by Reverend Dr. Stephen Sizer
At least
one in four American Christians surveyed recently by Christianity Today
magazine said that they believe it is their biblical responsibility to support
the nation of Israel. This view is known as Christian Zionism. The Pew Research
Center put the figure at 63 per cent among white evangelicals. Christian
Zionism is pervasive within mainline American evangelical, charismatic and
independent denominations including the Assemblies of God, Pentecostals and
Southern Baptists, as well as many of the independent mega-churches. It is less
prevalent within the historic denominations, which show a greater respect for
the work of the United Nations, support for human rights, the rule of
international law and empathy with the Palestinians.
The
origins of the movement can be traced to the early 19th century when a group of
eccentric British Christian leaders began to lobby for Jewish restoration to
Palestine as a necessary precondition for the return of Christ. The movement
gained traction from the middle of the 19th century when Palestine became
strategic to British, French and German colonial interests in the Middle East.
Proto-Christian Zionism therefore preceded Jewish Zionism by more than 50
years. Some of Theodore Herzl’s strongest advocates were Christian clergy.
Christian
Zionism as a modern theological and political movement embraces the most
extreme ideological positions of Zionism. It has become deeply detrimental to a
just peace between Palestine and Israel. It propagates a worldview in which the
Christian message is reduced to an ideology of empire, colonialism and
militarism. In its extreme form, it places an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading
to the end of history rather than living Christ’s love and justice today.
Followers
of Christian Zionism are convinced that the founding of the State of Israel in
1948 and the capture of Jerusalem in 1967 were the miraculous fulfillment of
God’s promises made to Abraham that he would establish Israel as a Jewish
nation forever in Palestine.
Tim
LaHaye’s infamous Left Behind novels, together with other End Times
speculations written by authors such as Hal Lindsey, John Hagee and Pat
Robertson, have sold well over 100 million copies. These are supplemented by
children’s books, videos and event violent computer games.
Burgeoning
Christian Zionist organizations such as the International Christian Embassy
(ICEJ), Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) and Christians United for Israel
(CUFI) wield considerable influence on Capitol Hill, claiming a support base in
excess of 50 million true believers. This means there are now at least ten
times as many Christian Zionists as Jewish Zionists. And their European cousins
are no less active in the Zionist Hasbarafia, lobbying for Israel, attacking
its critics and thwarting the peace process. The United States and Israel are
often portrayed as Siamese twins, joined at the heart, sharing common historic,
religious and political values.
Pastor
John Hagee is one of the leaders of the Christian Zionist movement. He is the
Founder and Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church, a 19,000-member evangelical
church in San Antonio, Texas. His weekly programmes are broadcast on 160 TV
stations, 50 radio stations and eight networks into an estimated 99 million
homes in 200 countries. In 2006 he founded Christians United for Israel
admitting,
“For 25
almost 26 years now, I have been pounding the evangelical community over
television. The Bible is a very pro-Israel book. If a Christian admits ‘I
believe the Bible,’ I can make him a pro-Israel supporter or they will have to
denounce their faith. So I have the Christians over a barrel, you might say.”
In March
2007, Hagee spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC)
Policy Conference. He began by saying:
“The
sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awakened. There are 50 million
Christians standing up and applauding the State of Israel…”
As the
Jerusalem Post pointed out, his speech did not lack clarity. He went on to
warn:
“It is
1938. Iran is Germany, and Ahmadinejad is the new Hitler. We must stop Iran’s
nuclear threat and stand boldly with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle
East… Think of our potential future together: 50 million evangelicals joining
in common cause with 5 million Jewish people in America on behalf of Israel is
a match made in heaven.”
Christian
Zionists have shown varying degrees of enthusiasm for implementing six basic
political convictions that arise from their ultra-literal and fundamentalist
theology:
The belief that the Jews remain God’s chosen people
leads Christian Zionists to seek to bless Israel in material ways. However,
this also invariably results in the uncritical endorsement of and justification
for Israel’s racist and apartheid policies, in the media, among politicians and
through solidarity tours to Israel.
As God’s chosen people, the final restoration of the
Jews to Israel is therefore actively encouraged, funded and facilitated through
partnerships with the Jewish Agency.
