Hindu nationalism raises concerns in New Jersey

While some people in the U.S.A.--especially those who want the country to continue on the secular road to destruction--are raising alarms about Christian nationalism, another form of religious nationalism is attracting concern--such are the "blessings" of multiculturalism. As reported by Hannan Adely of North Jersey Media Group, October 1, 2022 (links in original):

In his native India, Shaheen Khateeb said he was treated like an outsider, harassed at school and called “Turk” because of his Muslim faith. Hearing about cases of mob violence against Muslims, he decided to move to the U.S. in 1979.

Today, Khateeb, who lives in Washington Township, fears the tensions he left behind are bubbling up in Indian immigrant communities, including in New Jersey, where, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 420,000 people of Indian ancestry live.

In recent months, controversies have ensued over a divisive display at the India Day Parade in Edison, a scuttled speaking engagement in Ridgewood by a Hindu nationalist leader and a Teaneck committee resolution condemned by Hindu groups.

Khateeb said the tensions have strained friendships.

“We visited each other’s homes. We shared dinners. But not anymore,"he said. "What’s happening in India is happening here nowadays because social media news travels really very fast."

Muslim and human rights groups say tensions in the U.S. mirror what is happening abroad as a Hindu nationalist movement grows in India, spurring allegations of discrimination and hate crimes against minorities. But some Hindu leaders say that concerns about nationalist activity in the U.S. are exaggerated and that they are being unfairly vilified and maligned.

Raju Patel, president of the Jersey City Asian Merchants Association, said Indian immigrants are concerned about educating their children and being good citizens, and not the divisions that they left behind.

“People are making a fuss about all these things,” he said. “They are trying to bring those problems here to the U.S.”

Tensions are not new among religious communities in India, where Hindus make up about 80% of the population. But the movement known as Hindutva — a far-right ideology that promotes Hindu rule — has gained strength since Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, was elected in 2014. Indian right-wing websites and WhatsApp groups have fueled support for the movement in the U.S., said Audrey Truschke, an associate professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University.

What’s new about it is the ferocity of Hindu nationalism, how aggressive they are being and the negative impacts that is having on the Indian Muslim community and cross-community relations,” Truschke said.

Nationalist fervor couched in patriotism, ethnocentrism and anti-immigrant sentiment has risen around the globe. Often, there is a populist strongman at the helm and, in some cases, nationalist extremists have embraced violence to further their cause. These forces have shaped politics in countries like Brazil, Hungary and the U.S., where groups with an "America First" nationalist agenda stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to try to subvert the transfer of power.

In New Jersey, many Indian immigrants closely follow news from their native country, but in the past few months, they themselves have been a focus of news stories.

In August, the inclusion of a bulldozer at the India Day Parade in Edison sparked condemnations. In India, some view the bulldozer as a hate symbol for its use in razing homes and businesses to punish Muslim activists in India.

Earlier this month, activists protested a planned fundraiser with Hindu nationalist leader Sadhvi Rithambara at Old Paramus Reformed Church in Ridgewood, leading to its cancelation.

And last week, the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee passed a resolution calling for investigations of organizations in the U.S. with alleged ties to a Hindu nationalist paramilitary group. The resolution also called for politicians to reject campaign funds and support from these groups.

The Teaneck resolution sparked outcry from Hindu organizations, which issued a statement calling it a provocative and false act that demonizes the Hindu community and condemns groups that were not given a chance to respond. The backlash prompted Teaneck Mayor James Dunleavy to issue a statement saying the committee is not associated with the township, which has a nonpartisan form of government.

On Friday, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee took a stand against the resolution.

"A foundational goal of the Democratic Party is to bring people together, not to divide them, and the anti-Hindu Teaneck resolution does not accomplish this important goal," the committee wrote in a statement. "We stand with those who value inclusivity and diversity, and against hate and bigotry in any form."

In Edison and Teaneck, residents had heated exchanges over religion and nationalism at municipal meetings or expressed outrage in calls and emails, while urging local officials to take a stance.

Patel said the spate of incidents was due to misinformation and grudges. Nationalism to him meant pride in one's country, he said.

