70 years ago--Mainline churches look to worldly music in an attempt to attract young people

The use of worldly methods and appeasement of engagement with popular culture in an effort to attract people--especially young people--to church was adopted by mainline churches long before it became fashionable in Evangelicalism. It may seem hard to believe today, but in the mid-1950s, religious broadcasting was dominated by mainline denominations; Thomas Reeves wrote about this is his book The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity (1996). The surveys cited in the following article provide an interesting glimpse into the popular musical tastes of young people in the United States just a few months before Elvis Presley became a national rock and roll celebrity (he was already becoming known in the field of what was then known as country and western music; a poll of disc jockeys published in the November 12 issue of The Billboard named him as the most promising C&W artist, with both sides of his single I Forgot to Remember to Forget/Mystery Train in the top 10 of all three C&W charts).

As reported by June Bundy in The Billboard, December 24, 1955 (bold in original, several errors corrected by blogger):

Churches May Woo Kids by Rockin' 'Em

Council Polls Teen-Ager Taste as Video Program Guide; Age Preferences Vary

NEW YORK, Dec. 17--Altho religious interests have long frowned on the teen-agers' preference for rock and roll music, the rhythm and blues medium may yet be utilized as a means of bringing youngsters into the church.

National Council of Churches of Christ introduced the idea of presenting jazz in a religious TV context on the "Theology of Jazz" portions of its CBS-TV series "Look Up and Live." A recent survey by the Council reveals the show is attracting older teen-agers with such jazz greats as Dave Brubeck, but kids in the 13-year-old age group don't dig modern jazz yet.

Instead, younger teen-agers polled for music preferences on the show almost unanimously vote for r.&b.-type record artists; thus confronting Frank Nichols, producer for the Council's broadcasting and film commission, with something of a dilemma.

Lyric Problem

The lyrics of many r.&b. tunes make it difficult--if not impossible--to work them into the context of a religious show. Nevertheless, Nichols is wrestling with the problem and hopes to work out some kind of solution.

The NCCC has been conducting extensive surveys on several different teen-age levels for some time now, in an effort to determine the most effective ways of reaching youngsters. At the same time, the teen-age market in general has become more and more a focal point of merchandising and marketing surveys made by the radio-TV industry, record companies and manufacturers of teen-age products.

Teen-Age Survey

Teen-age Surveys, Inc., this week, for instance, reported on its fourth continuing survey of teen-agers' views on deejays' radio-TV programs, music records and advertising effectiveness, with results again pointing up the differences in tastes between high school and college students.

Cognizant of the growing awareness of the teen-age market by manufacturers, Cleveland's independent radio station WERE is readying a merchandising service, whereby products aimed at the teen-age market will be tested by the station with special groups of teen-agers assembled for deejays' shows.

The survey efforts of the NCCC have been concentrated on three different channels, with a major advertising agency conducting regular tests on a mixed-age audience utilizing electronic program analysis equipment. Another survey is conducted at Columbia University to tap the college group. Still a third is made in the field and generally aimed at the pre-college group.

Qualifications

To qualify as a testee, the teen-agers polled must be "unchurched," since the primary aim of the show is to make converts.

Past surveys have shown that "Look Up and Live" has registered most effectively with the 17 to 23 age group. Consequently, Nichols now feels that somehow they must apply what they have learned about 13 to 17-year-old tastes (notably the rock and roll craze) to future programming.

Interestingly enough, Nichols notes, the 13-year-olds prefer Frank Sinatra (who is liked by all age groups incidentally) to Eddie Fisher, with the latter's name seldom showing up in their request-answers. Bill Haley, the Crew-Cuts, and the Four Freshmen are others showing up strong on their preference sheet, along with Al Hibbler, Count Basie and Joe Williams.

The 13-year-olds have little or no interest in modern jazz. Several students in this group thought Dave Brubeck was a classical musician, and a couple referred to him as blind, evidently confusing him with George Shearing. Also the 17 to 23-year-old group has little interest in r.&b. They responded much more to Brubeck (who has made two appearances on series including one wherein he commented on segregation and how jazz has broken thru the color lines), Eddie Sauter, Stan Kenton, Wilbur de Paris and other jazz greats.

However, surveys indicate that both the 13 to 17 and 17 to 23 age groups have little interest in straight commercial pop singers, and Nichols has programmed the series accordingly during the last year. At first he planned to include country and western artists from time to time, but, according to the surveys, there is virtually no demand among teen-agers generally for c.&w.

Electronic Count

Most scientific of the NCCC's surveys are those conducted by the electronic program analysis equipment, with each person in the audience reporting his responses thruout the show by pressing one of three levers ("not at all interested," "fairly interested," and "very interested").

When these individual reports are out together in chart form, they form a graph, indicating which segs of the show held the most audience interest. Nichols uses them to determine programming schedules on future shows.

The graphs are so detailed that they accurately chart the decline and rise of audience interest on each musical number, thereby enabling a performer to gauge exactly where the lyric or his larynx faltered.

In line with this, Nichols opines that record companies might well utilize such electronic survey equipment to determine which take on a record session is most effective.

Marian and Jimmy McPartland are scheduled to appear on Part 5 of "Theology of Jazz" on "Look Up and Live" January 1. Nichols is also talking of airing a live remote from a Mitch Miller record session early next year. Singer Merv Griffin is the permanent emcee on the "Look Up and Live" which spotlights various members of the clergy (Reverend Alvin "$64,000 Question" Kershaw, etc.) appearing on a rotating basis.

Other music figures who have appeared on the show during the past year include Jerry Jerome's orchestra, Ellis Larkin, Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, Jo Jones and Mahalia Jackson.

See also my posts: Today's Evangelicals, Tomorrow's Liberals--A Warning from 1983 (January 13, 2010)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

50 years ago: United Church in Calgary experiments with modern music (June 15, 2018)

Synagogue in U.S. Virgin Islands rewrites Beatles songs for Purim (March 14, 2020)

75 years ago--Americans divided on euthanasia

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:19

It did come as a surprise to this blogger to come across this item from 1950 and see the large percentage of Americans who supported euthanasia. This was just five years after the end of a war that Americans and their allies fought against the Nazis, under whom euthanasia morphed into mass murder, followed by the Nuremberg trials of the perpetrators for crimes against humanity. I've been dismayed to see belief in the sanctity of human life declining over the last 50-60 years, but I didn't know it was already fairly low even 75 years ago (assuming the results of the survey are accurate, of course). As reported by the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion and published in the Calgary Herald, February 27, 1950 (bold in original):

PRINCETON, N.J.--Public sentiment in a coast-to-coast survey by the American Institute is closely divided on the principle of euthanasia or mercy killing.

The weight of opinion is against the idea, but the margin is very close.

In testing the nation's views on this controversial and much discussed issue the Institute patterned its question after the model bill proposed by the Euthanasia Society of America. This proposal would call for the consent of the patient, and an examination by a board of doctors appointed by a court.

Here are the questions used in the survey and the vote:

A. "When a person has a disease that cannot be cured, do you think doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life by some painless means if the patient and his family request it?"

B. If no, or no opinion, ask: "Would you approve of ending a patient's life if a board of doctors appointed by the court agreed that the patient could not be cured?"

Thirty-six per cent indicated approval and another 7 per cent on the second part, making the total as follows:

Favor mercy killing------43%
Oppose mercy killing-----46%
No opinion---------------11%

Opinion on the issue is not greatly different now from what it was when the Institute first tested sentiment with a similar question 13 years ago. There has been a small increase in the vote in favor.

The Sander case in New Hampshire and the Carol Paight case in Connecticut stimulated nationwide discussion of the pros and cons of legalized euthanasia.

When I read this article I had never heard of the Sander and Paight cases, but a quick Google search produced some results. First, the case of Dr. Herman Sander--as reported by Australian Associated Press and reported in the Cairns Post, January 5, 1950 (bold, capitals in original):

EUTHANASIA CASE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

DOCTOR INDICTED.

DEATH OF CANCER PATIENT.

NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (A.A.P.). A Manchester, New Hampshire, grand jury of 21 middle-aged men, was convened to-day to consider whether Dr. Hermann Sander should be indicted for murder. Sander, who is 40, has been accused of the mercy killing of an incurable woman cancer patient, by the injection of air into her veins, as she lay on her hospital deathbed.

The judge, instructing the jurors, asked if any had signed any of the widely circulated petitions supporting Dr. Sander. There was no response.

Sander, who is on bail, continued calling.on his patients to-day. He told reporters that he still felt his action was not legally or morally wrong, and added: "I believe my position ultimately will be vindicated.

Meanwhile euthanasists have made plans to use the Sander case as a wedge in seeking the adoption of "a mercy death law."

The vice-president of the Euthanasia Society of America (Mrs. Robertson Johns) said in NewYork: "This is absolutely the best case, yet for our cause. It is good, because of Dr. Sander's integrity, and because he did not hide what he did."

A member of the New Hampshire Legislature (Mr. Ray Sawyer) said be felt that something should be done about légalising mercy deaths. He suggested that physicians should draw up such a Bill. Later Dr. Sander was indicted by the grand jury on a charge of first degree murder.

According to Rick Holmes in the Derry News, June 30, 2011:

Probably you heard that earlier this month — June 3, 2011 — Dr. Jack Kevorkian died. He was of course the so called "Doctor Death." Last year, there was even a Hollywood movie about his career. His passing brought back to memory those events of a decade ago when we were all talking about the right — or wrong — of physician-assisted suicide.

