Christian Zionism: Apocalypse Ever After By Tarek A. Ghanem Monday, 06 October 2014 00:00 Christian Zionism: Apocalypse Ever After William H. Hechler (left) and Theodor Herzl That ideology and religion can be twisted into a different course than the initial philosophy, and sometimes a criminal one, is nothing new. Marxism became Stalinism, capitalism became colonialism, free market became third world exploitation, nationalism became Nazism and fascism, xenophobia became racism, religious liberty became secular fundamentalism, and Judaism became Zionism. But as for the case of Christian Zionism, it is not only the variation from mainstream Protestantism into extremism — based on the overtly literary interpretation of Evangelism, eschatology (the study of end of times) — and prophetical fulfillment of redemption that make it represent such a deviation; it is its hands and geography. Follow Politics Zone on: Facebook Twitter Although the viewpoint of Christian Zionists is quite uncomplicated-endorsing the existence and power of Israeli subsistence, for once the Jews are the “masters of the world” the Messiah will revisit-their effect on Palestinian suffering is far reaching. As there is about 60 million Evangelicals in the United States, many of them are Zionists, and among them Former Presidents Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter, the effect is stronger than American Jewry (mounting up to about six million in the US) and all pro-Israel associations, combined. In fact, it is puzzling how their effect escapes the minds working on helping the Palestinian cause. The America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), with its influence, is viewed to be the chief backstage hand behind an American foreign policy so saturated with favoritism to Israel; no, it is the power of such organizations, greater than a dozen, that creates the culture of the political elite in Washington as well. Hence, an attentive study of such a movement — especially in times of its zenith — becomes imperative. Coming Off on the Right Foot Many Christian theologians consider Christian Zionism and Messianism as heresy. In his diary, Theodor Herzl, the religiously indifferent mastermind and founder of Zionism as a movement for creating a state for the Jews (destination not specified at this point), wrote on Mar. 10, 1896: The Rev William H. Hechler, chaplain to the British Embassy in Vienna, called on me.A likable, sensitive man with the long grey beard of a prophet, he waxed enthusiastic over my solution. He, too, regards my movement as a “prophetic crisis” — one he foretold two years ago. For he had calculated in accordance with a prophecy dating from Omars reign (637-638) that after 42 prophetical months, that is, 1,260 years, Palestine would be restored to the Jews. This would make it 1897-1898. When he read my book [Der Judenstaat (the Jewish state), 1896], he immediately hurried to Ambassador Monson and told him: “The for-ordained movement is here!” He wants to place my movement to be a “Biblical” one, even though I proceed rationally in all points. He wants to tract the hands of some German princes… he knows the German Kaiser and thinks he can get me an audience This little excerpt sums the prophecy-possessed notion and, based on the calculations, proves the flaws in Christian Zionism since its dawn, for Zionist statehood did not come to the fore until 1948. Hechler, a priest interested in biblical prophecies, history, and maps, had published a pamphlet, Die bevorstehende Ruckkehr der Juden nach Pal? stina (The Restoration of the Jews to Palestine [according to Prophecy], 1882), earlier before this meeting. He sympathized with Jews for the ill-treatment they received and his boyhood dream was to be their missionary. Hechler was the forceful enthusiasm for making Palestine the “Promised Land,” the solution to anti-Semitic sentiments. It is the Herzl/Hechler paradigm that created Zionism: by Herzls secular/scientific touch and Hechlers spiritual grace. And, sure, he did help Herzl meet with the Grand Duke of Baden, the Kaiser, and many public figures. He co-helped him on his second project: The World Congress of Zionists; and he remained the most faithful follower of Herzl after his death. The Coming Feats, Elsewhere William E. Blackstone, founder of the American Messianic Fellowship (AMF) It was not until 1914 that Zionism came with its American branch. Before that Britain had become their stronghold, not Germany, and many European cities witnessed their marketing. Chaim Weizmann, an ultra-Zionist rabbi, imported Zionism to England and was able to influence many Christian politicians, on top of which were the non-conformist Welsh and believer in philo-Semitism and Restorationism, David Lloyd George (Chanceller of the Exchenquer, and later Prime Minister of wartime coalition government, 1916-18), and the illustrious Lord Arthur Balfour, foreign secretary, with his famous declaration. Surprisingly their biggest rivals in England were British Jews who did not endorse their restoration plans. Although, thanks to Jewish German immigrants (Yahudim) to the US, the Federation New York Zionists was founded in 1878, Christian Zionism settled and flourished in American states with the transfer of the leadership of World Zionism in 1914. The main Christian Zionist at this early phase was William Blackstone, a preacher and a teacher with strong beliefs in Evangelism and Revivalism, and one of the founders of the Chicago Committee for Hebrew Christian Work, 1887. The space is not enough to cover the historical developments of the movement, but the strongest and earliest influence was on president Harry Truman, pressing him to recognize the necessity of the state of Israel: [On] May 12 it had seemed obvious that Truman would have to choose between honoring his [earlier] pledge to the Jews (given through Chaim Weizmann) or losing his Secretary of State [George Marshal], with all the awful consequences that would follow… Marshall conveyed to the President his assurance that he would make public opposition to his decision… In the