Strange bedfellows at Christian confab

One of the scheduled speakers once said that Jews must accept Christ

Published September 13, 2012 11:05PM (EDT)

The annual Values Voter Summit is blessed with a diverse array of opinion from the far-right to the ultra-right.  It's not always as cozy as it sounds.

This year's speakers will include both Jewish House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and a retired Colonel who once said that Christians should be working to get Jews to accept Jesus. In 2009, Boykin said that it "really bothers" him when pastors say that “the Jews don’t have to come to know Jesus, they're under the old covenant. And that's destroying the efforts of the Messianic Rabbis, and other Messianic Jews that are trying to lead their brothers and sisters to Christ." Boykin is apparently referring to a little known tradition that observes elements of Judaism, but also believes in Jesus as a savior. Cantor didn't return a request for comment.

Boykin, who scored a meeting with Mitt Romney in August, was publicly rebuked by President George W. Bush in 2003 for anti-Muslim rhetoric - like comments that the war against Islamic extremists is a war of Christianity against Satan, or that there should be "no mosques in America. Islam is a totalitarian way of life."

The immortal moment from last year's Summit involved another inter-religious spat when Mitt Romney, speaking ahead of the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer, said: "We should remember that decency and civility are values too. One of the speakers who will follow me today, has crossed that line. Poisonous language does not advance our cause." Fischer, who's known for hating both grizzly bears and Muslims, and who had previously said that Mormons shouldn't have First Amendment rights, essentially told Mitt to go to Hell: The next president, he said, “needs to be a main of sincere, authentic, genuine Christian faith."

With Romney leading the ticket this year, TPM reports that Fischer will be attending the Summit this year but won't have a speaking slot.

Via Right Wing Watch.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Eric Cantor Islamophobia Jerry Boykin Judaism Values Voter Summit