Headline News

Laodicean Christian Sellout Amy Grant Glories In Her LGBT Fan Base

During her first gay press interview, the Grammy winner reflected on her loyal gay fan base, how she reconciles Christianity and homosexuality, and her “compassion” for gay marriage.

Published

12 years ago

May 6, 2014

Geoffrey Grider

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You know what’s so interesting, even when I was discovering my own sexuality and meeting people that had a different experience, I didn’t categorize then, and I don’t categorize right now.

Amy Grant loves receiving adoration, praise and financial reward from the lost and dying who attend her shows. She states that “it’s a honor” to perform at gay weddings. And never once does she open her mouth to tell her lost fans that without Jesus Christ they are on their way to Hell. This interview here, her first ever to the gay press, was an excellent opportunity to tell them about salvation in Jesus. She never mentions the Lord’s name one time. I wonder how that will play out at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV)

PrideSource – During her first gay press interview, and for an entire hour, the Grammy winner reflected – with her usual sincerity and thoughtfulness – on her loyal gay fan base, how she reconciles Christianity and homosexuality, her “compassion” for gay marriage and the unforgettable dinner she shared with out ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero.

When the biggest Christian music artist of all time is doing gay press, you know we’ve come a long way. Were you kept at bay from gay press beforehand, earlier in your career?

It never came up.

But you have obviously had a big gay following for quite sometime. Why have gay people connected to you in such profound ways?

All of us sometimes feel disenfranchised or, for whatever reason, like we’re just on the periphery or marginalized. People feel that for all kinds of reasons, and by the time you’ve lived any amount of life, I think anybody has had that experience somewhere. I remember doing concerts back in the early ’80s and going shopping with some of the singers that I was working with and one of them, Donna McElroy, had to get some makeup – and she’s African-American – and I said, “Hey, I’ll meet you back here.” I ran my errands and I came back and said, “Are you done?” She said, “No one’s waited on me.”

Christian singer Amy Grant happily receives the praise, adoration and financial benefits of her LGBT fan base, but she doesn’t have the guts to tell them that they are lost and headed to a Devil’s Hell.

Everybody is outside of some circle, but what I’ve always wanted to do is have a message of honesty and welcoming, and being willing to say this is the good, bad and the ugly. This is who I am. And if I’m saying that about myself, it’s like, jump in, the water’s fine. So I love that. I love that people connect to my music.

At this point in your career, are you at all concerned about people passing judgment on you for talking to gay press?

We all ultimately need to know that we’re loved, and I think it would be really crazy if you said, “I’m not going to talk to this group of people because someone’s looking on that’s not a part of the conversation and might have an opinion about it.” I mean, my whole life has been that. (Laughs) It takes all of our energy to navigate whatever road we’re on. What’s interesting is, this last year I was invited on Monday mornings to go to a woman’s house – also a songwriter, also a singer – and just have some time of quiet stillness all together. But her house wasn’t even quiet. There were workers there sometimes, or there was nowhere to get that was quiet.

As we were sitting there trying to get quiet, she said, “It never gets still, and so I’m not gonna get all rankled in my head. I’m just gonna say, ‘Well, there’s the noise of the person next door blowing off their driveway with that really load motor. There it is. There’s the sound of sirens going up and down the street.'” She said, “When we learn to observe without judgment, then we have the ability to observe and learn, or to observe and be.” And I said, “Do you know how exhausting it is to observe with judgment all the time? It’s just exhausting.” I have thanked her many times. We could all stand to hear that.

You came from a fairly strict religious upbringing, but it sounds like there’s been an evolution in the way you see people.

Well, I don’t know. When you say strict, that’s interesting. What do you mean by that? (Laughs) I mean, we went to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night.

You’re right. I should say diligently religious.

Yeah. I remember when we moved to Texas and my parents went to this really, I guess, conservative church – a Church of Christ – and something incredible was happening within that church community. I remember seeing this transformation in my mom and dad. I was old enough to remember that. What I remember about our home after that was that it was welcoming … to everybody.

To black people? To gay people?

Just to people.

Did you ever feel that you had to reconcile your Christian faith with your acceptance of homosexuality?