“Is it a crime to have Hindu nationalism? If I hurt somebody, then it’s a crime. In this country, free speech is for everything but some people won’t tolerate that free speech,” he said.

In Jersey City, he said, South Asian immigrants of different faiths continue to work and socialize with one another without problems.

Still, activists, including Khateeb, say the rise of the nationalist movement should not be ignored. Recent violent confrontations in the city of Leicester in England between groups of Hindu and Muslim men were a warning of how problems can escalate, he said. In Leicester, men with metal poles marched through streets chanting “Jai Shri Ram," a religious chant used as a rallying cry against Muslims. At the same time, a Hindu temple was vandalized.

“What happened in the United Kingdom was an eye opener,” he said. “What is happening is Hindutva forces are gathering. There is a massive amount of work being done behind the scenes.”

Survey of dubious accuracy finds that the young and educated support the role of religion in public life in Canada

The survey that's the subject of the following article was done online by people who were rewarded by points and prizes in exchange for participating, which leads this blogger to believe that it was done by people who were ticking off boxes as quickly as possible without necessarily having any knowledge of the subject. If you think the "old technology" telephone survey yields more accurate results, that isn't necessarily so, either; the Angus Reid company doesn't tell the public, but does tell prospective workers, that 70% of the people they call refuse to talk to them. For what it's worth, as reported by Joseph Brean of the National Post, November 23, 2018:

Proponents of religious faith in public life in Canada tend to be younger, more highly educated, and more likely to have voted Liberal, according to a new survey.

The counter-intuitive discovery puts the lie to the common impression that support for public religiosity in areas like health care, social services and education is driven by evangelical church goers and deeply observant, older, conservative “holy rollers,” said Angus Reid, chairman of Angus Reid Institute.

“What we find is exactly the opposite,” Reid said.

He said there is a “mythology” on the political left that says declining church attendance goes hand in hand with support for what he calls “uber-secularization” of society, or the “extinguishment of faith and religion from any portion of the public square.”

Not so, according to the report, Faith in the Public Square, done in partnership with Cardus, which describes itself as a non-partisan, faith-based think tank and registered charity dedicated to promoting a flourishing society.”

“The largest segment of Canadian society (at 37%), quite independent of whether they have any religious views or not, sees an important role for religious and faith groups across many dimensions of Canadian society. They strongly support religious freedom. They see religious and faith groups playing an important role in health, in social services, social justice issues. They believe that faith and religion are critical for the formation of citizenship and strong values,” Reid said in an interview. “There is a very significant segment that is alive and well and quite dug in, in many respects, on this question.”

When asked about how faith operates in their own lives, Canadians tend to break down roughly like this: 20% are atheist, 20% are religiously committed, 30% are privately faithful, and 30% are spiritually uncertain.

But the pie chart looks different when the emphasis shifts to the role faith should play in public life, this survey suggests. It found that there are more proponents of faith in the public square (at 37%) than there are opponents (32%) or those who are uncertain (32%).

The survey describes these groups using what it calls a Public Faith Index, based on responses to 17 questions.

Public faith is a topic of frequent and intense public debate, from niqabs and religious symbols in the public services in Quebec, to the funding of religious schools and the appropriateness of Christian prayers at local council meetings. In the past, it has coloured political debate on everything from abortion access to whether Canada should participate in war.

This survey sought to measure opinion on, for example, whether faith is good for citizenship, whether the tenets of various faiths should be taught in high schools, and whether politicians ought to be conversant in the basics of the various religions in Canada.

It found, for example, that 38% of Canadians thought religious and faith communities were making a positive contribution to health care, while 15% felt the contribution was negative. There were similar results for social justice causes, such as poverty and overseas development. But in social services, fully 51% thought the contribution was positive, and just 11% felt it was negative. In education, the numbers were more evenly split, 28% positive and 25% negative.

It also found deep divisions between the three segments. For example, 93% of public faith proponents agree that religious and faith communities strengthen Canadian values such as equality and human rights. But 81% of public faith opponents disagree with this proposition.

