a letter inviting selected pastors to all-expenses-paid conferences in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The only presidential candidate speaking at each event will be Huckabee. So it's perfectly fair to ask whether Huckabee sees eye to eye with LaHaye. If he does, Huckabee - an affable, guitar-playing ex-minister - is a whole lot scarier than many of us have suspected. LaHaye believes that Christians will rise into heaven in The Rapture. The rest of us will be Left Behind - get it? - to face nasty tribulations: plagues, earthquakes, hailstorms and more. During this time of torment, the Book of Revelations predicts, the Antichrist will reign. But in LaHaye's 16 novels, which have sold more than 65 million copies, the Anti-christ is . . . the secretary-general of the United Nations! That's right: The U.N. is itself a kind of deviltry, because it prefigures the rule of Satan....Therefore, the first question for Huckabee should be: What do you think of the United Nations? And if you're elected president, will you reduce or change America's commitment to the U.N. and to other international organizations? The next set of questions should surround Israel. According to LaHaye, the final return of Christ - and the defeat of Satan - will be preceded by the establishment of 'Greater Israel.' That's one big reason why many evangelical Christians are Israel hawks, rejecting a two-state solution and supporting the expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Again, somebody should ask Huckabee: Do you favor two states, for the Israelis and Palestinians, or just one? And why? Then there's the war in Iraq. LaHaye has suggested that Saddam Hussein was a 'forerunner of the Antichrist' - and that the Iraq war might itself represent the final, epic battle between Satan and Jesus. Does Huckabee, too, think that the conflict is prefigured in Scripture? And if so, how might this attitude influence his policy toward Iraq? Finally, and most generally, we should also ask Huckabee how he might bring forth a more peaceful world. In LaHaye's novels, true peace is impossible until the return of Christ. Villains offer secular solutions, like the United Nations. But until Jesus comes back, all is war. So does Huckabee buy it? A campaign spokesman recently confirmed that Huckabee had read some of LaHaye's Left Behind novels, and that the candidate enjoyed them.... LaHaye isn't neutral; he's working for Huckabee. So if Huckabee is elected, will he follow LaHaye's lead? We deserve some answers, before it's too late. Nobody knows when the Earth will end, of course, but Iowa will hold its caucuses on Jan. 3."
Scrutinize candidates evenly
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 December 2007

"Republican Mike Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher, is depending on more than a leap of faith to win the Iowa caucuses. Leading in polls, Huckabee is determined to make up for his skimpy organization in the state by enlisting national evangelical Christian supporters to rev up Iowa pastors and coax voters to the Jan. 3 caucuses.... Huckabee..... roused pastors at a closed-door meeting earlier this month in Des Moines with several high-profile supporters, including California pastor Tim LaHaye, author of the apocalyptic 'Left Behind' book series, LaHaye's wife Beverly, founder of the conservative Christian group Concerned Women of America. Later at his Iowa headquarters, Huckabee held a news conference to announce the endorsements by the LaHayes and dozens of members of his new pastors coalition."
Huckabee Counts on Pastors for Iowa Help
Associated Press, 19 December 2007

'Our Values'
An Unpleasant End For Jews, Muslims, Catholics, And Other Non-Believers Alike

"Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Hagee entered the stage Sunday to the 'Hallelujah Chorus' sung by the church's 100-member choir..... In a closed-door meeting this month in Des Moines, Mr. Huckabee showcased several high-profile supporters, including California pastor Tim LeHaye, author of the apocalyptic 'Left Behind'...."
Invisible force helping Mike Huckabee
Dallas Morning News, 23 December 2007

"Rising Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee risked his standing with Catholic voters on Sunday by courting his evangelical base at the church of a controversial preacher accused of disparaging Catholics. There are a few remnants of anti-Catholicism among evangelical Christians in the South but the two sides have found much common political ground over the past three decades in their strident opposition to abortion and gay marriage. But the visit to Cornerstone, pastor John Hagee's imposing 'mega-church' in the Texas city of San Antonio, was fraught with political perils for Huckabee given his efforts to woo conservative Catholics.....Taking a break from the Iowa campaign trail, Huckabee delivered a Christmas season sermon at Cornerstone about Christ's birth and embraced Hagee, calling him 'one of the great Christian leaders of our nation.' Hagee is a fiery preacher best known for his writings on the Middle East, where he reads contemporary events as unfolding Biblical prophecy. He is staunchly pro-Israel, saying that God had made his love for the land and its people clear. The Catholic League says Hagee is virulently anti-Catholic -- a charge he denies -- and it is getting the word out that Huckabee is rubbing shoulders with an anti-Vatican figure."
Huckabee angers some Catholics
Reuters, 23 December 2007

