Addressing policymakers at home and abroad, American evangelical Christian leaders responded Wednesday to the attacks on Israel by Hamas by issuing a letter calling for moral clarity, both supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and proclaiming the need to protect the lives of innocent civilians.
“In the wake of the evil and indefensible atrocities now committed against the people of Israel by Hamas, we, the undersigned, unequivocally condemn the violence against the vulnerable, fully support Israel’s right and duty to defend itself against further attack, and urgently call all Christians to pray for the salvation and peace of the people of Israel and Palestine,” the letter reads.
The letter, signed by 60 institutional leaders, will be delivered to the White House, Congress and leaders at the United Nations, said Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which helped organize the letter.
In a phone interview, Leatherwood said the letter was prompted by what he said were responses to attacks on Israel that drew “false equivalence” between the attacks by Hamas, a group identified by the United States as a terrorist group, and the actions of Israel’s military.
“It is time for clear-eyed thinking and moral certainty,” he said.
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SBC officials are strongly represented among the signers, including the denomination’s president, Texas pastor Bart Barber, as well as SBC seminary presidents Al Mohler, Danny Akin, Jason Allen and David Dockery, and several SBC state convention leaders. Other signers are the president of Awana, a popular children’s ministry, and several Christian college presidents.
Two former ERLC presidents — Russell Moore, now editor of Christianity Today, and Richard Land, now executive editor of the Christian Post website, also signed the letter.
The letter draws on the Christian justification for war known as just war theory to support Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks.
The letter also ties the current violence to past attacks on Jews and Israel.
“Since the inception of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Israel has faced numerous attacks, incursions, and violations of its national sovereignty,” the letter reads. “The Jewish people have long endured genocidal attempts to eradicate them and to destroy the Jewish state. These antisemitic, deadly ideologies and terrorist actions must be opposed.”
Leatherwood said that just war theory clarifies Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks but also puts limits on the response to those attacks. Leatherwood said the letter’s signers are concerned about civilians who will be harmed in the current war in Israel.
“Our concern first and foremost for innocent, vulnerable individuals in Israel and throughout the region that are caught in the middle of this,” he said. “It is a war that is not of their choosing.”
Leatherwood said organizing the letter is part of the ERLC’s broader mission of “protecting the vulnerable.” That mission, he said, has become even more important to him in recent months — earlier this year, the school in Nashville, Tennessee, that his children attend was the site of a mass shooting in which three students and three adults were killed. That shooting led Leatherman to push for gun violence reforms.
“The Lord has taught me to continually have an eye out for vulnerable individuals in a number of different contexts,” he said.
Evangelical Christians are among the staunchest supporters of the state of Israel. The ERLC cited a 2017 study of evangelical attitudes toward Israel from Lifeway Research, an evangelical firm, that found that 73% of those polled supported Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks.
Dan Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the letter’s signers, was encouraged to see evangelical leaders speak out for Israel. He also said that evangelicals are concerned about Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who will be harmed by the war.
He said there is no justification for the “atrocities inflicted on innocent Jewish people by Hamas.”
“The geopolitics of the region are complex,” he said. “Condemning what we are seeing from Hamas is not complex.”
Leatherwood drew a distinction between Palestinians, who include a number of his fellow Christians, and the actions of Hamas.
“Hamas is the enemy, not innocent civilians,” he said.
Bob Smietana is a national reporter for Religion News Service.
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44 Responses
and who will pray for the Christians in Palestine that have no voice or choice to be in their situation. I pray for the children possibly asking their parents “why is this happening and is God mad at us”? I have read many times that most of the Palestinians would prefer to not be under Hamas control. Why haven’t our borders opened for them?
Palestinians voted for Hamas leadership. Elections do have consequences. Hamas has had a “dead baby” strategy for years. Why didn’t Christians who “prefer to not be under Hamas control” get out a long time ago? https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/hamas-dead-baby-strategy/
Daniel, they didn’t know how bad they turned out. like the Germans who voted Hitler. and by the time they figured it out too late. Just look at people voting for Biden.