In education, a solid majority, 57%, of opponents thought the beliefs of the world’s major religions should not be taught public high schools, while 36% thought just the basics should be taught.

Another curious finding is that fully 25% of public faith proponents say they have never read a religious text.

A key caveat to the general conclusion about a strong segment of young, educated, Liberal proponents of public faith is the province of Quebec. For example, if you exclude Quebec, the percentage of Canadians who are proponents of public faith rises to 42%.

“Quebec, on any issue associated with religion or faith, is a totally distinct society,” Reid said.

The survey of 2,200 Canadians was conducted in early November, via the Angus Reid Forum, an online community in which people can participate in surveys in exchange for reward points and prizes. Because they were not randomly selected, a true margin of error cannot be calculated, but a randomized poll of similar size would have a margin of error of 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Former politician Michele Bachmann apologizes to Jews for saying they need to be evangelized

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17:29-30

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

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. I Corinthians 1:23-24

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 2:21

Here we go again, with yet another Christian grovelling before Jews, asking their forgiveness for the heinous crime of saying that they need to come to God through the blood of His son Jesus Christ. As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 14, 2018:

Michele Bachmann apologized in Israel for statements she previously made calling on Jews to convert to Christianity in order to help bring the End of Days.

Bachmann, a former congresswoman from Minnesota who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, said in 2015 that Christians need “to be faithful in the Kingdom and to help bring in as many as we can, even among the Jews — share Jesus Christ with everyone that we possibly can because, again, He’s coming soon.”

Bachmann made the comments during a radio interview in Israel while on a tour organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Bachmann apologized for that statement Sunday at a joint Jewish-Christian Bible study at the Knesset, held in honor of Jerusalem Day. She asked for “repentance from the Jewish people for the horrible and arrogant way Christians — myself included — treated and regarded the Jewish people.”

“I ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people for what it is that we have done,” said Bachmann. “I apologize profoundly and ask forgiveness from the Almighty God that these statements brought pain.”

The event was co-sponsored by the Knesset Caucus for the Encouragement of Bible Study, the Schindler Society and Israel365’s Yeshiva for the Nations, which aims to teach Torah to non-Jews. This was the third such Bible study and the first one to take place on Jerusalem Day.

As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 8, 2015 (links in original):

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann called for an intensified effort to convert Jews to Christianity.

Bachmann, a former congresswoman from Minnesota who ran for the Republican nod in 2012, was in Israel last week on a tour organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Toward the end of the week, she spoke on the council president’s radio program, “Washington Watch,” and discussed the meaning of the recent intensification of violence in Israel and the West Bank. She cast the violence as a signal of the return of Jesus, which would necessitate mass conversions.

“We recognize the shortness of the hour,” Bachmann said on the program hosted by Tony Perkins, “and that’s why we as a remnant want to be faithful in these days and do what it is that the Holy Spirit is speaking to each one of us, to be faithful in the Kingdom and to help bring in as many as we can — even among the Jews — share Jesus Christ with everyone that we possibly can because, again, He’s coming soon.”

The first to report Bachmann’s call was Right Wing Watch, a project of People for the American Way, a church-state separation advocacy group.

If Ms. Bachmann was of the view that Christians have to "convert" Jews en masse prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, she was mistaken. Conversion is God's work, not ours. If however, she meant that the gospel should be proclaimed to Jews, she was correct, and shouldn't have apologized. Ms. Bachmann's name has been linked with the dominionist New Apostolic Reformation at times, so I'm not sure exactly what she did mean. The gospel is "to the Jew first," and they need to come to God in the same way Gentiles do--through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross; it's not "arrogant" to proclaim that. As the above passage from Galatians says, if it's possible to come to God through keeping the law, then Christ died in vain.

I'm one Christian who's tired of Christians constantly apologizing to politically-correct groups, especially when they're apologizing for the alleged sins of other people. I'm always hearing that Jewish resistance to the gospel is the result of centuries of Christian anti-Semitism. That seemed a good explanation until it occurred to me (long after it should have, I must admit) that such a rationalization fails to explain Jewish opposition to Jesus Christ during His ministry, or Jewish persecution of Jewish believers in Christ and Jewish attempts to prevent Gentiles from coming to Christ in the 1st century, when there was no Gentile church around to persecute Jews. As the passage in I Corinthians 1 cited above says, He's a stumblingblock to the Jews.

