From: Pilgrimpub@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006
1:07 PM
Subject: FALWELL REJECTS
"DUAL COVENANTISM" [03/02--2006]
Jerry Falwell Denies
Jerusalem Post Story,
Says Everyone, Including Jews, Needs Christ
NOTE: This story is from the Church Report Daily website:
>http://www.thechurchreport.com/content/view/1043/67/<
Deying
a Jerusalem Post story that said he had embraced a “dual covenant” theology,
Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell said March 1 that he believes all
people, including Jews, “must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enter
heaven.”
“I do not follow this teaching of ‘dual covenant’ theology and I
believe it runs counter to the Gospel,” Fallwell said in a statement posted on
www.falwell.com. "I have been on record all 54 years of my ministry as being
opposed to ‘dual covenant' theology.”
Rejected by orthodox theologians,
dual covenant theology holds that Jews are saved through a special, unique
relationship with God and need not trust in Christ for salvation. The Jerusalem
Post story, published March 1, said that pastor John Hagee and Rabbi
Aryeh Scheinberg – both from Texas – had “apparently persuaded” Falwell to
adopt a dual covenant belief system. The story quoted only Scheinberg and did
not quote Falwell.
“Falwell has altered his position, according to
Scheinberg, apparently because the pastor decided to put End of Days theology
aside in favor of the overriding need to support Israel, particularly against
the mounting threat of a nuclear Iran,” the story, authored by Ilam Chaim, said.
The story noted that dual covenant theology “runs counter to mainstream
evangelism.”
Falwell’s complete statement follows:
“Earlier
today, reports began circulating across the globe that I have recently stated
that Jews can go to heaven without being converted to Jesus Christ. This is
categorically untrue. These false reports originated from a March 1 Jerusalem
Post front page column which said: ‘An evangelical pastor and an Orthodox rabbi,
both from Texas, have apparently persuaded leading Baptist preacher Jerry
Falwell that Jews can get to heaven without being converted to Christianity.
Televangelist John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, whose Cornerstone Church
and Rodfei Sholom congregations are based in San Antonio, told The Jerusalem
Post that Falwell had adopted Hagee's innovative belief in what Christians refer
to as ‘dual covenant’ theology. This creed, which runs counter to mainstream
evangelism, maintains that the Jewish people have a special relationship to God
through the revelation at Sinai and therefore do not need ‘to go through Christ
or the Cross’ to get to heaven.’
“While I am a strong supporter of the
State of Israel and dearly love the Jewish people and believe them to be the
chosen people of God, I continue to stand on the foundational biblical principle
that all people -- Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Jews, Muslims, etc. --
must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven.
“Dr.
Hagee called me today and said he never made these statements to the Jerusalem
Post or to anyone else. He assured me that he would immediately contact the
Jerusalem Post and request a correction. Before today, I had never heard of
Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg or had any communications with him. I therefore am at a
total loss as to why he would make such statements about me to the Post, if in
fact he did.
“In this age of political correctness and diversity, the
traditional evangelical belief that salvation is available only through faith in
the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is often portrayed as closed-minded
and bigoted. But if one is to believe in Jesus Christ, he must believe in His
words: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father but
by Me' (John 14:6). I simply cannot alter my belief that Jesus is The Way to
heaven, as He taught.
“Again, I do not follow this teaching of 'dual
covenant' theology and I believe it runs counter to the Gospel.
“I have
been on record all 54 years of my ministry as being opposed to ‘dual covenant’
theology. In fact, Dr. John Hagee has indicated to me, as recently as today,
that he likewise does not accept ‘dual covenant’ theology.
“I want to
reaffirm that I am a Zionist in terms of Israel’s entitlement to its homeland. I
continue to pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Bible instructs
Christians to do. And I have dedicated my life and ministry to working for the
peace of Israel. I dearly cherish the highly esteemed Jabotinsky Award which was
given me in 1981 by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. I have led thousands
of pilgrims through the Land Of Israel during my 31 tours over 36 years. I
seriously believe that few Americans have invested more time and resources in
the defense of Israel in this generation.
“However, I simply cannot
alter my deeply-held belief in the exclusivity of salvation through the Gospel
of Christ for the sake of political or theological expediency.
“Like the
Apostle Paul, I pray daily for the salvation of everyone, including the Jewish
people.”
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