That’s not my life experience. In the same way, if you put my shoes on, you would go, “I thought this experience was going to be one way and it was totally different.” None of us has any idea what somebody’s life experience is like.

amy-grant-promotes-wine-drink-pink-palmina

Amy Grant promoting wine on her Facebook page #drinkpink

Do you remember the first gay person you knew? Did you have a close gay friend?

Absolutely. But my first: maybe college. Someone might have just seemed theatrical or, I don’t know, effeminate, but when I was in high school – I graduated in ’78 – I had friends in high school who eventually said, “I’m living a gay lifestyle,” but they didn’t say it then. People were very private about their sexuality, period. Maybe not everywhere, but I just don’t remember, “I’m exploring this, I’m exploring that.”

When did you first know you had a gay fan base?

Probably by the time I was 18.

How did you know? Did a fan tell you his or her coming-out story?

No. Just from meeting people. I don’t know. I guess I’m kind of going, that was a long time ago. I’m 52. (Laughs) I’ve never even thought about it. It’s like saying, “There’s gray-haired people in the crowd, too.” If people come to my shows, this is what they say: “Wow, there are people of all ages and lifestyles in your crowd.” That’s what they always say. But then someone will come up and say, “You know, I saw a guy with a boa on,” and I’ll say, “Oh yeah, yeah, I’ve always had a big gay following.” (Laughs)

To me, I don’t give it a second thought. I remember the first time someone from the crew said, “I smell pot in the back of the crowd,” and I went, “Well, fantastic! Yay!” I’m so glad that just “people” are coming.

From photos I’ve seen and conversations I’ve heard, you seem to have established some close relationships with people in the Gay Friends of Amy Grant group on Facebook over the years. Can you describe your relationship with them?

When you’ve done something for a long time, there is a great familiarity that comes over the years. I will say that I have a couple of friends that I made – just because they came to shows for a long time – and I figure we must have some things in common because, of all the music we’re all attracted to, at least we share this music in common.

Weren’t you invited to perform at the wedding of one of your gay fans but couldn’t due to your schedule?

I was invited. I was honored to be invited. I have to tell you: Anytime somebody asks me to perform at a wedding, I say, “I do not have a good track record.” (Laughs) A lot of the weddings I’ve performed at, the marriages have ended poorly.

I recall seeing you perform with Melissa Etheridge for Lifetime’s “Women Rock!” special in 2000 and thinking, as a teenager struggling with his sexuality, “She’s performing with an openly lesbian performer; she’s throwing her gay fans a bone.”

You know what’s so interesting, even when I was discovering my own sexuality and meeting people that had a different experience, I didn’t categorize then, and I don’t categorize right now. It makes me realize that I don’t have any idea of what it would feel like every moment of my life to go somewhere and feel judged.

But you have felt judged, right? Judged for getting divorced. Judged for your pop crossover, even.

No, no. Do people from a distance have an opinion? Yeah, that’s human nature to have an opinion. Whatever was going on in a rag magazine, or whatever someone was saying behind my back or in a heated conversation, I was never in that circle. I wasn’t part of that conversation. I never, ever pursued one chat room. If there was an article or some argument – “I can’t believe you’re doing this” – I just never pursued it because I thought, “We don’t understand each other.”

There are a lot of times that I wind up in situations that I do not see eye to eye with somebody. And it doesn’t help to throw gas on the fire. Clearly they’re going to have their opinion. Carry on. And I’m gonna go do what I’m gonna go do.

I know you are not a political person.

Yeah, I’m not.

So how do you respond to people when they ask you about your feelings on gay marriage?

In the same way that I did not tell one person who I voted for. I don’t. I never talk about anything like that. I did tell Vince (Gill, her husband) the day after the election. (Laughs)

But I think my response is, I have had so many occasions in my life where I have felt really strongly about something – but that feeling has changed. Those feelings change about different situations, and so because I’m a public person – and because I want always to bring people together – I really do say this is a world that’s unfamiliar to me and I am always trying to observe with compassion.

This isn’t a cut-and-dry issue for you, then.

Well, nothing is cut-and-dry. You know, one of the most fascinating dinners I’ve ever spent sitting next to somebody I had not met was at a large function with my family. We were all seated with place cards; it was a large group and I introduced myself to the fellow next to me. It was Anthony Romero (executive director of the ACLU). I mean, we didn’t line up our views; I just said, “Oh my goodness.” And he said, “I think they probably thought this was going to be very funny having us sit next to each other.” (Laughs)

I just said, “Tell me about your life.” He asked me the same thing. He told me good things about his job and hard things about his job. It was two human beings that have had very different lifestyles sitting next to each other and sharing life. Given 10 choices, would Anthony and I choose the same things? Maybe so. Maybe not. But I felt so changed by that. And what I really felt was, well … I … (pauses)

What did you feel?