A Bible study put on by the organizations mentioned in the article above is highly unlikely to acknowledge Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and the rest of the Old Testament, and Christians might want to reconsider their participation in such Bible studies. As the Lord Jesus Christ said:

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? John 5:45-47

50 years ago: Canada goes under permanent foreign occupation

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; Psalms 33:12a

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

I should have posted this a week ago, as April 20, 2018 marked 50 years since Pierre Elliott Trudeau succeeded Lester Pearson as Prime Minister of Canada, two weeks after winning the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. At the time he became Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, an ostensible Roman Catholic who was known for his secular humanist associations, was Justice Minister, supporting legislation to legalize abortion and homosexual acts. Just over a year later, both abominations had been legalized, signalling, as Pastor Perry F. Rockwood observed, that secular humanism and not the Bible was now to be the basis of Canadian law.

The country which is still officially known as Canada, but would be more accurately termed, as Mark Steyn put it, "Trudeaupia," is unrecognizable to anyone old enough (and this blogger is just barely old enough) to remember what it was like before Mr. Trudeau imposed his will from 1968-1984 (minus nine months from 1979-1980, when Prime Minister Joe Clark led a minority Progressive Conservative government). Trudeaupia, not a nation in any Biblical sense, has become increasingly godless over the past 50 years. The current regime, under Pierre's mentally and morally retarded pothead son Justin--who more closely resembles a bumbling character in a situation comedy than a Prime Minister--is the most evil and anti-Christian in the country's history, with examples too numerous to mention here.

The one thing I'll say on behalf of Justin Trudeau is that he's managed to do what I believed impossible: he has me thinking positive thoughts about Pierre Trudeau. While Pierre Trudeau's government legalized abortion, he didn't interfere in local ridings to overturn nominations of pro-life Liberal candidates, or refuse to grant charitable status to organizations that disagreed with his position, as Justin Trudeau has done. While Pierre Trudeau's government legalized homosexual acts, he didn't think it necessary to issue an apology by the government to those who had been dismissed as security risks in earlier days because of homosexual behaviour, as Justin Trudeau has done (echoed by "Conservative" Party "leader" Andrew Scheer). Justin not only tolerates no dissent within the Liberal Party--which as far back as February 1976 was referred to by former PC Prime Minister John Diefenbaker as "no longer the Liberal Party; it's the Trudeau Party"--but he seems intent on banning all dissenting views within the entire country.

For a crash course on when and where Canada went wrong, I recommend the first two chapters of Lubor Zink's book Trudeaucracy (1972), which may be hard to find, but is worth the effort. Readers with access to university libraries should examine Mr. Zink's columns in the Toronto Telegram from the first four months of 1968; they'll tell you everything you need to know. Mr. Zink's later columns in the Toronto Sun and his book Viva Chairman Pierre (1977) are also must reading. Here's an excerpt from Mr. Zink's column in the Telegram, April 5, 1968, the day before Pierre Trudeau captured the Liberal leadership:

Talking to delegates I find that most of those who support Trudeau cannot explain what attracts them to the man. Their commitment, bordering often on hero-worship, is largely emotional. Those who oppose him, recall that only five years ago Mr. Trudeau derided the Liberal Party as a bunch of idiots, campaigned for the New Democrats, and "preached socialism."

And from April 8, 1968:

When it was all over, I listened for comment amid the roar of Trudeau worshippers.
A delegate from Quebec said: "Good-bye Canada."
A Soviet delegate said: "Excellent choice. Trudeau will make Canada progressive."
A Cabinet minister muttered: "The Seven Days boys are in charge now."
A woman, taking off her delegate’s badge, said: This isn’t my party any more. God help us all."