While all the country's attention has been on Kevorkian, it is interesting to know that the very first trial for medical euthanasia involved a doctor who had once lived in Derry. In 1950 — exactly 50 years before the Kevorkian trial — there was the trial of Dr. Herman Sander.

Sander (1908-1996) was born in New York, the first child of George and Ada Sander. Ada had been born in New Jersey but George had emigrated from Dresden, Germany, in 1888. He was a 1901 graduate of Stevens Institute of Hoboken, N.J. with a degree in electrical engineering. Shortly after Herman's birth the family moved to Derry. Here, George Sander was employed as superintendent of the Derry Electric Company. They lived in an apartment at 71 East Broadway, directly across from today's McGregor Library Building. After a few years in Derry, the family moved to Manchester where he was employed with the Traction, Light and Power Company — the concern that ran the Manchester and Derry Trolley.

Herman grew up in Manchester and, while attending Central High School, he became the state's first Eagle Scout. He studied at the University of Munich and received his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College (1930) and his medical degree from New York University. His entire career was spent practicing in the Manchester area.

In 1949, Mrs. Abbie Borroto lay dying of cancer in the Hillsborough County Hospital. The 60-year-old woman was suffering; she was racked with unbearable pain that no amount of medication could ease. During that year, she had wasted from 140 to 80 pounds. It seemed likely to most that she had only a few days to live. All day and night she was screaming for someone, anyone, to help her die.

Herman Sander was her doctor and knew he was powerless to reduce her suffering. He then gave four injections of air directly into her veins. She died painlessly in about 10 minutes. Dr. Sander entered into her medical records exactly what he had done. Sander's supervisor read the entry and reported the death to the police. An arrest warrant was quickly issued for Sander that charged him with wrongful death. A grand jury soon found that there was enough evidence to hold a murder trial.

In 1950, Herman Sander became the first doctor ever put on trial for "mercy killing." The trial was held at the Hillsborough County Courthouse and was attended by reporters from all over the state and nation including novelists Fanny Hurst and John O'Hara. The prosecution was led by future U.S. Sen. Louis Wyman. On the witness stand Dr. Sander told the jury he thought Mrs. Borroto was already dead. But if that were true, why did he gave a dead patient the injections? In answer to that question, all he could say was, "Why I did it I cannot tell. It didn't make any sense."

All across America there was an active debate on Dr. Sander and mercy killing. Evangelist Billy Graham said the court should find him guilty of murder and make "an example" of him. In his hometown of Candia, 605 of the town's 650 registered voters gave Sander a "written testimonial of his integrity and goodwill."

In Derry, the local Baptist and Catholic Church were strictly opposed to euthanasia. They based their arguments on the scriptural command that "Thou shall not kill." It may be supposed that most of the other Derry pastors were also in favor of Sander being found guilty.

The first clergyman in the greater Manchester area to come out in public support of Sander was Rev. Dr. Charles S. Milligan of East Derry's First Parish Church. To make sure everyone knew his views, he announced a week before, the topic of his next sermon. That Sunday, the sanctuary of the church was filled to overflowing.

Pastor Milligan began his sermon with the declaration that "I believe God does not enjoy human suffering. I question that those who don't want it (euthanasia) have the right to deny it to those who do." He went on to say that doctors have been performing mercy killing for millennia but it has always been hidden. If euthanasia was made legal then it can be regulated for only extreme cases of suffering. He concluded by saying that now "only the honest doctor gets punished."

On March 9, 1950, the jury took just 71 minutes to find Herman Sander not guilty on the all charges. Today this verdict is viewed by many as being an example of jury nullification — a guilty man had been set free because the 12 men and women in the jury room didn't believe in the law against mercy killing.

Despite being found not guilty, the state refused to give Sander back his medical license. He could no longer practice medicine in New Hampshire. To support his wife and three daughters, the doctor was forced to work as a farm hand. In time, the New Hampshire Medical Board did give him back his license. He retired in 1974 after 33 years as a physician. He spent his remaining years as a beekeeper in Candia. In 1979, Candia honored him as "the most influential individual in town." Sander died in 1996 at a Manchester nursing home at 87 years of age.

The case of Carol Ann Paight occurred around the same time. As reported by Australian Associated Press and published in the Adelaide News, February 2, 1950 (bold, capitals in original):

U.S. GIRL KILLER "WAS INSANE"

New York, Wednesday.

--A psychiatrist today testified that Carol Paight was insane when she fired the fatal "mercy" bullet at her father.

He said she had not recovered her sanity nearly three weeks later.

Carol, 21, killed her father in hospital after learning he had incurable cancer. She is charged with second-degree murder.

Dr. Clifford Moore, medical director of a mental institution, was called as a witness after the girl's mother had given evidence that there had been in sanity both in her family and her late husband's.

Dr. Moore said Carol was insane when he examined her 19 days after the shooting. He didn't know whether she had recovered yet.

As reported by Mara Bovsun in the New York Daily News, June 19, 2010 (updated April 9, 2018):

If one thing was clear in this sad case, it was that Carol Ann Paight loved her father. She loved him so much that she could not bear to see him suffer. So she killed him.

Her father, Police Sgt. Carl Paight, 52, was a good-natured family man, adored by his wife, Mary, 52 and children, Carol, 21, and Carl, Jr., 22, both college students. They lived in a modest home in Stamford, Conn.

By all accounts, Sgt. Paight was the kind of dad every child deserves – responsible, good to their mother, and fun. The family spent hours swimming and sailing, and even chores were enjoyable when he was around.

It all came to a crashing end in September 1949. Sgt. Paight had not been feeling well, so he checked into a Stamford hospital. The doctors recommended exploratory surgery, scheduled for the 23rd.

During the operation, Carol and her mother, both devote Roman Catholics, went to church to pray.

Their prayers went unanswered. Back at the hospital, Dr. William E. Smith gave them the worst possible news. Sgt. Paight’s body was “riddled” with cancer, and he had, at most, three months to live.

Carol knew what that meant. Two of her aunts, Agnes and Alice, had died of cancer, and she witnessed these vibrant women shrivel away in agony. The experience had instilled in her a deep terror of the disease.

“Don’t tell Daddy!” Carol screamed when Dr. Smith delivered the news. Then she grew glassy-eyed and pale, and started babbling. Carol didn’t appear to hear anything, and seemed to be in a world of her own.

The Paight women returned home, but Carol didn’t stay. She swiped her father’s service revolver, and headed back to the hospital, stopping briefly at a spot in the woods to take one practice shot.

With the gun wrapped in a jacket, she returned to her father. Moments later, nurses heard an odd noise, like a tray dropping, and saw the tall, blond girl in the doorway of Paight’s room. Inside, they found the gun on the bed, and a bullet wound in the patient’s head.

“I shot him,” Carol told them. Then she became hysterical.

Later, as members of her late father’s squad guarded her, she seemed calm and detached. At around 8:30 p.m., she told Capt. William J. Lynch that she didn’t care what people thought or what would happen to her. She couldn’t stand to see her dad suffer.

The girl remembered nothing the next morning. She recalled hearing the doctor’s dreaded words, but after that, everything was a blank.

From the start, sympathy was with the girl. Civic leaders and businesses took up a collection for her defense. “It is my honest belief and firm conviction that the case of Carol Paight deserves extreme sympathy and leniency,” Stamford Mayor George Barrett told reporters.

Nevertheless, the district attorney had no choice but to arrest Paight, charging her with second-degree murder. It carried a life sentence.

The girl’s plight ignited a long-smoldering debate over mercy killing. In the 1930s, two groups were building a movement around the right to die – England’s Euthanasia Legalization society, and the Euthanasia Society of America. Both groups took keen interest in the case.

By the time Paight’s trial opened on Jan. 23, 1950, two more mercy killings were grabbing headlines. A New Hampshire doctor, Hermann Sander, had been arrested for injecting air into the veins of a dying cancer patient. In Ontario, Can., engineer Ralph Kilbon’s mentally ill wife had tried to kill herself with a bullet to the abdomen. When Kilbon found her, she was dying and in pain, so he shot her to finish what she started.

In Paight’s trial, everything hinged on the girl’s state of mind at the time of the killing, a period that Carol could not remember.

Witnesses swore that she certainly looked insane, swinging from shrieks and sobs to periods of calm, glassy-eyed detachment. Psychiatric experts for the defense said the news about her father had caused temporary insanity, and pushed her into a “fugue state” in which her subconscious mind controlled her actions.

The outcome was not hard to predict when the prosecution’s expert witness was booed for voicing the opinion that the defendant had been sane, and knew exactly what she was doing when she pulled the trigger.

Also helpful was the composition of the jury. It was made up entirely of parents – mothers and fathers with children about the same age as the accused.

After about four hours’ deliberation, the jury found her not guilty. Carol went home, and got on with her life. By September, a year after her father’s death, she had some good news, a wedding. “Carol Paight, the schoolgirl who was acquitted of the mercy-slaying of her cop-pop … is blessed eventing,” wrote legendary gossip columnist Walter Winchell a few months later.

The president of the Euthanasia Society said Paight’s acquittal was a “vindication” of his group. Ministers came out in support of mercy killings, and physicians went on record saying that they had, on occasion, made lethal doses of morphine available to the incurably ill.

For a time, it seemed as if Paight’s story might open a floodgate of mercy killings, especially after the two other high-profile cases ended in acquittals.

But the tide turned. In November 1952, another woman, Lois Curtiss, 33, stood in the same courthouse as Paight. Curtiss was accused of murdering her cancer-ridden father by turning on the gas jets in their apartment, an act that left her partially paralyzed. She said she had been motivated by love, and her only goal was to end his suffering. But the judge saw this death as “one of those killings which dramatists and sob sisters call a mercy killing” and sent her to prison.

