Dear Friend—
In hoping to enlist your support for our work here at the American Alliance of Jews and Christians, I could list our activities, events, appearances, and publications—and I shall do so. But first you deserve a picture of the umbrella beneath which everything we do flourishes.
Let me try this metaphor: Imagine plucking a beautiful rose from your garden and placing it in a vase on your dining room table. Your first impression is that you made a pretty smart move. No longer do you need to go outside, cross your lawn and stoop down at the rose bush to enjoy the flower’s beauty and its fragrance. It is right there on your table. However, by the next day or two, you begin to have doubts. Your severed flower has begun to droop, and its colors are fading while its sisters, still on the plant outside, are flourishing in their loveliness.
Initially, when our culture detached the frighteningly fragile flower of society from its roots, the eternal Biblical values of the Judeo-Christian tradition, it looked like a pretty smart move.
It looks a lot less smart now. It is now apparent to us all that what distinguished life in America from life in most other places, was widespread acceptance of the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of civilization. Until the early 1960s, people were mannerly, kind, and compassionate because of our Biblical heritage. People were basically law abiding, family-minded, and hard-working for the same reason. Can you believe that the phrase “…under God…” was easily inserted into our Pledge of Allegiance as late as 1954? Can you imagine this happening today?
Yes, there is a canyon cutting through our culture. But no, contrary to the propaganda messages that attempt to indoctrinate us, the canyon does not separate rich from poor, or men from women, or people with black skins from people with white skins, or Christians from Jews. These are false and secular divisions. They are artificial.
The canyon does seem to separate those who view Judeo-Christian, Bible-based values as vital for civilization’s survival from those who view those values as primitive obstructions to what they see as progress.
Working together, you and I are making a difference in protecting that vital set of foundational values, and I appreciate your partnering with the American Alliance of Jews and Christians to do so.
We continue to change the hearts that will change the culture by consistently publishing three weekly resources, Thought Tools, Susan’s Musings, and Ask the Rabbi. We put out a weekly audio program carried on The Blaze, iTunes, YouTube and other platforms, and we put out a daily television show, Ancient Jewish wisdom with Rabbi Daniel & Susan Lapin produced by the TCT Television Network. The AAJC has sponsored my appearances before more than a thousand pastors and Christian leaders during 2018 as I strengthened their hearts and encouraged their passions. My regular synagogue speeches carry the same goal.
This work and more, will continue in 2019 as we see enthusiasm for our efforts grow. With your help this can be done. I am not going to suggest how much you should or can give. This is an intensely personal decision; however, I will tell you that for our programmed activities in 2019, we have planned a program requiring a budget of $600,000. Our leadership is discussing expanding our work beyond the borders of the United States of America. In an increasingly connected globe, bad ideas spread quickly; but good ideas and true beliefs can be spread just as effectively. To that end, I have been privileged to carry the banner of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians to the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and Switzerland. In all three countries I was amazed to see such receptivity to timeless truth.
God brought about the Exodus to give the Israelites freedom to follow Him. He warned Pharaoh, “Let my people go so that they may worship me in the desert.” (Exodus 7:16) By following God’s rules, people would interact in a way that would create a safe and secure community. Tyrants understand that once God is out of the picture, they can reverse that equation, seducing citizens into trading freedom for the promise of safety and security, which will never be delivered.
Much more cultural energy is being pumped into the anti-Christian propaganda campaign than was ever delivered to the anti-smoking or anti-drunk-driving campaigns of years gone by. Fervent zealots of secularism are flinging themselves into this anti-Christian war with fanaticism.
If they succeed, Christianity will be driven underground in America, as it has been elsewhere, and her benign influence on the character of America will be lost. In its place we shall see a sinister secularism that menaces Bible believers of all faiths. Once the voice of the Bible has been silenced, the war on Western Civilization will be strengthened and we could see a long night of barbarism descend.
Without a vibrant and vital Christianity, America is doomed, and without America, civilization is doomed.
Which is why I, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, am so terrified of American Christianity caving in. I believe that we Jews and Christians must stand together replacing our timidity with confidence and our diffidence with daring and determination. Almost every day, we see the battle lines being drawn. Defense will be far harder down the road if we ignore the danger signals now.
We feel that it is important to have prominent Jewish and Christian voices on the right side in the struggle for America’s future and your gift helps us recruit and train those voices. We pray that your heart leads you to support our work at the American Alliance of Jews and Christians and are grateful to you for joining our mission.
Whatever support you can give to our work will be very much appreciated. American Alliance of Jews and Christians (AAJC) is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization (EIN 26-07642520). We have several different ways now that you can make your tax-deductible donation:
- Through our website (Credit Card or PayPal)
- By mail (Check or Cash) to: AAJC, PO Box 58, Mercer Island, WA 98040
- Via the AAJC Facebook page – Donate Button
- Network for Good
- Amazon Smile (a small portion of your Amazon shopping purchases will go to AAJC)
With my deepest gratitude,
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, President
American Alliance of Jews & Christians
