Hagee: Anti-Christ Is Gay, German & At Least Partly Jewish--But Hagee Wants To Be Jewish Instead!

by: Paul Rosenberg

Mon Jun 02, 2008 at 12:42

In the wake of John McCain's belated split with controversial "Word Of Faith"* Christian Zionist televangelist John Hagee, pressure continues to mount on Joe Lieberman to sever his ties with Hagee as well, and to withdraw as the keynote speaker at the upcoming conference of Hagee's organization Christians United For Israel.  (Petition from J-Street here.)

Pressure on McCain came to a head when it was revealed that Hagee saw Hitler as an agent of God, a "hunter" sent to chase the Jews back to Israel.   Extensive research condensed into a powerful YouTube video by Bruce Wilson of Talk2Action.org was instrumental in finally making this a story that McCain wanted no further part of.

But that's only one facet of Hagee's obsessional belief system, that has deep roots in centuries of anti-Semitism and its putatively more benign twin, dispensational philo-Semitism, which embraces most of the same stereotypical and conspiratorial beliefs about Jews, but see them as an integral part of God's plan for Apocalypse. A new Bruce Wilson video, Hagee: AntiChrist Is Gay, German & "Partly Jewish" (digg it here) highlights another highly offensive aspect of Hagee's belief system-his claim that the anti-Christ is "at least partly Jewish":

See also Max Blumenthal's piece in Huffington Post, "Pastor Hagee: The Antichrist Is Gay, "Partially Jewish, As Was Adolph Hitler" (Paging Joe Lieberman!)" (and digg it here.  Bruce Wilson's DKos diary here--on the rec list, help keep it there!).

A further aspect of their obsessional view of the Jewish people, the other side of their thinly-veiled eliminationist fantasy, is a desire to replace them, to become Jewish-God's chosen people-in place of the actual Jews.

There is a long history of similar thinking along two lines.  One is the claim by some to actually be Jewish, by descent from the "lost tribes" of Israel.  An historically prominent example of this is the tradition of "British Israelism", most notably used to justify the Church of England's break with Rome.  An even more extremist off-shoot of British Israelism, Christian Identity, is a thoroughly racist belief that Europeans are the true Jews, that Jews are not Jews at all, and that only "true Jews" (i.e. white gentiles) are eligible for salvation.

Hagee, his followers and others like him, including other notable Word of Faith ministers like Steve Munsey (more on him below), do not share the specific belief structure of either British Isrealism or Christian Identity, but rather, they represent a similar yearning to replace the Jews as God's "chosen people" developing along different lines-although both have intersections with Pentecostalism.  One side of that coin is the elimination of the Jews in the Apocolypse-all those who are not killed must convert.  But the other side of the coin is an actual desire in the here and now to become Jewish, a skin-crawling phenomena descrubed by author Sarah Posner in her book about the Word of Faith movement, God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the GOP Crusade for Values Voters. The desire to replace another people, to take over their identities and become them has had various different manifestations throughout human history.  Among cannibals, for example, there is a widespread belief that one assimilates the virtues of the enemies one eats.  In his 1973 classic Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860 , historian Richard Slotkin described a prolonged and complicated process in which the desire to replace the original inhabitants of America took on many different forms and rationales, including that of various heroic figures-chief among them Daniel Boone, who became, according to the narratives, "more Indian than the Indian."

Blumenthal: Exposed here for the first time, Hagee's comments identifying the Antichrist as a partly Jewish homosexual arriving in the wake of a furor the pastor provoked by describing the Holocaust as an act of God. Hagee's chilling sermon about the Holocaust prompted Sen. John McCain to reject the preacher's support, an unexpected turnabout after McCain spent over a year soliciting his endorsement. Days after McCain's rejection, I reported that a key McCain ally, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, planned to deliver the keynote speech at Hagee's upcoming Christians United For Israel (CUFI) summit. As the story exploded into the mainstream press, pressure mounted on Lieberman to withdraw. But Lieberman stayed the course, declaring in a prepared statement, "Pastor Hagee has devoted much of his life to fighting anti-Semitism and building bridges between Christians and Jews... I will go to the CUFI Summit in July and speak to the people who have come to Washington from all over our country to express their support of America and Israel, based on our shared eternal values and our shared contemporary challenges in the war against terrorism."