"Hagee is even opposed to the Road Map for Peace and a two-state concept, favors the continued colonization of the West Bank, and is against any concessions being given to the Palestinians."
Praying for Armageddon
Moscow News, 6 December 2007

"The Rev. John Hagee, who founded Christians United for Israel....[said].... 'Christians United for Israel is opposed to America pressuring Israel to give up more land to anyone for any reason..... And to say that Palestinians have a right to that land historically is an historical fraud.' Christians United for Israel held a conference with 4,500 attendees in Washington this month......Hagee and others are dispensationalists, Weber said, who interpret the Bible as predicting that in order for Christ to return, the Jews must gather in Israel, the third temple must be built in Jerusalem and the Battle of Armageddon must be fought.Weber said, 'The dispensationalists have parlayed what is a distinctly minority position theologically within evangelicalism into a major political voice.'"
Coalition of American evangelicals issues a letter in support of a Palestinian state
International Herald Tribune, 28 July 2007

"....Christians United for Israel [is] a year-old organization based in San Antonio, Texas started by Evangelical Pastor John Hagee to rally Christians around support for Israel.... Over the last few years, Hagee, author of several books about biblical prophecy and an opponent of territorial concessions to the Palestinians on biblical grounds, has become the face of the Christian Zionist movement.....Judging by March's AIPAC conference in Washington, where Hagee was met with enthusiastic applause, many Jews are supportive of a growing alliance with Christian Zionists. Hagee drew standing ovations as he told the 6,000 delegates, 'It is 1938, Iran is Germany and Ahmadiejad is the new Hitler.' But at the same time, a growing number of critical voices are coming to the forefront. An article in New York's The Jewish Week prior to the AIPAC conference included several Jewish voices skeptical of growing ties between pro-Israel forces and the Christian Zionist movement."
Christians to train in Israel advocacy
Jerusalem Post, 14 May 2007

"Pastor Hagee espouses an end of days theology in which our Jewish people don't fare well at the end of the story unless we convert to Christianity."
Rabbi Barry Block, head of the liberal Reform Jewish community in San Antonio
Pro-Israel Christians Lobby in Washington
National Public Radio (USA), 17 July 2006

"...John Hagee, [is] an Armageddon prophesier who insists that military confrontation with Iran is foretold in the Bible as a necessary precondition for the Second Coming. Using his best-selling book, 'Jerusalem Countdown,' his internationally broadcast television program, and the viral marketing offered by a network of mega-churches whose pastors have signed on to his new lobbying effort, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), Hagee has spent the past six months mobilizing popular support for a war with Iran. Based on his end-times prophecy, a supposed love of the Jewish people and the state of Israel and false claims that Iran is just months away from a viable nuclear weapon, Hagee maintains that confrontation with Iran is necessary to fulfill God’s plan for the future of the world.....Preachers like Hagee seem easy to ignore because we think their audiences, while vast, consists of rank-and-file religious extremists who have no real sway over American policy-makers. But Benny Elon's statement shows that Hagee does have such influence. Gingrich and McCain may or may not believe the Second Coming is imminent, but they do know that a GOP primary presidential campaign is coming soon enough — and they know where the votes are."
Holy War, Unholy Alliance
CBS News, 20 July 2006

"For John Hagee, what happens in Iran is not just a matter of politics — it's also a matter of theology. His study of biblical prophecy has led him to believe that Iran will figure prominently in the end times - the apocalypse and the return of Jesus.... In his book JERUSALEM COUNTDOWN, he writes, 'Iran with nuclear weapons will transform the Bush administration's roadmap for peace program into a racetrack to Armageddon.' From his reading of the Bible he lays out a scenario predicting that if Israel and America attack Iran, Russia and its allies — including Iran — will attack Israel, triggering Ezekiel's War. God will crush the invading forces as - quote - 'he crushed Pharaoh, Haman, and Hitler so that Israel and the world 'shall know that I am the Lord.' ' says John Hagee, the battle of Armageddon will follow. For true believers like Hagee and his followers, it will be a day of deliverance. They will have been raptured — literally lifted into the air — to join the Lord in the heavens. End Times theology has blossomed from a cottage industry into a dynamic market for books, video games and movies. THE LEFT BEHIND movie series is so popular it shows up in sermons around the country John Hagee even had a cameo appearance in it. But because End Times theology strikes a lot of people as threatening — especially as it relates to the fate of Jews — Hagee plays it down at political gatherings of CUFI. "
Bill Moyers Journal
PBS, 30 November 2007