Well, I kept his card for a long time, and I hoped that our paths would cross again. I felt a lot of compassion for his parents, first-generation immigrants, and he described his childhood and what it was like. I went, “This makes total sense that he has invested his life coming to the aid of the people in his world that are disenfranchised because, for a whole different set of reasons, his parents were marginalized.”

And you found that inspiring?

Yes. You know what, we all face challenges in our life that we didn’t anticipate, and the most important thing is that we not face them alone. To me, if there’s anything that comes out of this conversation, in the same way that a relationship cannot be nurturing if it’s competitive, it’s this: When you don’t understand something, you can either default to judgment or you can default to compassion. Those take you down completely different roads.

Are you speaking about yourself?

Yeah, and that’s really … ahh, I’m just talking about life in general. This is interesting because I have never done an interview where it feels every question is saying, “Tell me I’m OK.” That’s what feels like the underlying energy behind the questions, and I’m just going, “That’s a powerful kind of energy” – and for different reasons. Maybe not sexuality. Because that’s what every person’s crying out for. Anyway, sometimes a good night’s sleep helps for more concise answers.

It’s just that we’re living lives that are different from each other. It’s like two people sitting at a dinner table having a long conversation. If you and I were facing each other at a different table and we walked away and somebody asked us to describe where we were, my entire view was behind your head. I mean, I’m gonna describe the place differently than you. That’s just true about all of life and really, I’m trying to listen and learn and in a way have a great opportunity to try to understand the fan base that comes to a show. I’m even more glad they feel welcome. Even more glad after this. Can I say one thing?

Of course.

I know that the religious community has not been very welcoming, but I just want to stress that the journey of faith brings us into community, but it’s really about one relationship. The journey of faith is just being willing and open to have a relationship with God. And everybody is welcome. Everybody. source – PrideSource

Related Topics:Amy Grant gay marriage Judgment Seat of Christ LGBTQ

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Donald Trump

Eisenhower Warned Us About The Military-Industrial Complex, Now ‘President Of War’ Donald Trump Is Building One Beneath The White House Ballroom

Published

1 day ago

August 21, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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From People’s House To Presidential Fortress As Trump Builds A Nuclear-Hardened Military Complex Beneath His Golden Ballroom

Donald Trump has spent years promoting himself as the great peacemaker, the man who would end wars and prevent World War III. Yet his most permanent architectural contribution to the American presidency is not a peace garden, a diplomatic center or a hall dedicated to reconciliation—it is a five-story military fortress buried beneath the White House. What began as a lavish ballroom with chandeliers, gold columns and thousand-seat state dinners is now being defended before the Supreme Court as an “integrated military complex” essential to surviving bombs, missiles, drones and even nuclear attack. The symbolism could not be more devastating: Trump talks like the president of peace, but he is rebuilding the People’s House for war. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Supreme Court has temporarily allowed construction to continue while considering the administration’s emergency appeal.

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 (KJB)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general who understood war better than almost any president before or since, warned America in 1961 about the dangerous rise of the military-industrial complex. He cautioned that the combination of government power, military machinery and private industry could acquire “unwarranted influence” and endanger both liberty and democratic government. Sixty-five years later, Trump is constructing a literal military complex beside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Private corporations and wealthy elite donors finance the glittering ballroom above, while the government and military build the hardened command fortress below. Eisenhower’s warning is no longer merely hanging over Washington—it is being poured into the ground in nuclear-grade concrete.

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The administration’s own Supreme Court filing removes all doubt about the true character of this structure. It describes five underground stories containing bomb shelters, military command-and-control capabilities, secure communications, emergency hospital facilities, missile-resistant columns, blast-proof glass, military-grade ventilation, sniper positions and a rooftop drone port. Above ground, visiting dignitaries will dine beneath crystal chandeliers; below their feet, military personnel will monitor tactical screens behind blast doors. The ballroom is the façade, but the bunker is the beating heart of his project.