Carol Ann Paight (center) is comforted by her brother Carl, Jr., and her mother, Mary Nolan Paight, during the Paight trial in Bridgeport, Conn. (Photo by Walter Kelleher/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

In both the cases mentioned above as well as the notorious Canadian case of R v Latimer (1997, 2001), I'm struck by the willingness of so many people to believe that the killing was motivated by love. Who says the killer was motivated by love? The killer. Robert Latimer was a farmer in Saskatchewan whose 12-year-old daughter Tracy had severe cerebral palsy and was in constant pain, which may have been eased by surgery. Mr. Latimer murdered Tracy while the rest of the family was at church, but claimed that she had died in her sleep. Police became suspicious when an autopsy revealed high amounts of carbon monoxide in Tracy's blood, and only then did he admit that he had killed her by connecting a hose from the exhaust pipe to the cab. Mr. Latimer was charged with first-degree murder, was convicted of second-degree murder, and served almost 10 years in prison before being granted full parole in December 2010.

It disturbed me then, as it does now, that an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in 1999 found that 73% of those responding (it should be kept in mind that Ipsos-Reid admits, but doesn't publicize, that 70% of the people they contact refuse to talk to them) believed that Mr. Latimer acted out of compassion, and 41%--a plurality--believed "mercy killing" shouldn't even be against the law. It doesn't help that the media focus on the instances in which killing has taken place rather than those in which people in positions such as Mr. Latimer don't kill their loved ones. A former pastor of mine and his wife are parents of a son with multiple disabilities that require round-the-clock care. His parents aren't trained caregivers, aren't wealthy, have to work for a living, and have other children to take care of as part of living their lives. They found an institution in which their disabled son could receive the care he requires, and had him placed there. The institution is hundreds of miles and several provinces away from the parents, but they visit him several times a year, and the last I heard, reported that he was receiving excellent care. This is far from an ideal situation, but in a fallen world, this was the best choice they could make. Unfortunately, this example of true Christian compassion seldom gets any press.

Unfortunately, Canadian society has deteriorated so far and so fast since the Latimer case that he wouldn't even be charged today. Under the Orwellian-named MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying), introduced by the "Liberal" regime of Justin Trudeau in 2016, MAiD deaths have increased from 5,665 in 2019 to 15,343 in 2023, making it the fastest-growing such program in the world. Very few of these people are dying; rather, they're people who have problems in living, and a disproportionately high percentage are poor. This is exactly the way it happened in Germany in the 1920s and '30s, culminating in mass murder and genocide during World War II. My father fought against the regime that did that; I'm glad he's not around to see what became of the country he fought for.

100 years ago--Couéism peaks in North America

It's actually approaching 101 years ago and I should have posted this much earlier, but I didn't want to let the year go by without noting that 2023 marked 100 years since Émile Coué, a French pharmacist and psychologist whose ideas had achieved popularity in Europe, became even more of a celebrity in America, with an advance publicity campaign preceding his arrival in New York City in January 1923 for a series of personal appearances. Dr. Coué and his wife founded La Société Lorraine de Psychologie appliquée (The Lorraine Society of Applied Psychology) in Nancy in 1913. His book La Maîtrise de soi-même par l'autosuggestion consciente (Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion) was published in England in 1920, and was a best-seller when it was published in the United States in 1922.

Dr. Coué could lay claim to be the father of modern positive self-talk, which he called autosuggestion, recommending that people constantly repeat the following saying to themselves: "Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux" ("Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better"). In addition to psychological improvement, advocates of Couéism claimed that repetition of the mantra could effect physical healing. Dr. Coué claimed that he didn't heal people, but that people healed themselves. His campaigns didn't always produce the desired results, as reported in the Edmonton Bulletin, April 11, 1922 (bold, capitals in original):

Patients Were Made Hysterical Throguh Treatment Being Given by Nerve Specialist at Hospital

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TORONTO, April 10--What was intended as a triumphant finale to Dr. Coue's sensational auto-suggestion campaign in England resulted in a near tragedy in a neurological hospital for soldiers at Tooting just outside London, England, according to a special cable to the Mail and Empire today. The cable continues:

"Lady Beatty, who is responsible in a great measure for Coue's presence in England, introduced the famous expert to patients but was forced to flee from the lecture room when shell-shocked soldiers were plunged into hysteria. Writhing and shrieking, the soldiers flung themselves on the floor, the doctors and nurses being unable to pacify them.

"The tragic outcome followed Coue's treatment of one patient who declared himself cured of severe headaches. John Withers, a soldier suffering from bodily tremors, was the next patient. Suddenly while Coue was passing his hands over the soldier's body, Withers suddenly gave piercing shrieks, writhed and twisted himself like a contortionist and threw himself on the floor. The effect on the rest of the patients was instantaneous. Man after man groaned and shrieked, gripped with uncontrollable hysteria. A witness said: "The scene was indescribably hellish."

"Lady Beatty, standing near Withers, attempted to calm him, but her efforts were to no avail. Pandemonium became so great that she was forced to make a hasty retreat.

"Coue has left for France. The hospital authorities said Sunday night that all the patients had recovered from the temporary hysteria."

(I can't help but notice that the behaviour of the soldiers resulting from Dr. Coué's "treatment" was virtually identical to the behaviour of those who receive the allegedly healing touch of charismaniac frauds such as Rodney Howard-Browne, Benny Hinn, and the "holy laughter" crowd, which those "healers" blasphemously ascribe to the Holy Spirit).

Dr. Coué's visit to New York proved to be very popular. Those who lived too far away to see Dr. Coué were unable to avoid him, since his name and theories seemed to be everywhere in North America. The Edmonton Journal, for instance, published an exclusive series of articles by Dr. Coué. On February 18, 1923, the short film The Message of Emile Coué opened in theatres in the United States. According to The Film Daily, February 25, 1923:

A demonstration by Emile Coue, by means of titles and illustrations of his points, of the theory of auto-suggestion. Coue is shown lecturing before a group of people, and you get the impression that you yourself are listening. The well-known phrase "Day by Day" is stressed a great many times in the closing sequence and finally the audience is made to say it with M. Coue.

The film opened in Edmonton on March 12. According to the Edmonton Bulletin, March 10, 1923 (bold, capitals in original):

M. COUE ON MONDAY AT THE EMPRESS

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His Famous Theories to Be Explained by Pantomimic Gestures

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Every day and every way--of course you know the rest. It's the slogan which has covered the continent of America at least. Now it has reached even to the screen, and Emile Coue himself will shortly be seen at the Empress theatre in a sereis of two reel films, on which he will explain his theories by pantomimic gesture...There are no doubt millions of persons who would never otherwise have the benefit of seeing and hearing the famous man who has received more publicity than many a famous screen star.

After Dr. Coue has explained his theories, the actual practice of the theories will be shown by actors in little scenes following each separate explanation by M. Coue himself.

The picture starts with the caption, "I am not a miracle man." Then Mr. Coue is photographed saying the words. This is the method employed through the picture. Extracts from his book on auto-suggestion are also given in written form on the screen, and then M. Coue is shown speaking and gesturing accordingly. He seems, it is said, to have a real gift of pantomime.

Manager Bert Blackmore, of the Empress theatre, knowing the intense interest taken in the Coue method and knowing that, after all, few persons know very little about it, is progressive enough to obtain these films for his theatre, so all will have an opportunity of getting M. Coue and his theories practically at first hand.

For those unaware of cinematic history, movies were silent in 1923, thus explaining the need for "pantomimic gestures." I don't know if the film still exists, but Internet Movie Database hasn't received the minimum number of five viewer responses required to provide a numerical rating.

Dave Hunt offered the following comments on Émile Coué:

Of all the false messiahs of recent times, none seems less likely than Emile Coué. Yet few people have played a more important part in the preparation of the world for the Antichrist than the almost comic "originator of the psychotherapeutic system called Couéism"...Couéism was the modern forerunner to self-help and other New Age groups and beliefs that are proliferating at an almost unbelievable rate across the United States in the 1980's and even infiltrating the church.

While working as an obscure pharmacist in Troyes, France, around the turn of the century, Emile Coué "observed his patients receiving from certain drugs beneficial effects that could not be ascribed to the medicines. That led him to believe that it was the power of 'imagination' that effected the cure." This discovery launched Coué into a study of hypnosis around 1901, with special interest in the apparent therapeutic effects of self-hypnosis. The modern applications of hypnosis have their roots in "Mesmerism." However, it was Coué who carried Mesmer's theory to its logical conclusion and thereby laid the foundation for the New Age...

...One of the earliest pioneers of the free clinic concept, Coué seemed to be genuine in his concern to help others. In 1910 he set up a free clinic iin Nancy, France to practice his now-perfected system...In 1920 he set up a clinic in New York...

...Preaching remarkable powers of "suggestion," the Messiah of the New Age had arrived befoe his time. In spite of the cure of so many serious ailments by the power of "suggestion" that Couéism effected throughout the Western world, Coué's "system" eventually fell into disrepute. Couéism failed because it was taken to be exaclty what its originator claimed: a "system." As Coué's followers forgot to believe what they were saying and chanted the magic words more and more mechanically, the cures became less and less, until no one believed anymore.