I am typically irritated when commentors bring Trump or Biden into these comment strings. However, since Biden voters are denigrated in this one: please allow me, a Trump voter, to point out that Biden and his administration’s response to this massacre of Israeli babies and elderly citizens is FAR SUPERIOR to Trump’s calling Hamas smart and running down Netanyahu.
If memory serves, the offense that caused Trump’s grudge against Netanyahu was his calling to congratulate Biden for winning the 2020 election Is the man I thought should be running this country so petty as to insult Netanyahu for that at a time such as this?
Who knows but that it was for such a time as this…?
Trump appears to be a petty man who thinks everything is about him.
So now we are comparing voting for Biden to voting for Hitler? Sigh. I can’t.
Nice try. But point is Biden is a disaster that we seem to not be able to get rid of. Or open borders and pedophiles teachers is a good thing to you? Reminder may 2016. Obama had letters sent to every school district stating if you don’t let students use the bathrooms they identify with, you will loose your funding. Google it.
Gary –
Nice try. I understand there is nuance when it comes to our nation’s challenges with immigration and LGBTQIA+ policies. They need an overhaul, and there are a lot of gray areas to consider in doing so. So please don’t make “so you believe (insert hyperbolic stance here)” accusations; it COMPLETELY undermines your argument – right along with comparing the support of people using certain bathrooms to the support of the mass genocide of Jews.
I cannot believe I had to say that.
Gary, not so with the Germans or the Palestinians. They did know what they were getting and didn’t think about it ending badly because all they were thinking about was NOW. Maybe they didn’t have the prescience to see how far it would go, but Mein Kampf and Hamas’ Charter warned them and were available to anyone who cared. Hamas’ reputation preceded them. Anyone who voted for Trump or Biden knew what they were getting. It was no secret. People vote out of self-interest. When things go badly for their choices, they want to offer excuses and shift the blame.
Turns out that the right wingers within Israeli politics “voted” for Hamas too by supporting them so that there would be instability and division within Palestinian civil leadership and politics.
Christians – those who acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus and who endeavor to live gracious and peaceful lives – need to be spiritually discerning and astute at the best of time, let alone when the lives of men, women and children are at stake.
“In all my work with the defendants, I have come to the conclusion that evil is the absence of empathy. The incapacity to feel with one’s fellow man.” Captain Gustave Gilbert, Psychologist assigned to defendants at the 1945/46 Nuremberg trials and who was of Jewish heritage.
and those “evangelicals” are owned by the government of israel and the israeli lobby, they are following satan in thier support of the genocide now taking place in gaza where 2.2 million palastianians are being denied water, food, electricity by israel, this is a war crime under international law and is an abomination before the lord Jesus christ. YES, those israelis killed by hamas was terrorism, but hamas is NOT the 2.2 million palastianians in gaza!. in war you do NOT have a right to commit genocide by denying anyone water, food. the Lord Jesus christ will judge these false christiand who support this this evil and the nation of israel. weapons and money will not protect you when you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ after you die. Im a evangelical who does NOT support israel or hamas.
Genesis 16:12 says, (about these people)“Behold, you are pregnantand shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” These people are ordained by God’s to be savages. Isaiah 45:7 (referring to God) “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.” God (not satan) created well-being and calamity. Our response? James 1:2, “ Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” we count this all joy because we have His joy Hebrews 12:2, “ looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”
the utilities will be restored instantly when the terrorists release the hostages — this is all on hamas. the 2.2 million people voted for hamas in 2005 and remained under that government for 18 years. one can only conclude that they prefer and support hamas. israel is urging the evacuation of the women and children while the hamas leaders proclaim publicly telling people to not leave while they house the civilians in buildings containing rockets and other weapons. i think you’re very confused about who the bad guys are in this war.
Hamas has turned to ISIS tactics. The attacks specifically targeted civilians and families. Babies were killed in horrific ways. This is an existential situation for the survival of the Jewish State. Iran is the puppet master behind the scenes. I pray that this war is contained and does not spread. It appears that Hezbollah (directly and Syria are co-belligerents as well. We pray for this situation and for the poor children. At least 10 known American casualties. We are involved whether we like it or not. China and Russia side with Iran. America recently released 6 Billion to Iran. What a mess. God is in control.