This is the presidency Trump is physically preparing for: permanent threats, expanding militarization and catastrophic warfare. A true president of peace would be measured by the wars he ended and the bloodshed he prevented—not by the magnificence of the bunker he constructed for himself and future rulers. Trump may continue to speak the language of peace, but concrete tells the truth. Missiles, drones, bomb shelters, sniper nests and nuclear protection are not the architecture of a coming golden age. They are the architecture of a government expecting the world to burn. Donald Trump calls himself the president of peace, but his Military-Industrial Complex Ballroom reveals a president preparing for war.

Trump Is Fulfilling Eisenhower’s Warning Of The Military Industrial Complex

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Headline News

THE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: As Ben-Gvir Builds His Gallows, We Ask Are Israel’s Own Rulers Helping Make Jerusalem The ‘Burdensome Stone’ To The World?

Published

1 day ago

August 21, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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THE WHOLE WORLD AGAINST JERUSALEM: Could The Actions Of Israel’s Own Leaders Be Helping Fulfill The End Times Conditions Foretold By The Prophets?

Isaiah’s warning is not merely some distant prophetic curiosity — we are watching the pattern unfold right now. The prophet Isaiah speaks of “scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem”, and today Israel is being led by men whose rhetoric, policies and public displays are helping turn the nations against the Jewish state. Ben-Gvir standing before newly constructed gallows, boasting about executions and viewing booths, is not simply another controversial political moment; it is exactly the kind of spectacle that hardens global opinion, isolates Jerusalem and gives Israel’s enemies fresh ammunition. The world is already increasingly hostile toward Israel, and instead of slowing that momentum, some of Israel’s own rulers are actively pouring gasoline on the fire. The “scornful men” are ruling Jerusalem, and they are helping create the very conditions the prophets said would exist in the last days.

“Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 28:14 (KJB)

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Zechariah 12:3 (KJB)

On this episode of the Prophecy News Podcast, Zechariah said Jerusalem would become “a burdensome stone for all people” and that eventually “all the people of the earth” would be gathered against it (Zechariah 12:3 KJB). That prophecy does not require Israel to be innocent of every wrong action; in fact, Scripture repeatedly shows Israel in rebellion and under corrupt leadership immediately before divine intervention. What we are witnessing now is the process taking shape: outrage, condemnation, diplomatic isolation, growing hostility, and leaders in Jerusalem whose own actions are accelerating the collapse of international sympathy. Ben-Gvir’s gallows are not happening in a vacuum — they are part of a larger prophetic trajectory in which Jerusalem becomes increasingly unbearable to the nations. The road to Zechariah 12 is being built in real time, and astonishingly, some of the men ruling Jerusalem are helping pave it themselves. Today we do a Bible Study ripped from the headlines to show you just how close the Jews and Israel are to the time of Jacob’s trouble!

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Headline News

Israel Is Building A Gallows Execution Complex For Convicted Palestinian Terrorists, And Security Minister Ben-Gvir Wants To Add Viewing Booths For Spectators

Published

2 days ago

August 20, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Israel Has Every Right To Punish Terrorists, But Ben-Gvir’s Gallows Execution Complex With Viewing Booths Turns Justice Into A Macabre Spectacle Of Death

Now The End Begins has stood unapologetically with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel for nearly two decades, and that will not change. But biblical support for Israel does not require giving Israeli politicians a blank check, and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s plans for an execution complex containing gallows with viewing booths cross a disturbing line between the solemn administration of justice and the creation of a spectacle surrounding death. This will undoubtedly turn the entire world against the Jews and Israel.

Something very dark and deeply unsettling is taking shape in Israel, and those of us who genuinely love the Jewish people should be willing to say so without hesitation. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been publicly promoting the construction of an execution facility for terrorists sentenced to death under Israel’s new death-penalty legislation. The proposed complex is not merely being discussed as a secure place where lawful executions would occur behind prison walls; reports surrounding the project describe gallows for hanging condemned prisoners along with designated viewing areas where surviving victims of terrorist attacks and members of bereaved families could witness those executions.

“Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 28:14 (KJB)

That distinction is what makes this story so disturbing. There is an enormous difference between a government deciding, after due process and conviction for murder, that a criminal deserves the death penalty, and a government intentionally designing facilities so grieving relatives can sit and watch the condemned man drop through a gallows. The first is the administration of judgment by civil authority. The second begins to transform judgment into something theatrical, emotional and dangerously close to ritualized vengeance. You will also note that this same application of justice is not applied to Israelis convicted of them same type of crimes. It is only for the Palestinians.

Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir seen here showing you the new gallows execution complex where Palestinian terrorists will be hung. He is also pointing out that there will be a viewing area for people to watch the executions. Prophecy is unfolding while we watch. pic.twitter.com/b0D6M8enFU

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Now let me make something perfectly clear at the outset, because the Bible is perfectly clear about it: capital punishment is not inherently immoral. Long before the Law of Moses was given to Israel, God established the principle of human government after the Flood and connected the shedding of a murderer’s blood directly to the fact that human beings are created in the image of God.

“Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Genesis 9:6 (KJB)

Under Paul’s doctrine for the Church Age, the God-given authority of civil government to punish evildoers remains equally plain. Paul did not describe government as carrying an ornamental sword or an empty symbol of authority. He said the ruler “beareth not the sword in vain,” and identified the magistrate as a minister of God authorized to execute wrath upon the person who does evil.

“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Romans 13:4 (KJB)

There is therefore nothing unbiblical about saying that a murderer deserves death, and there is nothing unbiblical about Israel severely punishing terrorists who intentionally slaughter innocent people. After the barbarity of October 7, 2023, no reasonable person should have difficulty understanding the fury felt by Israelis who buried husbands, wives, children, parents and friends because terrorists deliberately invaded their communities to murder, rape, kidnap and terrorize. Israel has every right to protect its citizens, pursue terrorists and administer punishment against men convicted of intentionally murdering innocent people. Justice matters because human life matters. Punishment matters because God has ordained civil authority to restrain evil in a fallen world. But biblical justice and the enjoyment of vengeance are not the same thing, and that is precisely where the proposed viewing booths raise a very serious moral question.

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Justice Should Be Solemn, Not Theatrical

A government execution should be one of the most sober, and somber, things a state ever does. Even when the condemned person has committed atrocities beyond description, the execution represents the government exercising the ultimate earthly penalty against a human being whose life is about to end. It should therefore be approached with gravity, restraint and solemnity rather than with celebration, political showmanship or anything resembling entertainment.

That is why the idea of specially designed viewing booths is so troubling. Supporters can argue that allowing victims and bereaved relatives to witness an execution may provide some sense of closure, and similar arrangements exist in certain jurisdictions elsewhere in the world. But the deliberate incorporation and public promotion of victim viewing areas alongside gallows gives the entire project a character that goes beyond simply carrying out a lawful sentence. It begins to create an environment in which the death of the condemned becomes part of an emotional experience being offered to those who have suffered because of him.

The Bible warns directly about what happens in the human heart when an enemy falls.

“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” Proverbs 24:17,18 (KJB)

There is the biblical balance that modern politics so often loses. God judges wickedness, God authorizes government to punish evildoers, and God has never commanded His people to pretend that evil deserves no consequences. At the same time, God warns against allowing the heart to delight in the downfall of an enemy. Justice may demand that a murderer die, but righteousness does not require anyone to enjoy watching him die. That is where this entire project begins to feel macabre. The gallows themselves are severe but understandable within the framework of capital punishment. It is the decision to include viewing booths, and especially to highlight them publicly as part of the political presentation of the facility, that gives the impression that something more than justice is being cultivated.

Supporting Israel Does Not Mean Worshipping The Israeli Government

Christians desperately need to understand that biblical support for Israel does not mean unquestioning support for every decision made by the modern Israeli government. At Now The End Begins, we are unapologetically pro-Israel because the King James Bible is unapologetically pro-Israel. God gave the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Jewish people remain the earthly people God chose for His purposes. The Church has not replaced Israel, Jerusalem has not lost its prophetic significance, and the promises God made to the Jewish people have not somehow been transferred to Rome, London, Washington or the professing Christian Church.

But none of those biblical truths mean every Israeli politician is righteous, every Israeli policy is biblical, or every action of the Israeli government deserves Christian applause. Benjamin Netanyahu is not King David, Itamar Ben-Gvir is not Moses, and the modern Knesset is not governing the nation under the direct Old Testament theocracy of Jehovah God. Modern Israel is a secular Jewish state prophetically regathered in unbelief, standing precisely where Bible prophecy said the Jewish people would once again stand as we move deeper into the closing moments of the Church Age.