Had Coué only lived into the New Age, he would have seen himself fully vindicated in the adoption of hypnosis by the American Medical Association and its growing use by psychologists and psychiatrists. The old master would be pleased, too, to see in the 1980s a host of self-improvement techniques based upon the very same "power of suggestion" that he was convinced could cure anything: "positive thinking," "possibility thinking," self-hypnosis tapes by the thousands, numerous salesmanship and management success seminars used by both Christians and non-Christians, positive mental attitude (PMA) seminars, est (Erhard Seminars Training), Lifespring, Silva Mind Control, Alpha Level Training, biofeedback, guided imagery, creative visualization, Confluent Education, psychotherapies by the score, and an almost endless list of other New Age self-improvement techniques...

...Whereas Mesmer publicly declared that "he could help only people suffering from nervous disorders and no others," Coué demonstrated that the power of suggestion has no such limits. The New Age is a revival of Coué's adaptation and extension of Mesmer's limited theory: that human potential is unlimited, because the mind through suggestion can accomplish and create anything that it believes it can... (Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust, 1983, pp. 117-120)

By the end of 1923, there were signs that the popularity of Couéism had passed its peak, and his name seldom appeared in North American newspapers after that year until his death in Nancy on July 2, 1926 at the age of 69. Although Dr. Coué's fame was relatively short-lived, and his name is largely unknown today, his influence remains, with his spiritual descendants including Napoleon Hill, Maxwell Maltz, W. Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale, and Robert Schuller, some of whom masqueraded as Christians, and all of whom have been influential in the New Age Movement.

130 years ago--not-so- "secret societies"

I don't know how they could have been called "secret societies" when they were advertising their meetings on the front page of the newspaper, such as in the Edmonton Bulletin, March 2, 1893. If you can't read the small print, the ads for the secret societies read as follows:

SECRET SOCIETIES.

A.F. & A.M., Edmonton Lodge. Regular meeting, third Friday in each month, in Masonic Hall, at 7,30 o'clock, p.m. Visiting brethren cordially invited. R.B. FERGUSON, Secretary; C.W. SUTTER, W.M.

ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED WORKMEN. Meetings 2nd and 4th Friday in each month in Masonic Hall. All visiting brethren cordially invited.

A.O.F. COURT BEAVER HOUSE, 7866. Meetings in Masonic Hall first and third Wednesday's of each month. Visiting brethren cordially invited. W.B. STENNATT, C.R. J.R. MICHAEL, Secretary

Backlog: Egyptian journalist wants to sue Israel for damages caused by Old Testament plagues

To quote Winston Churchill out of context, "Here, surely, is the world's record in the domain of the ridiculous and the contemptible." The journalist in the article below at least performs a service in illustrating the absurdity of recent calls for reparations for alleged sins committed long before the births of those manufacturing grievances. The biblical account of the plagues can be found in Exodus 7:14-11:10; rather than Israel, the journalist should be suing God, since He was the one who sent the plagues. The following item was first published in 2014, but is more relevant now than ever. As reported by Ahuva Balofsky of Breaking Israel News (now known as Israel365 News), March 31, 2014:

Columnist Ahmad al-Gamal of Egypt’s Al-Yawm Al-Sabi daily has proposed his country sue numerous countries for damages – both physical and psychological – inflicted over the past several millennia. Notably, he wants to sue Turkey for the abuses of the Ottoman Empire, France for Napoleon’s invasion, Britain for its 72-year occupation and Israel for causing the Biblical plagues.

Media watchdog Middle East Media Research Institute first noted the March 11, 2014 column. In the column, al-Gamal demands compensation for the “backwardness” imposed on his country by Turkey. He accused the Ottoman Empire of plundering the country of its precious resources, as well as its human capital, conscripting both to the Empire’s own needs and plunging the country into intellectual darkness at a time when the rest of the world was experiencing development.

He likewise charged modern Britain with similar misdeeds, saying it “took part in preventing [Egypt] from realizing the fruits of its stupendous victory” against Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973.

He added, “We want compensation for 72 years of British occupation that imposed backwardness and dependency upon us, stole the resources of our country, drove a wedge between the sons of the homeland and turned [the members of] one social stratum into [British] agents who took no pity on the Egyptian poor…” He traced the roots of this injustice to Napoleon’s 1798 invasion, and added France to the list of responsible countries.

Most startling, however, were the allegations leveled at Israel, or more to the point, their Biblical origins. Al-Gamal quoted the Hebrew Bible in asserting the country should repay Egypt for the harm caused by the plagues, as well as the theft of precious commodities used to build the Tabernacle in the desert.

He claims the Bible’s collective punishment of the Egyptian people was uncalled for, as it was Pharaoh himself alone who was responsible for the suffering of the Israelites. He does not afford the French the same assumption regarding Napoleon’s decisions, though.

“We want compensation for the [Ten] Plagues that were inflicted upon [us] as a result of the curses that the Jews’ ancient forefathers [cast] upon our ancient forefathers, who did not deserve to pay for the mistake that Egypt’s ruler at the time, Pharaoh as the Torah calls him, committed. For what is written in the Torah proves that it was Pharaoh who oppressed the Children of Israel, rather than the Egyptian people. [But] they inflicted upon us the plague of locusts that didn’t leave anything behind them; the plague that transformed the Nile’s waters into blood, so nobody could drink of them for a long time; the plague of darkness that kept the world dark day and night; the plague of frogs; and the plague of the killing of the firstborn, namely every first offspring born to woman or beast, and so on.

“We want compensation for the gold, silver, copper, precious stones, fabrics, hides and lumber, and for [all] animal meat, hair, hides and wool, and for other materials that I will mention [below], when quoting the language of the Torah. All these are materials that the Jews used in their rituals. These are resources that cannot be found among desert wanderers unless they took them before their departure…”

He went on to reference specific Biblical passages. “The stories of the Holy Scriptures state that the Israelites set off from the [Nile] valley at night and went to the Sinai Peninsula. This is known to be a desert, where there is no use for large quantities of gold, silver, precious stones, meats, oils, fabrics and the like. Therefore it is clear that the Israelites took all these things from Egypt before they left.

Chapter 25 of Exodus, on the [Israelites’] departure [from Egypt], states: ‘The Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering… These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Have them make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other [Exodus 25:1-12]’…

“[Exodus 38:24 states]: ‘The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel…’

“I call upon everyone with an interest in Torah studies to instruct us on a scientific basis what is the [precise] meaning of the word ‘talent.’ How many grams is it currently worth, what was the weight of the sheqel during those days, especially as it was made out of solid pure gold and pure silver…”

It seems as though Mr. al-Gamal wasn't alone in allowing hatred of Jews to influence the Egyptian view of history; as reported by Simcha Jacovici of Breaking Israel News (Israel365 News), September 15, 2014:

The Egyptian archaeological community is in a tizzy. They are accusing foreign Egyptologists of being Israeli agents hell bent on altering their history. It seems Israel’s ultimate goal is to reclaim the Pyramids. This charge was recently laid by Amir Gamal of the “Non-Stop Robberies” movement. It was published in Egypt’s Elaph newspaper. Not long ago, Egyptian journalist Ahmad al-Gamal encouraged his government to sue the Jewish state for losses incurred during the 10 plagues, visited upon Egypt during the biblical exodus. Also, the Torah claims that the Israelite slaves took Egypt’s gold with them to the Promised Land. Al-Gamal wants the gold or an equal sum in U.S. dollars – with 3500 years of compounded interest – paid by Israel to Egypt.

Some of this is funny, and some of this is not. When I filmed archaeology in Egypt in 2004 for a documentary film on the biblical Exodus, the Egyptians were watching us like hawks. In Egypt, the bible is current history. Even though the Qur’an says that the biblical Exodus is a historical fact, modern Arab regimes see Mideast history as a zero-sum game – if it’s good for the Jews, it’s bad for the Arabs. So any archaeology connected to the biblical Exodus is suppressed for fear that it might support Israel’s claims in the area. For example, a statue discovered at Avaris in the Delta is thought by some scholars to be a representation of the biblical Joseph. Because of the possible connection with the Jewish patriarch, the statue has now “disappeared” from the Cairo museum. It wasn’t easy for the statue to disappear, since it weighs a ton.

More than this, Egypt’s obsession with biblical archaeology influences the views of Egyptologists. If you claim you have found proof of the biblical Exodus, they ban you from Egypt. If you’re an Egyptologist, that’s a big problem. So – not surprisingly – Egyptologists tend to find nothing connected to the Israelites. Recently, Charles University professor Miroslav Barta tried to connect the bible to Egyptian archaeology. As a result, he’s being accused of working for the Mossad. His mission: falsify Egyptian history. Not exactly a climate for free academic debate.

Here’s what I think: they can keep the Pyramids, we didn’t build them. They had been around for a thousand years before Moses was born. Having said this, in return for us dropping our claims to the Pyramids, they should pay us for years of slavery and stop bullying Western academics.

On a related note, Jewish slaves built the Colosseum in Rome. Jewish masons cut the stone, and the money that financed the project came from the Roman looting in 70 C.E. of the Temple in Jerusalem. There is an inscription that proves this. We built it, we paid for it, it’s time to get it back. I would move it to Israel’s south, near the border with Gaza. First of all, I could get exclusive documentary filming rights to the process of moving the Colosseum from Italy to Israel. Besides, this feat of modern engineering would right a historical wrong, increase tourism to an area that has been suffering under Hamas rockets fired from Gaza and make the world more sensitive to those rockets – because instead of landing in Israeli towns, they would now be landing on a UNESCO cultural site.

Backlog: Good riddance to Ernest Angley

The death in May 2021 of televangelism's most buffoonish charlatan was barely mentioned in the media, but Ernest Angley had no trouble attracting attention when he was in his heyday in the 1970s and '80s. Without mentioning him by name, Gary Larson based a Far Side cartoon on him, and comedian David Brenner, in a talk show apperance, referred to Mr. Angley when he said, "There's a guy who heals people on TV--and he wears a toupee. I don't get it." While Howard Cosell's wigs aged along with him, Mr. Angley's wigs remained forever young, as shown in the following photos.