In God's Profits, Posner writes:

"We're All Jewish

The fixation on everything Jewish can bve seen at Word of Faith churches all over the country.  Parsley has appropriated the shofar in the celebration of his "julibee" fiftieth birthday.  At the Gimenezes' chruch in Virginia Beach I met a woman in the parking lot who was teaching a man how to blow a shofar.  She blows it, she told me, only when the Lord tells her to, but when she does, she can really feel the anointing flowing all over her. I met a white man there who was wearing a tallith over his dashiki and told me he was a follower of Parsely.  Kenneth Copeland's ministry was selling the five books of the Torah, in Hebrew, with English transliteration and translation.  Copeland staffers told me his wife, Gloria, uses them to prepare her preaching messages.  Anne Gimenez wrote in her 1993 book, Beyond Tradition, that Easter is a pagan holidy and that her followers should celebrate Passover instead.   I've seen numerous people at Word of Faith churches wearing Stars of David, and  I saw one woman wearing a t-shirt that read, "Shabbat: Just Do It!" One evangelist I met in Tulsa, when she discovered I was Jewish, said, "Well, we're all Jewish!" and then offered to help me walk with Jesus because that "changes everything."

Hagee is obsessed with stereotypes of Jews being wealthy and claims that it is Satan-who is blamed for questioning the wealth of Word of Faith televangelists-who invented anti-Semitism our of envy of Jewish wealth.  During an appearance on Copeland's program, wearing a tallith, Hagee told his friend: "Abraham was very rich in cattle and gold and silver.... That's why Satan himself hates the Jewish people." Of course, it's the stereotype that Jews are rich of control the banks or control the universe (somewhat like Hagee's Antichrist) that has fueled anti-Semitism through the centuries. But Hagee covets what he depicts as the Jews' supernatural blessing, wondering aloud why Jews arte only 2.7 percent of the population yet represent 80 percent of Pulitzer Prize winners.  The Jews, Hagee claims, the descendants of Abraham, understood how to confer supernatural blessings upon themselves with the percepts of Word of Faith.  "Once spoken into existence, the blessings cannot be broken by another man. No one can take your blessing once it has been spoken into your life."

It should be clear that many of Hagee's followers and followers of other Word of Faith preachers are quite oblivious to the nature of what they are buying into.  They are not bad people.  They have no evil intent.  

In a book salon here at Open Left , Posner wrote:

Yes, of course it is anti-Semitic to consider the Jews pawns in their Armageddon fantasies... before Jesus comes back, there has to be an in-gathering of Jews in Israel, that's all in the biblical prophecy. But they don't view it that way, of course; in many instances I was treated with great affection (I guess) when people found out I was Jewish....

I have to admit it was a very odd experience talking to the "Hebraic Christians" I met in my travels. The most strained moment always was when I asked them whether they believed that when Jesus comes back that Jews would recognize him as the messiah they've been waiting for. The answer: yes, of course! (Hagee denied that he believes that  when I asked him that question in a press conference at the CUFI summit last year.)

Jewish Holidays, With A Mercantile Spin

However, the same naive affection cannot be attributed to the leaders in whom these followers place their trust.  Not only do these men (women play a decidedly second-place role) revel in their fantasies of mass extermination, they turn a pretty penny in the process.  Just as they have turned everything Christian into a money-making opportunity, so, too, have they commodified ersatz Judaism.

Posner went on to say:

Something many people don't realize is that the Hebraic Christians observe the Jewish holidays. (In the book, I detail a Hagee sermon in which he purports to show how the Jewish holidays from Passover through Sukkot prophesy Christ's birth, death, resurrection and return.) They think they're getting ready for Christ to come back, when he will be a rabbi to the world. But of course with the WOF spin, Judaism gets distorted just like Christianity does.