".... numerous ministers have endorsed Huckabee. The ultra right Falwell/Liberty 'endorsement' comes after Pastor John Hagee, head of the 18,000 member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX, has been one of Huckabee 's strongest supporters. Hagee and Huckabee agree that 'Islamic fascism' represents the beginnings of World War III. Hagee has written Jerusalem Countdown, which made the U.S.A. Today top 50 best seller list in 2006. The minister founded Christian United for Israel (CUFI), a lobbying organization that puts the conservative evangelical movement behind his grand plan for a Biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation and Second Coming of Christ, Sarah Posner wrote in the May 21, 2006 edition of The American Prospect.... But does Huckabee agree with Hagee?..... Responding to the End Times scenario, Huckabee told reporters that 'every generation' prepares for the End Times which 'could be' occurring right now.' ”
Group Challenges Liberty University's Support of Mike Huckabee
Huntingdon News, 5 December 2007

"The failure of Messrs Bush and Blair and the neo-cons to understand Arab grievances has been translated into a 'clash of civilisations' and a threat to Western values 'by people determined to destroy our way of life', as the Prime Minister put it. But there is no clash of civilisations unless we are determined to create one. We are not going to live under a universal caliphate. Osama bin Laden and his gangsters have not the faintest chance of destroying our way of life, unless we do so ourselves..... The misconceived 'war on terror' has made the world a much more dangerous place.... America and Britain should leave Iraq as soon as possible. There are no other options. .... it is the American occupation of Iraq, like the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, that has become the magnet for the international jihadis....."
Lord Norman Lamont, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1990-93
America and Britain should quit Iraq as soon as possible
Daily Telegraph, 10 November 2006

"This distinction between 'religion as law, power and conquest' and 'religion as vision of God' can be a help to anyone who is grappling with the phenomenon which Victoria Clark presents so vividly and thoughtfully in her account of Christian Zionism, or the movement (strongest in America but also present in many other places) that wants Israel to triumph over all its earthly rivals, in the hope that this will bring closer the end of the world. With the eye of an experienced journalist and a gift for getting along with people with whom she disagrees, Ms Clark presents some powerful vignettes of a movement which in some ways mirrors the more strident forms of Islamism: it uses quasi-spiritual language but is in fact incorrigibly political and indeed geopolitical in its preoccupations. In certain lights, the movement's ordinary members, as presented by Ms Clark, sound almost endearing in the naive enthusiasm they show as visitors to the Holy Land. But later in her narrative, as she attends a lavish fund-raising dinner in Washington, she feels that something darker is at work: a mixture of 'fear, injured pride, ignorance and perceived victimhood' whose brooding extremism could have dire consequences. Many liberal Israelis, as well as many Christians, would agree. If there is a single word that describes the mentality of the power-brokers of the Christian-Zionist movement, as portrayed by Ms Clark, it might be Deuteronomic: theirs is a brand of religion which is fascinated by military power and the subjugation of enemies, which adamantly externalises evil and finds no place for humility, self-doubt, compassion or universal humanism. Its adherents talk a lot about the Jewish Temple but they seem to have missed what some see as the temple's ultimate message: the possibility of experiencing the presence of God."
Stories and storytellers
Economist, 13 December 2007

"Huckabee's presidential primary endorsement by such evangelical leaders as Tim LaHaye (Left Behind series) and John Hagee (Christians United for Israel) are clear indications that a President Huckabee would advance the agenda of Christian Zionism..... Huckabee's answer to the 'two state solution' is the ethnic cleansing of Palestine: When asked (in New Hampshire) about a Palestinian state, Gov. Huckabee stated that he supports creating a Palestinian state, but believes that it should be formed outside of Israel. He named Egypt and Saudi Arabia as possible alternatives, noting that the Arabs have far more land than the Israelis and that it would only be fair for other Arab nations to give the Palestinians land for a state, rather than carving it out of the tiny Israeli state. By re-defining the boundaries of Israel to be vastly beyond those officially recognized by international law and by opposing a land-for-peace exchange, Huckabee unmasks himself to be a Christian Zionist."
Pastor Stan Moody, founder of the Christian Policy Institute
President Huckabee: 'No Room In The Inn'
Countercurrents, 20 December 2007

"Let's take a look at different perceptions of The Middle East peace talks in Annapolis this week..... once again it is the extremists who insist on the last word in The Middle East, invoking god as they do. Israel has its religious die-hards, the Palestinians have theirs, and here in the United States, we have them, too.... On Monday, as Bush met with Abbas and Olmert at the White House, his National Security Advisor was meeting down the hall with religious groups who believe Israel belongs to the jews. Among them was the organization Christians United for Israel - also known as CUFI. One of its directors called Annapolis a 'diplomatic lynching' of Israel. Just who is CUFI? Some of you will remember our report earlier this fall. Let's take another look at it, and then we'll be back to discuss what we see. [Click here for video]"
Bill Moyers Journal
PBS, 30 November 2007