“What a mess. God is in control.” I just … can’t.
I do not fear the consequences of standing before my Lord Jesus Christ as a supporter of the Father’s and His chosen people, and a supporter of their right to exist and to defend themselves. Nor do I fear the consequences of praying for the Palestinians, some of whom know Him today as do Messianic Jews; others of whom will come to know Him in the future just as the Bible says the nation of Israel will return to faith in Him.
I hope that I do not offend anyone’s intellectual sensibilities or theological (or other) studies by stating that while I sincerely believe that, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess,” I also believe that God did not stutter when He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and their descendents) as His chosen people, then by grace brought me, a gentile, into the faith family with them. As the Apostle Paul referred to it, this is a great mystery.
Even as sad as it is that Israel is under a horrific attack by a terrorist group, the Lord has said only a remnant will remain.
I believe their rejection of the Lord Jesus is why they still are being persecuted and oppressed today.
God’s judgement on the rebellious Israelites began in the wilderness when they continued over amd over to disobey Him and turn to other sources amd false gods to protect them.
“For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; …….
Deuteronomy 31:27 KJV
https://bible.com
James:
Unfortunately, the Hamas members you appear to support are hiding among innocent civilians. Did you know that about 50% of the Gazan population is under the age of 19? This means that Hamas is allowing this young population to grow up filled with hatred for Israel and the USA, among other things. It means they have absolutely no respect for life. And, above all, it means that, like the Old Testament Canaanites, they represent EVIL. When you slaughter little babies, rape young women, and burn people alive, you lose the argument that you are a human being. You become a human animal, a savage, a barbarian.
Evil is an actual thing. At some point, you will be forced to take a side.
Dr. Cynthia, really? You write: “…you lose the argument that you are a human being. You become a human animal, a savage, a barbarian.” So in your eyes Hamas are non-human? That is convenient- when they become non-human to you then you justify their death. They’re just animals after all. I dont think you have a right to remove the “Imago Dei” from them. You have no right to remove the “fearfully and wonderfully” from them. Yes- they are enemies who are doing great evil. Maybe, Dr. Cynthia, you might learn to pray like Jesus: “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Not sure what you have your PhD in- but take a lesson in history- all early Christians refused to live by the sword. They were peacemakers through and through. Our battle after all is not against flesh and blood…
Brandon:
What would you call a person who chops off the head of a child? Who rapes a woman and parades her with blood flowing down her legs? Who kidnaps old people and sets others on fire?
Yeah….I’d say Human Animal is a fairly mild epitaph for such barbarity.
You forget that God ordered the slaughter of nations and He is the same God today.
Thanks for asking. I would call them sinners. Sinners who are in great need of God’s grace and mercy. Revenge wont heal the world. I would honestly encourage you to sit down and read the sermon on the mount- this is the way of Jesus. Since I don’t know you I realize that you may not be a Christian. As Christians we follow Jesus as the fulfilment and climax of the story of Israel and bringing fullness and completeness to the Law of Israel (Torah). He taught us to love our enemies. He taught us to turn the other cheek. He taught us pray for those who persecute us. He said that all who live by the sword will die by the sword. He told Peter to put away his sword. And he said blessed are the peacemakers. I think that you might enjoy Jesus’ teachings. No need to march around Jericho any more…
“What would you call a person who chops off the head of a child?”
Do you apply this same standard to those who perform elective abortions? And the women that seek them out?
I appreciate your comment, Andrew — it directly cuts through to the Truth.
Brandon, do you know the full context of the “live by the sword” statement? Check out John’s account in 18:6 and notice the stance of the soldiers prior to Peter’s taking out his sword. Being a peacemaker is not being anti-war or anti-weapon or anti-self defense.
True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. – MLK
And is the ad hominem weapon you are hurling at Cynthia consistent with your belief?
First- I would encourage you to do the same: check the context. That phrase is not in John 18. I think you are thinking Matthew 26? Men step forward to seize Jesus- and one of Jesus followers cuts the ear off the servant of the High Priest. What am I missing? Jesus is warning about the use of violence.
