Shameful Sell-out

WASHINGTON (AP) — Televangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday. The former New York mayor backs abortion rights and gay rights, positions that put him in conflict with conservative GOP orthodoxy, and has been trying to persuade evangelical conservatives like Robertson to overlook their differences on those issues. Robertson made no mention of his differences with Giuliani on social issues in Wednesday's statement.

• JJ Commentary: This is an extraordinary sell-out by one of our Christian leaders in support of a pro-abortion, pro-gay rights candidate. It is shameful and inexcusable.

The Church Abandons its Roots

A Geneva-based church body said Monday it would launch a global initiative to have churches worldwide rally for an end to Israel's occupation of Arab lands seized in the 1967 Mideast war. The World Council of Churches said in a statement that it designated Jordan as a venue for its initiative, which would enlist support from religious groups worldwide. "The initiative aims at calling on all churches to work seriously for putting an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands," the statement said. The World Council of Churches, founded in 1948, groups 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing over 560 million Christians in more than 110 countries.

• JJ Commentary: How can such an un-Biblical viewpoint be expounded by Christian groups??