"Representatives from Orthodox Jewish organizations and Christian organizations met with President Bush's National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley along with other senior White House officials Monday, and raised concerns regarding the diplomatic meetings in Annapolis....[including] Christians United for Israel represented by David Brog...."
Jewish, Christian leaders to U.S.: No compromise on Jerusalem
Haaretz, 27 November 2007

"Over the past months, the White House has convened a series of off-the-record meetings about its policies in the Middle East with leaders of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a newly formed political organization that tells its members that supporting Israel's expansionist policies is 'a biblical imperative.' CUFI's Washington lobbyist, David Brog, told me that during the meetings, CUFI representatives pressed White House officials to adopt a more confrontational posture toward Iran, refuse aid to the Palestinians and give Israel a free hand as it ramped up its military conflict with Hezbollah. The White House instructed Brog not to reveal the names of officials he met with, Brog said. CUFI's advice to the Bush Administration reflects the Armageddon-based foreign-policy views of its founder, John Hagee.... A speech in November 2005 by Anti-Defamation League president Abraham Foxman blasting the Christian right as the 'key domestic challenge to the American Jewish community' was the moment for Brog's emergence.... Hagee faces few repercussions as he prays for Armageddon. With local CUFI chapters growing across the country, a 'rapid response network' of thousands of pastors developing, and an open door to the White House, Brog and Hagee are planning for the long term.... the renewal of the peace process and rolling back the West Bank settlements would be an unjust cause. For Hagee and for CUFI, all roads lead to a 'nuclear showdown' with Iran. Diplomacy would only make God angry. As Hagee warns in Jerusalem Countdown, 'Those who follow a policy of opposition to God's purposes will receive the swift and severe judgment of God without limitation.'"
Birth Pangs of a New Christian Zionism
The Nation, 8 August 2006

"Thousands of Christians met here last week to declare their unwavering support for Israel and to warn of the threat posed by Iran. Five months after its founding, Christians United for Israel brought 3,500 Christians to Washington July 18-20 to lobby Congress on behalf of Israel.... One speaker after another kept the focus on Islamo-fascism and Iran in particular. Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman noted that no country is more feared by its Arab neighbors than Iran and called Iran the center of global jihadism. Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said, 'It is time for the United States to stand with Israel and to go to the heart of the problem, which is Iran.' Multiple speakers compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hitler. Texas pastor and televangelist John Hagee, who founded Christians United for Israel, said, 'The ghost of Hitler is walking across Europe and the Middle East.' Hagee called the president of Iran 'a new Hitler,' who 'intends to develop nuclear weapons to attack Israel and the United States.'....After receiving their talking points on Iran the night before, delegates fanned out across Capitol Hill July 19 to lobby their congressional representatives in support of Israel. Meeting outside the office of California Sen. Barbara Boxer because the approximately 30 California delegates were too numerous to be accommodated inside the office, Randy Neal, a regional director, said, 'The Hill has never taken this community seriously before. We’ve come across the whole country with one single issue. We take it seriously and we expect to be taken seriously.' In a brief interview with NCR, national director David Brog said the organization’s decision to focus attention on Iran was made even before the recent outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Brog, who is Jewish and the former chief of staff for Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he had joined the organization because he was impressed with the sincerity of Christian support for Israel. Christian evangelical support for Israel has sometimes been criticized as springing from an end times theology that sees the state of Israel as a precondition for the onset of Armageddon. While acknowledging that their support for Israel is biblically based, leaders shrugged off questions about that."
Evangelicals rally for Israel, warn of Iran threat
National Catholic Reporter, 28 July 2006

"A week into one of the most severe crises the Middle East has seen in years, Israel is getting an influx of support from an unusual source. More than 3,400 evangelical Christians have arrived in Washington to lobby lawmakers as part of the first annual summit of Christians United for Israel. Delegates have come from all 50 states and have 280 meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Pastor John Hagee said. Pastor Hagee, the main organiser, said the event was the first of its kind. 'For the first time in the history of Christianity in America, Christians will go to the Hill to support Israel as Christians,' he said..... John Hagee is the pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and a long-time fervent supporter of Israel. In common with many American evangelicals, he believes that God gave the land to the Jewish people and that Christians have a Biblical duty to support it and the Jews. His latest book, Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World, interprets the Bible to predict that Russian and Arab armies will invade Israel and be destroyed by God. This will set up a confrontation over Israel between China and the West, led by the anti-Christ, who will be the head of the European Union, Pastor Hagee writes. That final battle between East and West - at Armageddon, as the actual Israeli location of Meggido is known in English - will precipitate the second coming of Christ, he concludes.... Michelle Goldberg is deeply concerned about that influence. She is the author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, which argues that a significant strain of conservative Christianity is working to undermine fundamental American rights and freedoms. She said the movement was just as dangerous in foreign policy. 'Christian Zionism is responsible for American support for some of the most irredentist Israeli positions,' she said, such as support for settlement-building. She said evangelical Christians had substantial influence on US Middle East policy - more so than some better-known names such as Aipac, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Pastor Hagee himself said his group potentially had more clout than Jewish pro-Israel groups. 'When a congressman sees someone from Aipac coming through the door, he knows he represents six million people. We represent 40 million people.'"
Evangelical Christians plead for Israel
BBC Online, 19 July 2006

