 Overture opposes Christian Zionism By John H. Adams The Layman Online Monday, March 15, 2004 The 216th General Assembly will be asked to oppose Christian Zionism – a movement that says Biblical prophecy requires Christians to support the continued existence of the state of Israel. That request is part of Overture 04-34 from the Presbytery of Chicago, which calls on the General Assembly "to actively oppose Christian Zionism and to develop a plan to communicate theological and political ramifications it engenders within our denomination, in the mass media, and among U.S. government officials." Christian Zionism is anchored in a belief that the establishment of the state of Israel in 1947 was the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. It views Israel as being the focal point for a number of events leading up to the last days – including the second coming of Christ and a worldwide battle at a site known as Har Meggido in Hebrew and Armagedden in its transliterated form. Christian Zionism also supports the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem on land currently being used by Islam's Dome of the Mosque. While not directly linked to any formal expression of Christian Zionism, several books, including the novels in the Left Behind series, reflect the Zionist themes, including unflinching support for Israel. The Chicago overture, which is titled "On Confronting Christian Zionism," says: Recommendation The Presbytery of Chicago respectfully overtures the 216th General Assembly of the PC (USA) 2004 to actively oppose Christian Zionism and to develop a plan to communicate the theological and political ramifications it engenders within our denomination, in the mass media, and among U. S. government officials. Specifically, we call upon the General Assembly to:
We are called by scripture to love God and all our neighbors. Christian Zionism promotes a theology that justifies grievous violations of basic rights of people who are also made in the image of God and is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Its teachings invite contempt for fellow Christians in the Middle East, and foreclose decent human relations with many Evangelical Christians in our own American society and in our churches. The implications of this issue need to be understood and to be given much broader attention by our denomination. The term, "Christian Zionism," is used to refer to the use of passages of Biblical prophecy out of context to influence political and religious leaders to accept the State of Israel as a necessary condition of the return of Jesus Christ and the eschatological end of time (Armageddon), when Jews and others will be given the option to either convert or perish. Christian Zionism fails to relate to or defend Palestinian Christians who are fleeing their homeland because of Israeli occupation, economic closures, continuing confiscation of land and settlement construction, military aggression and now the "Wall." Christian Zionism is actually anti-evangelical in that it undermines the presence and witness of the indigenous Middle East Christians, whether in the Holy Land itself or throughout the Middle East. Christian Zionism creates a false image of Christianity – one that is militant, western, and Zionist; and the repercussions often affect the continuity of indigenous Middle East Christians. Our Palestinian Christian partners urge us to speak out on this issue, notably the churches of the Middle East, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Sabeel Ecumenical Center, and others, as well as our good friends, the leaders of these bodies: the Rev. Naim Ateek of the Sabeel Center in Jerusalem, the Rev. Riad Jarjour, General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the Rev. Mitri Raheb, Pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem who last year served as a Mission Partner in Residence on the Worldwide Ministries Division staff of the PC (USA). Christian Zionism has become a divisive voice in American churches that turn prophetic texts of the Bible into apocalyptic scenarios for the end times in a predictive and reductionist form of prophecy. The Christian Zionist message jams the airwaves every day on Christian radio and television and follows a theological approach to the Bible called "premillennial dispensationalism," a theme that emerged in the early 1800s and was promoted in the U.S. by the Rev. John Nelson Darby. The 1995 novel Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and the subsequent series of novels that pick up on this view and focus on events leading to the end of history and the return of Jesus, found a profitable market among millions of North America readers, thereby finding popular but largely uninformed support. Influential members of the current U.S. government endorse Christian Zionist positions as a basis for U.S. foreign policy, Christian Zionists, aligned with the minority Jewish settler group, take positions on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that are contrary to the position of the Israeli government and of most Israelis, opposing a two-state solution and supporting transfer of all Arabs out of Palestine. Finally, pre-millennialist interpretations that underlie Christian Zionism ultimately exclude any validity of the continuity of efficacy of God's covenant with the Jewish people themselves, and ultimately are anti-Semitic. Jesus rejected efforts to speculate on the future by saying it was not for them to know the "times or the seasons" that God has chosen [Acts 1:6-11]. Christian Zionism is contrary to the reformed principles of interpreting scripture which call us to read scripture in light of the gospel; and to interpret scripture in light of the one commandment of God that summarizes all other commandments, love for God and for all our neighbors. Our denomination is part of a coalition of Christian organizations called Churches for Middle East Peace. Its "Theological Reflection #1" describes the effect of the Zionist claim as the active dispossession of Palestinians of their land. Adding our voice to this specific issue will strengthen our joint efforts. The 215th General Assembly reaffirmed the actions of previous General Assemblies that support peace in the Middle East; further, the 2003 resolution urged pastors, lay leaders, sessions and individual members of the PC (USA) to avail themselves of study resources that help them understand the history, nature, and dimensions of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. |
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