As reported by Bob Dyer of the Akron Beacon Journal, May 7, 2021 (updated May 8, 2021) (bold, links in original):

Controversial televangelist Ernest Angley has died at age 99, according to an announcement Friday on the Ernest Angley Ministries website.

"Pastor, evangelist and author Rev. Ernest Angley has gone to Heaven to be with his Lord and Master at 99," the announcement reads. "He touched multitudes of souls worldwide with the pure Word of God confirmed with signs, wonders, miracles and healings. He truly pleased God in all things."

A native of Gastonia, North Carolina, Angley moved to Akron in 1954 and eventually turned into an internationally known figure, thanks largely to the syndicated TV broadcasts he launched in 1972.

His sometimes-outrageous faith-healing claims drew sharp criticism from many, including officials in Munich, Germany, who arrested him in 1984 on charges of fraud and practicing medicine without a license, and officials in Guyana, who in 2006 blasted him for claiming he could cure AIDS.

Angley's odd speaking voice, mannerisms and toupee made him an easy target for comedians. Superstar Robin Williams mimicked Angley with a character named "Rev. Earnest Angry." Williams also spoofed the preacher on "Saturday Night Live," on a comedy album and in the TV sitcom "Mork & Mindy."

But while the comics and critics were piling on, Angley was spawning a megachurch that brought in so much money that by 2005 he was able to buy a $26 million Boeing 747, which he used for overseas mission trips.

Angley's debut in Akron 65 years ago came inside a huge tent in the Ellet area. Followers of his non-denominational, fire-and-brimstone presentations rapidly grew in number. Within months he moved into an old theater on West Market Street, then into a small building next to Ellet Memorial Cemetery, then into a big new structured nearby, naming it the Temple of Healing Stripes.

Within four years of his arrival in Akron, Ernest Winston Angley had more than 3,000 followers.

He bought Cuyahoga Falls television station WBNX (Channel 55) in 1985, and in 1994 bought the Cathedral of Tomorrow on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls from fellow televangelist Rex Humbard and moved his main operation there.

The church does not release attendance figures, but observers say attendance at the 5,000-seat cathedral has dwindled significantly in recent years.

Part of the drop in membership can likely be attributed to a six-part Beacon Journal investigative series in 2014 in which 21 former church members detailed accusations of wrongdoing by Angley.

They claimed the church is a dangerous cult where pregnant women are encouraged to have abortions, childless men are encouraged to have vasectomies and Angley — who preached vehemently against the "sin" of homosexuality — was himself a gay man who personally examined the genitals of the male parishioners before and after their surgeries. They also said he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse by other members of his church.

Angley agreed to an interview before that series. During a 90-minute meeting in his office, he vehemently denied all of the accusations, claiming everyone was lying.

Four years later, one of the people mentioned in the series, former Assistant Pastor Brock Miller, filed a lawsuit against Angley and the church, claiming that Angley had sexually abused him off and on for nine years. Miller said he finally quit his job in 2014 because he could no longer handle the abuse.

Angley and the church countersued for defamation. An out-of-court settlement was reached in February 2020 for an undisclosed amount.

And in early 2019, a former church member gave the Beacon Journal a 1996 tape-recording of a telephone conversation in which Angley admitted to having sexual relations with a male employee. The person on the other end of the call, the Rev. Bill Davis, a former longtime Angley associate, confirmed the tape was genuine.

Former close associates say Angley was never quite the same after his college sweetheart and wife of 27 years, Esther Lee, or “Angel,” as he called her, died in 1970 at the age of 49.

Angley spent significant time dealing with lawsuits.

The final installment of the Beacon's 2014 series drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor. After an investigation the following year, the department sued Angley for $388,508 for back wages and damages. The suit alleged violations of minimum wage, overtime, record-keeping and child labor laws involving 238 current and former employees.

Angley appealed, saying the employees were volunteering to do "God's work," but in 2017 a judge upheld the ruling, and Angley shut down the buffet a few weeks later.

In 2018, however, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the district court for potential further action. A three-judge panel disagreed with the district court's assertion that restaurant employees were "coerced" into working for free, making a distinction between "economic coercion" and "spiritual coercion."

Click on the links below to see other items from the Akron Beacon Journal about Mr. Angley.

Through the years with Rev. Ernest Angley

Falling from Grace, part 1: Ernest Angley’s Grace Cathedral rocked by accusations involving abortions and vasectomies

Falling from Grace, part 2: Sexual assault claims stay in church walls

Falling from Grace, part 3: Church calls departed Grace Cathedral associate pastor a liar, adulterer and drug addict

Falling from Grace, part 4: Former Grace Cathedral member says of Ernest Angley: ‘He divides and conquers families’

Falling from Grace, part 5: The Rev. Ernest Angley - Modest house, big plane (Boeing 747)

Falling from Grace, part 6: For-profit Grace Cathedral Buffet using volunteer labor again after feds said to stop

Former pastor says Angley abused him

Ernest Angley blasted his associate when he left

The Rev. Ernest Angley admitted sexual encounter

Split with Ernest Angley tough for his assistant

Settlement reached in lawsuit by ex-minister against Ernest Angley, his church

A typical televised performance service of Ernest Angley, from 1978:

50 years ago: The death of J.I. Rodale

Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1

I'm going to live to be 100, unless I'm run down by some sugar-crazed taxi driver. J.I. Rodale

Missed it by that much! Maxwell Smart

Jerome Irving Rodale, born Jerome Irving Cohen on August 16, 1898, co-founded the electrical equipment firm Rodale Manufacturing with his brother Joseph in 1923, and founded Rodale Press in 1930. J.I. Rodale was concerned with his health and became a health and food faddist, establishing an organic food farm, and publishing magazines such as Organic Farming and Gardening and Prevention. He was also a playwright, operating a couple of theatres to stage his works.

On June 8, 1971, Mr. Rodale was a guest on The Dick Cavett Show; the show was taped early in the evening for broadcast several hours later. During his interview, Mr. Rodale said, "I'm in such good health that I fell down a long flight of stairs yesterday and I laughed all the way;" "I've decided to live to be a hundred;" and "I never felt better in my life!" After the interview, Mr. Cavett was interviewing journalist Pete Hamill, and Mr. Rodale, who was sitting further down the couch, slumped over dead; efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The program was never broadcast.

60 years ago: Sorcery on prime-time television

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Revelation 9:21

The word rendered "sorceries" in the end-time prophecy cited above is the Greek word "pharmakeia," which according to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words:

...primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells...In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with provision of various charms, amulets, etc., purportedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond was an anthology series televised by the American Broadcasting Company from 1959-1961, directed and hosted by John Newland, presenting stories related to the supernatural. The episode broadcast on January 24, 1961, The Sacred Mushroom, instead of being a dramatic story, was instead a documentary on the use of a particular mushroom found in Mexico and whether or not users were able to achieve powers of extrasensory perception.

The consultant for the episode, who was also featured in the program, was Dr. Andrija Puharich (1918-1995), a medical and parapsychological researcher who supported the claims of alleged psychics Peter Hurkos and Uri Geller. Dave Hunt, in his book Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust (1983), devoted some space to the work of Dr. Puharich. Nowhere in the program was it suggested or suspected that the use of a psychedelic drug such as the sacred mushroom was opening the users to contact with and deception by demons.

100 years ago: The beginning of religious broadcasting

As reported by Paul Guggenheimer of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 2, 2021 (bold, links in original):

Before Jerry Falwell, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Joel Osteen, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and famous radio evangelists such as Father Charles Coughlin and Aimee Semple McPherson, there was Edwin Van Etten.

It was the Rev. Edwin Van Etten, far from a household name, who helped popularize the live radio sermon. It began Jan. 2, 1921, at Pittsburgh’s Calvary Episcopal Church on fledgling KDKA radio and continued Sunday nights for decades. And as it happens, Van Etten, rector of the East Liberty church, initially shied away from the idea.

It was exactly two months after KDKA’s historic first broadcast of the 1920 Harding-Cox presidential election results that the station put together the first live remote broadcast from Calvary.

Broadcast pioneer Harry P. Davis — a vice president of Westinghouse Electric, which owned KDKA — was looking to sell “radio sets,” as they were called back then. In order to do that, he needed programming of all types to give people a reason to buy them.

“Davis wants to be successful. He wants this to be a major commercial enterprise for Westinghouse,” said Anne Madarasz, chief historian at the Senator John Heinz History Center. “And the more quality programming and the more variety they can offer, the better opportunity he has to sell radio sets.”

Plans were made to do all sorts of live, remote broadcasts, but the one from Calvary proved to be KDKA’s test case, according to Madarasz.

“Two weeks later, Herbert Hoover does an address at the Duquesne Club, and they do a remote (broadcast) from there,” Madarasz said. “By April, they’re doing boxing, by August they’re doing the Davis Cup and Pirates games, college football in October. So, they literally go right from the Calvary broadcast to this.”

How Calvary Episcopal was chosen

Calvary was chosen for that first church broadcast by an ancient tradition: Somebody knew somebody.

Davis wanted to do some type of religious broadcast on Sundays. A Westinghouse employee named Fletcher Hallock — a choir member at Calvary — suggested his own church.

Van Etten was open to the idea but expressed concern about how much of a distraction the broadcast would create. He and others also worried that people might be less inclined to attend church in person if they could just listen to it on the radio. However, he never suggested it shouldn’t be tried.