"The biggest news story among Baptists in 2007 was about an event that has not even happened yet—the announcement of an unprecedented meeting of Baptists from across North America—according to an informal survey of journalists in the Baptist media world. The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, announced in January by former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton—and the ensuing controversy stirred by its critics—was the top vote-getter in 2007’s Associated Baptist Press survey. The historic pan-Baptist meeting will be held in Atlanta Jan. 30-Feb. 1....Coming in a distant second was Mike Huckabee's long-shot-turned-front-runner campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. The former Arkansas governor served as a pastor and president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention before entering secular politics.... Two Baptist ex-presidents hope the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant draws as many as 20,000 Baptists from a broad array of racial, theological and political backgrounds to the gathering to hear from high-profile Baptist ministers and laypeople. They will discuss ways to cooperate in areas on which they all agree, such as promoting social justice and evangelism.... [Organisers] also noted prominent Baptist Republicans had been invited to speak, including Huckabee—who later dropped out in protest over remarks that Carter made about President Bush's policy toward Israel.... Huckabee was considered by most pundits to be at best a second-tier candidate until support from disgruntled rank-and-file GOP evangelicals fueled a surge in the critical early voting state of Iowa late in the year."
New Baptist Covenant, Huckabee rank as top stories in ‘07, journalists say
Associated Baptist Press, 28 December 2007

"Four in 10 Republican voters have switched candidates in the past month, and nearly two-thirds say they may change their minds again, a new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll said. And Mike Huckabee, who has roared to a tie with longtime front-runner Rudy Giuliani, has little reason to feel safe, the survey said. Half of all voters -- including four in 10 Republicans -- know too little about Huckabee to even say whether they have a favorable impression of him, let alone whether he is conservative, liberal or moderate.... Roughly four in 10 white evangelical Christians have made a change since November, similar to other Republicans who shifted candidates. But 56 percent of evangelicals who found another candidate flocked to Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, giving him 36 percent of the support of one of the GOP's heavyweight voting blocs, well ahead of his rivals. The intensely religious were even more restless - and more smitten with Huckabee. Among evangelicals who are conservative and attend church weekly, 54 percent switched candidates last month - and 61 percent of the switchers moved to Huckabee. Yet even Huckabee is not immune to voters' evolving tastes - 83 percent who moved to him said they were open to changing again."
Poll Finds Voters Keep Changing Minds
Associated Press, 27 December 2007

"A Christian group led by a minister who teaches that ten million Jews are destined to be killed plans to visit an IDF base next week. A Jerusalem City Council member is trying to stop the visit. The group leader is Richard Booker, a Christian minister and the Founder/Director of the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies who will be participating in the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles extravaganza this coming Sukkot holiday. First, however, he will lead a tour of devoted followers on a tour of northern Israel - including a visit to an Israeli army base. The tour's promotional literature states that during the visit, 'we will have the opportunity to get acquainted with IDF soldiers and give gifts of encouragement.' The visitors also plan to have lunch with the soldiers, and will proceed from there to 'our adopted Children’s Center for the underprivileged. We will distribute warm winter outfits to the kids and help them build their sukkah.' Teachings by their leader, however, show a distinct dissonance between the love he shows the Jews and the fate he foresees for them. Booker has written about what he calls 'The Jews' Final Holocaust,' predicting what has been known as a 'convert-or-die' scenario. At the end of days, he writes, 'hundreds of thousands of Jews will have come to accept Jesus as their Messiah. This will come about through the preaching ministry of 144,000 Jewish evangelists whom God will call especially for the purpose of preaching the gospel during the tribulation period... The Antichrist will march his troops into Israel and for a short period of time will occupy Jerusalem. Every nation will support his retaliation against Israel for their disturbing world peace. The Antichrist will kill two-thirds of all the Jews. This could mean that up to ten million Jews will be killed....' (quoted from his book, Blow the Trumpet in Zion.) Jerusalem City Council member Mina Fenton has written a letter of protest to IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Avi Ronsky about the planned visit. Anti-missionary activist Pastor Kenneth Rawson of New Jersey has written that the above teachings of Richard Booker and others are 'Horrific! ... It is inconceivable that Evangelical Christians can look the Jewish people in the eye and tell them they are their friends, yet have such a deceptive diabolical agenda for them. This agenda is both unthinkable and unscriptural... How can these Evangelical Christians claim such friendship for Israel when their theology is so hateful to the Jews?"
'Convert-or-Die' Minister to Lead Visit to IDF Army Base
Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), 20 September 2007

