MARK TOOLEY: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/what-is-the-future-of-christian-support-for-israel/article/2563089
A majority of Americans of all Christian traditions typically tell pollsters they support Israel, with Evangelicals leading the way. A recent Pew survey shows 60 percent of white Evangelicals sympathizing “a lot” with Israel versus 9 percent with Palestinians.Strong Evangelical support for Israel is politically and strategically significant. Israeli leaders for decades have understandably sought friendship with Evangelical leaders and constituencies. More recently, critics of Israel, including leftist foundations, have sought to neutralize Evangelical support for Israel, with some success among Evangelical elites.
A Washington, D.C., group called Telos, headed by a former GOP congressional staffer and funded by George Soros, routinely takes elite Evangelicals to the West Bank for the pro-Palestinian perspective. To that end, a conference every two years in the Holy Land called “Christ at the Checkpoint” hosts hundreds of Evangelicals.
A professor at Wheaton College, Evangelicalism’s most prestigious school, takes students to “Christ at the Checkpoint” and is himself a prominent critic of pro-Israel Evangelicals. He was prominently featured in a film for Evangelicals several years ago called With God on Our Side, which lampooned pro-Israel theology.
World Vision, the $1 billion Evangelical relief group, supports “Christ at the Checkpoint” and other activism to steer Evangelicals away from support for Israel. It echoes Telos and similar groups in urging a purportedly “pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-peace, pro-justice and pro-Jesus” stance, which by neutralizing Evangelicals as a uniquely pro-Israel force, effectively favors Palestinian advocacy.
Compounding this activism is the fading of the old Religious Right, whose leaders, like the late Jerry Falwell, were outspokenly pro-Israel and claimed to speak for millions. A new generation of Evangelical leaders is more reluctant to wade into controversy. Some old Religious Right figures were believers in Dispensationalism, a 19th century movement asserting and stressing various End Times events, including the restoration of Israel, before Christ’s return.
The “Left Behind” literature is rooted in Dispensationalism, and millions of sincere Christians adhere to some version of it. Critics of Christian Zionism often critique Dispensationalism as apocalyptic and imply it is the main force for Evangelical support for Israel. They also claim that Dispensationalism is on the decline, with little pull among young Evangelicals.
But most pro-Israel Christians, including Evangelicals, have never been full-throttle Dispensationalists. They instead focus on sympathy for world Jewry after the Holocaust, the ongoing threat on anti-Semitism, nasty anti-Israel regimes like theocratic Iran, Israel’s thriving democracy, Israel’s alliance with America, and more recently, Israel as an oasis of protection for Mideast Christians, under siege nearly everywhere else.
Many Evangelicals and other Christians also mystically believe, however vaguely articulated, in an ongoing organic, familial tie between Christianity and Judaism, of which the land of Israel is a not insignificant part. But how should this vitally important kinship be best expressed theologically?
This Friday, April 17, the Institute for Religion and Democracy, of which I am president, will convene a conference of prominent theologians to discuss and analyze “People of the Land: A 21st Century Case for Zionism” at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The questions examined at the conference include: Can Christian Zionism be defended in the 21st century? Theologically? Historically? Can it be defended in ways that are consistent with Jewish and Christian scriptures? Are its legal, moral and political out-workings compatible with the ideals of the biblical covenant? Presentations at this conference will be expanded into a book to be published by InterVarsity Press, one of Evangelicalism’s most prestigious publishers.
Hopefully this conference and resulting literature and conversation will stimulate a new generation of articulate, thoughtful Christian thinkers and leaders who support Israel for reasons both prudential and substantively theological.
As I have written elsewhere, countering the push to shift Evangelicals away from Israel will require more than old style “the Bible says” arguments that no longer resonate strongly with current Evangelical elites, especially young Evangelicals. It will require intellectually serious explanations as to why Israel merits survival and support in a fallen world often hostile to both Jews and to ordered democracy.
Neither Providence nor the Bible are neutral between a people striving to survive against many others who hope for their elimination. Effectively explaining why requires both good political and theological judgment.
Mark Tooley is President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions for editorials, available at this link.
Comments are closed.