Second- Are you suggesting an ad hominem argument is violence? (You may want to re-think that suggestion). I think we see in Jesus the freedom to confront people directly (with words) who are suggesting something incredibly dangerous. Dr. Cynthia’s arguments can lead to much bloodshed. I think that warning her (and yourself?) that ideas have consequences is consistent with the way of Jesus. Arguing that human beings made in the image of God are sub-human is incredibly dangerous.
Peacemaking does not require us to hide from the truth, and it does not mean we allow dangerous ideas to go unchecked. I couldn’t agree more with MLK- how do we get to that justice? Through truth- not the sword. MLK was a peacemaker and would not have condoned violence.
Brandon, when you read a gospel narrative, you should sideways read across all the gospels. The fact that the soldiers fall down is significant to what Jesus said. Peter had a superior advantage. Furthermore, this was a governing authority. There was no deadly threat.
Whether you think that her words are dangerous, it didn’t require you sarcastically questioning her title. It was irrelevant to your argument and not in the spirit of Matt 5.
Yes the movement of MLK was peaceful. It didn’t need to be violent. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t believe equal force shouldn’t be used. I’m sure his body guards were willing to do what it takes in close quarters.
I agree with much of what you are saying and it should be the norm in most of our interactions. But that is not all our Lord has revealed regarding nation’s and individual’s response when confronted with evil.
Hi Joe, I wasn’t able to reply below so I am replying here. Here is the immediate context in Matthew 26:
“Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
The immediate context is one where Jesus is being seized as men are stepping forward (not falling back).
To your point about my sarcasm towards Dr. Cynthia- it is a good point and I do apologize to her for that. Thanks for the correction.
God bless.
I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ — I don’t have to choose between two devils. Those who want or promote war in any way are bloodthirsty. And, unfortunately — many evangelicals are bloodthirsty right now. May their eyes be opened to the Truth.
Really, you are going to believe Holocaust deniers to try to frame what is going on as a continued big lie? Although the historical context does explain the initial condition of these events (funny your podcast guys didn’t go back further in history to how the land was stolen and why zionism was a thing), it is irrelevant when Hamas has clearly stated their beliefs and goals and has now acted on those.
I am glad that some church leaders are taking a stand. Hamas’ goal is the destruction of Jews. There is no negotiation, no chance for peace. It is explicit in their 1988 Covenant and reiterated in 2017 charter. Here is an article discussing this, it is not from a Chriatian or right wing source. Let’s hope the day of Jihad tomorrow is a bust. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/
An instance of the innocents in this Palestine/Israel tragedy, are the global many that are effectively silenced, by the violence and fury of the partisan rhetoric and polemic, that on all sides contextualises the tragedy.
Fact, truth, honesty, justice, and more of the values on which peace and civilisation must stand (or otherwise fall), have long been left behind, by all those on all sides, who prefer effective genocide to the alternative hard road of seeking resolution and reconciliation.
The absence of peace in Jerusalem and Palestine/Israel, effects everyone in the global world, just as is happening with the war between Ukraine and Russia. The innocents threatened with degrees of starvation as the global food market is disrupted. The innocents threatened with dishonest ideology involved in the sustaining of effective genocide in Palestine/Israel.
Colin:
Are you aware that Israel gave the Sinai desert to Egypt in exchange for peace? Are you aware that Israel has consistently offered peace deals to the Palestinians?
Wake up. This is a war that was instigated by those who want Israel wiped out. Stop the “reconciliation” talks. God himself is well aware that some among us walk as minions of Satan. Often, they need to be eliminated.
Just out of curiosity. What are you a doctor of?
Before I read this thread this morning, I honestly didn’t realize holocaust denial was an actual thing. Unbelievable!
Yes, Holocaust deniers are still out there. Anti-Semitism has many faces. Beware of the history revisionists and “comparable wrongs” people who see a conspiracy boogeyman under every rock. They are already busy rewriting the events of 10/7 into a version that fits their preconceived ideas.