"'In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the world disappear.' Not a bad intro for a dramatic video game. It turns out those millions have been 'raptured' into heaven by Jesus. The player's job is to battle to save the ones left behind on earth from the global forces of evil, which are controlled by the Antichrist. The hitch, though, in this new game aimed at teens, is who constitutes those 'forces of evil': activists, secularists, non-Christian rock musicians, and others who resist 'recruitment' into the 'forces of good' - the believers in a particular kind of Christianity. Based on the popular Left Behind series of apocalyptic novels, 'Left Behind: Eternal Forces' is being marketed for Christmas giving through churches and big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart. But it has created a stir among Christian, Jewish, and activist groups who disagree with the fundamentalist theology the game presents. They say it will teach children religious intolerance and an 'us vs. them' view of the world that is both dangerous for the country and contrary to basic Christian teachings....The controversy arises largely because the game follows the Left Behind novels, Mr. Frichner says. The 14-book series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins has sold more than 63 million copies, including 13 million of The Kids series, a spinoff for children 10 and older. 'So we felt we had a bulls-eye market there for the game,' he adds. Dr. LaHaye, one of the most influential leaders in fundamentalist Christianity, conceived the novels as a way to spread a theology called premillennial dispensationalism. First promoted by 19th-century Englishman John Nelson Darby, the theology interprets portions of the Bible as predicting a two-stage return of Jesus. First, Jesus comes to transport 'true Christians' to heaven in what's called 'the rapture'; 'the tribulation' follows on earth, involving seven years of catastrophe and plagues (as drawn from Revelation). 'It is going to be an unprecedented time of horror of God's judgment on earth,' says Terry James, of raptureready.com, the most popular prophecy website. The period will end with Armageddon and the Second Coming. Those who preach the theology say Jesus' return is imminent. And according to Mr. James, the creation of Israel in 1948 is the most important signal that the End Times have begun. The job of Christians is to convert and save as many people as possible..... Battles occur around the earth between good and evil forces, leading up to Armageddon in Israel. There, some Jews convert to Christianity and the rest are destroyed along with others who have not accepted Jesus as their savior. Jesus' rule then begins on earth....The game is the latest facet of a struggle within Christianity over growing promotion of the theology in books, on websites and TV, and in Christian Zionist organizations backing a strong alliance with Israel. Premillennialism is not consistent with Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or mainline Protestant teachings.... Some Jews are also troubled by the game. 'Jews are often instrumental in rapture theology - war in Israel, Jews converting to Christianity, all other Jews disappearing in the third act of a four-act play,' says Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, of Jews On First, a First Amendment watchdog group. 'What happens if no rapture or Second Coming occurs? The classical response in history has been to blame the Jews for somehow foiling everybody's hopes and plans.' Jews On First has created a petition opposing the game on its website for people of all faiths to sign; some 500 have done so in the first few days, the rabbi says."
Christian video game creates a stir
Christian Science Monitor, 21 December 2006

"'The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awakened. There are 50 million Christians standing up and applauding the State of Israel.' So began a speech by Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United For Israel, before an AIPAC Policy Conference plenary earlier this week. ..... The AIPAC audience granted Hagee multiple standing ovations. The Jewish people, some surely thought, has been waiting two millennia to hear such unalloyed words of contrition and support, and they could not have come at a more propitious time. Understandably, offers of Christian assistance will continue to be met with a considerable degree of wariness. History aside, Jews and evangelical Christians are perhaps the ultimate 'Odd Couple' -- culturally, religiously, politically and even geographically. If all these obstacles are not enough, there is also Jewish concern regarding Christian motives.....there is the suspicion that evangelicals, as their name implies, are out to convert Jews. Second, that their support is colored by doctrines of 'rapture' and the apocalypse, in which a catastrophic global war plays an important part. ' What is going to happen when Jesus comes back?' Hagee said, touching on the second sensitive point. 'I say to my rabbi friends: 'You don't believe it; I do believe it. When we're standing in Jerusalem, and the Messiah is coming down the street, one of us is going to have a major theological adjustment to make. But until that time, let's walk together in support of Israel and in defense of the Jewish people.' .... It is natural, given history, that Jews are wary even of a hand outstretched in friendship, and caution is justified."
Christians For Israel
Jerusalem Post, 14 March 2007