On page 144 of God's Prophet's, Posner begins her description of Steve Munsey and his performance at the 2007 "Praise-A-Thon" that began on Easter Sunady, the seventh day of Passover.  As she explains on the next page:

Passover hase nothing to do with money, but in Munseys hands it is about little else.  Gone is the biblical story of the freedom from slavery, the journey through the desert with only theunleavened bread, or the parting fothe Red Sea. Instead a donation to TBN is like the blod Jews placed on the doors of their homes so thatr God would "pass over" and spare tehir first-born sons from death. Lucretia, the woman sitting nest to me, grabs my arm, "Jesus was the Pasover offering," she say, "His blood."

What's more, on his website, Munsey offers the following:

For your special Passover Gift of $150 or more, we'll send you everything you see above. The Anointed Folded Napkin, a "Crossing Into The Now" DVD, a "Blessings Of Passover" DVD, an olive wood cross crafted in the Holy Land, a "This Is It" DVD, & a copy of Steve's book, The Seven Blessings Of The Passover.

For your special Passover Gift of $25 or more, you will receive the Anointed Folded Napkin that has been dipped in oil and prayed for by Steve Munsey, as well as a copy of "Crossing Into The Now" DVD.

For your special Passover Gift of $50 or more, you will receive the Anointed Folded Napkin from Steve Munsey, a "Crossing Into The Now" DVD, an olive wood cross crafted in the Holy Land.

Munsey is far from alone, however. In her weekly on-line column for The American Prospect, "The FundamentaList," Posner wrote on September 26, 2007:

4. It's Yom Kippur, Atone With Some Cash!

Reflecting a growing trend among the country's hottest televangelists to "celebrate" the Jewish holidays, neo-Pentecostal starlet Paula White was begging for cash in honor of Yom Kippur on her television program and Web site. For preachers like White and John Hagee who preach the prosperity gospel, the recognition of these holidays is often tied to a plea for money. (Much more on this will be in my forthcoming book, God's Profits.)

White, who markets herself as a "life coach" and recently announced she and her husband are divorcing, urged her followers to "honor God's sacred covenant" by making "your best offering." For an offering of $60 or more, you could get a miniature ornate ark of the covenant -- just what God wants on the Day of Atonement.

Larry Huch is another Word of Faith minister cashing in on the Hebraic Christian goldmine.  Here's just half a screenshot of goodies from his wbsite:

Furthermore, his homepage curently has a link to his Purim Special:

It's not just progressive journalists who find something troubling in this.  Even some pretty reactionary Christian types are outraged by it.

Take, for example, Bud Simmons, whose blog titled, "Thoughts of A Conservative Christian" is topped by two recent posts referring to Barack Obama simply as "Hussein."  Simmons nonetheless manages to have some clearly reality-based posts in his mix, including one on the emerging problems with crop-based biofuels.  And he's not too impressed with Steve Munsey, as his March 17, 2005 post, "The Money Changers Are In The Temple part 6" makes clear:

Steve munsey appeared on the Benny Hin show Last night. It was as bad as Mike Murdock and his outladish perfromance. Munsey was asking for a Passover offering that would bring miracles into your life. He said "When you give this offering angels will come into your house. Your enemies will be defeated. God will take the wealth from the unrighteous and give it to you. He stated that Easter is early htis year so you could use your in come tax refund., or put it on your credit card.
I have some of his quotes listed below see for your self. Below the Steve munsey quotes you will find quotes from Marcu Lamb (daystar network)

Munsey preaches for marcus lamb during his telethons foloo this link for some info on the telethons. You will find this is an ongoing practice over several years

http://www.biblelight.net/god_...

Steve Munsey:
"I promise when you give this Passover Offering, God is going to do a miracle...God says, 'Go to the phone.'...God is speaking to somebody right now to give $2,000 right now!...You must go to the phone. Five $200 gifts. Go to the phone! What I'd like for you to do is, I'd like for you to put immediately something on the credit card, right now....Go to your phone. Five $200 offerings. Two $200 gift. A $400 gift. A $600 gift. The Lord is speaking! This cannot be a light blessing."
(Steve Munsey, "This Is Your Day," Benny Hinn Show, March 16, 2005)

"Hezekiah turns his face, if I can do this. He turns his face, the Bible says, 'To the wall.' He starts weeping and prays this prayer and he says these words, 'Lord, I pray now that you will remember what I did for you.' All of the sudden, God says, 'What did he do for me?' And it dawned on Him [God] he restored the Passover Offering..." (See Isaiah 38-39)
(Steve Munsey, "This Is Your Day," Benny Hinn Show, March 16, 2005)
Note: It dawned on God? This is blasphemy! Nothing dawns on the All Knowing King of the Universe! "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite," Psalm 147:5.