Being a survivor of The Gospel According to Hal Lindsay, Christians for Nuclear War, Anti-Semitic Zionism, and Rapture Scare of the Day, any “Evangelical Statement on the Support of Israel” raises red flags in my head.
I checked with one of my sources (a burned-out preacher) whether there was any Rapture Ready End Times surge as usually happens when things blow up in that region, and he said this time there was not. And that he was hopeful that this meant the whole End Times Mania was finally burning out after its 50-60 year run.
Thank you. I’m a survivor of this nonsense. And these end timers make money on books stirring the pot and are never accountable when it doesn’t happen. It’s why evangelical version of Christianity is being abandoned by many. Greg Laurie is a great teacher. Up until his end times voice kicks in. And when nothing happens he will just float through it. Greg you’re a great teacher. I love yuh for it. But I’m a survivor of you and Robertson and Lindsay of the seventies and eighties. Stop it. Yuh have no idea how many decisions I made based on yuh threes fear mongering.
Back in the late Eighties when I had to undergo therapy, the counselor claimed to have encountered Hal Lindsay at one time, and told me “he wrote those books for the money”.
My response was “Great. I’m having flashbacks like a ‘Nam Vet and he’s laughing all the way to the bank.”
Can’t remember where I read this, but “Christians have signed the future over to the Antichrist and only await being beamed up to Fluffy Cloud Heaven.”
Problem is when The World Ends Tomorrow (at the latest) and It’s All Gonna Burn, don’t expect anyone to plan ahead or dare great things. Because there is no Future. Problem is, the Future has a way of happening on its own, and without your input (as you look up at the eastern sky clutching your Fire Insurance Policy and Rapture Boarding Pass) you’re not going to have any iinfluence on how that Future goes. And as the Future becomes the Present without you, you will find yourself Left Behind.
Personally I have no problem in supporting the right of Israel to defend herself but it has nothing to do with dispensationalism or any other Evangelical method of interpreting the Bible. At the same time I have to consider the casualties on both sides. (Particularly the innocent bystanders and non-participants in the fighting)
I wholeheartedly agree with you on Hal and others like him. I remember all too well my 7th grade teacher scaring us with predictions from his books or years later being told the rapture would occur in 1988 because there were 88 reasons for it. Too often these biblical prophecy teachers ‘cry wolf’ and then are silent with no apologies when their predictions don’t happen.
Addendum:
The End Times Rapture Ready crowd is crawling out of the woodwork.
It wasn’t burned out, just on a one-week delay fuse.
Monday morning my clock-radio alarm went off and the first thing up was a radio ad about a book or pamphlets or podcast (or all three) about Israel’s Role in History, Bible, Bible, Bible, and End Times. I have heard this ad at least once every morning since.
This is on morning drive-time on the #1 talk station for a major metropolitan area, so their ad prices probably don’t come cheap.
As a believer I would encourage all of us to pray in particular for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are caught up in this tragedy. In the zeal to support Israel they are often forgotten by Christian who actually should have more in common with them than with Israelis. I am a supporter of Israel but let us remember that Israel is not what God wants Israel to be. The ultra right wing can behave badly toward Arabs and other outsiders too though it would NEVER justify what Hamas did.
Joe Myers,
Thanks for your comments. Perhaps Brandon has forgotten about World War II and the Holocaust? Many German citizens held to his expressed views and “turned the other cheek” to the Germans while they dragged innocent Jews to their death.
As a believer, I think we are called to action. Indeed, Christians are called to combat evil wherever they find it. That was my point.
To Brandon:
Sarcasm and I often miss each other in passing. If you were intentionally sarcastic towards me and my opinions, all is forgiven. I honestly didn’t notice. Further, I understand your point of view, but I also believe that Jesus had the hosts of heaven at his disposal and chose not to use them in order to save mankind from sin.
Don’t be so sure he won’t choose to use them in the future.
We are called to peacemaking as believers, but we are also called to fight when necessary. I believe today is a time to fight for Israel. I also respect all of my fellow Americans who have fought in the past to keep our nation safe.
Thanks Cynthia. I appreciate these words.