Christianity Today has always been a bastion of compromise, ever willing to go along with the prevailing narrative. Their commentary oscillates between global liberalism and neoconservatism, which makes it intriguing what their stance on the issue of Israel would be. Would they take the global-liberal approach and oppose Israel for being an oppressor state against the Palestinians or would they take the Zionist approach of the Neocons? Obviously, they would never take a Pat Buchanan approach.
Evidently, they found a compromise in their latest article entitled, “Investigating the PR Campaigns Following the Israel-Hamas War.” On October 7th, Evangelical Dark Web reported on the pro-Israel foreign propaganda campaigns targeting America’s largest churches in the American Southwest. After over a month, Christianity Today is addressing the issue.
They appeal to Jeff Myers of Summit Ministries, an educational ministry dedicated to “apologetics, worldview analysis, and social engagement.” They also sell homeschooling curriculum. He is presented as their expert. He begins by outlining the decline in support for Israel amongst the youth, a problem that is well-documented and leads into the creation of a foreign propaganda campaign. The article even mentions that he spoke with an “Israeli intelligence officer over dinner during a trip to Israel three months after the Hamas attacks.”
Rather than attribute the decline in support to Israel’s actions, the Forever Wars, the ongoing economic calamity, and social decays often promulgated by certain groups, the article blames foreign propaganda.
Arab countries with ties to Hamas, such as Qatar and Iran, have amplified anti-Israel news and headlines. Qatar is one of the foreign entities financing anti-Israel propaganda through its media site Al Jazeera. The publication repeats Hamas talking points while suppressing alternative perspectives. It refers to Hamas-led attacks as “resistance operations” rather than as terrorism.
Not even the Jerusalem Post blamed the diminishing support on Qatar but rather blamed it on the lack out outlets that directly target the youths. In other words, the youths are not watching televangelism. Moreover, the decline in support preceded October 7, 2023, which if anything was an accelerant, not a root cause. Jerusalem Post also found that nearly seventy percent of young Christians adhere to either amillennialism or postmillennialism, so the theological landscape changed before the geopolitical escalation.
The introduction of Qatar and its Al Jazeera propaganda arm as a powerhouse of foreign influence is rather laughable. Al Jazeera America discontinued its network in 2016 because it was disastrous, receiving between 15,000-30,000 viewers on an average day. Literally, nobody watched it, yet this failed propaganda network is juxtaposed with Show Works by Faith.
They proceed to explain Chad Schnitger’s Show Works By Faith project as being too transparent in filing its FARA disclosure, quoting that Schnitger regretted “how the original FARA disclosure was handled, noting that the group’s lawyers recommended disclosure of all possible ideas, including those unlikely to be implemented.” Schnitger then said that he wants “to equip [Christians] with the tools to think critically about the conflicts in the Middle East and about our ally Israel.” The framing of the article is as if the antagonism towards Israel is both unmerited and from foreign influence.
Christian scholar and apologist Sean McDowell said the growing antagonism toward Israel matches what he’s observed on high school and college campuses he’s visited for speaking events. He believes the prevalence of anti-Israel voices on social media, mainstream media, and college campuses contributes to the trend.
“The university system, as far as I can tell, leans heavily against Israel and shapes many young minds,” McDowell said.
The problem with blaming the university system is that it ignores both the demographic problem and the bifurcation of anti-Zionism. Gen Z is barely majority white, so the susceptibility to anti-white narratives is naturally going to have higher reception in a less white demographic. Despite anti-white education system, 73% of college educated white women still view the Founding Fathers as heroes compared to only 39% of nonwhites. It is not the education system, but the demographics.
Furthermore, the bifurcation in anti-Zionism goes ignored as conservative anti-Israel sentiments arise from grievances over Forever Wars which President Trump, and before him Ron Paul, campaigned against in 2016. Young whites tend to oppose Israel for MAGA reasons, while young democrats oppose it for the Palestinian cause. It is mainly the groypers (Nick Fuentes) who try to bridge the gap in concerning themselves with both.
Christianity Today acknowledges the anti-colonialism dynamic of the Left but reduces right-wing anti-Israel sentiment to “conspiracy.”
Myers identified two categories of anti-Israel beliefs among young evangelicals: progressives who hate Jews because of perceived colonialism and conservatives who claim Jews are behind a global conspiracy. “They might have a theology behind it, but they start with their politics and back their way into a theology,” he added.
Where they correctly identify the dynamic in the Left, the Right’s opposition being reduced to global conspiracy ignores the actual contentions. Back in June, there was immense pressure for regime change in Iran by pro-Israeli interests which, had Trump escalated tensions with Iran, would have resulted in another Zionist war with American boots on the ground. The notion that Israel wanted America to exercise a regime change war against Iran is hardly a conspiracy, given the rhetoric of senators like Ted Cruz. It is not a mystery why Cruz or Huckabee are accused of preferring Israel over the United States, if one looks at their history of statements.
The notions of global conspiracy are hardly novel, as even Winston Churchill believed that Communist Jews were conspiring to undermine Western nations, something he articulated in support of Zionism. Now, Churchill was wrong in positing Zionism as the cure for Bolshevism, and it ultimately created powerful interest groups that, until recent years, were able to alienate critics from the Republican Party and the Conservative movement. This was often paired with a greater concern for foreign affairs than domestic issues, like immigration. Even neutrality towards Israel was considered unacceptable, which is why much of the so-called MAGA civil war is really a proxy over JD Vance’s presumed nomination in 2028. Vance has been neither overly friendly nor overly hostile towards Israel, but for many in the GOP, that is not good enough.
The last thing that will dissuade people from accusing Jews of conspiracy is a foreign propaganda arm targeting churches, but not according to Christianity Today.
Myers believes that if the material helps Christians “develop a true biblical theology of Israel” and pushes against antisemitic beliefs, “it could be a good thing,” noting that young adults have a less comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust than older generations.
This is a myth as every child is inundated with Holocaust education in grade school. More “education” will only hasten the backlash, especially as economic outlook weakens and western nations are functionally replacing their populations with immigrants. Overemphasizing a historic event America had nothing to do with from eighty years ago over current issues affecting Americans today is a losing strategy.
In his chapter about the propaganda war, Myers explains that he does not believe any allegations leveled against Israel should be “dismissed out of hand,” but rather encourages readers to “dig deep and ask difficult questions.”
He also encourages organizations to be transparent about their sources of funding: “I would be much more comfortable if people who are anti-Israel or pro-Israel, either one, be honest about where they’re receiving their funding.”
The conclusion of the article is not that foreign propaganda is inherently bad, but that Show Faith by Works is a good thing because it is transparent about its foreign alignment. Transparency is about shedding light on a problem, not necessarily the solution. No one needed a FARA disclosure to not trust a media outlet called Al Jazeera. However, Show Works by Faith requires a fluff piece from Christianity Today to bolster support for geofencing churches. (Note: Christianity Today earns a lot of its revenue from sponsored content.)
Ideally, there would be no foreign propaganda in the United States, neither that of Hamas nor Israel. Ideally, we would adhere to Washington’s warning against a favored nation or a least favored nation. Even with zero foreign propaganda, support for Israel would plummet as the youth do not hold to the premillennial dispensational view which remains the primary buttress for political Zionism. Without the ahistorical theological significance, there is no reason behind the sycophantic support for Israel. The more the pro-Israel side lashes out or attempts to reverse its fate through influence peddling, the quicker they will usher in their defeat.