" 'The more liberal Jews find out about his core values of Christianity, the less they'll like him,' journalist Zev Chafets told JTA, shortly after writing a cover story on Huckabee for The New York Times Magazine....Chafets, the American-born Israeli government spokesman turned journalist, told JTA that 'there's no doubt that Huckabee is a Christian conservative in the mold of Falwell or Pat Robertson, speaking politically.' 'He believes in the inerrancy of the Bible,' Chafetz said. 'In other words, he's a fundamentalist. He believes that the Bible could not be mistaken. He's a pre-millennialist Christian. He believes in Armageddon.'... During the summer, after Huckabee began to show signs of progress, the executive director of the National Jewish Democrat Council, Ira Forman, said voters 'should be concerned whenever an extreme candidate gets a whiff of the presidency.' "
Can Huckabee ever win over Jewish voters?
Jerusalem Post, 24 December 2007

"To understand what is happening in the Middle East, you must first understand what is happening in Texas. To understand what is happening there, you should read the resolutions passed at the state's Republican party conventions last month.... I don't know what the original motion said, but apparently it was 'watered down significantly' as a result of the shouting match. The motion they adopted stated that Israel has an undivided claim to Jerusalem and the West Bank, that Arab states should be 'pressured' to absorb refugees from Palestine, and that Israel should do whatever it wishes in seeking to eliminate terrorism. Good to see that the extremists didn't prevail then. But why should all this be of such pressing interest to the people of a state which is seldom celebrated for its fascination with foreign affairs? The explanation is slowly becoming familiar to us, but we still have some difficulty in taking it seriously. In the United States, several million people have succumbed to an extraordinary delusion."
Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power
Guardian, 20 April 2007

"[There are] a range of factors that keep politicians on the straight and narrow with regard to the Middle East. Some of these reasons are to do with internal political developments long in the making. The rise of evangelical Christianity as a political force, especially within the Republican Party, has something to do with it. The belief that the Jews must be returned to the Biblical lands of Judaea and Samaria before the world can end has driven up support for an aggressive Israeli approach to its neighbours in the Holy Land. Those of us who are not evangelical Zionists will feel a little queasy about that idea."
‘Israel right or wrong’ is not a grown-up debate
London Times, 30 March 2007

"Looking to their American counterparts on Monday, Knesset members were surprised at the solidarity and support being shown among key US politicians. Several top US political figures, including Sen. John McCain (R) Arizona, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Rep.) called the current Middle East crisis the beginning of 'World War III' and said they were 'gravely concerned' in an interview on CNN's Larry King Live.... 'They said this because they think it will lead to Iran getting involved, which they believe will set off World War III,' said MK Benny Elon (National Union-National Religious Party)...... Elon said that the comments originated with American evangelist John Hagee, who published a book in 2006 called Jerusalem Countdown, which predicted that World War III would begin in Jerusalem and spread to Western states."
Is this the start of World War III?
Jerusalem Post, 17 July 2006

Can Jewish, Christian, And Muslim Moderates Win The Day Against Bush, Huckabee, And The Religious Right
And Prevent War With Iran?

"The Left Behind series begins with all born-again Christians being summoned to heaven in the Rapture, as predicted by the Book of Revelation. .... Those left behind, struggling to make sense of what has happened, are then ruled by a Romanian politician named Nicolae Carpathia who becomes United Nations Secretary-General. He turns out to be the Anti-Christ who sets up a world government, as well as establishing his capital in the biblical Babylon, Baghdad. Jesus then returns for the Second Coming and slaughters nonbelievers including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, atheists, as well as many Catholics and mainstream Protestants. The books have attracted a fair share of controversy, not least from mainstream Christian theologians and other religions. American Muslims, for instance, have asked Wal-Mart to stop stocking the Left Behind video game which encourages children to zap the AntiChrist’s team which includes a lot of Arab and Islamic-sounding names."
Revelations of the last battle as US Bible thriller series comes to end
London Times, 4 April 2007

"The Republican presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, has been garnering attention in the media with his surge in political polls. However, a campaign stop this Sunday by Huckabee at a mega-church whose pastor sees Hitler as linked to the Catholic Church, could soon steal the spotlight. According to Mike Huckabee’s campaign website, the controversial stop at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas will take place this Sunday, December 23. He will speak at the church's two Sunday services at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. The Catholic League’s president, Bill Donahue, told CNA that the pastor of the church, Rev. John Hagee, is militantly anti-Catholic. As the senior pastor of Cornerstone, Rev. Hagee is best known for his 'End-Time' writing but also focuses on bringing evangelical Protestants and Jews together. The Catholic League asserts that John Hagee has another goal as well, 'slandering the Catholic Church.'....It’s not hard to find evidence that Rev. Hagee does not think highly of Catholics or the Catholic Church. In a video discussing the biblical book of Revelation, John Hagee suggests the Pope is the anti-Christ, and that the Catholic Church is 'The Beast' (17:30 and following) mentioned in the book."
Mike Huckabee to speak at strongly anti-Catholic preacher's church
Catholic News Agency, 20 December 2007

