An argument against Christian Zionism
When I was living an Orthodox Jewish life I was always surprised that certain Christians financially supported Jewish Communities and causes. In my opinion it was a waste of money and effort because it does not open up the Jewish community to accepting Jesus as the messiah. Moreover, Orthodox religious institutions have a tendency to decline Christian charity because they perceive Christianity as “idol worship”.
But forget about my personal experiences and let’s have a look at the working definition of Christian Zionism:
Working definition:
Often emphasizes ethnic/national Israel rather than spiritual/moral obedience.
- Sometimes assumes that all Jews, by virtue of ancestry, are “God’s people” today, regardless of religious observance.
- Christian Zionism is a Christian religious and political ideology that teaches support for the return of the Jewish people to their historic homeland in Israel and often views the establishment and continued existence of the modern State of Israel as fulfilling biblical prophecy.
- Many Christian Zionists believe this support is theologically mandated and tied to the belief that such events are part of God’s plan, including the eventual return of Jesus Christ.
The first aspect; “Often emphasizes ethnic/national Israel rather than spiritual/moral obedience.” can be seen as a nationalistic support. This kind of political nationalistic support is based on statehood and not on religion and morals.It should not be our goal to support a ‘Jewish’ state that does not want to follow God’s laws. A state in which political corruption is extremely high, where Christians are attacked by religious colonists.
Additionally, the people that were part of the two kingdoms in the old testament (Israel + Judah) followed paternal tribal laws (YHVH/ religion came from the father’s side and not the mother). This means that the later developed concept of “Jewish” did not apply to many biblical Hebrews because in biblical times (OT) they did not care if the mother was following YHVH, or if she was considered a Hebrew. There is no direct connection between the OT laws of Moses and the modern Israeli citizens. Yes, a big percentage would still be considered as a Hebrew in biblical times but not necessarily. According to OT laws one must follow the laws of Moses but according to the rabbinic authorities one is not even Jewish. It seems to be the case that Christian Zionist follow rabbinic authorities instead of the Old testament.
At times I read things like “I love Jewish people, I love Israel”, but there are enough non-Jews living in Israel, and many Jews that are living outside of Israel. One should not generalize because there is no such thing as; “people X are perfect”, or “God loves all Y”. One should read the Old testament if one thinks that God always loved his ‘chosen people’. There were many instances where Hebrews were punished by God, especially if they did not follow his commandments. Why would you love a corrupt Israeli politician if God hates that behavior?
I fully understand that people support the secular Israeli state from a PURE political perspective. One that supports a state in the Middle East which is aligned with ‘Western values and norms’. However, please be careful with this and don’t be naive. Don’t think that giving huge amounts of money will lead to God’s favor, or that Jews will convert to Christianity. Rather give money and support to your local community or other Christian communities that are in need. Give charity to the homeless and the poor. Support projects which help people long term. Be like Jesus.
