What is Zionism and what is Christian Zionism?

O come, o come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel;
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice!
Rejoice!
Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

(J.M. Neale 1851)

In discussing the state of conflict, the seemingly never ending war between Israelis and Palestinians, at a recent gathering, I struggled to come up with a definition of Zionism, saying it’s complex.

Great deflection, Bert, sorry, but that won’t cut it.

Yes, it is complex. Yes the tie in of religion and politics, interfaith dialogue and geo-politics is very complex, but the more we hide behind the complexities, the more we find excuses for admitting that the answers are complex, the less likely we are able to find either reason for, or a humane end to the conflict. The more we look at the conflict through the eyes of religion or religious interpretation, the less likely we will respect the rights of all involved.

It is more than just Netanyahu’s political posturing, his apocalyptic view, his commitment to the complete destruction of Hamas. Even the very thought that some new iteration of Hamas may recur and so continue the elimination of all Palestinians in Gaza. Women, so that there can be no more Palestinian babies, who will undoubtedly become Hamas terrorists. Children who are already born and who are probably being trained to become Hamas terrorists… and while eyes are averted, continue the genocide in the West Bank and Golan Heights as well.

Judaism and Zionism

The difference between Judaism, the religion of the Jews and Zionism needs to be understood, and that too is complex, because as in all religions there are differing sects, there are differing degrees of devotion, dedication to the faith. The nuances of belief and faith are chasms wide and have led to years of conflict between various Judaic sects.

So perhaps a few concise definitions are in order.

Zionism, in the concept of the driving force behind the settlement of Eretz Israel is a nationalist movement, a political force.

It was born in the late 1800s as European nationalism was flourishing. The link between a land and its population, its language and culture, the establishment of borders, and as the industrialisation grew and changed economies, the protection and search for mineral and industrial wealth became national obsessions.

In seeking national identities, markers became important, language and religion played an important role, and in post Reformational Europe there were three distinct religious boundaries, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. And within those were sort of sub-groups, Lutheran or Calvinist Protestants and over time more and more sects, and in the east of Europe, the distinctions within Orthodoxies, Russian or Ukrainian and to the south, Greek Orthodox became parts of national identities. Nowhere was there room for Judaism.

And even within Judaism there were divisions, sects. A quick search identifies as many as ten Jewish denominations or beliefs, all based on the same texts, but subjected to different levels of adherence or practice, from Orthodox Judaism, to Conservative, Reform, Hasidic, Rabbinic… A bit like Christians really, so many ways to read or interpret the sacred texts, so many ways of discriminating based on difference, whether it be in dress code, in legalism, in marginalising populations, and when the going gets too smooth, when things are just a bit too cosy; “We agree, let’s find things to disagree about!”

Out of the nationalistic fervour of late 19th century Europe, political Zionism emerged with the objective of forming not just a national identity, but also reclaiming the Biblically promised land of Eretz Israel.

Christian Zionism

So far, defining Zionism is fairly clear-cut. But there is another element, Christian Zionism. And that is a nasty beast.

And we can blame Johannes Gutenberg for that one.

Religion was all fine and dandy when the sacred texts, the Bible were under lock and key and interpretation was dictated from a single source, the Papacy… Or maybe from two sources when there were two popes, but then the Bible was printed and first little kerfuffle happened when Martin Luther questioned some of the practices of the church, especially when dealing with sin and wealth, the selling of indulgences.

There is a person buried in the cathedral in the Dutch city of Utrecht, he is apparently an ancestor of mine, carrying my name, or more correctly, as the eldest son, I have been honoured with his name.

An eminent man? A faithful follower of the church? A man of God?

No, he was a slave trader who bought his way to heaven, his sins were forgiven as he passed his ill gotten fortune to the church so they could build more cathedrals, have more Michelangelo’s decorate various chapels, create more beautiful music for the festivities of worship.

The selling of indulgences was not terribly ‘Christ-like’ according to Luther.

He complained to the church leaders, even to the Pope, and had a price put on his head for daring to challenge their authority. And so started the Reformation, Lutherism, Calvinism, the Thirty Year War and the sacrifice of about half the population of Europe over disagreements in reading and interpreting that book Gutenberg published.

More and more Bibles were printed and more and more educated people had access to the ‘Word of God’, and more and more interpretations and mis-interpretations followed, more divisions in the churches, so much so that many had to flee their homelands for safer places, safe from persecution because words were interpreted differently, like to the Americas.

And embedded in those texts was the promise of the second coming of Jesus, or for the Jews, the first arrival of Emmanuel, the promised saviour of the Jews, promised when that first woman said to her husband, “Hey, Adam, this fruit tastes great, here, take a bite,” and the next thing they realised was they were naked, she got embarrassed, he may well have got aroused, but god kicked them out of that garden in Eden, and punished them both by having to work the land, and for her, to suffer unimaginable pains in childbirth.

The second coming – according to the interpretations of scripture – will happen after the battle of Armageddon, and after the Jews have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So there is a vested interest in converting Jews to Christianity… And of course there are differences based on that wonderful word, Interpretations, but the other precondition is that Jews are back in the land promised to them, whether converted to Christian or not.

And some interpret that Jews no longer qualify as ‘God’s People’. All from that same book.

Big words are used to cover the various interpretations, words like ‘dispensationalism’, ‘covenant theology’ and ‘eschatology’, big words to make the whole study look far too difficult for mere mortals to understand, but great for the religious elite to push their agendas with.

Basically, the difference between the words and the academic reasonings behind them are chicken and egg stories… Which came first?

We see that the evangelical movement, especially in America, but here too, use eschatology to predict the things that need to happen before the end of time, and interpret world events to point to things like the end of the world, death, judgement, the afterlife, the second coming, the resurrection and the nature of heaven and hell. All the joyful things that have been used to order people’s lives, the definitions of morality and so forth. The end is nigh… And current events point again and again to the glorious days when the trumpets will sound, the sun will rise in the west and the Lord of Lords will descent to the throne in the new Jerusalem.

Dispensationalism emphasises distinct historical periods, the separation between Israel and the Christian Church while covenant theology views history and end times through a lens of covenants or agreements and continuity between Israel and ‘The Church’ (which church?). Again, all churches claim to have the correct, here’s that word again, interpretation of scripture.

Christian Zionists are awaiting the second coming and see the Jewish settlement of Israel/Palestine, Eretz Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza, Galilee and Samaria, as the beginning of the end times, the final preparation for Christ’s second coming. And that includes retaking the whole city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple on the Temple Mount, currently the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The current forecast is for that to happen around 2060, in 35 years time.

They appear to be quite happy for Jews to see that event as the coming of Emmanuel, their saviour as promised to Adam and Eve, reiterated at various times through the Old Testament. Conversion to Christianity is optional it seems… again interpretation.

Which comes to the real point of the discussion we were having, what is it all about?

It is more than just a post colonial struggle for land. It is an ancient struggle which has its origins in mythology, or can we have a more precise word to describe the promises made in the biblical books of Genesis and Exodus, and later in the Prophets and in the New Testament? I certainly cannot think of one.

It is a struggle to assert the privilege of being God’s People.

I don’t know what that means, but there is a text in the Bible that says that ‘God is Love’, and it would seem to follow that if God is Love and people claim to be God’s People, they surely must need to demonstrate love.

But it is all a matter of interpretation.

Also by Bert Hetebry: Jewish history revisited

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