“Calvary has always been easygoing and welcoming when it comes to embracing new things,” said the Rev. Jonathon Jensen, the rector of Calvary since 2014.

Nevertheless, Van Etten decided radio was a passing fad and would just be “a fizzle.” So he sat that first broadcast out and delegated the duty of giving radio’s first sermon to his assistant, the Rev. Lewis Whittemore.

But a lot of planning and rehearsing had to be done at the church before Whittemore stepped up to that live microphone.

“The (engineers) practiced for two weeks moving the transmitters and microphones around to see how to get the best reception,” Madarasz said. “They used three microphones — one with the organ, one with the choir and one with the pastor — and it takes two engineers.

“They had a Jewish engineer and a Catholic engineer, and they wore choir robes the first week so they blended in and didn’t distract the congregants.”

The sound was transmitted over telephone lines back to the KDKA studios and broadcast from there.

You would think all of this would have been a cause for great excitement among the Calvary faithful. Not so, according to Jensen.

A ‘nonevent’ …

“The service 100 years ago was almost a nonevent,” Jensen said. “There’s two little paragraphs in the bulletin about it. The first radio broadcast received slightly less attention than the basketball league scores.” In the church calendar, Van Etten announced that “interesting arrangements have been made for tonight’s service. The International Radio Company (Westinghouse) has installed wireless telephone receiving apparatus in the chancel, and tonight’s music, sermon and service will be flashed for a radius of 1,000 miles through space.”

But at 7:45 that Sunday evening of Jan. 2, 1921, something magical happened. The sermon preached by Whittemore was titled “The Wood and the Sword.”

“My friends, one would not lose an opportunity to speak and be heard by the radio congregation,” Whittemore said. “He would want to say something that could be of use and of strength and of meaning to every one who might hear his word.

“He would want to point out with all earnestness that the real perils and dangers of life are never the outside ones. It is never the difficult tasks that prove fatal to life. The real dangers to life are always the inside uncertainty, the inside entanglements and the inside inability.”

Jensen noted that Whittemore’s address was long by today’s standards.

… becomes a sensation

But, more importantly, it was a huge hit with the radio audience.

“Apparently, that radio broadcast was reaching people a thousand miles away,” Jensen said. “People started sending in letters thanking them. They were excited about it. They started sending in dimes and nickels, and that’s eventually how we paid for the plaque on the front of the church” that commemorates the broadcast.

Van Etten was reported to have said radio should not be used to raise money for churches.

However, after seeing how well the broadcast was received, he decided to take on the lead role when the broadcasts became a weekly event on Sunday nights, thus becoming the first regularly heard radio evangelist. He gained a formidable following in the process.

Any concerns about radio keeping people away from church proved unfounded. To the contrary, people approached Van Etten to say they were coming to church because they had heard him on the radio.

Other churches wanted to be on the radio as well.

“Shortly after KDKA’s broadcast, other radio stations around the country start doing it,” Madarasz said. “They recognized there’s a market for this.”

‘The KDKA Chapel’

“By March, they’ve got the KDKA Chapel, as they called it, up and running. They’re bringing a revolving series of churches in, and they’re also doing other remote broadcasts.

“They’re dedicating three broadcasts on Sundays to church services.”

The following year, KDKA broadcast a guest sermon by William Jennings Bryan, the politician and popular orator, from Point Breeze Presbyterian Church. (The church building at Fifth and Penn avenues is now home to St. Paul Baptist.) It was Bryan’s first-ever radio broadcast.

The weekly KDKA broadcasts from Calvary would continue until 1962.

On Sunday, Calvary will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first broadcast. Some of the music from the 1921 service — “The Angels and the Shepherds,” “Carol of the Russian Children” and “Jesu Bambino” — will be performed, along with one of the hymns.

A reproduction of the 1921 service bulletin appears at the end of Calvary’s newsletter online.

HT: Puget Sound Radio

Israeli communications minister promises investigation after GOD TV subsidiary begins broadcasting in Israel

As reported by Malkah Fleisher of Jewish News Syndicate, May 5, 2020:

A new evangelical Christian channel whose mission is to “take the message of Yeshua our Messiah to all of Israel 24/7, 365 days a year” began broadcasting in Israel in Hebrew last week, after signing a seven-year contract with Israeli cable provider HOT.

The Shelanu (Hebrew for “Ours”) TV channel is a branch of GOD TV, which broadcasts missionary programming in 200 countries around the world. The new deal will give the channel access to over 700,000 Israeli households.

GOD TV CEO Ward Simpson said in a video announcing the launch that his network had received permission from the Israeli government to “broadcast the gospel of Jesus Christ—Yeshua the Messiah—in Israel on cable TV in the Hebrew language. Never before, as far as we know in the history of the world, has this ever been done.”

Permission for the new station was granted by Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, whose chairman, Asher Biton, told Israel’s Haaretz daily that his organization did not know the station would engage in missionary activity, which he said is prohibited under the terms of the license.

“According to our regulations, it is fine to broadcast religious programming,” he said, “but it is forbidden to broadcast content that has the potential to influence viewers in an undue fashion, and most certainly young and impressionable viewers.”

Under Israeli law, it is forbidden to entice converts by means of material benefits, and also to attempt to convince minors to change their religion.

If Shelanu is permitted to continue broadcasting in Israel, it will not be the first channel to carry Christian content. Daystar and Middle East Television also provide Christian programming. However, Shelanu would be the first to do so in Hebrew, and to openly push a missionary agenda.

Kehila.org, an organization working to promote Christianity as “Messianic Judaism” in Israel, quoted Simpson praising the new network as a “historic and unprecedented media opportunity” enabling missionaries to “take the message of Yeshua our Messiah to all of Israel 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Quoted by GOD TV in an article posted to its website in January, Asher Intrater of Revive Israel Ministries—an organization which runs Christian activities geared toward Hebrew speakers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—said, “As Messianic believers in the Land, we want to see all Israel saved. The media is one of the most powerful methods to achieve this. We’ve tried for years to make this happen. Now that a major media platform has opened to us, this is a special opportunity to reach our people.”

“When they realise Yeshua is one of us, that He is a native Israeli, all of a sudden the opposition goes away,” Intrater added. “Shelanu is not an import coming from outside. It’s us speaking from the inside, sharing to our people, heart to heart.”

On April 29, GOD TV posted an additional article to its website, quoting an unnamed station manager as saying, “We received the platform of HOT as a gift from GOD TV but now it is our obligation as believers to produce relevant and dynamic content that will grab the attention of the Israeli people and open their eyes to the truth of their Messiah, Yeshua.”

However, anti-missionary groups and government officials tracking the story have expressed outrage that the Israeli government allowed Shelanu to broadcast in the Jewish state, and have vowed to work to shut it down.

“It is the very nature of Christian missionaries to be deceptive in their tactics. I would assume this to be the case in their obtaining a license for such a channel,” said Shannon Nuszen, a former evangelical missionary who subsequently left the movement and converted to Judaism and pro-Israel work. “How this received government approval is beyond me, and hopefully [it was] a mistake that will be rectified immediately.”

Israeli Communications Minister David Amsalem issued a response and tweet in which he assured the public that “we will not allow any missionary channel to operate in Israel, at no time, and not under any circumstances.”

Though the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council is under his ministry’s authority, he said that “from the moment that I learned about this case, I turned immediately to the director of the commission, requesting a thorough investigation of the issue, and asked to make sure that no channel will break the parameters of its license, and that if indeed this channel does missionary work, it be removed immediately.”

Amsalem vowed not to allow “unfair influence” on Israeli viewers.

“On the face of it, this is a bungle, and as communications minister of the State of Israel, I will not allow an unfair influence of religious broadcasting on viewers in Israel,” he said.

Attempts to visit the Shelanu website Tuesday afternoon appeared to indicate that the site had been taken down or hidden. Videos of Simpson discussing Shelanu which had been uploaded to YouTube had been set to private.

I'm not a fan of "Christian" television; it's dominated by charismaniacs, dominionists, heretics, and charlatans. I've never watched GOD TV, but it comes as no surprise to this blogger that a quick glance at their website shows me that I haven't missed anything worthwhile. The network's programming includes the usual suspects, such as ear-splitting noise masquerading as "worship"; promotion of New Apostolic Reformation "prophets"; Sid Roth; Hillsong Church; and "anointed" Bishop John Francis of Ruach City Church in England conducting a fawning interview with false teacher Bishop T.D. Jakes. As someone who wants true Christian doctrine to be proclaimed in Israel, I won't protest if Shelanu ends up being banned in that country.

May 31, 2020 update: Jewish leaders in Israel and leaders of "Christian" ministries have responded to the beginning of GOD TV's broadcasting in Israel; as reported by Rivkah Lambert Adler of Breaking Israel News, May 10, 2020 (bold, links in original):

In the midst of the controversy over God TV’s plan to broadcast evangelical messages in Hebrew on Israeli cable television, Breaking Israel News asked a number of Christian and Jewish leaders to weigh in.

Their comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Christian Leaders

Pastor Mark Biltz, El Shaddai Ministries

I am a firm believer in the Bible and in the God of Israel as revealed in the Scriptures. It was to the Jewish people that Hashem gave all the covenants.

Christianity is full of replacement theology – replacing the Biblical feasts and Sabbaths with pagan holidays, replacing the Levitical priesthood, replacing the seat of the throne of the Lord from Jerusalem to Rome, replacing the Biblical Hebrew names with English names, [thus] losing their meanings. It can’t get much more replacement than that.