years of retirement Truman frequently insisted that the most infuriating moments of his presidency were those when he had to fight off the persistence of Zionists. Those people spoke to him as their cause was the only cause in the world… and as those [their] suffering gave the right to speak to him as though the office of the president of the United States meant nothing to them. No other visitors ever pounded to his desk! Nowadays, the US is familiar with the works and influence of an international coalition of Christian Zionist organizations, which includes Bridges for Peace (BFP); The American Messianic Fellowship (AMF); The Messianic Jewish Alliance America (MJAA); Jews for Jesus (JFJ); and of course, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ); all are shaping the content of the Christian Zionist agenda today. “Messianic” or “Menace” Alliance? Many Christian theologians consider Christian Zionism and Messianism as heresy (epitomized in the movie The Chosen). In his article, “ Christian Zionism And Messianic Judaism,” James B. Jordan, president of Biblical Horizons and author of numerous essays and books of Biblical studies, deconstructs the theology of Christian Zionism and even concludes that it is a blasphemy, based on the following: First, by teaching that there are no signs that precede the Rapture, dispensationalism clearly implies that the modern State of Israel has nothing to do with Bible prophecy. If Israel collapsed tomorrow, it would make no difference. Second, dispensationalism teaches that Jews of today, and even into the Tribulation period, are apostate, and this certainly implies that they are under the wrath and judgment of God… Third, by teaching that Israelis “set aside” during the Church Age, dispensationalism clearly implies that the promises made to Israel are also “set aside” during that period… Fourth, dispensational theologians are most strict on the point that the Church is a “new people,” composed as one body in Christ of both Jew and Gentile [non-Jews]. During the Church Age, the distinction between these two is not to be felt in the Church. Thus, dispensational theology is, by implication, opposed to the kind of standpoint articulated in many “Messianic Jewish” groups. Many Christians, both from the East and the West, are against Christian Zionism. And even in joint statements from the Jerusalem Head of Churches, The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem was called a “ self-proclaimed” Christian Zionist institution. They all see it as a political movement stripped from any religious cause. The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), comprising the most indigenous and ancient Oriental and Eastern Churches, has been highly critical of Christian Zionists as they: [...] imposed an aberrant expression of the Christian faith and an erroneous interpretation of the Bible, which is subservient to the political agenda of the modern State of Israel. Indeed they represent a tendency to… force the Zionist model of theocratic and ethnocentric nationalism on the Middle East… The Christian Zionist programme, with its elevation of modern political Zionism, provides the Christian with a world view where the gospel is identified with the ideology of success and militarism. It places its emphasis on events leading up to the end of history rather than living Christs love and justice today. Undoubtedly, against their Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters! The Way Out! The Jewish suffering in the holocaust is a crime against humanity. They have had one. As for the Palestinians, Muslims, and Christians, theirs is still ongoing. Even though the Glorious Quran mentions that the Jews will be triumphant twice (one of them is prehistoric Kingdom) and many Muslim scholars, on top of which famous and respected Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, believe that Israel is the second prophecy meant, and many authentic Hadiths (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him) prophesized that Jews will come from all over the world to Palestine, there is no “Muslim Zionism” likewise. No religious prophecy can be fulfilled by specious and criminal works. No divinity would grace it. It is self-evident that Christian Zionism is sheer politics, not religion. For all religions and for sure Christianity cannot put Zionism and what Zionism does (has become?) under its banners — let alone the audacity and the disrespect to the Church of the Nativity by Israel. What can Christian Zionists see that others do not see? What faith or religious discourse can substantiate displacement for finding a refuge, collective punishment for safety, sling out of indigenous inhabitants for well-being, annihilation for defense, destruction of property for shelter, and apartheid for security? None. The Jewish suffering in the holocaust is a crime against humanity. They have had one. As for the Palestinians, Muslims, and Christians, theirs is still ongoing. They did not have to pay the price for Jewish suffering — cured with a romantic movement to find a homeland for Jews — with their blood, anguish, land, loss, and freedom. That religion and scripture can be tailored to tally wanton politics is the story. Since it is a political movement it must be politically fought. In the second of a series of three articles titled American Zionism, Edward Said, the triumphant sun of Arab intellectualism, sees the key Zionist waves in the US (secular and religious alike) in “a mass campaign on behalf of Palestinian human rights, which would have the effect of out-flanking Zionists and going straight to the American people. Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans would have reacted as they did to the ANC campaign against apartheid, which finally changed the balance inside South Africa” ( Al-Ahram Weekly, October 5, 2000). His vision is still applicable specifically after the latest Israeli carnages and the cordon of the Church of the Nativity.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 09:07:41 +0000
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