Indeed, God help us all.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to deliver keynote address at 2018 commencement of Liberty University

Liberty University founder Rev. Jerry Fatwhale Falwell, Sr. must be rolling over in his grave at the thought of the increasingly liberal direction taken by his son Jerry, Jr. as his successor. Submitted for your approval, the following item, as reported by Liberty University News Service, February 22, 2018 (links in original):

Liberty University is proud to announce that former President Jimmy Carter will deliver the keynote address at Commencement on Saturday, May 19, 2018. It will be Liberty’s 45th Commencement and will include the College of Osteopathic Medicine's inaugural graduating class.

The university has previously hosted two other U.S. presidents for Commencement, both while still in office. George H. W. Bush spoke at the May 13, 1990, graduation. President Donald J. Trump spoke to the largest crowd ever assembled for an event in Lynchburg, Va.’s, history last year.

President Falwell said, "I did not meet President and Mrs. Carter until early last year. I was so impressed with the president’s warmth, kind demeanor, and humility. It is one of the greatest honors of my life to welcome President Carter to our Commencement stage. I have tremendous respect for him as a statesman and a true Christian. While Christians may disagree about what role government should play in serving those in need, the Liberty University community along with all Christians worldwide are united in the belief that we, as individuals, should provide food and shelter to the poor. President Carter, both during his time in office and since, has followed the teachings of Christ by serving the poor and loving his neighbors. I am thrilled that he will be sharing the story of his life of faith in action to our graduates and their families.”

Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Since leaving office, Carter has written 31 books and has been a key supporter and advocate for Habitat for Humanity. In 1982, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, established The Carter Center, a non-profit organization focused on resolving conflict; advancing democracy and human rights; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care.

“I am pleased to speak at Liberty University’s Commencement,” Carter said. “I look forward to reaching out to this young generation of future leaders. I hope to inspire them as so many have inspired me throughout my life.”

About 18,000 graduates from across the nation will be receiving degrees from both residential and online programs. Liberty’s 2017 Commencement brought about 50,000 people to Williams Stadium, breaking all attendance records for events at Liberty and in Lynchburg.

Liberty consistently brings notable and popular speakers to campus who have made their mark in politics, business, entertainment, faith and more. Previous speakers include: President Donald J. Trump, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mitt Romney, Secretary of HUD Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Steph Curry, Chuck Norris, Ben Stein, Shannon Bream, Mel Gibson, and Rashad Jennings.

The perceptive reader will notice the large number of non-Christians among those listed in the paragraph above; Jimmy Carter, with a long record of denial of clear scriptural truths, definitely deserves to be listed among them. Jerry Falwell, Jr. apparently wasn't paying attention to his father's activities, and apparently isn't aware of Mr. Carter's liberalism.

The announcement of Mr. Carter's appearance at Liberty University is attracting some criticism by pro-Israel advocates, as reported by Alex Traiman of Breaking Israel News, March 25, 2018 (bold, links in original):

Just days after U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to inaugurate America’s embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on May 14, a former president with a less than stellar record on supporting Israel will address commencement at Liberty University, America’s premier evangelical college.

The speech by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to future evangelical leaders is noteworthy due to his controversial accusations that Israel is an apartheid state, coupled with a longstanding feud between Carter and the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., Liberty University’s founder and first president. The school is now run by Falwell’s son, Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr.

“This invitation is a slap in the face to Reverend Jerry Falwell Sr. and to all the evangelical Christians who support Israel,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, host of the Focus on Israel television program on Daystar, and founder and president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, an organization that urges Christians “to stand with their Jewish brethren and all Israel against the rise of anti-Semitism.”

In a letter sent to Falwell Jr. urging the university to cancel the lecture, Cardoza-Moore wrote: “Over and over, [Carter] has proven himself to be anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, and is not worthy to speak to the distinguished graduates of Liberty University, or their families. What kind of message does this send our future Christian leaders?”

Declining support for Israel among millennials

“With recent polls indicating a plummet among young evangelicals, the last thing we need is someone like Jimmy Carter promoting anti-Israel rhetoric to students at a leading Christian university,” Cardoza-Moore told JNS. “His anti-Israel rhetoric would be more welcome in a university in Tehran. He is promoting an agenda vis-à-vis Israel that is anti-biblical.”