Eretz Israel, as delineated in scripture, from the
Nile to the Euphrates, belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, therefore the
land must be annexed, Palestinians driven from their homes and the illegal
Jewish settlements expanded and consolidated.
Jerusalem is regarded as the eternal and exclusive
capital of the Jews, and cannot be shared with the Palestinians. Therefore,
strategically, Christian Zionists have lobbied the US Administration to relocate
its embassy to Jerusalem and thereby ensure that Jerusalem is recognised as the
capital of Israel.
Christian Zionists offer varying degrees of support
for organisations such as the Jewish Temple Mount Faithful who are committed to
destroying the Dome of the Rock and rebuilding the Jewish Temple on the Haram
Al-Sharif (Noble sanctuary of Al-Aqsa).
Christian Zionists invariably have a pessimistic
view of the future, convinced that there will be an apocalyptic war of
Armageddon in the imminent future. They are deeply sceptical of the possibility
of a lasting peace between Jews and Arabs and therefore oppose the peace
process. Indeed, to advocate an Israeli compromise of “land for peace” with the
Palestinians is seen as a rejection of God’s promises to Israel and therefore
to support her enemies.
Within the
Christian Zionist worldview, Palestinians are regarded as alien residents in
Israel. Many Christian Zionists are reluctant even to acknowledge Palestinians
exist as a distinct people, claiming that they emigrated to Israel from
surrounding Arab nations for economic reasons after Israel had become
prosperous. A fear and deep-seated hatred of Islam also pervades their
dualistic Manichean theology. Christian Zionists have little or no interest in
the existence of indigenous Arab Christians despite their continuity with the
early church.
In 2006, I
drafted what became known as the Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism
signed by four of the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem: His Beatitude Patriarch
Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch, Jerusalem; Archbishop Swerios Malki Mourad,
Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem; Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, Episcopal
Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East; and Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. In it they insisted:
“We
categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as a false teaching that
corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.
"We further
reject the contemporary alliance of Christian Zionist leaders and organisations
with elements in the governments of Israel and the United States that are
presently imposing their unilateral pre-emptive borders and domination over
Palestine. This inevitably leads to unending cycles of violence that undermine
the security of all peoples of the Middle East and the rest of world.
"We reject
the teachings of Christian Zionism that facilitate and support these policies
as they advance racial exclusivity and perpetual war rather than the gospel of
universal love, redemption and reconciliation taught by Jesus Christ. Rather
than condemn the world to the doom of Armageddon we call upon everyone to
liberate themselves from ideologies of militarism and occupation. Instead, let
them pursue the healing of the nations!
"We call
upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the Palestinian and
Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of occupation and
militarism. These discriminative actions are turning Palestine into
impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli settlements. The
establishment of the illegal settlements and the construction of the Separation
Wall on confiscated Palestinian land undermines the viability of a Palestinian
state and peace and security in the entire region.”
The
patriarchs concluded:
“God
demands that justice be done. No enduring peace, security or reconciliation is
possible without the foundation of justice. The demands of justice will not
disappear. The struggle for justice must be pursued diligently and persistently
but non-violently.” The prophet Micah asks, “What does the Lord require of you,
to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8).
It is my
contention after more than 10 years of postgraduate research that Christian
Zionism is the largest, most controversial and most destructive lobby within
Christianity. It bears primary responsibility for perpetuating tensions in the
Middle East, justifying Israel’s apartheid colonialist agenda and for
undermining the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
The
closing chapter of the New Testament takes us back to the imagery of the Garden
of Eden and the removal of the curse arising from the Fall: “Then the angel
showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb… On each side of the river stood the tree of
life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the
leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2)
Surely this is what Jesus had in mind when he instructed his followers to act
as Ambassadors of peace and reconciliation, to work and pray that God’s kingdom
would come on earth as it is in heaven.
The Rev. Dr.
Stephen Sizer is the Vicar of Christ Church in Virginia Water and the author of Christian
Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon? (InterVarsity Press, 2004); Zion’s Christian
Soldiers? (2007) and In the
Footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles (Eagle, 2004). For more
information see www.stephensizer.com
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