Christianity has much to learn from the Jewish people about the God of Israel and the Biblical narrative. The agreement between God TV and whoever it was in Israel that made the contract, was that there would be no programming that would wield “undo influence” over the viewers. The sole purpose of the programming is to have a very strong influence over the viewers, to alter their belief system.

I can see how strong Jews who are strongly Zionist as well would be very upset by a TV station supported by Christion Zionists in order to proselytize the Jewish people who are less knowledgeable, or less religious, and how they would feel betrayed.

In every alliance, there are always boundaries or redlines that have to be drawn, and the depth of the relationship is based on the value placed on not crossing those boundaries. For Christianity to build a bridge requires great humility and a deep spirit of repentance and acknowledgement of the harm done. How much trust and value you place on those who are on the other side of the bridge will determine if the bridge is two-lane or a six-lane highway. Christianity, historically, has blown up every bridge built over the last 2,000 years and I hope that any bridge that is built between Christians and Jews will be built on baseless love.

Nathalie Blackham, Broadcaster, Israel First TV

The theology I was taught was that the Jews were wrong. See how God dealt harshly with them? We have Jesus now. We are the good guys. These are deep-seated views of many Christians, more or less.

Today I see things very differently.

Missionizing Jews is like replacing their Jewish belief with a Christian belief. It is saying that the covenant that God has with the Jewish people is not good enough. It is erasing their belief and saying that ours is better. It is degrading the Jews and taking away who they are.

So many Christians are totally ignorant. On my first trip to Israel, I realized that I thought I knew the Bible, but I knew nothing. We have the Bible in our hands because the Jews shared it with us. That’s why it’s so important for Christians to visit Israel.

The God TV move is detrimental for Jewish- Christian relationships. This is like the Crusaders, but with a smile!

We should build relationships between Christians and Jews based on the principles of mutual respect, learning from each other, leaving space for each other to grow and develop and sharing from the Torah.

John Enarson, Christian Relations Director Cry for Zion

Jewish-Christian relations should, above all, be based on mutual respect and openness.

My fellow Bible-believing Christian friends should know I am not speaking as a proponent of dual-covenant theology when I say: God TV’s new initiative is disrespectful, unwise, and I have strong disagreements with their theology and actions here. While folks at God TV might mean well, they are both harming the Jewish people as well as damaging Jewish-Christian relations. I honestly cringed when I first saw some adverts for the new channel, before it even made the news. God TV should reconsider their actions forthwith.

Lars Enarson, Author, Founder and President of The Watchman International

I came to Israel 23 years ago with a similar attitude. Thank God I have learned a few things since then.

I remember the very first week when I came here and I had taken my family for a vacation in Eilat to rest. A homeless person approached me on the beach. He was drunk and asked me very angrily, “What are you doing here?” I was surprised and answered him that I am a Christian who loves Israel and I have come here to pray for the country.

He said, “Do you think we Jews don’t know how to pray? We don’t need you here. Do you know the names of the first five books in the Bible in Hebrew?” I said, “No I don’t.” “You don’t even know this? We don’t want you here. Please go back where you came from!” No doubt this drunkard scored a point.

Since then I have learned so much from the Jewish people here in Israel that I am so extremely thankful for and I now try to educate Christians around the world about what I have learned. Today I read the Bible in a very different way.

My view is that people who do not speak with respect for Judaism have no business being on Israeli television.

Bob O’Dell, Co-founder of Root Source

I wonder how many donors consider that when they fund some of these Christian efforts towards Israel, they are unwittingly funding a combative posturing that disrespects millions of God-fearing Jews at the same time? This posturing, turning “the roots of our faith,” into “the enemies of our faith” is acceptable to some Christians, but not to me.

I thank God that there are many emerging efforts by Christians to turn the hearts of more Christians to Israel and the Jewish people with just respect, love and honor, and to experience the life and joy of sharing the passages Hebrew Bible together, only for the sake of learning, love and joy.

Never before have so many Christians interacted directly with Orthodox Jews in Israel to study the Bible, and never before have this many Christians, inside and outside of Israel, begun to speak out that they find the evangelistic posturing of some of their Christian brethren towards Israel distasteful.

Tommy Waller, Founder and President HaYovel

Missionizing or converting others to Christianity, whose majority identifies with a supersessionist [replacement theology] belief, has been historically devastating to one people – the Jews. The problem with replacement theology is that it empowered the Christian to “save the Jew from hell,” but then after Jewish rejection placed themselves as God and created a hell on earth. This disturbing history, unfortunately, is not taught in our churches today. As a Christian myself, the revelation of this treatment of Jews has brought great shame.

For the Jews, the Torah has marked and kept their identity for well over 3,000 years. It sets them apart from the other peoples and nations of the world. The idea of bringing the “Gospel to the Jews” in their own language is actually an all-out assault against the Jew’s God-given identity.

It will be difficult for most Christian organizations, especially in Israel, to stand against those who seek to steal Jewish identity, in this case, God TV. The fact that a Christian television network would actually try to prove Jewish persecution of Christians is deplorable. One visit to Yad Vashem should greatly offend any right-minded person.

Christianity needs to support the miracle God is doing with the people He chose in the land He chose. As a Christian, I believe strongly that the Apostles and Prophets and Jesus himself would be horrified at the actions done by those who claim to follow him. Honestly, I believe there should be a cable Christian channel in Israel with 24/7 programming where one Christian after another repents for all that has been done to the Jews over the last 2,000 years at the hands of Christians.

Steve Wearp, Founder Blessed Buy Israel

I’m really sorry that there’s a group out there that is trying to preach to the Jewish people with an agenda that was just exposed – the God TV channel. I’m just ashamed to have my name affiliated with that, or have any affiliation with it.

I wanted to say I’m really sorry there are people that are still out there that do not understand that coming to the Jewish people with hidden agendas and to try to tear them away from what God has set before them to accomplish. I want you to know that not all of us are like that.

I pray one day there will be a great distinction or a great awakening in the Christian community as to Israel’s place, and this anti-Semitic replacement theology will be destroyed once and for all. It’s a scourge and I will not stand for it. And I’m not going to let anything like this destroy what what Hashem is building between our two communities

I’m really proud of walking with you guys. And the offense, it just hurts us. It’s why we’re doing what we’re doing, why we’re trying to rebuild trust, honesty, integrity, and remove this scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic teachings, doctrines, philosophies in the church and expose it for what it is.

Jewish Leaders

Rabbi Ari Abramowitz Host The Land of Israel Network

Many Jews would understandably seek to dodge this issue altogether in order not to put our Christian friends in an uncomfortable position of needing to take a public stand on this, but this is when we find out who our friends really are.

This impulse to missionize, which may or may not be well-intentioned, is arrogance and an act of hostility. Watching that video, I felt a mixture of anger and compassion. Anger that this haughty man who is preying on Jewish souls believes that he knows more than generations of the sages of Israel who have dedicated their lives to immersing themselves in the words of the Bible in its original Hebrew, and compassion that he is depriving himself of the uniquely uplifting experience of growth and revelation because he is so focused on removing the scales over everyone else’s eyes, that he will be stuck with the veils over his own.

Countless Jews have been burned at the stake rather than accept missionizing for generations. And now he comes into our homes in our own land with the same sinister plot?

There is so much beauty and friendship being nurtured between the Jewish and Christian worlds. Why tear it all down by reverting to this toxic replacement theology?

Sondra Baras, Founder and Director Christian Friends of Israeli Communities

From the very beginning, when I first started Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, my relationships with Christians were based on mutual respect and on a clear understanding that we, as Jews, would not try to convert Christians to Judaism and our Christian friends would not evangelize Jews. My Christian colleagues in leadership at CFOIC Heartland are committed to this understanding as well. It is fundamental to our ability to work together.

One of the things we’ve been doing is trying to get Christians to understand how offensive evangelizing is to us, because many of them have been taught since childhood that Jews have just been waiting to be saved. They have no idea that we are very comfortable with who we are.

Unfortunately, there are still some people who don’t understand this or don’t want to understand this. I will have nothing to do with people or organizations who insist on evangelizing Jews. That is our red line.

Yishai Fleisher, International Spokesperson for The Jewish Community of Hebron

Yishai Fleisher 🕎 ישי פליישר
✔
@YishaiFleisher
The folks at @GODTV keep putting their foot in their mouth because they are simply say the truth - they want to convert Jews! (But the real question is why the Israeli regulator missed this effort to have a missionary channel, and why other ones already exist, on Israeli cable?) https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/status/1259455913770889217 …

Haaretz.com
✔
@haaretzcom
God TV responds to critics: ‘We’re not trying to convert Jews; we just want them to accept Jesus as the messiah’ https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-god-tv-to-critics-not-trying-to-convert-jews-just-want-them-to-accept-jesus-1.8834815?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter …

31
7:31 AM - May 10, 2020
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I believe in the Christian-Jewish alliance. I am grateful for friends who share a love of the Bible and allies who stand up for Israel from Balfour to Mike Pence. But alliances need clear boundaries. Missionizing Jews is wrong. God TV in Israel is wrong and will be stopped.

David Ha’Ivri, Religious Zionist leader, writer, and speaker

I don’t approve of proselytizing Jews. Christians who want to turn Jews into Christians are not, I repeat, are not friends of Israel.
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Convincing #Jews to accept Jesus as the messiah is the very core goal of missionary proselytizing. We strongly object to this type of activity, and that is how and why Jews have survived as a nation and preserved our ancient faith. https://twitter.com/FleurHassanN/status/1259456317997154305 …

פלר חסן נחום Fleur Hassan-Nahoum
@FleurHassanN
God TV responds to critics: We’re not trying to convert Jews; we just want them to accept Jesus as the messiah: reminds me of when people say we don’t hate Jews we just don’t believe they should have the right to self determination like everyone else https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-god-tv-to-critics-not-trying-to-convert-jews-just-want-them-to-accept-jesus-1.8834815 …

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9:14 AM - May 10, 2020

Yisrael Medad, Author, Blogger and Activist

The point is that Jews, especially due to our history, view attempts at conversion as a total attempt to erase us, our history, our values, our teachings and our ethics as if they are worth literally nothing.

