If you’ve wondered during the last twenty years at the overheated rhetoric of both Israel and the Western powers, Dr. Stephan Sizer will connect the dots in a video entitled The Historical Roots of Christian Zionism, It’s Theological Basis and Political Agenda. According to Sizer, Christian Zionism is the culprit behind the militant turn. Christian Zionism explains everything.
What do I mean by everything? From the policies of the George W. Bush administration to the current crisis in Israel and Palestine, the relationship between Israel and the United States has remained important. Also in this period, the Middle East and the rest of the world have criticized U.S. policies. Muslims are painted as the enemy, and there is a reckless drive for war with Iran.
Definition and influence of Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a movement within Protestant Christianity that views the modern State of Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. It follows that we owe it unconditional economic, moral, political and theological support.
The Christian version of Zionism began 50 years before the Jewish version. It is a political effort for the most part. But the theological agenda is also important, and far more troubling. Two of the most frightening talking points are the idea of using nuclear weapons on Palestine and going to war with Iran. These can both be explained by the theological influence of Christian Zionism.
The theological and political agenda
The theology of Christian Zionism is tied to a literal interpretation of the Bible. But it is as if the birth of Jesus is irrelevant. Key beliefs include the belief that Jerusalem will be the capital of Zion, that the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and an antipathy to Arabs and Muslims. There is also the belief that the final battle is immanent. This accounts for the similarities in warlike rhetoric and racist hate speech in American administrations.
Politically, the Jewish Zionists are aware that they depend on Christian Zionists to influence politicians and pay the bills.
History of Christian Zionism
Zionism began with the Puritan movement and the consequences of the Protestant Reformation. The Puritan worldview included the belief that the Jewish people had a place in God’s purposes. Specifically, Puritans believed the Jews would come to faith in Jesus and be returned to Palestine to become a Christian nation. The main proponents were George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards.
In 1808, the London Jew Society was formed as part of the Restoration Movement. Its purpose was to relieve the suffering of Jews, especially in East London, and to identify Jewish communities around the world. They believed Jews and Gentiles would be one people of God.
This view was dominant in Evangelicalism, but this changed with the rise of the French empire. Napoleon was the first ruler in 2,000 years to promise the Jews a homeland. Napoleon called himself King of Kings. However, his detractors called him ‘the anti-Christ’. The return of the Jews to Palestine was part of his strategy for world domination.
Napoleon was not successful with his campaign in Palestine, but his proclamation led to millenarian hopes among certain nonconformist circles in England. From a political point of view, it marked the beginning of a renewed interest of the Western Powers in Palestine as occupying an important international position.
The Albury Circle
According to Sizer, the Albury Circle developed the idea that God had a separate purpose for the Jewish people, apart from the Church. For them, Britain’s Manifest Destiny included controlling the Middle East and assisting the Jews’ return to Palestine. They believed the Jews would then assist Britain in colonial endeavors.
John Darby and The Brethren fashioned these ideas into Dispensationalism. This sect taught that the Church and Israel were separate people. The Church represents God’s heavenly people, and the Jews represent God’s earthly people. This is now the dominant theology of U.S. Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and Pentecostals. These groups are now underwriting financial and political support for the Zionist Lobby, and are a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East.
Britain had ulterior motives
Britain did not deliver on its promises to the Zionists because of its secret agreement with the French to divide the Middle East between them. They actually left a written record of this intention, including their admission that they didn’t think it was necessary to consult the Palestinians. However, this agreement did not come to pass either, and eventually the British tried to solve the ‘problem’ by partitioning Palestine equally between Palestinians and Zionists. Because the Palestinians’ proposed share would be half of what they already had, they rejected the plan. The Zionists accepted it.
Zionist presidents
The Rev. Jerry Falwell had come from a tradition that was intolerant of Jews, but he changed his view toward Israel after meeting Menachem Begin in Jerusalem. This was the beginning of a coalition between the Christian and Zionist right, overseen by Falwell.
Sizer calls Jimmy Carter ‘the first born again president. However, when Falwell co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979, one of his chief aims was to defeat Carter. Falwell argued that Carter was on the wrong side of abortion, homosexuality and prayer in public schools. Carter was also the only U.S. president to identify Israeli apartheid.
However, most U.S. administrations since 1948 have been supportive of the Zionist agenda. They include those of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Jr., Obama, Trump, and Biden. The last president to challenge the Israel lobby was Bush Sr.
Christian Zionism explains everything.