While polls have indicated that support for Israel remains high across the United States as a whole, it’s waning among certain key segments, including millennials. As a group, they tend to be less connected to faith and see Israel only through the lens of the Oslo peace process, which for 25 years has failed to bring a negotiated peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. Millennials think that because of the accords, Israelis were supposed to make peace and create a state for the Palestinians; it didn’t work out that way, and so they perceive Israel as occupier. Their parents remember Israel’s struggle just to survive—the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973—and view Israel in a very different light.

The declining support among millennials is equally prevalent among evangelical Christians, a segment in American society whose adult members exhibit the greatest support for the Jewish state nationwide, raising concern for the support of Israel in years to come.

“Some recent surveys have shown what we have known for some time—namely, that many millennials are less supportive of Israel than prior generations. This is even true among some Christian millennials,” said Cindy Matthews, director of External Affairs of Covenant Journey, an experiential trip to Israel for Christian college students that teaches participants how to advocate for Israel.

“We have found that the millennial generation is less grounded in worldview and Christian faith. The more they move away from their Christian faith, the more they disconnect with Israel,” Matthews told JNS.

According to Cardoza-Moore, students at an evangelical Christian university should be fully connected to their faith and be receiving a fully pro-Israel education. “Why should Christian parents send their children to a Christian university when they can get the same anti-Israel rhetoric at universities like Berkeley?” posed Cardoza-Moore. “We are now seeing Christian colleges following the dangerous trends of secular universities.”

Cardoza-Moore suggests that support for Israel among evangelicals benefits Christians as much as Jews. “Yes, Israel needs the support of the evangelical community, but the Church needs it even more,” she said. “As scripture writes in the book of Genesis, ‘Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.’”

Politics or poverty?

In a statement announcing Carter’s upcoming address, Falwell Jr. wrote: “While Christians may disagree about what role government should play in serving those in need, the Liberty University community, along with all Christians worldwide, are united in the belief that we, as individuals, should provide food and shelter to the poor.” He commended Carter for “serving the poor and loving his neighbors,” and said “I am thrilled that he will be sharing the story of his life of faith in action to our graduates and their families.”

According to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews—an organization that works to promote understanding between Christians and Jews, and build broad support for Israel, as well as provides humanitarian aid to Jews around the world—the invitation of Carter to Liberty University is “not as crazy as it may seem, or offensive.”

In addition to hosting Trump in 2017 and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush in 1991, Eckstein acknowledged that “they’ve invited former presidents, and given that Carter is a past president and identifiably evangelical, and his commitment to helping the poor which is the common ground of their evangelicalism, it’s a reasonable choice.”

“They are not choosing him because of his views on Israel, so I think it’s a non-issue regarding the impact on the next generation,” Eckstein told JNS. “Now if Carter makes outrageous anti-Israel comments in his speech—which I seriously doubt—then it would be an issue.”

The perceptive reader will also notice that Jerry Falwell, Jr. seems to regard people as Christians on the basis of their alleged good works, rather than on whether their doctrine is sound, despite the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ warned in Matthew 7:21-23 that there will be those who will call Him Lord and claim to have done many wonderful works in His name who were in fact the workers of iniquity. Mr. Carter may be "identifiably evangelical," but that may say more about the increasingly liberal direction of evangelicalism than it says about Mr. Carter. For example the "evangelical" Jimmy Carter has been outspoken in his rejection of the teaching in the epistles of Paul in regard to the matter of women being prohibited from leadership positions in the church. I suggest that the leaders of Liberty University should check out what people actually believe before acclaiming them as "Christians."

See my previous posts:

Libertine University (May 9, 2009)

Look who Liberty University's commencement speakers are for 2010 (April 24, 2010)

Adulterer and New Ager-turned Roman Catholic Newt Gingrich to speak at The Awakening 2011 conference at Liberty University in April (March 15, 2011)

Liberty University (and another "Christian" school) stage a work by Jesus Christ Superstar composer (March 24, 2011)

Liberty University has Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin as a guest speaker--after he's been exposed as a Jesuit (March 14, 2012)