That means Bible believers should be capable of holding two truths at the same time. We can defend Israel against antisemitism, stand against the satanic hatred of the Jewish people, reject the lie of Replacement Theology, recognize Israel’s right to defend itself against Islamic terrorism and still condemn something done by the Israeli government when it crosses a moral line. In fact, genuine friendship sometimes requires precisely that kind of honesty. When Israel does right, we should support her. When Israel is falsely accused, we should defend her. When the world once again begins resurrecting its ancient hatred of the Jews, we should expose and oppose it. But when an Israeli politician proudly points to an execution complex containing gallows and talks about places where grieving people can watch their enemies hang, Bible believers should retain enough spiritual discernment to call that image what it is.

Terrorism Is Evil, But So Is Learning To Enjoy Death

This is one of the most dangerous ways evil spreads. Terrorists commit atrocities so horrifying that they provoke entirely understandable rage among their victims. That rage creates a demand for justice, but if the heart is not guarded, the desire for justice can slowly become the desire for vengeance, and the desire for vengeance can eventually become satisfaction in watching another person suffer. Hamas committed unspeakable atrocities against the Jewish people. Nothing said here diminishes that reality by even one degree. October 7 was evil, Hamas terrorism is evil, kidnapping civilians is evil, murdering children is evil, and intentionally slaughtering innocent people deserves severe punishment. Calling a viewing gallery at a gallows disturbing does not magically transform terrorists into victims or erase the crimes for which they have been convicted.

The question is not whether terrorists deserve punishment. The question is what happens to a society when punishment itself becomes something people are encouraged to watch as entertainment.

There is a deep moral difference between executing a murderer because justice demands it and designing the execution environment so those harmed by him can watch his body fall from a rope. One is an action undertaken by the state because law has pronounced judgment. The other risks turning vengeance into an experience. The Bible draws the distinction with remarkable clarity. Romans 12 commands the individual not to avenge himself, while Romans 13 immediately establishes the authority of government to punish wrongdoing. Those two chapters are not contradictory; together they establish the proper boundary between personal vengeance and civil justice.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19 (KJB)

The individual is told to leave vengeance with God, while the government is authorized to punish the evildoer. Government administers justice; individuals surrender vengeance to God. When a government begins constructing special viewing areas so victims can personally watch the execution of their enemies, those two categories begin moving dangerously close together. Perhaps some families believe witnessing an execution will give them closure. Perhaps some genuinely feel that watching the murderer die will finally provide peace after years of grief. I would never minimize the horror endured by families whose loved ones were butchered by terrorists. But closure does not ultimately come from a rope, and peace does not ultimately come from watching another human being stop breathing.

Israel Needs Justice, Not A Gallows Spectacle

Israel lives in a brutal neighborhood and faces enemies who openly desire her destruction. Terrorist organizations surrounding the Jewish state have repeatedly demonstrated that they are willing to murder Jewish men, women and children without mercy, and Israel therefore possesses both the right and the responsibility to defend its citizens. If duly constituted courts determine that terrorists convicted of intentional murder deserve death, there is nothing in the King James Bible requiring Christians to pretend that capital punishment itself is some great moral outrage.

But death should never become entertainment, execution should never become political theater, and the final punishment of a criminal should never be packaged as a spectacle from which people are invited to derive emotional satisfaction. The moment government begins promoting the opportunity to watch an enemy die, something has changed in the moral atmosphere surrounding justice. The imagery itself ought to trouble anyone capable of stepping outside the passions of the moment: a gallows, a hanging rope, viewing booths, spectators and politicians celebrating the construction of the facility. Whatever legal arguments may be advanced for each individual component, when assembled together they create an unmistakably grim picture.

Israel deserves justice against those who murder her people. Israel deserves security from terrorists who dream of wiping the Jewish state from the map. Israel deserves Christian friends who will stand beside the Jewish people when this lost and increasingly antisemitic world turns against them. But Israel does not need Christians who confuse biblical Zionism with unconditional approval of every politician in Jerusalem. Sometimes friendship means saying that something has gone too far. That is the line Israel must be exceedingly careful not to cross, and those of us who love Israel enough to defend her when the world lies about her should also love Israel enough to tell the truth when something is wrong. This is wrong, and we are saying something about it.