"In recent years, conservative evangelicals who claim a Biblical mandate to protect Israel have built a bulwark of support for the Jewish nation — sending donations, denouncing its critics and urging it not to evacuate settlements or forfeit territory. Now more than 30 evangelical leaders are stepping forward to say these efforts have given the wrong impression about the stance of many, if not most, American evangelicals. On Friday, these leaders sent a letter to President George W. Bush saying that both Israelis and Palestinians have 'legitimate rights stretching back for millennia to the lands of Israel/Palestine,' and that they support the creation of a Palestinian state 'that includes the vast majority of the West Bank.'.... ....The Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, said, 'There is a part of the evangelical family which is what I call Christian Zionists, who are just so staunchly pro-Israel that Israel and their side can do no wrong, and it's almost anti-Biblical to criticize Israel for anything. But there are many more evangelicals who are really open and seek justice for both parties.' The loudest and best-organized voices in the evangelical movement have been sending a very different message: that the Palestinians have no legitimate claim to the land. The Rev. John Hagee, who founded Christians United for Israel, was informed of the letter and read most of it. He responded: 'Bible-believing evangelicals will scoff at that message. 'Christians United for Israel is opposed to America pressuring Israel to give up more land to anyone for any reason. What has the policy of appeasement ever produced for Israel that was beneficial?' Hagee said. 'God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob a covenant in the Book of Genesis for the land of Israel that is eternal and unbreakable, and that covenant is still intact,' he said. 'The Palestinian people have never owned the land of Israel, never existed as an autonomous society. There is no Palestinian language. There is no Palestinian currency. And to say that Palestinians have a right to that land historically is an historical fraud.' Christians United for Israel held a conference with 4,500 attendees in Washington this month, and Hagee sends e-mail action alerts on Israel every Monday to 55,000 pastors and leaders.... Hagee and others are dispensationalists, Weber said, who interpret the Bible as predicting that in order for Christ to return, the Jews must gather in Israel, the third temple must be built in Jerusalem and the Battle of Armageddon must be fought.Weber said, 'The dispensationalists have parlayed what is a distinctly minority position theologically within evangelicalism into a major political voice.'"
Coalition of American evangelicals issues a letter in support of a Palestinian state
International Herald Tribune, 28 July 2007

"Christian Zionism is a false and extreme theological and political philosophy that is has become a corrupting influence in the politics of Israel and the United States, said a Catholic patriarch and three other religious leaders here, urging Christians churches to break their silence. The statement, 'The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism,' released by Aug. 22, was signed by Catholic Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem and other leaders of Christian churches in Jerusalem, Archbishop Swerios Malki Mourad of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East and Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. 'Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel,' the religious leaders said. Christian Zionism, the statement said, is an ideology that views the gospel through the prism of 'empire, colonialism and militarism identifies,' emphasizing in its extreme form 'apocalyptic events leading to the end of history rather than living Christ's love and justice today.' 'We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation,' the four leaders said. The Holy Land leaders condemned the influence that Christian Zionism is having in American and Israeli policies concerning the Palestinian Territories.... They added that such policies undermine the security of the 'Middle East and the rest of the world.'... Christian churches that have remained silent must 'break their silence and speak for reconciliation with justice in the Holy Land,' the four said.....[they] affirmed that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in 'peace, justice and security,' and rejected 'all attempts to subvert and fragment' the oneness and unity of Muslim and Christian Palestinians. 'All people are created in the image of God,' they said, and 'called to honor the dignity of every human being and to respect their inalienable rights.'"
Holy Land religious leaders condemn Christian Zionism as false, a corrupting influence
Catholic Online, 31 August 2007

"The Pope has invited senior Muslim figures for ground-breaking talks at the Vatican in a potential breakthrough at a time of tensions between Islam and the West. Pope Benedict XVI, in a response to a letter from 138 Muslim scholars and leaders from around the world, emphasised the common belief of Christians and Muslims in one God. He also praised the 'positive spirit' behind the initial approach from the Muslim leaders, who wrote to him last month. Although the Pope has received leaders from the Muslim world individually, a Muslim-Christian gathering at the Vatican would be unprecedented.....Anglican leaders have been pressing the Pope not to miss an historic opportunity, and Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, discussed the issue with the pontiff at an inter-faith gathering in Naples in October. Muslim signatories of the letter said they had no doubt that the papal invitation would be accepted. The Italian Jesuit magazine Civiltà Cattolica, who