Israel war: How will they know we are Christians?
Brady Leonard
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War will always bring out the worst in people, chief among them the American commentary class. After the Hamas terrorist attack that left 1,400 innocent Israelis and 30 Americans dead, with many more unaccounted for, it seems the commentariat decided to engage in a collective race to the bottom.
Differing opinions on the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict would have been perfectly reasonable. There are many nuanced views on the policies of the Israeli government and what should be done going forward, and of America’s policies toward the Middle East generally, but it was clear almost immediately that many who claim to be followers of Christ were simply using this tragedy as an excuse to espouse blatant bigotry, more specifically antisemitism.
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I have hosted a political commentary show and have written for a number of conservative and libertarian publications for half a dozen years. The reason why I still enjoy working in the political sphere is that I do not allow politics to bring me down or differing opinions to offend me, regardless of how contemptible I happen to find them. Faces change, Overton windows shift, my own opinions even change from time to time, and news cycles come and go before I even have a chance to formulate a “hot take” more often than not.
What never changes is my faith in God and his son, Jesus Christ. There is, however, one area that gets under my skin: my fellow Christians, or those claiming to be Christians, using the name of Christ to excuse their own misbehavior. Of course, this is a tale as old as Christianity itself, and we’re all familiar with the historical list of the worst offenders. But this phenomenon has reared its ugly head in a major way in recent days. Luckily, no one is sacking Constantinople this time, but this heresy must nevertheless be called out.
This week X, formerly Twitter, has been littered with angry posts directed not at the Israeli government but at Jews generally, often from Christians who egregiously misunderstand how we, as Christians, are taught to conduct ourselves.
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One thing is crystal clear: As followers of Jesus, we are to follow his example, meaning we must love our brothers and sisters with the same unconditional, self-sacrificing love that Christ demonstrated on the cross. What does that look like? One follower of Christ stepped up and answered that question. The Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, offered to exchange himself for the children being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas.
As some American “Christians” post antisemitic memes, praise white supremacists, and spew ridiculous “replacement theology” garbage, Pizzaballa offered his own life in the place of the lives of Jewish children. God bless Pizzaballa and all the men and women showing the world what it truly means to follow Jesus. They will know we are Christians by our love. Without love, how will they know?
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.