This station assumes, as its base, a Jews-for-Jesus type approach and we suspect it fooled the Cable Broadcast Council in its application for a license. Over-the-air programming allows them to circumvent the prohibition [against] proselytizing minors.

In relations between Jews and Christians, I would prefer it be based on simple mutual respect. ‘I like and appreciate you for who you are and you do the same.’

Rabbi Yehuda Glick, President Shalom Jerusalem Foundation

What God TV did is actually declaring war against the Jewish people – nothing less! We are different, we hold diverse perspectives and we have to respect this. Pulling the carpet from under our feet is something we cannot and will not accept and totally refuse to even consider.

At the same time we believe that working together is part of our faith as well as the faith of anyone faithful to the Bible.

As reported by Breaking Israel News, May 12, 2020 (links inserted by blogger):

TENNESSEE (5/11/2020) – Laurie Cardoza-Moore has called on the Israeli government to ban GOD TV from broadcasting programs focused on converting Jews to Christianity. Cardoza-Moore is the founder of Proclaiming Justice to The Nations and host of the award-winning Evangelical Christian television program Focus On Israel which formerly aired globally on GOD TV and is currently syndicated on tens of other Christian channels reaching a weekly audience of billions. The statement comes after GOD TV announced that they have received special permission from the Israeli government to proselytize Jews in Hebrew on Israeli cable TV.

“I have written to the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Communications Minister David Amsalem and the Director of the Government Press Office Nitzan Chen calling on them to ban GOD TV from airing missionary content focused at converting Jews to Christianity. At a time when global antisemitism is engulfing the world, GOD TV should be using its platform to teach Christians about their biblical responsibility to stand with our Jewish brethren and the State of Israel. Instead, they have chosen to stand on the wrong side of history, empowering the anti-Semites,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations.

Cardoza-Moore continued: “Unfortunately, because of biblical illiteracy, we are seeing a rise of antisemitism again in Christianity. Christians have adopted false doctrines and traditions known as “Replacement Theology” and “Supersessionism” that has mobilized the Amaleks of history. These false doctrines are what fuel the desire to force unbiblical principles on our Jewish brethren. God TV should be encouraging Christians to repent of the history of Christian arrogance and ignorance that has incited some of the worst antisemitic incidents in history, including the pogroms, the Inquisition, and more recently, the Holocaust. Instead, they should ask their Jewish brethren to teach them the Torah as was stated by the prophets.”

Putting things into a historical perspective Cardoza-Moore said: “Unfortunately, Christian history is replete with examples of Christians forcing their doctrinal views on Jews; either through torture, or, with a disingenuous smile. As a descendant of Sephardic Jewish ancestry, I have studied the implications of where this type of ideology can lead. My ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the period of the Spanish Inquisition. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella blamed corruption in the Catholic Church on the Jews. In order to survive that dark period in history, they were forced to convert. For 500 years since they hid their identity from generation to generation only to disclose the hidden truth upon the matriarch’s or the patriarch’s passing. They were known as Conversos. Conversos were blamed for plagues, accused of poisoning wells and kidnapping Christian boys for their blood. Many of the Conversos were tortured or burned at the stake to test the authenticity of their conversion.”

Cardoza-Moore concluded: “In recent decades, millions of Christians have felt the call to stand with the State of Israel and the Jewish people with no hidden agenda. Our only mandate to the Jewish people is to love and support them because they are God’s chosen people. Any attempts to convert Jews or downgrade their religion will only sow undue hatred at a time when we should unite in the face of darkness.”

The common thread running through these objections to GOD TV isn't so much that GOD TV is evangelizing with false teachings as that GOD TV seeks to evangelize Jews at all. I recommend that the reader click the links to the ministries mentioned above, especially those that claim to be Christian. They all advocate for the state of Israel--and I generally support their pro-Israel positions--but they don't advocate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're opposed to evangelizing Jews, but they seem to be in favour of Judaizing Gentile Christians.

It's heresy for "Christians" to talk about our "Jewish brethren" when they're talking about Jews who don't have saving faith in Jesus Christ. The only basis on which Gentiles and Jews can be brothers is that of faith in the work of Jesus on the cross to break down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles:

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22

I take great offense at the idea that Gentiles who have a relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (see, e.g., Galatians 3:26) have to learn about God from Jews who don't know Jesus. Such a view contradicts the teaching of the apostle Paul, who had impeccable Jewish credentials at the time he was persecuting the early Christians:

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. Acts 22:3

And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. Galatians 1:14

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:6

Here's what Paul, as an apostle, had to say to Gentile Christians about the religious attitude of his fellow Jews:

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Romans 10:1-2

They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. Galatians 4:17

Some of the leaders of these ministries have redefined "replacement theology," which is properly understood as the unbiblical teaching that the church has replaced the nation of Israel. Some of the ministry leaders quoted above now define "replacement theology" as the replacement of Judaism by Christianity. In fact, the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament, and is better (see, e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Lars Enarson says that "people who do not speak with respect for Judaism have no business being on Israeli television." I don't know if the Lord Jesus Christ would want to appear on Israel television, but Mr. Enarson would bar him from Israeli television, because He had nothing good to say to or about the Jewish leaders and the Judaism that was practiced in His day. Among other negative comments, He quoted Isaiah 29:13 to them:

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:7

Not only do I warn against GOD TV and its false teachers and doctrines, but I warn against "Christian" ministries that advocate for the state of Israel but don't proclaim Christ. If you support them, you're supporting organizations that are denying the divinely-inspired words of the apostle Paul:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

June 29, 2020 update: As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, June 30, 2020:

ShelanuTV is the branch of the global evangelical Christian media network GodTV focused on proselytizing to Jewish Israelis. It began broadcasting on the HOT cable network at the end of April after it received a license from the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting earlier this year. This move was decried by many Israelis.

Proselytizing, seeking to convert people to another religion, is not illegal in Israel, although the law prevents proselytizing to minors without their parents’ presence or consent, and promising any monetary or material compensation for converting to another religion.

The Israeli broadcasting council informed HOT last week that the license had been suspended because GodTV’s programming targeted Jews and not Christians in Israel, as the license request had specified.

“A channel which seeks to address the Jewish people which dwell in Israel [and present it with] the gospels of Jesus will never be broadcast on Hot and this was known to the senior officials of the channel, as was stated in the hearing,” Council chairman Asher Biton wrote to HOT.

Proselytizing, seeking to convert people to another religion, is not illegal in Israel, although the law prevents proselytizing to minors without their parents’ presence or consent, and promising any monetary or material compensation for converting to another religion.

The Israeli broadcasting council informed HOT last week that the license had been suspended because GodTV’s programming targeted Jews and not Christians in Israel, as the license request had specified.

“A channel which seeks to address the Jewish people which dwell in Israel [and present it with] the gospels of Jesus will never be broadcast on Hot and this was known to the senior officials of the channel, as was stated in the hearing,” Council chairman Asher Biton wrote to HOT.

“The directors of the channel hope that the Council will approve the new request to broadcast the channel, and thereby avoid a severe diplomatic incident with hundreds of millions of Evangelical Christians who love and support Israel around the world,” Cantor said.

Mr. Berkowitz then offers his comments on the situation; it's interesting to note his shocked reaction to the opposition of professing Christians to evangelizing Jews:

I am very hesitant to comment on the GodTV issue. On one hand, I always advocate free speech. On the other hand, Christian proselytizing is one of the final, if not the final obstacle that stands between true brotherhood between Jews and Christians.

In the wake of GodTV beginning its broadcasts in Israel, I wrote an opinion article speaking out against Christian proselytizing Jews. The response shocked me. So many of my dear Christian friends came out against what GodTV is doing. I did not expect that at all. It represents the first time in the 2,000 year history of Jewish-Christian relations that Christians did not support efforts to convert Jews.

I did not ask how my friends were coping with the clear theological issues. My understanding is that Jesus told his followers to spread the word. When a Christian preaches to a Jew, it is an act of love (albeit an entirely unwanted and even harmful act of love). For Jews, preaching to non-Jews is essentially forbidden. Nonetheless, in the wake of GodTv’s efforts to target Israeli Jews, so many Christians rejected and even outrightly opposed this effort. I was stunned. Almost exclusively, my Christian friends have never proselytized to me even without my asking. When I was curious about a certain aspect of Christian theology, I have had to pressure them into providing information. The few who do proselytize, I have asked, though never demanded, to stop proselytizing to Jews. I compared it to offering candy to a diabetic: it is an unwanted act of love. Even if they persisted, I treasured their friendship.

I can only hope and pray that this is the beginning of a trend. It must come from inside Christianity and not as a demand by the Jews. It will require a paradigm shift and I hope that Jews can respond with a corresponding paradigm shift that will bring us to be a Light Unto the Nations and the caretakers of the House of Prayer for All Nations.

The true "final obstacle that stands between true brotherhood between Jews and Christians" is the refusal of most Jews, since the 1st century, to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ:

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; I Corinthians 1:23

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the only one who can break down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, and He has:

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 2:11-18

I pray that Mr. Berkowitz will put his trust in the One who has fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies.