For the past week, I have been learning about the Israeli/Palestine conflict. I feel inadequate to speak on this incredibly complicated topic. However, I do feel a responsibility to offer my perspective as an ex-evangelical American raised in Christian Zionism.
What is Christian Zionism?
Christian Zionism is a belief held by some Christians that supports the establishment and preservation of a Jewish homeland in Israel, primarily because of their interpretation of certain biblical prophecies.
Christian Zionists believe that the Holy Land is promised to the descendants of Abraham, and this promise is eternal, not a promise that belongs in the past. In a Lifeway Research Poll in 2017, it was found that 2/3 of American Evangelicals believe that God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was for all time.
Christian Zionists also believe that the modern establishment of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Establishing Israel is a pre-requisite for the return of Jesus Christ, according to their belief system. Another Lifeway poll found that 80% of evangelicals believe that the establishment of Israel in 1948 is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and will bring about Christ’s return.
This situation is more complicated than my post can convey, yet, being on the other side of this end-time indoctrination is giving me many tough pills to swallow.
Why wasn’t I taught about the suffering of the Palestinians? For the “Holy Land” to be given to the Jewish people, this meant that Palestinians endure a horrific reality and are displaced. Palestinians in Gaza have been suffering in an open-air prison for decades to fulfill biblical prophecy.
What kind of God would require the suffering of one group of humans to give land to another group of humans? That doesn’t seem like an all-loving God. Why would God require a pre-requisite of suffering Palestinians before he can come back to earth? And what happens after Christ’s return? More suffering and death, according to their belief system.
I reject this belief system. I reject allegiance to powerful governments engaging in apartheid to retain political power and religious supremacy.
I condemn the actions of Hamas and I also condemn the appalling actions taken against the Palestinians.
It’s disheartening to see people who proclaim Jesus turn a blind eye to what has been happening to Palestinians purely for selfish means to their end. The suffering is celebrated as a marker of Jesus’ return.
How sick is that?
The problem is that very few American evangelicals question what they have been indoctrinated to believe. Those of us that do, have been cast aside as “following the ways of sin”, and our voices and what we have learned, remain unheard. Their end-time theology inflicts considerable harm upon innocent people, and the majority are unwilling to critically examine the indoctrination that serves the powerful at the expense of the powerless — a stance that, in my view, runs contrary to the teachings of Christ.
The Deception of the Left Behind Rapture: 5 Reasons to Break Free
The Perils of Rapture Theology: Why We Must Break Free
Lost Childhood: The Long-Term Impacts of Rapture Indoctrination on Children
Dear Left Behind Rapture: Your Reign of Terror Cannot Last
We all embark on this life journey anew. I could have been born in Israel, or Gaza, just as easily as I was born in America. My loyalty lies with fellow humans, regardless of their place of origin, their faith, or lack thereof, rather than with influential governments or extremist factions.
It is us that suffer their wars.
It is us who suffer the consequences of the religious beliefs we’ve been taught that benefit the powerful.
It is we who must choose our compassion, our empathy, our fellow humans, and be an advocate for human rights.