Christians and Israel
The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good just issued an open letter to America’s “Christian Zionists” – by which they mean American evangelical Christians who support Israel in such a way that they never actually question any of Israel’s actions. Its a well-written letter that I’d recommend to anyone who cares about Israel and is interested in what the Bible has to say (if anything) about modern-day Israel’s claim to the land. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning:
Not to put too fine a point on it, we wish to claim here that the prevailing version of American Christian Zionism—that is, your belief system—underwrites theft of Palestinian land and oppression of Palestinian people, helps create the conditions for an explosion of violence, and pushes US policy in a destructive direction that violates our nation’s commitment to universal human rights. In all of these, American Christian Zionism as it currently stands is sinful and produces sin. We write as evangelical Christians committed lifelong to Israel’s security, and we are seriously worried about your support for policies that violate biblical warnings about injustice and may lead to the outcome you most fear—serious harm to or even destruction of Israel.
If you find yourself in disagreement with the author’s central claims, I urge you to still give the letter a read. Consider what they have to say. The majority of the letter is devoted to understanding 2 key ideas: first, God’s promise of the land to Abraham and his descendants, and who it applies to (here’s a hint: the Israelites were not Abraham’s only descendants); and second, the conditional nature of Israel’s possession of the land. They were to treat the people in the land, especially including aliens, the poor, and so on – with justice, or risk losing it altogether (which they did when God sent both kingdoms into exile – only hundreds of years later were they allowed to return and partially reoccupy the land).
In the end, the authors’ goal is peace and justice for the people of Israel and the Palestinians. Given that both groups are created in the image of God and loved by God, that should be the goal of all Christians. That goal should drive our support for Israel’s safety and existence – and our opposition to their actions when they act in ways that oppress and victimize others, and thereby jeopardize their own existence as well.
