It never fails. Whenever a Republican president makes a controversial or contentious move to support Israel — such as moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, or yesterday’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights — you’ll see various “explainers” and other stories that purport to inform progressives why the American Evangelical community is so devoted to the nation of Israel.
The explanation goes something like this — Evangelicals believe that the rebirth of Israel is hastening not just the second coming of Christ, but a particular kind of second coming, one that includes fire, fury, and war that will consume the Jewish people. The pithy, tweet-length version of this analysis comes from progressive Young Turks host Cenk Uygur:
Thus, the political marriage between American Evangelicals and Israelis represents a cynical form of mutual exploitation. Evangelicals support Israel to hasten the apocalypse, while Israelis (who obviously don’t believe Christian eschatology) are happy to humor the Evangelical community and milk that support for tourist dollars and political power.
But the true narrative of American Christian support for Israel is substantially different. The intellectual and theological roots of Christian Zionism do not rest in end-times prophesies but rather in Old Testament promises. Last month Samuel Goldman at Tablet wrote an outstanding piece explaining the centuries-old history and legacy of Christian support for Jewish claims to the Holy Land. After tracing Christian support for a Jewish Israel to the Reformation, he writes this:
These arguments were products of the emphases on the plain meaning of Scripture and the theological significance of covenants that characterized Calvinism. Before the Reformation, most Christians read prophecies like Ezekiel’s as allegories for the transformation of the “carnal” Israel descended from the patriarchs into the “spiritual Israel” represented by the Church. Calvin and his followers, by contrast, insisted that allegorical interpretations were permitted only when literal ones made no sense. But why was it nonsensical to believe that the Jews might be reconstituted as a nation and return to their own land?
In addition, I’d argue that Romans 11 has enduring significance in the American Christian mind. It begins, “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” Paul declares that God “has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” The chapter continues with the assertion that Gentiles have now been “grafted in” to the same spiritual tree, and it concludes with the promise not that all Israel will be burned up in the apocalypse, but rather with the statement that “all Israel will be saved.”
Now, the precise theological meaning of these verses has been and will be debated for some time, but the practical impact in contemporary American Christian culture has been to create a bond between American Christians and Jews that would be utterly mystifying to the vicious Christian persecutors of Jews in the not-so-distant European past.
The end result is a community — including a political community — that believes two things with firm conviction. First, God has reserved Israel as the Jewish homeland, and second, that the creation of modern Israel was an act of divine providence. While there are many Christians who believe this act of divine providence may be a prelude to the Second Coming (whenever that may be), that is miles and miles away from the belief that Jews will burn in a fiery apocalypse.
These beliefs are then reinforced by experience and basic morality. It’s difficult to overstate the profound impact that a visit to the Holy Land has on a believing Christian. I’ll never forget my time in Israel. Not only was it moving to stand where Jesus stood and to walk where Jesus walked, other aspects of the visit bring the miracle of Israel’s rebirth into sharp focus. How can you visit the ruins of the fortress of Masada and not grasp the improbability of the journey from total destruction to diaspora to renaissance?
ReplyDeleteAnyone who believes in a sky god needs to increase their medication.
Scientists have established a link between brain damage and religious fundamentalism https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/scientists-established-link-brain-damage-religious-fundamentalism/#.WqdKRmFwa5W.facebook
Study uncovers how brain damage increases religious fundamentalism https://www.psypost.org/2017/05/study-uncovers-brain-lesions-increase-religious-fundamentalism-48860
Biological and cognitive underpinnings of religious fundamentalism https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393217301318
if isn'treal was not so focused on controlling the world it would be ignored. the fact it has existed by means that are dishonorable and permitted to commit atrocities without any repercussions is one reason it is despised by all.
ReplyDeleteSo Edward, billions of people throughout history have believed in their sky gods and they are supposedly brain damaged. So, you are undoubtedly the offspring of all of those brain damaged people as humanity as a whole is, so tell me, how did you get so lucky as to not inherit the brain damage? And since the majority of peoples throughout time worshiped their sky gods in one form or another, wouldn't they be the standard of the non brain damaged and instead, you would be considered the one brain damaged since you don't believe as the MAJORITY even to this day does in some sort of Sky God? Indeed, it's almost always assumed that it is the odd man out that is brain damaged, but not in Lucky Edward's case. He's the exception, LOL. I'll bet elitist tendencies are also forms of brain damage, eh Edward.
ReplyDeleteHI there, I'm the apostle Paul. If you want to get to heaven let me sexually mutilate you by cutting off the fore skin of you penis.
ReplyDeleteI'm a holy man from god.