(A much more learned conservative critique of similar programming can be found  here.)

Clearly, whatever else one might think of Simmons, he is paying attention here.  It would be a good idea if more of the M$M followed suit.

It's Not Just For Fleecing The Rubes

But let's not let ourselves be misled by the crass materialism involved, into thinking that there's nothing more substantial or sinister afoot.  This is a complicated cultural phenomena we are looking at, that has many different aspects to it. The desire to make money is just one aspect of the desperate overall quest to become part of the elect by any means necessary.

A less openly commercial presentation can be found, for example, at the website of the Hebraic Roots Of Christianity Global Network, which announces on it's homepage, "Restoring the Hebraic Roots/Jewishness of Christianity," goes on to say

The Hebraic Roots of Christianity Global Network represents a group of ministries and individuals who are dedicated to restoring the Hebraic roots of Christianity. Yeshua/Jesus was/is a Jew. The disciples (students) of Yeshua/Jesus were Jewish. Both the Jewish and non-Jewish first century believers in Yeshua/Jesus kept the sabbath and the Biblical Feast days. This ministry desires to see all believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah to understand the rich Hebraic/Jewish heritage that the God of Israel gave to His people. In doing so, this ministry seeks to understand and interpret the Bible from a Hebraic perspective and background while seeking to study, learn, and restore what was originally given to the first century Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah. In addition, special emphasis will be given to understanding the spiritual significance and importance of the sabbath and the Biblical Feast Days for every believer in Yeshua so that they can begin to understand why their observance should become a part of our spiritual lives.

This is not a simple, much less a simplistic cultural phenomena.  Many different people can approach it in many different ways.  But it's the job of journalists to be able to sift through complicated situations and capture the specific facts that delineate particular developments.  Hagee, in particular, is one who has clearly been shown to have an unbalanced obsession with the Jewish people that based on ancient stereotypes and mythologies.  In a perceptive essay about the dangers posed by his brand of theology, a diarist known simply as "Ruth" has pointed at Talk2Action, in piece titled "The Tragedy of John Hagee's Christian Zionism":

John Hagee is the perfect example of the tragedy of today's apocalyptic Christian Zionism.  How is it possible that the most vehemently pro-Israel of Americans can hold such Judeophobic beliefs and spread them around the world?   This is what I call the "Perverse Paradox" and Hagee is currently one of its best known worldwide purveyors.  Behind the big Israeli flags and the protestations of great love for Jews, the foundation of this dispensationalist belief system is its total obsession with answering the problem of the Jewish rejection of Jesus.  This obsession is pursued to the point of exclusion of other Christian doctrine. In dispensationalist theology, an elaborately detailed and futuristic prophecy timeline solves the problem as Judaism is ultimately defeated and humbled in a final bloody Holocaust, with only a repentant converted Jewish population being spared.  A version of this narrative is the basis for sermons, movies, and literally millions of books sold in the last decade. [Emphasis added]

In order to understand Hagee, one must understand that obsession, as well as the fact that it quite literally functions to marginalize any other concerns that get in its way.  Sooner or later, everything else is dispensible.  And, of course, inherent in that obsession is the fact that Jews themselves are not just dispensible, we have to be dispensed with.  It's an absolute requirement of Hagee's beliefs.  How else can he become one of the elect, except by casting us out?

This is whom Lieberman praises as an "an Ish Elochim," or "a man of God," who leads a flock mightier than the flock that Moses lead.

So, who is mightier?  Moses or Hagee?  

Even more fundamentally, who is the "true Jew"? Moses or Hagee?

It seems quite fair to ask Lieberman, after all these years, "Which side are you on, Joe? Which side are you on?"

For Lieberman to stoop so low as to associate himself with an anti-Semitic madman like Hagee - and continue to do so after being confronted again and again with evidence of his poisonous bigotry - displays a self-hate that itself borders on the pathological.